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08/14/2006 12:11:03 PM · #26 |
I think there is a difference between inspiration and lack of creativity as well.
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08/14/2006 12:19:39 PM · #27 |
Originally posted by Cutter:
So people, embrace a good photo regardless. We all know it when we see it..... |
It must be nice to have your own taste conform with the voting patterns of DPC, but it seems to have deluded you. So many of my 10s are in the lower 50% that I can only assume that many people do NOT, in fact, know a good photo when they see it.
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08/14/2006 01:03:20 PM · #28 |
Originally posted by jkw2466:
I am hoping that this does not offend anyone...but if you have to start with that statement....it is going to happen. My question is "where has the creativity gone?" |
You started with a question... not a statement... however, as has been said a few times here, and numerous times before, in various wordings: "Creativity is in the eye of the beholder," in other words... you and everyone else who sees yours, or anyone elses image for that matter has a different take on it. It's all still here, repeated or not there's still a creative spin on every image submited to DPC.
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08/14/2006 01:13:29 PM · #29 |
Creativity=Productivity.
Keep shooting, thinking, inventing, commenting and having fun and you and those around you will see improvement and successful results.
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08/14/2006 01:15:43 PM · #30 |
people i think are learning what appeals to the voters. and that breeds repetition.
also, there are many creative shots that don't surface because they score so low, so no one ever sees them except during voting.
that's my take.
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08/14/2006 01:34:13 PM · #31 |
It is a little naive to think that 300 people enter a challenge and you'll get 300 different takes on the subject.
I know the goal for a lot of people, including myself, is to win the challenge. I am also here to learn new techniques and see how other people look at the challenges.
I know there have been several "drops in liquid" shots taken through out the challenges. I also want to try one. I tried to put a little different take on it, but the premise was the same. It scored fairly well.
Did anyone think that the Fire II challenge WOULDN'T have a lot a matches in it? The trick is to see how different people use the match idea and make it their own. BTW - I didn't use the match theme!
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08/14/2006 01:45:22 PM · #32 |
Originally posted by shalrath:
Originally posted by jkw2466:
I am hoping that this does not offend anyone...but if you have to start with that statement....it is going to happen. My question is "where has the creativity gone?" |
You started with a question... not a statement... however, as has been said a few times here, and numerous times before, in various wordings: "Creativity is in the eye of the beholder," in other words... you and everyone else who sees yours, or anyone elses image for that matter has a different take on it. It's all still here, repeated or not there's still a creative spin on every image submited to DPC. |
I never said there was not a creative spin, I was just curious as to why so many repeated images....and I beleive I have my answer. I admit that even the reproduced images are very good and have their own flare. But as stated somewhere below in this thread, it seems to be a popularity contest. I am just going to continue shooting and learning, and if I like what I am doing, great.
Message edited by author 2006-08-14 13:47:55. |
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08/14/2006 01:46:19 PM · #33 |
I think the number 1 thing you have to remember about DPC.....
...there is a huge variance in skill, goals and equipment here
That means that the shot you see is a result of all those thousands of variations that make that photographer produce that photo. I mean, the shear number of photos each week that suffer from poor exposure and composition show where a lot of folks are in the photography curve.
Creativity is great but without the execution, it falls flat. I see a lot of great ideas each week that just don't quite pull it together...sometimes I even fall into that category when I rush a shot or just don't pay a lot of attention to the details.
And when people say they are thinking "outside the box"..that is a cliche as well. I see a lot of those "outside the box" photos and maybe they should have stayed in the box >:-/
Message edited by author 2006-08-14 13:48:02. |
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08/14/2006 01:48:16 PM · #34 |
Creativity is just hiding your original sources better.
Actually I wish I was more creative. I look at things and end up doing them the same way everyone else does. I hope there is a switch in the head that can be turned on to be able to come up with wacky stuff like that.
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08/14/2006 01:52:52 PM · #35 |
I understand what is being said here. On both sides. For one I wasn't surprised to see so many fire shots with wooden matches and candles. I expected it. However just because the subject is the same. The ideas have all been unique in one way or another. To me the only photos that should be scored lower in this challenge are the pics that contain no evidence of fire, visible fire (actual flames) blue, red, yellow, green, orange. the color does not matter just show me fire. Or outside the box, show me something that just burned or at very least a fire engine on its way to a call.
I think most of the pics in this challenge match the theme.
The amazing part is how so many people think the same while setting up the shot but when it comes to voting they all have different thoughts.
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08/14/2006 01:57:02 PM · #36 |
I am very glad I don't have an entry in fire. I could not come up with an idea that A. Had not been tried before. B. Would be different some how from the others in the challenge. C. getting fire to look WOW is something I need to work on.
But I am going to vote and comment. I hope I don't get burned. LOL
Wazz-O-roni |
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08/14/2006 01:57:29 PM · #37 |
Originally posted by posthumous:
Originally posted by Cutter:
So people, embrace a good photo regardless. We all know it when we see it..... |
It must be nice to have your own taste conform with the voting patterns of DPC, but it seems to have deluded you. So many of my 10s are in the lower 50% that I can only assume that many people do NOT, in fact, know a good photo when they see it. |
A good photo doesn't always meet the challenge. There's at least one photo which I've scored a 4 (best I will give a DNMC) and then added to my favorites because I really thought it was excellent, but only outside the context of the challenge. If we rewarded good photos regardless of their applicability, then there would be no point to having challenge themes.
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08/14/2006 01:58:26 PM · #38 |
Originally posted by bucket:
Originally posted by karmabreeze:
Well, my "creative" Fire entry is scoring in the 4's at the moment, so where's the incentive when creativity isn't rewarded? |
I think the biggest problem with this statement is the expectation of being rewarded...awhile ago I suggested there should be a DPC Underground..meant for those who wanted to explore the themes without worrying about the scores..I do this on a regular basis, and certainly never even pretend that I will get a good score...
My satisfaction comes from the exploration...and for those who argue it is a contest, what is the point...I can only say you don't win anything here...
I entered an out of the box shot in the Best of 2005 and finished way down here..entered it in a bigger contest (more entries) that used judges at photoworkshop.com and won a prize (a lot of high quality paper and an annual membership)...my point...the scores here are not definitive of anything...nor are they definitive anywhere else...the history of art is riddled with great artists struggling to find an audience...
The only way to be happy with your shots is to shoot shots that appeal to your sensibility... |
Very well put.
I try to produce the shots that first and foremost interest me, with hopes that I can get enough critique/feedback to help me improve my technique. But I have no plans on changing the "essence" of my photos. If they happen to score high, then great (I think we ALL appreciate a good ego stroking once in a while), but that is not my primary intent. I enter challenges to get more eyes on my photos, in hopes of getting more feedback. My measure of success for the challenges is how much comments my entries get. With that said, I do realize that I need to step up and provide more feedback myself.
For most of us (I think) this is a hobby, not a stress generator, so have fun with it.
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08/14/2006 01:59:58 PM · #39 |
Originally posted by karmabreeze:
Originally posted by posthumous:
Originally posted by Cutter:
So people, embrace a good photo regardless. We all know it when we see it..... |
It must be nice to have your own taste conform with the voting patterns of DPC, but it seems to have deluded you. So many of my 10s are in the lower 50% that I can only assume that many people do NOT, in fact, know a good photo when they see it. |
A good photo doesn't always meet the challenge. There's at least one photo which I've scored a 4 (best I will give a DNMC) and then added to my favorites because I really thought it was excellent, but only outside the context of the challenge. If we rewarded good photos regardless of their applicability, then there would be no point to having challenge themes. |
I wish that DNMC were the only reason for the discrepancy, but it's not.
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08/14/2006 02:04:06 PM · #40 |
Originally posted by SherwinJames:
... with hopes that I can get enough critique/feedback to help me improve my technique.
... My measure of success for the challenges is how much comments my entries get.
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Did you know there is a little checkbox next to comments that you can select to let people that leave comments - i.e. "critique/feedback" - know that you've found them helpful or not (or have at least read them)? ;^)
Keep up the good work.
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08/14/2006 02:04:12 PM · #41 |
We all want to be liked and we want people to like our pictures so we tend to try for pictures that will score well so we will then know that people like us. We see what other people like and we want to do that too so people will like us too. This is especially true of people in their early years of photography. After a while we hopefully get tired of doing the same old thing and also get more confident of our own work so we are then more willing to put out something different. But then we do not need the feedback you get from a site like this as much (although we will still want to share and be told how great we are). This is why I think we see fewer truely creative shots (but they definately are here and I do not claim that I have a lot of them) so the voters go with what we are taught to like. Since I am not at that "creative" level (but I am trying!), please take a look at my pictures and tell me how great I am!
The creativity isn't gone, it is just that many of the participants here have not developed it yet. I would guess that the average member has less than five years experience with digital photogrraphy and is still learning the ropes. And that is why we are all here.
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Message edited by author 2006-08-14 14:05:05.
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08/14/2006 02:09:03 PM · #42 |
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08/14/2006 02:49:54 PM · #43 |
Originally posted by hokie:
Originally posted by thegrandwazoo:
I am very glad I don't have an entry in fire. I could not come up with an idea that A. Had not been tried before. B. Would be different some how from the others in the challenge. C. getting fire to look WOW is something I need to work on.
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How many times has a butterfly on a flower been done?
Or how about a High Key portrait?
Or the "People on a Beach" theme
I say if its done well.....you can take any topic no matter how many times its been done and make it incredible.
Also, fire doesn't have to be exploding or have naked chicks in it to be thought-provoking..
....O.k....maybe we need the naked chicks :-D |
I am a 40 year old dude....where the heck am I supposed to get nude models without getting arrested for being a perv:) (I made a funny)
Message edited by author 2006-08-14 14:51:21. |
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08/14/2006 03:28:44 PM · #44 |
Originally posted by jkw2466:
I am a 40 year old dude....where the heck am I supposed to get nude models without getting arrested for being a perv:) (I made a funny) |
I feel your pain man :-/
I shoot photos for some music/lifestyle magazines and I am around women who will pose "Sans Clothing" all the time but my wife has put the "ixnay" on the "akednay" or she will divorce me and take
all my camera stuff >:-( ......
But she has no problem if I take photos of naked male rockstars <:-/ ....... (if she gets to proof them)
I told her that is a double standard and she said "Deal with it...women don't have to be P.C.".....
Message edited by author 2006-08-14 15:29:16. |
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08/14/2006 06:03:38 PM · #45 |
I agree with everything that's been said, but I have an original (dare I say creative) aspect to add: sometimes you're wowed by a concept and want to try it yourself while also adding something new.
That's what happened with my B&W in color entry:
Yes, there have been many wine glass shots, but I hadn't tried it yet, and I hadn't seen a B&W one yet. At the same time, I wanted to do it so you didn't get the normal vertical lines. And that led me to consider how to prove there's water in the glass vs. an empty glass in front of a background - hence the broken forks. Thinking about to accomplish all of that was a lot of fun, and I learned quite a bit.
So it wasn't "this kind of shot scores highly so I'll do it" but rather "that's a neat technique - what can I add to it?"
It almost got me my 2nd 6 - and through my own critique and comments I received, I know why it didn't. But I was still delighted with my score. Fodder for the next time. :)
All of that said, my 10 entry was totally different from anything I'd seen before, but my ability to shoot it wasn't so hot. Again: learning.
Ultimately, I agree most strongly with three sentiments I've seen repeated in many threads like this one:
1) If you're happy with a shot, be happy regardless of score
2) If you're learning, be happy regardless of score
2) Don't assume that shots that have been done before are naked attempts to grab glory without being creative
Message edited by author 2006-08-14 18:06:03. |
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08/14/2006 06:11:03 PM · #46 |
| Well, I have looked back through previous challenges, and I actually think the quality has gotten better. I think people are really learning something. I know I have. |
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08/14/2006 06:19:53 PM · #47 |
I think Point and Shoot is the best strategy.
That's because it's good to have some idea of which light sources and which reflectors of ambient light will influence your camera's sensor through the medium of the lense. You can achieve this by deliberately pointing the camera at these things, which is very important.
The use of the word shoot is not literal in the context of photography. You shoot by releasing the shutter mechanism so that the sensor does, in fact, receive the light stimuli toward which you have pointed the camera.
Etymologically, photography is drawing with light. It's really very creative. |
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08/14/2006 06:22:50 PM · #48 |
hmm, a creative shot is not the same as a unique shot. One can take a single subject and shoot is many (many) times yet still be creative with it. The creater of this post (James) commented on my fire shot thus ...
"Nice capture. I've seen this one before, but very nice composition"
So, he liked my shot even though he had seen it done before. I can honestly say that I will never see a shot here (or anywhere else) that is 100% unique and never been seen by anybody else before. Unless off course the anal amongst us think an image of somebody being shot through the left temple is unique when compared to an image of someone shot through the right temple.
I can honestly say I have not seen the same image I submitted to fire elsewhere (similar if you are from another continent)but never the same 3 elememts in my shot (maybe I should go see more peoples shots).
Hey, if somebody goes and takes a unique image I guess they should be called a discoverer? nobel prize candidate?
oops, have had a drunk so shall away now....
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08/14/2006 06:45:20 PM · #49 |
Originally posted by saintaugust:
people i think are learning what appeals to the voters. and that breeds repetition.
also, there are many creative shots that don't surface because they score so low, so no one ever sees them except during voting.
that's my take. |
Right. A couple match shots have done well in recent challenges, so naturally everyone virtually stampedes to duplicate those for the next suitable challenge. |
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08/14/2006 07:16:36 PM · #50 |
Originally posted by saintaugust:
people i think are learning what appeals to the voters. and that breeds repetition.
also, there are many creative shots that don't surface because they score so low, so no one ever sees them except during voting.
that's my take. |
Sometimes I think a good shot will jar my memory. Take, I believe, Qart's dandelion seed shot. I have always wanted to do a shot with dandelions, but it had slipped my mind. Seeing it makes me want to do it again. I may try one next spring.
Just another reason why you may see similar pictures.
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