What's troubling to me, is the attitude that "whatever the judges feel" is more correct than the guidelines people work hard to try and fulfill. You may have the right to be 100% subjective in interpreting people's art, but don't for a moment act surprised when artists who try to play by the rules get discouraged when those rules get tossed out the window.
The spirit behind the challenges that gives the judges artistic freedom to choose how they judge has been in place long before I ever touched the mod chair. I can remember this open and frankly IMHO non-stifling "attitude" back in the LPS days when Shay introduced the multiple themes idea along with many other wonderful ideas. If we give the artist behind the picture creative freedom why should we demand the judges conform to a restrictive and likely not fun way of judging?
These challenges are here to stimulate you as a photographer and an artist. To try and push you out of your comfort zone and make you think. If you want to shoot "red shoes" go for it.
There has never been any "rules" saying an image must fit into a certain criteria. Even if a judge picks something that is out in left field in everyone else's opinion, it all balances out in the public vote anyway. In the end it is You and your peers that has a say in who makes the top 5.
Do you want to be a volunteer judge for the next round? That might give you an understanding what a judge goes through trying to pick only 10 images out of 60+. (I am serious btw)
Well, one solution is to completely eliminate the judging all together and just post all the entries up for voting just like the way they are doing it over on the "people" board. I for one do not understand why we can't do this except for the fact that it will create a lot of work for the moderator (Sean in this case) to list all those entries for voting.
If there are more than 50 entries it would be impossible to put all of them together into one poll. This would demand multiple polls and two rounds of voting to bring it down to a top 10.
I am sure many people would find flaws in any system that is developed. Even a purely public vote one.
P.S. this thread is now severely off track and discussions of this nature should take place in the general discussion thread. Lets please get back to giving feedback about this rounds wonderful images.
If there are more than 50 entries it would be impossible to put all of them together into one poll. This would demand multiple polls and two rounds of voting to bring it down to a top 10.
I am sure many people would find flaws in any system that is developed. Even a purely public vote one.
Ah, I didn't know about the 50 image rule. It makes sense now.
I've had a few inquires for my entry so here goes.
It's cinnamon.....
I didn't take an image of how my camera was set up but I had my 40D with the 550ex flash on a tripod.
I also had a strobe with a white umbrella on the right side.
Poured a small amount of cinnamon on a paper plate and moved it around to where I wanted and click.
I then did the usual adjustments for light etc but I did not sharpen or use highpass because I thought
it looked sharp enough. I played around a little and was going to enter it with more of the mountain going up
the back of the plate but the more I played with it like I felt it looked best the way I entered it. I did a render lighting for the sun.
I thought about 4 images for almost two weeks before I got the chance to try it. I'm glad I choose this one.
Thanks everyone who showed and interest and left comments. I appreciate them all.
The spirit behind the challenges that gives the judges artistic freedom to choose how they judge has been in place long before I ever touched the mod chair. I can remember this open and frankly IMHO non-stifling "attitude" back in the LPS days when Shay introduced the multiple themes idea along with many other wonderful ideas. If we give the artist behind the picture creative freedom why should we demand the judges conform to a restrictive and likely not fun way of judging?
These challenges are here to stimulate you as a photographer and an artist. To try and push you out of your comfort zone and make you think. If you want to shoot "red shoes" go for it.
There has never been any "rules" saying an image must fit into a certain criteria. Even if a judge picks something that is out in left field in everyone else's opinion, it all balances out in the public vote anyway. In the end it is You and your peers that has a say in who makes the top 5.
Do you want to be a volunteer judge for the next round? That might give you an understanding what a judge goes through trying to pick only 10 images out of 60+. (I am serious btw)
I'd love to.
I hear what you're saying, and to a point, I'm playing devil's advocate here, not really having a dog in the fight. It's just that the argument seems a little one-sided, when there's a valid point opposing it.
I hear what you're saying, and to a point, I'm playing devil's advocate here, not really having a dog in the fight. It's just that the argument seems a little one-sided, when there's a valid point opposing it.
I hear what you're saying, and to a point, I'm playing devil's advocate here, not really having a dog in the fight. It's just that the argument seems a little one-sided, when there's a valid point opposing it.
Smithy --you know you will be judged good luck making 60 folks happy and many are women
What's troubling to me, is the attitude that "whatever the judges feel" is more correct than the guidelines people work hard to try and fulfill. You may have the right to be 100% subjective in interpreting people's art, but don't for a moment act surprised when artists who try to play by the rules get discouraged when those rules get tossed out the window.
I love seeing all the how-i-did-its...Great inspiration for future fun! And thank to everyone for the comments on my entry :-) I'll have to remember to snag a shot of my setup next time...Not too much involved though. A hairdryer, 30D, 70-200 f/4 L and an on camera 580EX II triggering a Sigma EF 530 DG Super on an umbrella stand camera-right. Cropped the original image in a bit.
Some of my favorites, in no order...All the entries were wonderful! :-)
Seems like we go through a cycle where this keeps coming up. First question that comes to mind is why am I participating in these challenges? For the big prize? or is it to grow as an artist? Now I'm not going to say I don't get discouraged by some of the judges choices, but the judges are just two people. I find the feedback in these forums when I post an image for C&C, and the comments underneath my image in the gallery, way more important.
At the same time, I actually get to look at an image and ask the person how they did it. Where else do you get to find out such valuable info from the photographer him or herself? Some of these people are real pros...that's why I'm here. Soaking in as much as I can from these people.
I hope the judging format doesn't change. My opinion is my opinion, but I don't ever think I've seen a round where the winner didn't deserve it. We have judges and voters from all backgrounds in photography. Some that are photoshop wizards, and some that only shoot nature and wildlife. I feel the outcome of these challenges is usually the right one.
Anyways, sorry Sean for draggin this out more. My lips are now sealed.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not crying foul about my images, or whining about taste. But I think Caius has a point, and I'm tired of seeing it shouted down. That's all.
Is there no room for more than one line of thought here?
Seems like we go through a cycle where this keeps coming up. First question that comes to mind is why am I participating in these challenges? For the big prize? or is it to grow as an artist? Now I'm not going to say I don't get discouraged by some of the judges choices, but the judges are just two people. I find the feedback in these forums when I post an image for C&C, and the comments underneath my image in the gallery, way more important.
At the same time, I actually get to look at an image and ask the person how they did it. Where else do you get to find out such valuable info from the photographer him or herself? Some of these people are real pros...that's why I'm here. Soaking in as much as I can from these people.
I hope the judging format doesn't change. My opinion is my opinion, but I don't ever think I've seen a round where the winner didn't deserve it. We have judges and voters from all backgrounds in photography. Some that are photoshop wizards, and some that only shoot nature and wildlife. I feel the outcome of these challenges is usually the right one.
Anyways, sorry Sean for draggin this out more. My lips are now sealed.
The spirit behind the challenges that gives the judges artistic freedom to choose how they judge has been in place long before I ever touched the mod chair. I can remember this open and frankly IMHO non-stifling "attitude" back in the LPS days when Shay introduced the multiple themes idea along with many other wonderful ideas. If we give the artist behind the picture creative freedom why should we demand the judges conform to a restrictive and likely not fun way of judging?
These challenges are here to stimulate you as a photographer and an artist. To try and push you out of your comfort zone and make you think. If you want to shoot "red shoes" go for it.
There has never been any "rules" saying an image must fit into a certain criteria. Even if a judge picks something that is out in left field in everyone else's opinion, it all balances out in the public vote anyway. In the end it is You and your peers that has a say in who makes the top 5.
Do you want to be a volunteer judge for the next round? That might give you an understanding what a judge goes through trying to pick only 10 images out of 60+. (I am serious btw)
I think there were 60+ winners this round. I have lurked a lot but seldom seen so many great entries in one round. I think this thread reflects that. Thanks for the challenge. Now I am off to shoot some S-curvy red shoes!
Don't get me wrong, I'm not crying foul about my images, or whining about taste. But I think Caius has a point, and I'm tired of seeing it shouted down. That's all.
Is there no room for more than one line of thought here?
You and I agree on all these points.
We can take it over to the general discussion thread. There's lots of room for more lines of thought. I'm curious on any ideas people may have to make the judging more fair.
I know that this will be viewed as a sour grapes post, but I have to get this off my chest. If we have a theme, shouldn't we adhere to it? This isn't the first time I have seen a beautiful picture selected that is clearly not to theme.
This photo is not only recognizeable, but it is iconic. It is a gorgeous photo taken by a talented photographer, but it just doesn't fit the "What the Heck" theme in any way.
My take on this. It is a stretch on the theme. Obviously a lime in a bottle, but what bottle?
My photo was a bit of a stretch on the theme. It was a rusted metal something. I have no macro lens, so I chose something rather large, got as close as I could, and cropped to hide its identification.
I recognized Aspecto's pepper immediately, but not bf2015's Glock. Others recognized his and not Apsecto's.
Sometimes judges will choose to pay less attention to theme for a photo that they perceive to be outstanding. Sometimes it is just one that means something to them. If you pay attention to the top 10s posted in the feedback thread, you will notice little commonality among them. Usually 2 or 3 will be in most people's top 10. And they are usually on theme as well as excellent.
Don't get hung up on outcome. It's about process.
So pretend you were judging this round. Show us your top 10.(I hope you pick mine. )
My take on this. It is a stretch on the theme. Obviously a lime in a bottle, but what bottle?
My photo was a bit of a stretch on the theme. It was a rusted metal something. I have no macro lens, so I chose something rather large, got as close as I could, and cropped to hide its identification.
I recognized Aspecto's pepper immediately, but not bf2015's Glock. Others recognized his and not Apsecto's.
Sometimes judges will choose to pay less attention to theme for a photo that they perceive to be outstanding. Sometimes it is just one that means something to them. If you pay attention to the top 10s posted in the feedback thread, you will notice little commonality among them. Usually 2 or 3 will be in most people's top 10. And they are usually on theme as well as excellent.
Don't get hung up on outcome. It's about process.
So pretend you were judging this round. Show us your top 10.(I hope you pick mine. )
I know that this will be viewed as a sour grapes post, but I have to get this off my chest. If we have a theme, shouldn't we adhere to it? This isn't the first time I have seen a beautiful picture selected that is clearly not to theme.
This photo is not only recognizeable, but it is iconic. It is a gorgeous photo taken by a talented photographer, but it just doesn't fit the "What the Heck" theme in any way.
I knew I was only playing half the theme, the close-up bit. And this is about as close as my current set of gear will allow me to get. I'm glad you liked the image even if you didn't like it's fit into the theme, I thank you for that.
A friend next door, who has a macro lens had already gone to bed when I finally, the night before closing, got any sort of idea of what to do and had the time to do it.
So I turned it into an experiment on lighting.
Here's my setup, this is on my kitchen floor:
The grid in the back is for glow-through. Bag-softened front for sparkle, top light for fill and background.
Thanks to Velvet-Art for including this in your picks, cheers!
Ok since we lifting the veil, here is what mine is.
Metal Kitty yard sculpture. They are not nails they are whiskers. Using Nikon 55mm f2.8 AI Manual lens that I bought used at a local shop. The things we do for challenges. Really nice sharp lens
I'd like to thank you very much to the judges for selecting my entry on the favorites list,
and to all of you who considered it nice and left comments on it.
I have to say that my image is not really worth it photographically point of view, because
it was just 10% photography and 90% PS work.
The reason why I chose it, was because I couldn't come with a photograph that was not totally unrecognizable.
I had in the last moment 2 that I really liked, but they were some how recognizable. Here they are:
Star
and
Natural curls:
As I said, my entry was not a close-up photography, and other than having nice popping colors,
I don't think it has any merit.
Anyway, here is the story:
I started with this (handled) macro shot:
- It's a detail of a honeycomb blind I have in my office
I realized the potential of the curves and opened it in PS, where I cropped it and isolated the shape
from the background. I then played with it's color to give it a more interesting, translucent look...
I duplicated it on different layers and moved it and applied different colors, a shadow and outer glow:
Finally, I rotated the canvas, grouped the 6 layers and duplicated the group, which I flipped vertically,
and applied a "vivid light" to it, plus a satin effect in the layer style.
* There were infinite possibilities of playing with these layers, their colors, effects and position,
but I (hardly) stopped myself of getting too carried away
Is part of the beard of Herakles, which is on display at the NC Museum of Art. (See attached image.) I have no experience with 'creating' shots. So, I just go around and see what jumps out at me. Something about the beard on this guy made me think about coral. Then when I was really looking at the photo in LR, I saw the shape that reminded me of 'The Scream' by Edvard Munch.
My photo would be more classified as interesting, but not beautiful. The shot was handheld and working with available light, which wasn't particularly good. I was fully aware that this photo did not have any wow factor and I am not really disappointed that it wasn't chosen. I had rented a macro lens and only had 2 days to come up with something. This was the first time I had ever attempted macro photography. It was fun, but I wish I could have come up with a better subject. I did try some focus stacks on some items around the house, but nothing said 'WTH' to me.
I just received a private message ( I'll not reveal the person) saying this:
"As I said, my entry was not a close-up photography, and other than having nice popping colors,
I don't think it has any merit."
Then can I ask why you entered it?
I was at the point of giving up and not entering anything, because as I said in the CC forum, I felt like
I failed on this (first and too short - 2 week-ends rented lens) experience of macro photography.
Then, I came up with the idea of playing in PS and produced my current entry - I was not only
encourraged in the forum to go for it, but I was proud of what I did as PS work, and wanted to show it
- I certainly didn't expect to be selected into the final list and amazed to see how many good comments I received
( Thank you so much )
I honestly appreciate the real photography vs. digital, that's why I consider my entry having no merits to stay
on the same list with those so good real photographs.
Another good reason for entering though, was what Mark Twain says:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do
than by the ones you did do...
Comments
The spirit behind the challenges that gives the judges artistic freedom to choose how they judge has been in place long before I ever touched the mod chair. I can remember this open and frankly IMHO non-stifling "attitude" back in the LPS days when Shay introduced the multiple themes idea along with many other wonderful ideas. If we give the artist behind the picture creative freedom why should we demand the judges conform to a restrictive and likely not fun way of judging?
These challenges are here to stimulate you as a photographer and an artist. To try and push you out of your comfort zone and make you think. If you want to shoot "red shoes" go for it.
There has never been any "rules" saying an image must fit into a certain criteria. Even if a judge picks something that is out in left field in everyone else's opinion, it all balances out in the public vote anyway. In the end it is You and your peers that has a say in who makes the top 5.
Do you want to be a volunteer judge for the next round? That might give you an understanding what a judge goes through trying to pick only 10 images out of 60+. (I am serious btw)
If there are more than 50 entries it would be impossible to put all of them together into one poll. This would demand multiple polls and two rounds of voting to bring it down to a top 10.
I am sure many people would find flaws in any system that is developed. Even a purely public vote one.
P.S. this thread is now severely off track and discussions of this nature should take place in the general discussion thread. Lets please get back to giving feedback about this rounds wonderful images.
Ah, I didn't know about the 50 image rule. It makes sense now.
Los Angeles dance photographer
Website: http://www.allenparseghian.com
It's cinnamon.....
I didn't take an image of how my camera was set up but I had my 40D with the 550ex flash on a tripod.
I also had a strobe with a white umbrella on the right side.
Poured a small amount of cinnamon on a paper plate and moved it around to where I wanted and click.
I then did the usual adjustments for light etc but I did not sharpen or use highpass because I thought
it looked sharp enough. I played around a little and was going to enter it with more of the mountain going up
the back of the plate but the more I played with it like I felt it looked best the way I entered it. I did a render lighting for the sun.
I thought about 4 images for almost two weeks before I got the chance to try it. I'm glad I choose this one.
Thanks everyone who showed and interest and left comments. I appreciate them all.
Peace, gail
I'd love to.
I hear what you're saying, and to a point, I'm playing devil's advocate here, not really having a dog in the fight. It's just that the argument seems a little one-sided, when there's a valid point opposing it.
Fujifilm Finepix S100fs
and my other hobby... tidewaterforge.com
Here we go again....
Nelson Lehner
Dreamin' of a resolution!:D
Smithy --you know you will be judged
“PHOTOGRAPHY IS THE ‘JAZZ’ FOR THE EYES…”
http://jwear.smugmug.com/
OMG, dude you totally understand me.
Gear: Canon 7D
Canon 24-105 f/4 L
Canon 28mm f/1.8
Tamron 17-50 f/2.8
Some of my favorites, in no order...All the entries were wonderful! :-)
Seems like we go through a cycle where this keeps coming up. First question that comes to mind is why am I participating in these challenges? For the big prize? or is it to grow as an artist? Now I'm not going to say I don't get discouraged by some of the judges choices, but the judges are just two people. I find the feedback in these forums when I post an image for C&C, and the comments underneath my image in the gallery, way more important.
At the same time, I actually get to look at an image and ask the person how they did it. Where else do you get to find out such valuable info from the photographer him or herself? Some of these people are real pros...that's why I'm here. Soaking in as much as I can from these people.
I hope the judging format doesn't change. My opinion is my opinion, but I don't ever think I've seen a round where the winner didn't deserve it. We have judges and voters from all backgrounds in photography. Some that are photoshop wizards, and some that only shoot nature and wildlife. I feel the outcome of these challenges is usually the right one.
Anyways, sorry Sean for draggin this out more. My lips are now sealed.
Nelson Lehner
Dreamin' of a resolution!:D
Don't get me wrong, I'm not crying foul about my images, or whining about taste. But I think Caius has a point, and I'm tired of seeing it shouted down. That's all.
Is there no room for more than one line of thought here?
You and I agree on all these points.
Fujifilm Finepix S100fs
and my other hobby... tidewaterforge.com
What's that got to do with anything?
Fujifilm Finepix S100fs
and my other hobby... tidewaterforge.com
I think there were 60+ winners this round. I have lurked a lot but seldom seen so many great entries in one round. I think this thread reflects that. Thanks for the challenge. Now I am off to shoot some S-curvy red shoes!
http://www.grahamwaiting.com
http://www.bahamastockphotography.com
We can take it over to the general discussion thread. There's lots of room for more lines of thought. I'm curious on any ideas people may have to make the judging more fair.
Nelson Lehner
Dreamin' of a resolution!:D
I think that was a lame attempt at levity. Guess you had to be there.
My take on this. It is a stretch on the theme. Obviously a lime in a bottle, but what bottle?
My photo was a bit of a stretch on the theme. It was a rusted metal something. I have no macro lens, so I chose something rather large, got as close as I could, and cropped to hide its identification.
I recognized Aspecto's pepper immediately, but not bf2015's Glock. Others recognized his and not Apsecto's.
Sometimes judges will choose to pay less attention to theme for a photo that they perceive to be outstanding. Sometimes it is just one that means something to them. If you pay attention to the top 10s posted in the feedback thread, you will notice little commonality among them. Usually 2 or 3 will be in most people's top 10. And they are usually on theme as well as excellent.
Don't get hung up on outcome. It's about process.
So pretend you were judging this round. Show us your top 10.
Nelson Lehner
Dreamin' of a resolution!:D
I knew I was only playing half the theme, the close-up bit. And this is about as close as my current set of gear will allow me to get. I'm glad you liked the image even if you didn't like it's fit into the theme, I thank you for that.
A friend next door, who has a macro lens had already gone to bed when I finally, the night before closing, got any sort of idea of what to do and had the time to do it.
So I turned it into an experiment on lighting.
Here's my setup, this is on my kitchen floor:
The grid in the back is for glow-through. Bag-softened front for sparkle, top light for fill and background.
Thanks to Velvet-Art for including this in your picks, cheers!
My picks would be:
http://pyryekholm.kuvat.fi/
Ahh. I wondered what that was. What great character on that cover.
I thought your entry was beautifully composed.
Thanks!
Metal Kitty yard sculpture. They are not nails they are whiskers. Using Nikon 55mm f2.8 AI Manual lens that I bought used at a local shop. The things we do for challenges. Really nice sharp lens
http://kadvantage.smugmug.com/
Oh but they are nails just re-purposed
http://kadvantage.smugmug.com/
and to all of you who considered it nice and left comments on it.
I have to say that my image is not really worth it photographically point of view, because
it was just 10% photography and 90% PS work.
The reason why I chose it, was because I couldn't come with a photograph that was not totally unrecognizable.
I had in the last moment 2 that I really liked, but they were some how recognizable. Here they are:
Star
and
Natural curls:
As I said, my entry was not a close-up photography, and other than having nice popping colors,
I don't think it has any merit.
Anyway, here is the story:
I started with this (handled) macro shot:
- It's a detail of a honeycomb blind I have in my office
I realized the potential of the curves and opened it in PS, where I cropped it and isolated the shape
from the background. I then played with it's color to give it a more interesting, translucent look...
I duplicated it on different layers and moved it and applied different colors, a shadow and outer glow:
Finally, I rotated the canvas, grouped the 6 layers and duplicated the group, which I flipped vertically,
and applied a "vivid light" to it, plus a satin effect in the layer style.
* There were infinite possibilities of playing with these layers, their colors, effects and position,
but I (hardly) stopped myself of getting too carried away
TravelwaysPhotos.com ...... Facebook
VegasGreatAttractions.com
Travelways.com
www.rteest42.com
www.aliaslaceygreen.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/rteest42
It was very hard to choose just 10 images I liked, but I made 3 lists with some that I mostly liked
* No particular order -
1. My top 10 favs. who really respected the rules and title of the theme (in my opinion)
2. My next top 10 favs. who really respected the rules and title of the theme (in my opinion)
3. My top 10 favorite images that don't fit into the unrecognizable category, but are very nice, again in my opinion
Congratulations to all for their efforts and hard, beautiful work
TravelwaysPhotos.com ...... Facebook
VegasGreatAttractions.com
Travelways.com
Thank you Trish, I think you had a very nice entry too
... and now, a big WOW :jawdrop for the real photographic settings and explanations above (mine)!!!
TravelwaysPhotos.com ...... Facebook
VegasGreatAttractions.com
Travelways.com
Is part of the beard of Herakles, which is on display at the NC Museum of Art. (See attached image.) I have no experience with 'creating' shots. So, I just go around and see what jumps out at me. Something about the beard on this guy made me think about coral. Then when I was really looking at the photo in LR, I saw the shape that reminded me of 'The Scream' by Edvard Munch.
My photo would be more classified as interesting, but not beautiful. The shot was handheld and working with available light, which wasn't particularly good. I was fully aware that this photo did not have any wow factor and I am not really disappointed that it wasn't chosen. I had rented a macro lens and only had 2 days to come up with something. This was the first time I had ever attempted macro photography. It was fun, but I wish I could have come up with a better subject. I did try some focus stacks on some items around the house, but nothing said 'WTH' to me.
Gear: Canon 7D
Canon 24-105 f/4 L
Canon 28mm f/1.8
Tamron 17-50 f/2.8
I was at the point of giving up and not entering anything, because as I said in the CC forum, I felt like
I failed on this (first and too short - 2 week-ends rented lens) experience of macro photography.
Then, I came up with the idea of playing in PS and produced my current entry - I was not only
encourraged in the forum to go for it, but I was proud of what I did as PS work, and wanted to show it
- I certainly didn't expect to be selected into the final list and amazed to see how many good comments I received
( Thank you so much
I honestly appreciate the real photography vs. digital, that's why I consider my entry having no merits to stay
on the same list with those so good real photographs.
Another good reason for entering though, was what Mark Twain says:
Thank you for asking
TravelwaysPhotos.com ...... Facebook
VegasGreatAttractions.com
Travelways.com