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DPChallenge Forums >> Current Challenge >> Capturing vs. Evoking vs a Mood
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 05/02/2005 11:30:36 AM · #26
Originally posted by TDCollins:
Mood: A state of mind or emotion.

Emotion: A mental state that arises spontaneously rather than through conscious effort and is often accompanied by physiological changes; a feeling: the emotions of joy, sorrow, reverence, hate, and love.

Challenge: Take a picture that captures an emotion.

I have had to stop voting at this point just to make sure that I was voting correctly. I am having a hard time also with the Capturing vs. Evoking an emotion. I try very hard to vote on a consistant basis, but all of a sudden I am seeing pictures that are beautiful that are evoking my emotion. I think I am going to see what the consensus is for a while then start my voting process again.


So you're going to vote by consensus? See which way the wind is blowing and set your sails accordingly? Go with the flow? As opposed to making your OWN decision based on what YOU think and becoming a part of the creation of that consensus? Which is what voting is all about, when you think of it? Any kind of voting....

I'm in the camp that says a beautiful picture of a serene landscape doesn't "capture" an emotion, it "creates" one. An emotion is internal to a mind. If I see a beautiful, awe-inspiring sunset over the mountains,it may well evoke an emotion in me. If someone saw that emnotion in me and was able to "capture" my emotional response to the sunset, this would meet the challenge terms precisely IMO. If I shot the sunset because it evoked an emotion in me, hoping thereby to evoke the same emotion in the viewers of my image, this is NOT "capturing" an emotion, it's trying to evoke one at the viewing stage. That's my position and that's how I'm voting.

I feel that those who made an honest effort to "capture" an emotion in someone else (or themselves, via self-portrait, or in an animal) and succeeded in doing it deserve to be rewarded for taking pains to meet the challenge, and I'm going out of my way to reward the best of these shots (IMO anyway) by ranking them top-tier. I try to avoid always ranking the "most beautiful" pictures the highest, unless the challenge specifically embraces the particular beauty of which they are comprised. In which case, of course, they are stone-killer 10's.

I believe that many of the very best images int hese challenges go unrecognizedbecause they are not "pretty" and beauty, it would seem, is the surestw ay to score well at DPC.

Robt.
 05/02/2005 11:33:57 AM · #27
I believe when voting, go with your gut feeling on your interpretation on whether the challenge has been met, rather than what other people do.
Just my thoughts.
 05/02/2005 11:47:06 AM · #28
I believe in lenience...

The english language is so vague and subject to interpretation. I mean if there was a title for a submission named "Fast" Sure, we might see a bunch of Ferrari's and jet fighters. But what if you saw a steel cargo container tied down to the deck of a large freighter. It is technically an acceptable entry. As it was a cargo unit that had been made fast. (Fast refers to speed but also is used in the context of 'fasten'. Now this is an older, less commonly used form. Also, what if they posted a man meditating in prayer with a plain glass of water and a single slice of bread. On a spiritual fast.) Would you disqualify (or rather scored very low) simply because they interpreted the words differently than you?

Now I am giving a slightly humorous and blown out example. But it is extremely common to have a variance of interpretation of text words.

"John read the book."

What did I just say in the above sentence? How many felt I was informing them that John has completed the task of reading the book? How many interpreted it as an instruction to John to complete the task of reading the book. Sure, the latter most probably should be written as "John, read the book!" but you can see how easily it could be subject to mis-interpretation.

I don't think it is fair to place myself above all others and assume my interpretation to be the only one that is valid. That does NOT mean I don't score some photos lower for being off challenge. There are times when I will see a photo, and based on the title I believe the artist has pointed out from where they're coming. I just think it is a weak argument or angle and score it a point or so lower.
 05/02/2005 12:18:56 PM · #29
Originally posted by kyebosh:

I don't see why people get so nit-picky, if somebody tried to make their photo for the challenge, and did a decent job, ie, the picture has a mood in it at all, captured or not, it should meet the challenge. Stop being so text book to hurt other people's scores.

Yep. . . these are my sentiments exactly! In my opinion, if you have to get so picky about whether or not a picture does or doesn't meet the challenge, then you are spending wayyyyy too much time looking for reasons to vote a picture down rather than voting on the quality of a photo. Since the description of the challenge left it wide open for interpretation, then why not vote that way too ????? Just my 2 cents.

SandyP

05/02/2005 12:23:21 PM · #30
I think I'm having a problem with entries sometimes, and this is one of them; as was the "In the Beginning" challenge...is it not ok to use a somewhat impressionistic image? I don't think there's much leeway here on softness of image, even if it appeals to the photographer. Is clarity the important part of photography? I am a painter, but my work is mostly impressionist, so maybe I don't always see things the way other people see things, but I'm beginning to realize that impressionism and photography cannot coexist: it seems critical that an image is very sharp to get a good vote. I'll take a couple pics of my paintings and post them and maybe you'll see where I'm coming from or maybe not..?!
 05/02/2005 12:26:34 PM · #31
Technically speaking, you can't CAPTURE an emotion, becasue, as has been pointed out already, "an emotion is internal to a mind." You can't capture in picture form a mind, or the workings of the mind, only it's manifestations and the challenge description did not say capture an emotions' manifestations in human expression. Just adding some flame to the fire :).
 05/02/2005 12:28:42 PM · #32
No impressionism and photography is NOT mutually exclusive, however, you'll find (particularly on the likes of DPC) that it often doesn't have enough mass-appeal to do well in scoring.

But sometimes it does succeed...
05/02/2005 12:40:57 PM · #33
Originally posted by dragonlady:
I think I'm having a problem with entries sometimes, and this is one of them; as was the "In the Beginning" challenge...is it not ok to use a somewhat impressionistic image? I don't think there's much leeway here on softness of image, even if it appeals to the photographer. Is clarity the important part of photography?


Of course it's okay to use an impressionistic image! Neil Shapiro provides several excellent examples of impressionist photography. As theSaj said, images that aren't razor-sharp often get voted down, largely because, I think, it's usually hard to tell whether soft focus was intentional or just poor technique - but there's certainly nothing wrong with doing something at an aperture other than F/22.
 05/02/2005 12:43:41 PM · #34
Point well taken "Bear_Music". My entire thought process is just one thing. I want to be fair. I want to vote correctly. I found myself being to narrow minded in interpertation. That why I stopped voting until I know that I am voting fairly. Even a person's voting can change day to day just based on their mood. If I am in a bad mood, you don't want me voting for your picture at that time. (not that I'm ever in a bad mood:) You want me voting when I am in a good mood. The same goes with this. You dont want me voting for your picture if I'm narrow minded. I came to this forum to slap myself into sensible thinking. My brain was telling me one thing, while my heart was telling me another. Consensus might have been the wrong word to use. I try to use this forum to make sure both my heart and my brain are working together.
 05/02/2005 12:49:10 PM · #35
if a beautiful picture or portrait doesnt make you emote then it didnt meet the challenge for you. vote accordingly. i just want to say that i see alot of pictures that maybe some didnt enter for minimalism entered here....anyone else?
 05/02/2005 01:55:19 PM · #36
Challenge statements are typically quite imprecise. Perhaps the purpose for this is to allow for broad interpretation - though there could be a lot of other reasons. I did not enter this challenge because I had a photo that I thought was pretty good at evoking an emotion and pretty good at representing an emotion. I thought that to 'capture' an emotion in the narrowest sense, one would almost certainly have to have a human or some other sentient being (dog, cat, cow?) in the photo.

If and when I vote on the challenge I will be looking for photos that have good emotive impact. Whether they evoke it, represent it, or capture it will be immaterial. I am more interested in promoting good photography than in promoting a nitpicking based on challenge language. Admittedly there must always be boundaries - so a photo that simply fails to depict an emotion, represent an emotion, or create an emotive response will do badly. Some extra points for ones that successfully more than one.
 05/02/2005 02:16:39 PM · #37
Originally posted by srbrubaker:
Challenge statements are typically quite imprecise. Perhaps the purpose for this is to allow for broad interpretation - though there could be a lot of other reasons. I did not enter this challenge because I had a photo that I thought was pretty good at evoking an emotion and pretty good at representing an emotion. I thought that to 'capture' an emotion in the narrowest sense, one would almost certainly have to have a human or some other sentient being (dog, cat, cow?) in the photo.

If and when I vote on the challenge I will be looking for photos that have good emotive impact. Whether they evoke it, represent it, or capture it will be immaterial. I am more interested in promoting good photography than in promoting a nitpicking based on challenge language. Admittedly there must always be boundaries - so a photo that simply fails to depict an emotion, represent an emotion, or create an emotive response will do badly. Some extra points for ones that successfully more than one.


"Challenge statements are typically quite imprecise."

Am I wrong? its says "Capture a emotion" How do you interpet a beatiful scene of the mountains or lake ect be capturing a emotion.
Is it that the title dictates on what to photograph rather then the description, or perhaps is it me being narrow minded and taking the description for what it says to me.
 05/02/2005 02:44:13 PM · #38
Well, the Challenge 'Title' and Challenge 'Description' may be a bit at odds in this case. I would usually consider both, giving the description more weight than the title.

As for "capturing an emotion"...that seems to be hotly contested - how it is defined depends on your perspective/interpretation.

You are not being "narrow minded" - your view is just that, your view. Decide for yourself what's important to you in evaluating the challenge entries for their "Meets the challenge" criteria...

Have fun! ;^)

Originally posted by bcoble:
...Is it that the title dictates on what to photograph rather then the description, or perhaps is it me being narrow minded and taking the description for what it says to me.

05/02/2005 02:53:36 PM · #39
you cannot capture an emotion in a photo.

You can capture a sentient being displaying emotion. Or you can capture an image of somthing that evokes an emotion with a photo. Since the directive is impossible as stated, one must choose an action that seems a reasonable substitute. The simple fact that we might think of the first of these two cases does not mean that it is the only reasonable interpretation. There may be lots of others I have not thought of.
...

'Capture - 4, to succeed in preserving in lasting form. '
It is not the emotion per se that is being captured, but an image of a person or being in a clearly defined emotional state. For people who wish to quibble, these are different things. I think one could even argue that evoking an emotion comes much closer to actually 'capturing' an emotion than does depicting a person in a clearly defined emotional state.

Message edited by author 2005-05-02 14:58:28.
 05/02/2005 02:54:42 PM · #40
As I voted I found myself distinguishing between "moods" and "conditions (or maybe states of mind)". If I had seen a picture that conveyed, "Thirst", I would have had to think twice before voting because I think that it probably misses the challenge to a degree. I didn't see "thirst", but there were several others in a similar vein. Anyone else feel like that?
 05/02/2005 04:20:39 PM · #41
Killed another one :p)

Message edited by author 2005-05-02 16:20:48.
 05/02/2005 04:29:05 PM · #42
are you talking about a picture describing an action verses a mood ?cause i did get that feeling from a lot... i dont think you need to have a persons picture to express the mood , but a picture of a person isnt absolutely a mood either. I understand what i just typed but im not sure anyone els will

good luck
 05/04/2005 06:08:25 AM · #43
Originally posted by bear_music:
I'm in the camp that says a beautiful picture of a serene landscape doesn't "capture" an emotion, it "creates" one. An emotion is internal to a mind. If I see a beautiful, awe-inspiring sunset over the mountains,it may well evoke an emotion in me. If someone saw that emnotion in me and was able to "capture" my emotional response to the sunset, this would meet the challenge terms precisely IMO. If I shot the sunset because it evoked an emotion in me, hoping thereby to evoke the same emotion in the viewers of my image, this is NOT "capturing" an emotion, it's trying to evoke one at the viewing stage. That's my position and that's how I'm voting.

I feel that those who made an honest effort to "capture" an emotion in someone else (or themselves, via self-portrait, or in an animal) and succeeded in doing it deserve to be rewarded for taking pains to meet the challenge, and I'm going out of my way to reward the best of these shots (IMO anyway) by ranking them top-tier. I try to avoid always ranking the "most beautiful" pictures the highest, unless the challenge specifically embraces the particular beauty of which they are comprised. In which case, of course, they are stone-killer 10's.

Robt.


I don't mean to dig up an old thread here - but I've now done a bit of the voting in this challenge, and I have to say, this is one tough challenge to vote on. So far it seems that there are three types of photos in this challenge. Firstly there are those where it seems like the person has just thrown in their best shot much like it was a free study (generally of a sunset/sunrise) and said 'hey... looking at that makes me feel happy.' Secondly there is the group that seem to have made a genuine effort to 'capture' an emotion, but have confused emotion with mental/ physical state - i.e things like being tired or hungry (Hypothetical examples only). Finally, there's a group that has done their utmost to actually 'capture' an emotion, or someone exhibiting an emotion. Thus, my difficulty in voting arises, I'm being pretty lenient when it comes to voting due to the confusion this topic has obviously given rise to (I mean for one, a mood is not the same thing as an emotion, so the challenge title doesn't really accord with the description), but like Bear, I feel bad for the folks who've made a genuine attempt to follow the challenge guidelines and 'capture' an emotion yet will likely get completely flogged by a pretty landscape shot (and don't get me wrong - there are some very pretty landscape shots).
 05/04/2005 06:44:09 AM · #44
I tend to agree with Samtrundle on this one. An emotion is a person-thing, not a landscape-thing. A landscape cannot show an emotion (I'm not too sure about animals and insects either). You can take this one step further and as I've looked through the entries there are "posed" shots of people showing, or acting, an emotion, and some fantastic shots too. But to me the candid shots showing real time emotion are the more interesting. There are not too many of those, though.

Those are my thoughts on the challenge and I've enjoyed looking at all the pictures regardless of scores. Good luck to all entries!

Mex
 05/04/2005 07:15:26 AM · #45
After reading all your comments on, capture or evoke, everybody has the right to see what they wish to in an image, regardles of the challenge name.If we all thought the same I wonder what the average vote would be?
 05/05/2005 01:57:08 AM · #46
I do not want to limit myself to just images of humans displaying emotions, though I do love these kinds of photos.

To me true art is when the artist/photographer can convey and evoke an emotion/mood into another human, the one who is viewing the art/photo, regardless of the subject matter. imho

Message edited by author 2005-05-05 09:18:51.
 05/05/2005 05:08:29 AM · #47
Putting 'Mood' and then 'Emotion' together in one challenge title and description opened this up to a wide range of interpretations as evidenced by the many views posted in this thread.

I think there are some interesting takes on how people interpreted the challenge - people shots, scenic shots, animal shots, etc... I've not seen many that are way outside the requirements of this challenge. I find this challenge is fun trying to get inside the photographer's head, or state of mind, that was behind their entry.
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