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01/04/2006 01:27:26 AM · #1 |
Now that the voting is over and I see just how badly my entry tanked, could someone please comment on it? I don't get how I wound up in the 6th percentile (220/235). I got 1 comment, which was positive and the commenter gave me a 6. I didn't expect to win or even place particularly high but I'm really perplexed at just how harshly my photo was judged. I expected to finish somewhere near the middle with an average somewhere around 5. Clearly there is something that I'm not getting. It would be nice to have some idea of what so many people find lacking in my photos.
It is so discouraging when people vote low without bothering to comment. To me this is as much, if not more, of a learning experience then a contest. I haven't participated in nearly a year and the experience of this last challenge is a really painful reminder of why.
How discouraging to come back and find how little has changed.
Place: 220 out of 235
Avg (all users): 4.431
Avg (commenters): 6.000
Avg (camera): 4.429
Avg (no camera): 4.667
Views since voting: 1
Views during voting: 356
Votes: 297
Comments: 1
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01/04/2006 01:38:10 AM · #2 |
I didn't get a chance to vote on your image. I'll be glad to comment.
The strengths in your image are the colors, shapes and textures. There are some pleasing variations there. The shadow moves from a deep black to interesting shades of orange.
I think that where this image went wrong is in the perception most of the voters have of patterns. Most are thinking of repetitive shapes. The only repetive shapes in your image is the subtle texture on the wall which doesn't come across strongly as a pattern.
When an image doesn't clearly meet the challenge, it has to be outstanding to come in as average. If this image were entered into a challenge that was a clear fit, you'd see the vote at least a point higher. (It would easily fit in Burst of Color.) |
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01/04/2006 01:45:46 AM · #3 |
| Left a comment, hope it helps! |
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01/04/2006 02:28:49 AM · #4 |
Are you familiar with "brutalism" as an artistic concept? In that sense, the image is "brutal", and the lighting, the glare, is very harsh. This doesn't really work very well with voters on DPC; they prefer smoother, more elegant approaches to things.
Couple that with the fact that the voters clearly are equating "repetition" and "pattern" in this challenge, and you didn't have a prayer :-( Now, I'm of the school that believes/understands that a pattern can also be a "template", for example, like a dress pattern. Images like that didn't do well either, and there were few of them also.
I'm in a similar boat in "Mother", where I am one of the minority who chose to portray an other-than-living-creatures take on the concept "mother", and I'm getting hammered for it, probably won't break 5. So it happens to all of us, me more than most; check my challenge results and see how all-over-the-map I am :-)
R. |
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01/04/2006 02:37:50 AM · #5 |
I'm with Bear Music...I gave one of my 10's to the person who used vintage sewing patterns as a literal interpretation of "Patterns".
I also looked more for repetitive lines, etc...when voting that Challenge. Sorry. :( I see yours more of a "shape". |
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01/04/2006 05:52:57 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by rjkstesch:
I didn't get a chance to vote on your image. I'll be glad to comment.
The strengths in your image are the colors, shapes and textures. There are some pleasing variations there. The shadow moves from a deep black to interesting shades of orange.
I think that where this image went wrong is in the perception most of the voters have of patterns. Most are thinking of repetitive shapes. The only repetive shapes in your image is the subtle texture on the wall which doesn't come across strongly as a pattern.
When an image doesn't clearly meet the challenge, it has to be outstanding to come in as average. If this image were entered into a challenge that was a clear fit, you'd see the vote at least a point higher. (It would easily fit in Burst of Color.) |
First, thanks to everyone who took a moment to comment on my photo after the voting.The above comment, and a lot of the comments left on my photo confirmed a bit what I suspected and what my husband suggested was a big part of the problem---that the lack of a clear repetative pattern is partly what hurt my score. My take on the challenge was to evaluate entries based on how well the photographer isolated a pattern from distracting background. It didn't necessarily have to be a repeating pattern---simply interesting arrangements of shape, form, or color (or all three elements).
I had a couple of other versions of this shot and chose to submit this one because I really loved how the color came out and I liked the more abstract shapes the less obvious shadows created. Always, I hurt myself in the voting by going with my own taste instead of considering voter tastes :).
Bear Music, I haven't heard of the term 'brutalism' as an artistic concept but I definitely am one of those who don't mind some glare or sunspots, etc in a photo if I feel it adds to the mood (anyone can see this by looking through my portfolio :D). I actually discarded quite a few versions of my entry photo, however, due to harsh glare on the wall. My husband and I talked a bit last night and it occured to me that there are probably a lot of users on DPC at this point who have hi-def monitors and who are using super good cameras and I'm always hurt by my lack of high-tech equipment. What I'm seeing as a pretty sharp image is probably looking horrible to the folks with much newer monitors. Ah well...
Joycobb, I loved the actual concept and originality of the vintage sewing pattern entry but I gave them a lower score because I thought the overall image was just too dark. I did comment fairly positively on that entry though.
Thanks again to all who contributed both in this message thread and on my actual entry. It wasn't my low score that got me down (fairly used to that at this point) so much as the lack of input.What did hurt a bit was the comment that my entry looked like I didn't work too hard on it. I took tons of different shots at different exposure comensations with different tripod heights and camera angles, etc.
Here is a variation of my entry shot, the second shot is one I discarded (probably foolishly) in lieu of my own personal favorite (I really loved the deep orange color in contrast with the dark shadows of my entry). The third is a variation on the second which shows more clearly what the subject is.
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01/04/2006 07:44:56 PM · #7 |
I really like the 2nd image (cupcake papers up close.) It has beautiful lines and tones. The lighting is good and the colors work well. It could use a bit more sharpening or tighter focus on the sharpest lines. It would have fit the challenge well.
Becky |
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