Mini Challenge # 341: At Your Feet

grandmaR

Looking back through the preceding challenges, I see that there was one enjoining us to Look Up. This is the opposite. Photos of things that are walked on - things that one would see if they looked down. I have bifocals and I'm a little unsteady on my feet, so I have to look carefully at the ground lest I miss my footing.

Some examples-

Primula in the cracks of the sidewalk

Going down the steps of a dome in Sintra

Looking down at my daughter Climbing a ladder at Mesa Verde

An Irish manhole cover (I have a whole collection of manhole covers)

Hatch in the floor at the top of the Gateway arch - worker looking at blueprints

Ramp for a wheeled vehicle at Pompeii

Pebbley walk in Cornwall

Floor detail at Het Loo Palace

This mini will run until Wednesday, SEPTEMBER 14th - 19:00 Eastern Daylight time.

OUR UN-OFFICIAL GENERAL RULES
1. Have fun sharing and seeing what others share!
2. The host supplies a topic and you post 1-3 images. The host judges the winners (1st, 2nd and 3rd) and is not eligible to enter.
The 1st place winner then chooses the next topic, judges the winner and then passes on the baton to the new champion.
3. Any photo you’ve taken is eligible, regardless of when taken or camera used.
4. Any amount of post-processing is allowed, including making composites as long as everthing you put in the photo is taken from a photo made by yourself. However, it is helpful if you list your camera and lens along with your photo.
You may comment on other contestant's images. If you want someone to leave you some critique or criticism, just ask within your post.
5. The winner has up to three days (72 hours) to begin a new mini-challenge, or the honor goes to the #2 finisher and so forth.
Guidelines:
1. Enter 1-3 photos and put them in a single post.
2. Either embed your image in the thread or, if you must, supply a link to it. Keep in mind, however, most people don't want to click to open photos hosted elsewhere (i.e. on your website).
3. Also try and resize your photos prior to posting so they're sized appropriately for viewing without having to scroll (~800 pixels on the longest side works best.)
4. Give each image you enter a title.
5. Enjoy discussion with members about their images, don't let this just be an entry thread!
6. When quoting a post change the IMG urls to a 200x200 size picture so it is clear your post is feedback and not another entry. (see here for help)
7. Don't be hesitant, share'em and enter!
Mini-Challenge pointers:
1. Upon winning a mini-challenge round your first step is coming up with a new theme, and start a new thread using the same format as others have used.
2. Make sure to notify the admin of this thread to update the main thread links with your entry thread.
3. Feel free to watch the thread as it grows or wait to the end time and look at all the entries all at once.
4. After the time/date has passed, then officially close the thread with a single post notifying everyone of the fact.
5. After you're finished judging start a new thread (again use the prior formats) and post your Winner and runners-up, it is important to have runners up incase the winner does not show within the 72hr window.
6. PM the winner with this info above and let them know they have 72hrs.
7. After the 72hrs and the winner does not show up, notify the next runner-up and post a message on the Winner thread of the fact.
8. Remember, if you're the Winner, you run the show.

pegelli

Great theme grandmaR, I'm looking forward to many nice (and maybe even funny) entries

Here's mine:

1: Looking down a small fraction of the 2200 stair steps of the Alexander Murrey trail near Kings Point in Newfoundland

2: Beaver damage

3: Look at your feet to get directions

grandmaR

beavers have great teeth

JAG

In Alaska, we have loads of rainforest that is carpeted with all kinds of wonderful things. Back when I was still able to walk on small hikes, I took my youngest daughter to a field trip (I homeschooled her) to the Eagle River Conservation Center in the Chugiak Mountains. I found so much to photograph, but one of the things I was really amazed at, was the amount of abstract looking carpet of flora and fauna we were walking through in the forest. Here are 2 of my favorites from that trip. The third one is from Homer Alaska on what is known as the Spit. The beach of Kachemak Bay.

1 The mushroom amongst wood and lichen.

2 Bright colors of Autumn

3 Rocky Shores

Cavalier

Interesting mini topic!

1) Lots of interesting flora in Yosemte NP.

2) Fall is always interesting

3) Of course, there is close competition with Yellowstone NP

grandmaR

Wonderful abstracts from Alaska and Yosemite, Joyce and JO.

grandmaR

I thought this would be a topic where everyone could participate. Maybe it is too easy.

sarasphotos

In my case, it's not too easy because I have too many choices.

1) A lovely hiking trail

2) Light from a stained glass window on a church floor

3) The walkway leading into the cathedral/mosque in Cordoba, Spain

Cavalier

@grandmaR - my area is currently under evacuation warning from the Mosquito Wildfire in Ca. Please don't consider my entries for judging - I don't know where I'll be as the fire is setting our future! Thanks

moose135

Stay safe, Jo! Hope everything works out well for you.

sarasphotos

@Cavalier stay safe, Jo! I'll be sending positive thoughts your way.

sapphire73

Great idea for a mini! Sharing an image but please don't consider as an entry. Thanks! (Will be away from home and I'm still having unresolved issues with Lightroom catalog after my computer software upgrade.) Update: I was hoping to find some more photos but will be away from my computer for a week.

@Cavalier, thinking of you! Stay safe!

1) A niece looking at her shadow in the sand (Pawley's Island, SC)

grandmaR

Oh Jo - how terrible. Every time I see those reports, I hope that nobody I know is out there.

But I think that when someone says - don't consider mine for judging, that just means that I can't give you first place. Not that I shouldn't consider you at all.

cgmcdonald

Greetings Digital Grin Community! Life happened and I got out of photography for a while. Recently I have gotten back into it and am looking forward to entering some challenges. Here is my "at your feet" image that I took today! It's a Gulf Fritillary Butterfly that I snapped while out walking through the woods!

cgmcdonald

none

grandmaR

Charles I love the photo, but the title means that you should enter photos of things that you are walking on or could walk on- photos of the ground - not things that you see while walking. I think Saphires photo of the cross is outside of the focus of this mini also.

sapphire73

©grandmaR - Yes I wondered whether they met the challenge parameter or not. I will delete the tomb of the unknown soldier. Unfortunately, no time to look for more photos, but I do appreciate your running this mini and coming up with a fresh angle!

grandmaR

The mini has gone over time - it was supposed to end on the 14th. I was hoping for more entries.

RESULTS
Although there weren't too many entries, it was so hard to even pick one out of each person's entries.

Pieter it took me awhile to get the joke where there is an arrow pointing to the entrance (Ingang) when you would want to go to the exit. And I also loved the beaver's work

Joyce I would find it impossible to pick between the two forest floor photos - they are both lovely. But I really relate to the photo of the rocky shore

Jo I hope you are OK - It was hard to pick just one of yours. But the photo that I like best of yours is the one of the yellow leaves - which at first I thought were maple, but I though maple leaves turned red

Sara - another case where I vasillate and cannot pick just one picture. Love the bricks with the rainbow colors of the glass. And also liked the tree roots - how hard would that be to walk over!

And Sapphire, I appreciate the photo of your niece

Since I had such a hard time picking one of each person's entries, I have decided to judge all three photos together. So the person who wins this mini is Sara.

Second is a tie - Pieter and Jo and Joyce

HM to Sapphire

pegelli

Thanks for the comments and a shared second place grandmaR, and congrats to Sara for the win and all others for second / HM.

I must say I'm a bit worried about the decreasing participation, with such a small group it's getting less fun however the themes are always nice and diverse, so I don't think that's the problem.
Maybe the mods can discuss behind the scenes what can be done to advertise these mini's and drum up more participation.

Cavalier

@grandmaR , thanks for coming up with a fun mini and shared place with Joyce & Pieter. (wildfire update Day 12: I am still evacuated from the Mosquito fire. Hoping to get home soon to face the impending rotten food in refrigerators and freezer. Had to turn my generator off and of course power is out throughout the fire area. But I'm one of the lucky ones with a house that has not been touched by the monster)

sarasphotos

@grandmaR Thanks so much for picking me for the win and for thinking up a good theme. I enjoyed the other entries and would have had a hard time picking a winner.

@Cavalier Jo, I'm very glad to hear that your home was saved and that you are well. I check up on the fires in this area regularly because as you know, my sister lives not too far away.

@pegelli said:

I must say I'm a bit worried about the decreasing participation, with such a small group it's getting less fun however the themes are always nice and diverse, so I don't think that's the problem.
Maybe the mods can discuss behind the scenes what can be done to advertise these mini's and drum up more participation.

@JAG I'm with Pieter and am worried about the dwindling population. Although I enjoy participating it is getting less fun for me as well - as much as I love the pictures from our usual suspects, that doesn't seem to be the point of the challenge.
I've noticed the steady decline since we moved to Vanilla Forums a few years back and specifically more over the past two years. Like Pieter, I think the themes have been very good and not so specific as to put people off and also that not everyone is likely to participate in every mini because of time constraints, etc. A question for you (and the other Mods): The impression I get is that DGRIN traffic in general is on the ebb. Is that true? Could that account for part of the loss? Would it help to pin the Mini to the top of the Recent Discussions page or would that irritate some people? What about sending a survey/message to all those who have participated over the past couple of years to encourage participation or ask why they are not participating? (Is that allowed???)

Is it time to put the Minis to bed? What do you all think? I am going to hold off posting something new until I get some feedback.

grandmaR

I don't know how people would find the contest. Maybe it needs publicity. Or back when I joined there were prizes and I remember someone saying that they wouldn't do it anymore because - no prizes.

I see that the threads where people post photos of water or textures etc seem to be going on - I don't kow if it is just the same people or others.

JAG

the participation thing has been discussed many times in moderation and is an issue that we cannot control. It is up to the general population to do so. Many people have moved away from posting across the whole dgrin boards, not just the challenges. It is up to you all to continue. It could be just a thing of public fickleness and people preferring the tik toks, Facebook and Pinterest type of platform to post in. We cannot control what people are doing or thinking. The mini's, just like the bigger challenge contests we use to have, have dwindled before in the past and then would poke back up into life again. So, it is a wait and see and please be patient as we who are left, try to limp along till it perks up again. If you know of friends on your other platforms, that might like to participate, then please invite them to join up and participate. I appreciate all of you continuing to hang with us as we all try to keep dgrin alive with our postings.

pegelli

Joyce, is there a way you can "advertise" the mini's in the other forums?

sapphire73

I am on vacation just now, so I haven’t been following dgrin as closely. But I want to mention that I am involved in a local photography group and might mention these challenges to them. Perhaps we can all mention the minis to a few fellow photographers?

I did interest a photographer from my home town at one point, but she left when someone was very critical of her entries (several years ago when we were encouraged to comment on several photos).

Sara, I would encourage you to post a new challenge and keep up the existing momentum.

Thanks all!

JAG

@pegelli said:
Joyce, is there a way you can "advertise" the mini's in the other forums?

I forwarded your question yesterday, to the other mods. I will have to have everyone on board to do such a thing as there are different mods for different boards. I have yet to hear a response.

I think for now, to @sapphire73 is correct, @sarasphotos should put up the next challenge in keeping with the spirit of the game and we should keep playing just for the fun of it. Eventually things will pick up again. Summers tend to be slower than winters because more people are out and about enjoying weather. Although it seems right now, many in US and other countries are dealing with fires, flooding and hurricanes and typhoons (as we just had one on our west coast in Alaska).

sarasphotos

@JAG @sapphire73 @pegelli

Ok, I will post a new challenge as soon as I can. If I can't do it this evening I'll be able to get to it on Friday. Sorry for the delay but things are hopping here!