How Can The Judges Pick These !!!???

JillG

Yes, these choices bewilder some here. It's been mentioned that there are different tastes. True but an understatement. We bring all of our experiences, thoughts and moods to these challenges as particiipants and judges. I thought if we could step back and think about another art form we might relate to "Different tastes " a bit better.

Lets change venues to music. I think we can all agree that we know when someone can sing on key or can play an instrument. I'm not sure we can all agree on anything else.

There are some genres of music that given a choice I would not listen to. I went to a birthday party lunch and there was music. I saw people swaying to the beat, guys tapping their toes and a few singing along. My friend leaned over and asked "What's the matter?" I said "Lawrence Welk????"He smiled and I knew I was sitting there wide eyed so I decidedly put a pleasant look on my face. It was a party for a 90 year old woman and there were many seniors there. a link for anyone not familiar with Lawrence. (Just Amazon, scroll down to listen to a sample)

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Lawrence-Welk/dp/B000000B8W/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-4545310-0805548?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1182900904&sr=1-1

On the way home we stopped at a traffic light. I could clearly hear the rap/hip-hop music that was blasting over their speakers. I put a pleasant look on my face. I didn't need to look pleasant as they were engrossed in the music. Although the windows were dark I could see their heads bobbing to the beat. I don't think I need a link to rap.

They are both valid forms of art and touch the heart and souls of different people. Yet, I am bewildered by both these choices. How could ANYONE choose this music??? ah, yes, different tastes.

My tastes? Chopin The Nocturnes. another amazon link

http://www.amazon.com/Chopin-Nocturnes-4-Ballades-Fryderyk/dp/B0000041L8/ref=sr_1_11/104-4545310-0805548?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1182901720&sr=1-11


Brazilian Guitar music Charlie Byrd Laurindo Almeida amother amazon link (I like disc 2 better than disc 1)

http://www.amazon.com/Brazil-Beyond-Laurindo-Almeida/dp/B00008KIYV/ref=sr_1_3/104-4545310-0805548?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1182901922&sr=1-3


I think some of you will like my choices about as much as I like Lawrence Welk.

I am amazed, delighted and grateful so many have put so much effort into the challenges. The entries, postings, answers to "what do you think", the judges and their feedback make this a unique experience. Our judges choices in the past and the future have and will be as diverse as our music likes and dislikes. To paraphrase Walt Kelly " We have met the judges and they are us."

Jill

Xia_Ke

Hey, I like rap music ...

Good post

indiegirl

Yay, Jill! Thank you for your thoughtful post. Wonderful perspective.

Jesse

explorish

mazurka
nicely put.

try some mazurkas too, for the "joy" theme.

JillG

Xia_Ke wrote:

Hey, I like rap music ...

Good post

Thanks, I thought someone might defend rap

Jill

JillG

indiegirl wrote:

Yay, Jill! Thank you for your thoughtful post. Wonderful perspective.

Jesse

Thanks for your comment Jesse:D

JillG

chertioga wrote:

nicely put.

try some mazurkas too, for the "joy" theme.

Ha! you're right. If I'd had the mazurkas on I might have done a "Joy" pic

Thanks for your comment.

Jill

Flyinggina

I have read with interest the reactions to the top ten choices this time. I am particularly interested in those who feel that one or more of the top ten winners didn't fit the theme. Maybe the picture provoked joy in the viewer but didn't, as a photograph, illustrate joy or sorrow. Or maybe the emotion we saw on the face of a babe (or dog) couldn't possibly be sorrow because he or she simply hasn't lived long enough (or isn't sentient enough) to experience sorrow (or so we think).

One thing I am really sure of is that whatever one person's criteria are, they are unlikely to result in exactly the same picks as I or you would have made had I or you been a judge. For example, I didn't picked the single tear clinging to the beautiful eyelashes. The picture is technically amazing (to me at least), but - again to me (and that is what is critical) - it neither evoked joy or sorrow nor conveyed it. Awe at the skill of the photographer, yes!! But I didn't include it in my top ten.

On the other hand, I did choose one of the winning photographs that didn't (in my opinion) convey joy or sorrow in and of itself. It did evoked joy in me when I looked at it. Am I wrong or off base? No doubt. But if so, I have lots of company on both sides of the debate.

For those of you who think that some of the winner entries in the challenges haven't convey the theme (and I agree with you) , I suggest you check out what the stock photo houses include under the relevant concepts. For example, here are photos that show up on Corbus under the category of sedate and here are photos under "explosve" on Getty. In my opinion most of these would be dismissed as not on topic by deGrin challenge participants and judges.

My take is that show stopping photos that don't quite hit the theme will get lots of votes when even excellent photos of the same subject will not. It happens again and again with different judges. So in some sense, it has to be fair and if not fair, it is the game at hand.

No musical analogies here I'm afraid. But just for the record, I love Bach and Mozart and Edif Piaf.

Virginia

JillG

Flyinggina wrote:

For those of you who think that some of the winner entries in the challenges haven't convey the theme (and I agree with you) , I suggest you check out what the stock photo houses include under the relevant concepts. For example, here are photos that show up on Corbus under the category of sedate and here are photos under "explosve" on Getty. In my opinion most of these would be dismissed as not on topic by deGrin challenge participants and judges.

Ohh you smartypants:D I never thought to check out the stock places I have a vague concept about sedate and explosive and very few of these pics come close to it.


I understand what your saying ... very thougtfully put.

BTW, Bach, Mozart and Edith ROCK

Dee

I always check out the stock agencies
to see what shows up with a keyword search :-)

rmhoman

emotion
I agree with what has been said here, photography is an art form; and like any art form, the photographer might have a different idea on what emotion the photograph conveys compared to what the viewer thinks. It doesn't mean that the photo is bad it just means that the viewer just didn't understand what you as the artist wanted to portray. How many times have we been in a face to face conversation and some one took the meaning of our statement wrong? exactly, It doesn't mean that your satement in the conversation was incorect it just means that they didn't understand what was being comunicated. Judging any form of art is an objective task. Life experiences, age, even gender come into play. This doesn't mean it is wrong it just means it is different. Sometimes the objectivity is what is the hardest to accept, we try to understand but at the sametime we want to slap the person in the face and say "don't you get it!!". To make maters worse the English language has so many nuances that sometimes we have to step back and ask ourselves what is the message here... and I hope that someone who is not part of my life will see what I am projecting to them. Look at Shakesphere half of his sexual inuendos go over the heads of the common person in the 21st century but in the 17th century they would have been a hoot!

BistiArt

Man brings all things to the test of himself...

Flyinggina wrote:

I have read with interest the reactions to the top ten choices this time. I am particularly interested in those who feel that one or more of the top ten winners didn't fit the theme.
I suggest you check out what the stock photo houses include under the relevant concepts. For example, here are photos that show up on Corbus under the category of sedate and here are photos under "explosve" on Getty. In my opinion most of these would be dismissed as not on topic by deGrin challenge participants and judges.

Virginia

Virginia and Jill,

As part of a smaller community, a camera club, the same debate rages...

I've seen judges battle among themselves publically, then leave out complete categories in year end banquets. One wants to crop this, another wants to blend that...

so, it seems its not so much the judge as as its the learning process of enhancing your own shootin' and shoppin'!
In math, we talk about means and medians; after seein' various judges, listening to intelligent and not so intelligent critiques, wouldn't it seem the process is peraps more important than the individual image or ribbon.

As to stock photos or even some contest winners being bland, each of us brings our own taste to the conclusion. After all, as my signature notes from a lovely quote I once found ~
"Man brings all things to the test of himself..."
and we may not be the most complete animal in the universe.

I, for one, find LPS quite a challenge and read some wonderfully evocative feelings, see some marvelous images, travel to places not my normal beat, and applaud both the spirit of this endeavor and the humane outcomes.

Tentacion

BistiArt wrote:

I, for one, find LPS quite a challenge and read some wonderfully evocative feelings, see some marvelous images, travel to places not my normal beat, and applaud both the spirit of this endeavor and the humane outcomes.

The written words on a page can be interpreted so many ways.....I for one, agree with your words.

JillG

Dee wrote:

to see what shows up with a keyword search :-)

So, you are a "smartypants" too. Seriously, it' s a great idea to check out the stock places.

Jill

JillG

rmhoman wrote:

Judging any form of art is an objective task. Life experiences, age, even gender come into play. This doesn't mean it is wrong it just means it is different.

Most of us seem to agree on this point...but accepting it can be tough!

jill

JillG

Bistiart and Tentacion,

Yes:D The entire challenge experience here is unique in a very positive way.

Jill