challenge selection criteria

Andy

are you happy with the new system of "guest judges" that work with me to pick the finalists?

oh and keep in mind that there will always be comments and critique by me and the guest judges after the challenge is over, so keep checking back to the challenge thread :grin

wxwax

Yeah, I'm happy. I say, the more folks you're able to add to the panel of selectors, the better. Mostly because that will assuage fears folks might have that their treasured shot (mine too!) are at the mercy of one person's judgment.

I've only been surprised by one omission in all the challenges thus far; but it was a real surprise, because I thought the shot was going to win the whole thing!

Andy, you're doing a great job. And it's just a friendly competition. At the risk of being a bore, I think it's easy to get too focused on winning, and forget that the object of the exercise is to get us out there, shooting, and stretching ourselves so that we improve our skills.

Go SeeMoon!

dkapp

andy wrote:

are you happy with the new system of "guest judges" that work with me to pick the finalists?

oh and keep in mind that there will always be comments and critique by me and the guest judges after the challenge is over, so keep checking back to the challenge thread :grin

The more the better. I think this is a great service you are providing. I admit that sometimes I scratch my head and wonder why some photos get picked while others do not (not talking about current challenge). This is why I think providing the feedback is essential. It will help people realize why the shot wasn't picked & what to work on in the future. It also helps to keep feelings from being hurt for those who were left out (mine included).

This is all I have. You are doing a good thing, and its constantly getting better.

-Dave

cmr164

andy wrote:

are you happy with the new system of "guest judges" that work with me to pick the finalists?

oh and keep in mind that there will always be comments and critique by me and the guest judges after the challenge is over, so keep checking back to the challenge thread :grin

The following was written for another thread but I think it fits better here so I cut it from there and will paste it here.

... Still in the last challenge, I felt the imagination of the judges failed. Rutt's seemless transition between reflected and not-reflected was a fantastic take on the theme. I thought my shot with the obvious sun reflections and the more subtle room reflections was one of my finest shots and a true implementation of the theme. I thought the sunset in the eye of the horse was deeply emotional and I thought that the empty bath with its sparse use of color was a striking reflection example. In each case the two judges somehow found fault in the very things that I found value in. At the same time they included examples that I felt lacked the necessary levels of creativity. A matter of taste but in this case likely modifying the result.

Maybe the judges should be picking 5 each to exclude and only drop the ones they both think should be excluded. Kind of the inverse of what they do now.

I don't care very much about who wins and while the $25 prize is cool, I do not think anyone here is motivated by it. I do not think any of us here are grasping after the prize like a steroid using athlete. So I do not think that is an issue.

DoctorIt

cmr164 wrote:

... Still in the last challenge, I felt the imagination of the judges failed. Rutt's seemless transition between reflected and not-reflected was a fantastic take on the theme. I thought my shot with the obvious sun reflections and the more subtle room reflections was one of my finest shots and a true implementation of the theme. I thought the sunset in the eye of the horse was deeply emotional and I thought that the empty bath with its sparse use of color was a striking reflection example. In each case the two judges somehow found fault in the very things that I found value in. At the same time they included examples that I felt lacked the necessary levels of creativity. A matter of taste but in this case likely modifying the result.

You said it yourself. Whether you agree with Andy and Moti's final picks, they're points and comments on the technical merit of the shots you mentioned seemed spot on to me as I read them just a while ago. Hey, I thought my shot was cool and creative as all heck, but when Moti said do this and this, I said, oh yeah, good idea.

lynnma

andy wrote:

are you happy with the new system of "guest judges" that work with me to pick the finalists?

oh and keep in mind that there will always be comments and critique by me and the guest judges after the challenge is over, so keep checking back to the challenge thread :grin

I for one am very happy indeed. Everyones time is very precious and for Andy to spend so much of his time sharing his expertise for our benefit is worth it's weight in gold as far as I'm concerned. Where could we go to avail ourselves of such information. I post my shots to hear other peoples comments, to get an idea of what I could do to improve, I'm a novice photographer after all and the fact that I have Andy and all the other fine experts on this forum FOR FREE and at my finger tips is fantastic. Where else can you ask a New York photographer, or a Studio in Italy, a nite roamer in Atlanta, people from far and wide question after question and get such great feed back.

The challenge forces us out to take shots we may not even have thought of, and I think some of us are surprised at how good or how bad they turn out. I think that if we are going to be hurt or feel slighted by the professionals critiques then don't post it. I agree with Eric, I often like a shot and then when certain technical aspects are pointed out I "see" the shortcomings, or the possible improvements which help me to critique my own and other shots.
I say bravo to Andy and all our mods for so kindly and unselfishly giving their time and expertise... so there. AND (I'm on a roll now) I think of all you guys out there as friends.. when I go out to shoot I have a crowd with me, Andy, Sid, Path, Cletus, Charles, Rutt, Ginger, Simone, Eric, Roberto and I could go on and on (forgive me if I missed you out, it's not cos I don't love you). They all help me take the shot. Crop here, compose this way, rule of thirds.. and I thank you all for all the wisdom you have so kindly passed on.

I'll shut up now.



Lynn

gubbs

I think lynn has said it all ...here... here,
(well very, very nearly)

lynnma

gubbs wrote:

I think lynn has said it all ...here... here,
(well very, very nearly)

You want me to say more??

wxwax

Great post, Lynn.