No need to discuss, simply my opinion. Dgrin is one of the few forums where drama is minimal-zero.
At the risk of sticking my nose where it doesn't belong....here goes.
If you look back at the thread you'll note fjcvisual very politely asked a question, made a suggestion, took responsibility for the DQ, and then dropped the issue. I agree that your comments are misplaced Troy, because you did not just state a drama-free opinion - you asked a provocative, rhetorical and personal question followed by a condescending lecture on how you would do it better. I don't believe it was ever about you Troy. This is, of course. my opinion.
I am not trying to inflame the issue, I just think Jim had a valid point and deserved support.
I'll shut-up now.
Something that seems obvious to me about a simple time change... With two weeks to complete an image, why wait until the last noted hour? I have a family with two at home children, I work a normal job with 12 hour days 6 days a week and can still find time to enter early... and find time to tweak and re-enter if needed. This way if I don't have time to enter the 'latest version' at least an image is still entered. Any rule changes are usually mentioned, but only mentioned the week they are changed. If I get DQ'd, it's no ones fault but myself. Every time I enter, I read the rules just to make sure its 'by the book' just in case I forget something.
I take it you are submitting archive shots and not shooting "fresh" shots.
When shooting for the mandate, it sometimes takes up to the
allotted time to find and shoot an appropriate photo. Great ideas, and
the appearance of the right subject matter, do not often appear "early".
I generally assume that anyone who submits in the first few days has
either trawled through their archives or is an exceedingly lucky photographer.
[QUOTE=TonyCooper;1742938I generally assume that anyone who submits in the first few days has
either trawled through their archives or is an exceedingly lucky photographer.[/QUOTE]
Um....taking photos from archives would break Rule #1 and would automatically be DQ'd.
Pho-tog-ra-pher (n) 1. One who practices photography 2. one obsessed with capturing life with their camera. 3. One who eats, sleeps and breathes photographs. 4. One who sees the world in 4x6. www.lisaspeakmanphotography.com
Well then, my sincere apologies to fjcvisual (Jim).
As for entering 'early' shots in the gallery, does entering after only 7 or 10 days not constitute as early? This gives an entire week to get the ideas flowing, weekend prep and shooting. By day 9 I'd already had 16 hours into the last image by using the weekend and staying up late. After entering the first version, I spent the remaining days deciding if I should change my entry to a newer version, and the following weekend did. It's done all the time.
I figured everyone entered at the last minute so no one else could get ideas or create a similar image.
Alternately, if there is a rule change/clarification, maybe list just the rule changes for an entry or three, with a link to the complete rules.
Although I have not changed any rules as of yet, I know that in the past this is what has been done with the few changes we have had. Now what I did change was a challenge requirement and it was duely noted directly benieth the change. So I do not know what more I could have done to notify ppl of the change, outside of PM'ing everyone... and that is just not going to happen!
This discussion about entering and all I think has come to a close and glad you all got that out of your systems. Some strong opinions expressed. I just want to say I understand why some wait till the last minute and why some are quick. I also did last minute ones because my work schedule got heavy at times and entered just before the close. I also have missed completely by just a few minutes after the gallery was closed. So it happens!
Also, quite a few of my images were within hours of the challenge being posted. It just depended on if something popped into my head directly. For the most part, those fast ones did pretty well in the standings. But as mentioned here, there were a lot of repeats as someone else might do.
That is why there was a discussion a few years back about courtesy. If your going to shoot, take a peek at what has been entered and if you see someone else with a simular shot, then think of something else. Having repeated ideas sometimes makes for a boring challenge, and might lesson the amount of good images that if they stood alone, would have gotten more votes. But this is just my opinion and not a rule or anything.
Um....taking photos from archives would break Rule #1 and would automatically be DQ'd.
That depends on the Challenge. The Mini-Challenges usually
allow archive shots. I try for "fresh" even if archive shots are
allowed. That, to me, is the objective of a Challenge.
I figured everyone entered at the last minute so no one else could get ideas or create a similar image.
If a challenge theme excites me, I want to play as long as I can. Rather than enter and delete several times, I wait till the end. It also forces me to think outside the box a bit and not go for the obvious ideas. Although, sometimes I am just busy and enter late (like this last round).
That is why there was a discussion a few years back about courtesy. If your going to shoot, take a peek at what has been entered and if you see someone else with a simular shot, then think of something else. Having repeated ideas sometimes makes for a boring challenge, and might lesson the amount of good images that if they stood alone, would have gotten more votes. But this is just my opinion and not a rule or anything.
One thought I had is to reconsider the layout of the Challenge description. The challenge (pun intended) is that the plain text and formatting does not lend itself to an intuitive reflection of the description. One idea would be to reformat and clean up the description so that the things that need to be considered are in the same spot and easily seen. For example, in the current version, there is a note "***** Please note the time change. ******" but it is the date that is highlighted. Here is an example:
Dgrin Sharp Shooters Challenge #97
Requirements: Topic - The eye's have it!
Lets see come creativity here! The eyes are the focus but your interpretation is the key. Whether it be human, animal, vegetable or mineral, lets see what you can do!
Eligibility - Any Dgrin member Timeframe - Monday, February 20, 8:00pm PS through Monday, March 5, 8:00pm PST
Please note that a new deadline has been established from here foreward
Your Judge: 1 round 72 Hour Public Vote.
Submission: Your entry is to be submitted directly into a SmugMug gallery. It's pretty simple, just go to the gallery link below, and follow the upload instructions at the top of the page:
DSS #97 Entry Gallery
Remember, the basics stay the same:
One entry per person, and the photo must be fresh, taken during this contest period
Ensure EXIF is embedded in your image
Image title in the format of name - image title
To avoid disqualification please read the Dgrin Sharp Shooters Challenge Rules.
I think this thread is important so posting this to help bump it to the top
Sometimes, it is better to be kind than to be right. We do not need an intelligent mind that speaks, but a patient heart that listens. Unknown
************* irpappyroot2.photoshop.com My flickr Account
That is why there was a discussion a few years back about courtesy. If your going to shoot, take a peek at what has been entered and if you see someone else with a simular shot, then think of something else. Having repeated ideas sometimes makes for a boring challenge, and might lesson the amount of good images that if they stood alone, would have gotten more votes. But this is just my opinion and not a rule or anything.
I completely agree with being courteous, but pre-clearing a concept is a tough thought.
I pulled a submission once, on the challenge Milk, where I had a less than 'true' image of a star field, which bumped up against a couple of submissions that were GORGEOUS! true captures of the heavens. I opted to remove mine because I felt it was less than honest. It bothers me that I opted not to compete with that image.
I know this instance is a different circumstance, but what holds true is I invest a lot of time in some of the pix I'm trying to make. The above was 5hours on the shot alone, with drive time to/from the desert, waiting on darkness, and then the hour of long exposure.
The Mega-Frank Miller Style, was an investment of time and money. From the time to storyboard the 'comic' panels, to arranging for my 'actor' and 'assistant', to hiring 'just the right' hotel room. Each of the ten panels was a separate lighting setup. Post required a comic creation software purchase to produce the look I wanted.
95% of my submissions (and a great deal of submissions I see from others) have been along the lines of setup, rather than found images on the card. For me to be happy with the process, I have to approach it professionally. Many times these setups require pre-production and specific elements, with time to gather them and then shoot. For me...that's the FUN! )
So you can see why I can't pre-clear a concept, by checking the gallery. I think the bottom line should be...don't draw inspiration from the gallery.
Along these lines.... I sometimes have a concept right away, but a schedule that won't allow me to work on it until late in the challenge period. In that case, I rarely look at the gallery or the comments thread until I've shot. Until I process the idea, I don't want to distract myself from the concept. Once or twice, I have come close to another's idea. If I believe that I have a good image or that I have a slightly different perspective, I post it. If not, I try to adjust the idea or not enter.
Sometimes the theme is so narrow that many entries will be the same.
BTW, Paul, I was hoping that you'd keep your desert milky way shot in that challenge. With the topic, milk, it was highly probable that there would be more than one milky way shot. I think there is a lot for us to learn from different approaches to the same shot.
One further comment about reading the rules... in addition to being each participant's responsibility to get with the program, I agree with WhatSheSaw in that we are a nice community and we can help each other by pointing out when an image in out of the time frame or missing the proper formatting. Joyce is doing enough and shouldn't have had to spend so much time on this thread. Let's just look out for one another. Even the slow learners will catch on eventually.
One thought I had is to reconsider the layout of the Challenge description. The challenge (pun intended) is that the plain text and formatting does not lend itself to an intuitive reflection of the description. One idea would be to reformat and clean up the description so that the things that need to be considered are in the same spot and easily seen. For example, in the current version, there is a note "***** Please note the time change. ******" but it is the date that is highlighted. Here is an example:
Dgrin Sharp Shooters Challenge #97
Requirements: Topic - The eye's have it!
Lets see come creativity here! The eyes are the focus but your interpretation is the key. Whether it be human, animal, vegetable or mineral, lets see what you can do!
Eligibility - Any Dgrin member Timeframe - Monday, February 20, 8:00pm PS through Monday, March 5, 8:00pm PST
Please note that a new deadline has been established from here foreward
Your Judge: 1 round 72 Hour Public Vote.
Submission: Your entry is to be submitted directly into a SmugMug gallery. It's pretty simple, just go to the gallery link below, and follow the upload instructions at the top of the page:
DSS #97 Entry Gallery
Remember, the basics stay the same:
One entry per person, and the photo must be fresh, taken during this contest period
Ensure EXIF is embedded in your image
Image title in the format of name - image title
To avoid disqualification please read the Dgrin Sharp Shooters Challenge Rules.
Lately, when it comes to the challenges, I've been trying to take more time thinking about an idea and how I'm going to find a way to photograph it. It never fails that nearly all of my first efforts rarely end up being what I end up entering into the challenges, and quite often they are completely different subject matter than my first attempts. I guess for me it's becoming a normal process to do it that way. I actually bought some props for this current challenge for an idea I had, but probably won't even use them now because I have an opportunity to take photos that I didn't think I would get a chance to do when I bought the props. Silly me. I guess I can save them for another challenge.
Sometimes, I have to spend a couple of hours staring at my image, off and on, trying to see what someone else may have posted a comment about... I think I'm getting better at seeing what other people are seeing because before it took days.. now I'm down to a much shorter period of time seeing what others are talking about.
Ok, I thought I better give an explanation to why the last 3 DSS challenges had so many winners. It has been that I got confused on how the challenges winners are posted. The way it has been done since the beginning of DSS is:
The top 5 images with the most votes. Thus only 1st and 5th were the only concerns to the mods. If there was a tie in first, then a sudden death needs to be done for 1st and 2nd top images. Then the next 4 images with the most votes took up the rest. If a tie for that fifth image arose, then it would be noted.
The way that I had been doing it the past 3 rounds that I have been fully in charge of, is I have been counting the "Top 5 placing". Thus why we had 7 tops in the last challenge 97. Doing it this way we had 1,2,3,3,4,4,5 placing. If I had done it like other mods have done it, it would have looked like this; 1,2,3,4,5,5 which would be the top 5 images including the ties for 3 and 4.
So to keep things uniform from now on, I will be going back to the way its suppose to be done starting this #98 round. Sorry for any confusion I might have given anyone. It clearly states that the top 5 images will recieve the prizes and get to go to the Mega round. For any of those who have been listed as winners already, then your standing is still as a winner and this does not effect what has already been done. But for the present and future DSS challenges, we will go back to normal programing.
Does anyone happen to have a list of the Challenges from #90 on? I got behind in saving mine and do not remember what they were to find them.
Hi - yes I have almost all of them:
#90 - glass?
#91 - "Ice"
#92 - ?
#93 - old or new
#94 - angles
#95 - up high or down low
#96 - vanishing point
#97 - the eyes have it
#98 - SOOC: color wheel opposites
#99 - Norman Rockwell inspired
#100 - 100 yr old photo
#101 - textures
I think that's about right..maybe someone else can fill in the questions. GP
#90 was the "Letter" challenge... using the first letter of your user name. #94 was shapes or angles. #92 was Optical Illusion
Pho-tog-ra-pher (n) 1. One who practices photography 2. one obsessed with capturing life with their camera. 3. One who eats, sleeps and breathes photographs. 4. One who sees the world in 4x6. www.lisaspeakmanphotography.com
so sorry the list is not up to date yet. It is getting further behind and I am not able to squeeze it into my already busy schedule. Hopefully soon I will have the time to spend the few hours it will take to update it all correctly.
Hi - yes I have almost all of them:
#90 - glass?
#91 - "Ice"
#92 - ?
#93 - old or new
#94 - angles
#95 - up high or down low
#96 - vanishing point
#97 - the eyes have it
#98 - SOOC: color wheel opposites
#99 - Norman Rockwell inspired
#100 - 100 yr old photo
#101 - textures
I think that's about right..maybe someone else can fill in the questions. GP
And now for something completely different:
What exactly is the rule for using gradient layers in the postprocessing of entries for the Dgrin challenges? Here's a shot of something I'm working on now (see the gradient layer at the bottom?):
In a way, a gradient layer is a whole new image introduced to the compilation.....anyway, I've often wondered about graphic program gradients and how they fit in with the rules here. Sure would appreciated some clarification!
-Leah
And now for something completely different:
What exactly is the rule for using gradient layers in the postprocessing of entries for the Dgrin challenges? Here's a shot of something I'm working on now (see the gradient layer at the bottom?):
.....
In a way, a gradient layer is a whole new image introduced to the compilation.....anyway, I've often wondered about graphic program gradients and how they fit in with the rules here. Sure would appreciated some clarification!
-Leah
This is actually a great question and I hope to make it easier for everyone to understand. First I will post some specific rules to help build the clarification:
1. Fresh Photos Only: Digital photos must be shot during the respective 2-week contest period. Images must be your own work, and must be taken with a digital camera (no stills extracted from video or other specialized equipment).
2. Proof of Fresh Photo: Entries must have exif embedded (do not use methods such as "save for web", which strip exif info). As such, only images taken digitally will be accepted (no scanned images). Photos made via HDR must include the exif from one of the merged images. Composite images must be composed entirely of fresh images, and must include exif from ALL of the images used.
3. Post Processing: As a digital photography challenge, there are no limits on post-processing, unless stated otherwise for a "special" challenge round.
As you can see, rules 1 and 2 are very clear in content saying that only photos may be used. However, I do believe that rule 3 kind throws people off on exactly what is considered post processing.
So, look at it this way, post processing means that the pixels are already captured and you can take it into an editing program and do whatever you would like to those existing pixels that were captured by your camera within the time frame of the challenge. Including changing the color of them using filters that only change one color pixel (lets say red) into a blue pixel, the original pixel still remains. However the color has changed through POST PROCESSING.
Now as for adding gradients and other plug ins that add actual pixels to it. I would say if you did not make it fresh and have an exif to prove it, then adding any extra pixels to your image is not acceptable.
The way to do a change in colors for a gradient look, in my opinion, is to use a tool that changes the color directly on the original image, or a copy layer on top of the original layer. I have used Paint shop pro X2 to do this very thing, but I am sure it can be done in Photoshop or any of the CS programs too. This way you are not adding pixels but changing what you already have. Another way to do it is to get creative and find some kind of colorful paper you like and take a picture of it then create your own overlayer. But that might be harder to find the exact colors your looking for.
I hope I have cleared this in a way you all can understand.
Changing existing pixels is good!
Adding pixels via editing program is BAD!
oh and another way to make gradients from scratch is to go out to somewhere that has beautiful colors you like and then set your camera on manual focus, then blur the daylights out of it for a bocah effect. Or you can set it on a very slow shutter speed and then move the camera very fast for a longer exposure blur with textures. So many creative ways of doing it and having your own exif!
For additional clarification on post processing for regular challenges (not "special" challenges), is it okay to utilize self-made or purchased filters, effects, presets or processes that manipulate the existing pixels? Like watercolor, oil painting or cartoon effects, filters that make the photo look like a drawing, a blueprint or outlined in inks or glows, or blurs, noise additions or reductions, etc.
Filters, actions, brushes, etc. that add a mosaic, crackled, embossed or linen look, or add clouds or other textures, even if done directly on the photo (instead of in a separate layer) would not be allowed, is that correct?
For additional clarification on post processing for regular challenges (not "special" challenges), is it okay to utilize self-made or purchased filters, effects, presets or processes that manipulate the existing pixels? Like watercolor, oil painting or cartoon effects, filters that make the photo look like a drawing, a blueprint or outlined in inks or glows, or blurs, noise additions or reductions, etc.
Filters, actions, brushes, etc. that add a mosaic, crackled, embossed or linen look, or add clouds or other textures, even if done directly on the photo (instead of in a separate layer) would not be allowed, is that correct?
As long as you are only using existing pixels taken by a camera during the challenge time frame and have proof with an Exif, its fine to manipulate those pixels. Programs that smear existing pixels to look painted is fine.
Any filter, plugin, paint program (that adds pixels), textures, tubes, mask...ect, that ADD pixels without an exif created is not acceptable.
Textures and masks can be made by taking pictures and manipulating those existing pixels and you will have an exif. Or, like sweetharmony has done this round, changing the existing pixels colors is acceptable.
ps... sweetharmony thanks for showing how you did that in your gallery then linking it! Nice touch.
Thanks, Joyce! Your suggestions were what made it possible......and I think it makes sense to chronicle the workflow if you can for the challenges so that you can show that you are indeed not adding pixels. The screencapture program I used was free, so there really isn't a good reason for me to not include a screenshot of the process (unless, of course, I didn't want to expose my topsecret techniques....of which I have NONE.) I used KSnaphsot for the screen capture.....works with Linux but I'm not sure about Windows....but I'm sure there are free Windows programs that are similar.
Comments
At the risk of sticking my nose where it doesn't belong....here goes.
If you look back at the thread you'll note fjcvisual very politely asked a question, made a suggestion, took responsibility for the DQ, and then dropped the issue. I agree that your comments are misplaced Troy, because you did not just state a drama-free opinion - you asked a provocative, rhetorical and personal question followed by a condescending lecture on how you would do it better. I don't believe it was ever about you Troy. This is, of course. my opinion.
I am not trying to inflame the issue, I just think Jim had a valid point and deserved support.
I'll shut-up now.
I take it you are submitting archive shots and not shooting "fresh" shots.
When shooting for the mandate, it sometimes takes up to the
allotted time to find and shoot an appropriate photo. Great ideas, and
the appearance of the right subject matter, do not often appear "early".
I generally assume that anyone who submits in the first few days has
either trawled through their archives or is an exceedingly lucky photographer.
http://tonycooper.smugmug.com/
either trawled through their archives or is an exceedingly lucky photographer.[/QUOTE]
Um....taking photos from archives would break Rule #1 and would automatically be DQ'd.
www.lisaspeakmanphotography.com
As for entering 'early' shots in the gallery, does entering after only 7 or 10 days not constitute as early? This gives an entire week to get the ideas flowing, weekend prep and shooting. By day 9 I'd already had 16 hours into the last image by using the weekend and staying up late. After entering the first version, I spent the remaining days deciding if I should change my entry to a newer version, and the following weekend did. It's done all the time.
I figured everyone entered at the last minute so no one else could get ideas or create a similar image.
Although I have not changed any rules as of yet, I know that in the past this is what has been done with the few changes we have had. Now what I did change was a challenge requirement and it was duely noted directly benieth the change. So I do not know what more I could have done to notify ppl of the change, outside of PM'ing everyone... and that is just not going to happen!
This discussion about entering and all I think has come to a close and glad you all got that out of your systems. Some strong opinions expressed. I just want to say I understand why some wait till the last minute and why some are quick. I also did last minute ones because my work schedule got heavy at times and entered just before the close. I also have missed completely by just a few minutes after the gallery was closed. So it happens!
Also, quite a few of my images were within hours of the challenge being posted. It just depended on if something popped into my head directly. For the most part, those fast ones did pretty well in the standings. But as mentioned here, there were a lot of repeats as someone else might do.
That is why there was a discussion a few years back about courtesy. If your going to shoot, take a peek at what has been entered and if you see someone else with a simular shot, then think of something else. Having repeated ideas sometimes makes for a boring challenge, and might lesson the amount of good images that if they stood alone, would have gotten more votes. But this is just my opinion and not a rule or anything.
That depends on the Challenge. The Mini-Challenges usually
allow archive shots. I try for "fresh" even if archive shots are
allowed. That, to me, is the objective of a Challenge.
http://tonycooper.smugmug.com/
If a challenge theme excites me, I want to play as long as I can. Rather than enter and delete several times, I wait till the end. It also forces me to think outside the box a bit and not go for the obvious ideas. Although, sometimes I am just busy and enter late (like this last round).
I'm glad you brought up this point of courtesy.
Dgrin Sharp Shooters Challenge #97
Requirements:
Topic - The eye's have it!
Timeframe - Monday, February 20, 8:00pm PS through Monday, March 5, 8:00pm PST
Your Judge: 1 round 72 Hour Public Vote.
Submission: Your entry is to be submitted directly into a SmugMug gallery. It's pretty simple, just go to the gallery link below, and follow the upload instructions at the top of the page:
DSS #97 Entry Gallery
Remember, the basics stay the same:
To avoid disqualification please read the Dgrin Sharp Shooters Challenge Rules.
*************
irpappyroot2.photoshop.com
My flickr Account
I completely agree with being courteous, but pre-clearing a concept is a tough thought.
I pulled a submission once, on the challenge Milk, where I had a less than 'true' image of a star field, which bumped up against a couple of submissions that were GORGEOUS! true captures of the heavens. I opted to remove mine because I felt it was less than honest. It bothers me that I opted not to compete with that image.
I know this instance is a different circumstance, but what holds true is I invest a lot of time in some of the pix I'm trying to make. The above was 5hours on the shot alone, with drive time to/from the desert, waiting on darkness, and then the hour of long exposure.
The Mega-Frank Miller Style, was an investment of time and money. From the time to storyboard the 'comic' panels, to arranging for my 'actor' and 'assistant', to hiring 'just the right' hotel room. Each of the ten panels was a separate lighting setup. Post required a comic creation software purchase to produce the look I wanted.
95% of my submissions (and a great deal of submissions I see from others) have been along the lines of setup, rather than found images on the card. For me to be happy with the process, I have to approach it professionally. Many times these setups require pre-production and specific elements, with time to gather them and then shoot. For me...that's the FUN!
So you can see why I can't pre-clear a concept, by checking the gallery. I think the bottom line should be...don't draw inspiration from the gallery.
Sometimes the theme is so narrow that many entries will be the same.
BTW, Paul, I was hoping that you'd keep your desert milky way shot in that challenge. With the topic, milk, it was highly probable that there would be more than one milky way shot. I think there is a lot for us to learn from different approaches to the same shot.
One further comment about reading the rules... in addition to being each participant's responsibility to get with the program, I agree with WhatSheSaw in that we are a nice community and we can help each other by pointing out when an image in out of the time frame or missing the proper formatting. Joyce is doing enough and shouldn't have had to spend so much time on this thread. Let's just look out for one another. Even the slow learners will catch on eventually.
Chris
When you come to a door... walk through it.
If it's locked... find an open window.
THIS.
Sometimes, I have to spend a couple of hours staring at my image, off and on, trying to see what someone else may have posted a comment about... I think I'm getting better at seeing what other people are seeing because before it took days.. now I'm down to a much shorter period of time seeing what others are talking about.
Panasonic Lumix 10x DMC-TZ3 :photo
Leica Mega O.I.S./28mm WIDE :smile6
The top 5 images with the most votes. Thus only 1st and 5th were the only concerns to the mods. If there was a tie in first, then a sudden death needs to be done for 1st and 2nd top images. Then the next 4 images with the most votes took up the rest. If a tie for that fifth image arose, then it would be noted.
The way that I had been doing it the past 3 rounds that I have been fully in charge of, is I have been counting the "Top 5 placing". Thus why we had 7 tops in the last challenge 97. Doing it this way we had 1,2,3,3,4,4,5 placing. If I had done it like other mods have done it, it would have looked like this; 1,2,3,4,5,5 which would be the top 5 images including the ties for 3 and 4.
So to keep things uniform from now on, I will be going back to the way its suppose to be done starting this #98 round. Sorry for any confusion I might have given anyone. It clearly states that the top 5 images will recieve the prizes and get to go to the Mega round. For any of those who have been listed as winners already, then your standing is still as a winner and this does not effect what has already been done. But for the present and future DSS challenges, we will go back to normal programing.
Thank you for your understanding!
If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera. ~Lewis Hine
http://sandizphotos-seascapes.smugmug.com/
Hi - yes I have almost all of them:
#90 - glass?
#91 - "Ice"
#92 - ?
#93 - old or new
#94 - angles
#95 - up high or down low
#96 - vanishing point
#97 - the eyes have it
#98 - SOOC: color wheel opposites
#99 - Norman Rockwell inspired
#100 - 100 yr old photo
#101 - textures
I think that's about right..maybe someone else can fill in the questions.
www.lisaspeakmanphotography.com
If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera. ~Lewis Hine
http://sandizphotos-seascapes.smugmug.com/
If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera. ~Lewis Hine
http://sandizphotos-seascapes.smugmug.com/
What exactly is the rule for using gradient layers in the postprocessing of entries for the Dgrin challenges? Here's a shot of something I'm working on now (see the gradient layer at the bottom?):
In a way, a gradient layer is a whole new image introduced to the compilation.....anyway, I've often wondered about graphic program gradients and how they fit in with the rules here. Sure would appreciated some clarification!
-Leah
My Smugmug Photos
This is actually a great question and I hope to make it easier for everyone to understand. First I will post some specific rules to help build the clarification:
1. Fresh Photos Only: Digital photos must be shot during the respective 2-week contest period. Images must be your own work, and must be taken with a digital camera (no stills extracted from video or other specialized equipment).
2. Proof of Fresh Photo: Entries must have exif embedded (do not use methods such as "save for web", which strip exif info). As such, only images taken digitally will be accepted (no scanned images). Photos made via HDR must include the exif from one of the merged images. Composite images must be composed entirely of fresh images, and must include exif from ALL of the images used.
3. Post Processing: As a digital photography challenge, there are no limits on post-processing, unless stated otherwise for a "special" challenge round.
As you can see, rules 1 and 2 are very clear in content saying that only photos may be used. However, I do believe that rule 3 kind throws people off on exactly what is considered post processing.
So, look at it this way, post processing means that the pixels are already captured and you can take it into an editing program and do whatever you would like to those existing pixels that were captured by your camera within the time frame of the challenge. Including changing the color of them using filters that only change one color pixel (lets say red) into a blue pixel, the original pixel still remains. However the color has changed through POST PROCESSING.
Now as for adding gradients and other plug ins that add actual pixels to it. I would say if you did not make it fresh and have an exif to prove it, then adding any extra pixels to your image is not acceptable.
The way to do a change in colors for a gradient look, in my opinion, is to use a tool that changes the color directly on the original image, or a copy layer on top of the original layer. I have used Paint shop pro X2 to do this very thing, but I am sure it can be done in Photoshop or any of the CS programs too. This way you are not adding pixels but changing what you already have. Another way to do it is to get creative and find some kind of colorful paper you like and take a picture of it then create your own overlayer. But that might be harder to find the exact colors your looking for.
I hope I have cleared this in a way you all can understand.
Changing existing pixels is good!
Adding pixels via editing program is BAD!
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Filters, actions, brushes, etc. that add a mosaic, crackled, embossed or linen look, or add clouds or other textures, even if done directly on the photo (instead of in a separate layer) would not be allowed, is that correct?
A photograph is an artistic expression of life, captured one moment at a time . . .
http://bartlettphotoart.smugmug.com/
As long as you are only using existing pixels taken by a camera during the challenge time frame and have proof with an Exif, its fine to manipulate those pixels. Programs that smear existing pixels to look painted is fine.
Any filter, plugin, paint program (that adds pixels), textures, tubes, mask...ect, that ADD pixels without an exif created is not acceptable.
Textures and masks can be made by taking pictures and manipulating those existing pixels and you will have an exif. Or, like sweetharmony has done this round, changing the existing pixels colors is acceptable.
ps... sweetharmony thanks for showing how you did that in your gallery then linking it! Nice touch.
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