[Leica] What makes a great photograph?

[imagist3 at mac.com (George Lottermoser)]

It seems to me that photography falls into the following genres:

Documentary:
        Events
        News
        Sports
        Travel
                Landscapes
                Cityscapes
                Street life
Portraiture (individuals and/or groups):
        Formal
                Studio
                Environmental
        Candid (generally also environmental)
Fine Art:
        Conceptual
        Experimental
Artsy:
        HDR, iPhonography, and other special effects
Scientific:
        Astronomical
        Macro
        Micro (including electron microscopy)
        Heat, IR, UV, etc.
Illustration:
        Opinion / Editorial
        Fictional narrative
        Advertising:
                Fashion
                Product
Archival:
        Family Snapshots
        Museum Catalogs
        Archeological records
        Etc.

I may be overlooking a genre or three; and invite suggestions.
Within each genre the history of photography has high-water marks; examples 
of greatness.
And each of these genres can of course overlap.
An advertising concept, portrait, document or scientific image can reach for 
and achieve Art.
A documentary image may reach for and achieve op-ed, humor, irony, etc.

As we consider photographs within the various genres
we can compare our, and other's, work with the high-water marks
and evaluate on the basis of:

Socially
        extremely important
        important
        neutral
        unimportant
Historically
        extremely important
        important
        neutral
        unimportant
Aesthetically
        gorgeous
        beautiful
        pleasing
        bland
        weak
Emotionally
        extremely moving
        moving
        inert
Conceptually
        profound
        outstanding
        fresh
        derivative
        weak
Technically
        superb
        well done
        adequate
        weak

So
I may think of Howard's recently posted "Vancouver sunrise pano" as a 
travel, cityscape, document;
historically important, aesthetically beautiful, conceptually derivative and 
technically superb.
or
Ric's body of work documenting local street life
as socially and historically important, aesthetically beautiful, 
conceptually fresh and technically well done.
or
his musical performance archives as socially and historically extremely 
important
aesthetically pleasing, conceptually derivative, and technically adequate.

Regards,
George Lottermoser 
george at imagist.com
http://www.imagist.com
http://www.imagist.com/blog
http://www.linkedin.com/in/imagist