What this judge was thinking!

SunsetSailor

First of all when Shay emailed me asking me to be a judge I realized my biggest qualification was that I didn’t make the cut to qualify for the semi-final 2. That’s a humbling and scary thought! I felt inadequate then and still do. This was a really tough task and realizing how much it must mean to each of you has put a enormous amount of pressure on me. Thank goodness there are 4 other judges!!!
I began the judging process during the first week when I had only 3 or 4 photos to ponder and to study and to analyze. I realized then that the technical merits of each photo at this level of competition were more than likely flawless. So my selection process had to be more abstract than nit picking each image. So I “back burner brained” the whole process for several days in attempt to come up with what I thought were the characteristics of a superior image. I wanted to have an organized evaluative approach for each image and to force myself to consider each photo on some common elements.

Here’s what evolved to be my rubric.
4 pts-Image Imprint (whether that image would endure in the mind’s eye)
3 pts-Technical Merit (composition, exposure, focus, pp techniques etc)
2 pts-Creativity or emotional response or ability to tell a story
1 pt - Freshness of the image or a new look to a familiar image
That gave me a total 10 points to assign to each photo.

I down loaded each photo to a folder and at that time subjected each one to the above 10 point scale for a score. I labeled each photo ONLY with it’s entry number so who the photographer was would be minimized. After I subjected the photo to a score, I added it to the image name (#12-10) so I could move around the images and group them by their score then move them again to my preference of position compared with others with the same score. That’s when I had to just be subjective, it eventually comes to that anyway. It was just me, the images, my personal experience and gut feelings.

Since #12-Writers Block ended up as my first place pick, I’ll go thru my thoughts on that specific photo.
Image imprint-I could relate to the blackness and emptiness of the mind when you struggle to come up with an idea and it just doesn’t come. The whole image, every detail, conveyed that thought. It would be easy to remember and hard to forget.
Technical merit-I enlarged the image and went section by section looking for flaws, I considered what I might have changed and found nothing.
Emotional response-A strong response to the frustration it conveys and to the despair and depression that are byproducts of that frustration. Tells that story perfectly and the selection of b&w creatively expressed the blackness of mood.
Freshness of the image-I could not recall having seen the image concept anywhere on the internet or in print.

For those who made my top ten, congratulations and good luck. For those who I have inevitably disappointed with my selections, I am extremely sorry for that, but I hope that this post will help you in the next round. As for me, this has been a most enlightening experience and I would recommend it to you. Say yes if Shay asks.

Here are my top 20 picks (not the official final selections) in my ranked order. I included the rubric score for each one so you can hopefully deduct for yourself what I might have been thinking.

Just looked at the official final selection list, 8 of my top 10 selections made it and the other 2 were in my top 15 so I feel validated that my rubric system worked pretty well. Whew!!! I just wanted to right by all your hard work.

Laura

peterst6906

Great explanation Laura and good to know.

Thanks for this information.

Regards,

Peter

saurora

Thank you Laura for your very detailed explanation of your process. It's always interesting to hear how others take these Challenge entries and bring them to a final selection of winners. You obviously put a great deal of thought into this and of course, I am pleased to be on your list.

HoofClix

Wow, that sure is objective! Thanks for taking the time to do this for us all!!!

urbanaries

wow! thanks for the details!
I always thought an objective test of any kind would be the death of me :hide

Pat664422

Thanks for the great explanation and participating in judging this round for us!

sherstone

What a creative and fair way to break things down.

Thank you so much for sharing how you came to your ultimate decision.

Of course I am also very pleased to see #2 within your list.

quark

Wow, thank you for the compliments on the photo. Several friends encouraged me to keep shooting and submit something else so I really appreciate that it spoke to you.

Thank you for taking the time to judge - it looks like a tough job!

Tentacion

Thanks for the explanation Laura...