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02/06/2008 08:39:38 AM · #1 |
Does anyone else notice or get fed up with pictures that have little or questionable relevance to the set challenge, gaining high scores simply because there is a sunset/sunrise, stormy sky or mountain in the background? On our front page right now there is no examples of this which is lovely so probably the wrong time to produce this rant, abandoned buildings was a challenge which showed a lot of examples of this though!
Would be nice to see a challenge with an extra rule - No Mountains, no sunset/sunrise and no stormy skys, focus on the subject not the surroundings!
If the subject fulfills the challenge brief and luckily for the picture has any of these annoying things in the background I dont mind that, it's the irrelevance of some pictures to the brief which are being supported by their background which really get my back up. |
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02/06/2008 08:48:15 AM · #2 |
| I see you are new here, but this topic has been discussed to death, even recently. Just search through some of the forums for related discussions. Cheers, |
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02/06/2008 08:48:21 AM · #3 |
If the image gets high scores, then the voters believe that the image is relevant to the challenge title.
Originally posted by trevellie:
Does anyone else notice or get fed up with pictures that have little or questionable relevance to the set challenge, gaining high scores simply because there is a sunset/sunrise, stormy sky or mountain in the background? On our front page right now there is no examples of this which is lovely so probably the wrong time to produce this rant, abandoned buildings was a challenge which showed a lot of examples of this though!
Would be nice to see a challenge with an extra rule - No Mountains, no sunset/sunrise and no stormy skys, focus on the subject not the surroundings!
If the subject fulfills the challenge brief and luckily for the picture has any of these annoying things in the background I dont mind that, it's the irrelevance of some pictures to the brief which are being supported by their background which really get my back up. |
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02/06/2008 08:50:17 AM · #4 |
Originally posted by trevellie:
...abandoned buildings was a challenge which showed a lot of examples of this though! |
Um... I don't see a single entry among the top 50 without an abandoned building in it...? |
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02/06/2008 08:53:51 AM · #5 |
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02/06/2008 08:56:12 AM · #6 |
Choosing a backdrop for your subject is very important, IMO. Even if that backdrop is a flat black or white or stormy sky or mountain. :-)
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02/06/2008 08:56:24 AM · #7 |
"Um... I don't see a single entry among the top 50 without an abandoned building in it...?"
there were some stunning abandoned buildings with great mood and soul in the abandoned buildings challenge, then there were a lot of rundown boring wooden shacks with a stunning backdrop, these appeared to achieve higher scores then the abandoned buildings which had there own beauty and didnt need a glamorous backdrop to support them |
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02/06/2008 08:58:01 AM · #8 |
Isn't a wooden shack that no one uses considered abandoned?
Originally posted by trevellie:
"Um... I don't see a single entry among the top 50 without an abandoned building in it...?"
there were some stunning abandoned buildings with great mood and soul in the abandoned buildings challenge, then there were a lot of rundown boring wooden shacks with a stunning backdrop, these appeared to achieve higher scores then the abandoned buildings which had there own beauty and didnt need a glamorous backdrop to support them |
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02/06/2008 09:00:01 AM · #9 |
| Absolutely its abandoned, but would said building have such impact without said backdrop? I thought subject was abandoned buliding not backdrop by a rather boring abandoned building... |
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02/06/2008 09:02:19 AM · #10 |
These photography challenges are not only about objects in the foreground, it is about the entire scene. The background and context to the subject is just as, if not more, important...
Originally posted by trevellie:
Absolutely its abandoned, but would said building have such impact without said backdrop? I thought subject was abandoned buliding not backdrop by a rather boring abandoned building... |
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02/06/2008 09:06:54 AM · #11 |
| Wideangle landscapes with swoopy clouds tend to have good impact and always seem to do well. I agree the photo is about the scene as a whole, with the themed item ideally as the main subject. |
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02/06/2008 09:07:14 AM · #12 |
I'm someone who is all for people following the challenge details, but using a nice backdrop is all part of taking a great photo.
Originally posted by trevellie:
Absolutely its abandoned, but would said building have such impact without said backdrop? I thought subject was abandoned buliding not backdrop by a rather boring abandoned building... |
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02/06/2008 09:09:01 AM · #13 |
Originally posted by trevellie:
Absolutely its abandoned, but would said building have such impact without said backdrop? I thought subject was abandoned buliding not backdrop by a rather boring abandoned building... |
welcome to DPC - sounds like you are going to fit right in here. Good luck! |
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02/06/2008 09:14:28 AM · #14 |
Originally posted by trevellie:
Absolutely its abandoned, but would said building have such impact without said backdrop? I thought subject was abandoned buliding not backdrop by a rather boring abandoned building... |
The main subject is merely one component of the image composition. On this site, overall comp. will score higher than a quality shot with a good primary subject and little else in the photo to compliment it. |
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02/06/2008 09:21:01 AM · #15 |
Originally posted by trevellie:
Absolutely its abandoned, but would said building have such impact without said backdrop? I thought subject was abandoned buliding not backdrop by a rather boring abandoned building... |
Well THIS is a first... lots of people have complained about entries not meeting the challenge, but I don't think I've ever seen someone take issue with having attractive backgrounds in entries that DO meet the challenge. :-/ |
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02/06/2008 10:50:20 AM · #16 |
Originally posted by scalvert:
Originally posted by trevellie:
Absolutely its abandoned, but would said building have such impact without said backdrop? I thought subject was abandoned buliding not backdrop by a rather boring abandoned building... |
Well THIS is a first... lots of people have complained about entries not meeting the challenge, but I don't think I've ever seen someone take issue with having attractive backgrounds in entries that DO meet the challenge. :-/ |
That's a new one on me too :-) Funny thing, every time I enter an image that does NOT take advantage of my (admittedly gorgeous) surroundings, it gets hammered. So heck, I'm easy, I just go with the flow. Oceans & marshes & sunsets & streams & skiffs galore, that's the ticket. If you got it, flaunt it, is what I say :-) Imagine the havoc I'd wreak if was an Icelander... jejeje�
R.
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02/06/2008 10:58:52 AM · #17 |
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02/06/2008 11:00:51 AM · #18 |
Originally posted by MAK:
Where's me popcorn...... |
I ate it. While sitting in a skiff, during a storm, taking a photo of an abandoned shack. |
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02/06/2008 11:29:51 AM · #19 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Originally posted by scalvert:
Originally posted by trevellie:
Absolutely its abandoned, but would said building have such impact without said backdrop? I thought subject was abandoned buliding not backdrop by a rather boring abandoned building... |
Well THIS is a first... lots of people have complained about entries not meeting the challenge, but I don't think I've ever seen someone take issue with having attractive backgrounds in entries that DO meet the challenge. :-/ |
That's a new one on me too :-) Funny thing, every time I enter an image that does NOT take advantage of my (admittedly gorgeous) surroundings, it gets hammered. So heck, I'm easy, I just go with the flow. Oceans & marshes & sunsets & streams & skiffs galore, that's the ticket. If you got it, flaunt it, is what I say :-) Imagine the havoc I'd wreak if was an Icelander... jejeje�
R. |
LOL I can see it now, photo of a duck filled marsh beside a small wooden shack which is fed by a partly frozen stream lined with sparkling snow and clear blue ice which is being fed by the calm ocean where the water is almost like glass and the warm golden sun is just setting behind a small skiff and in the sky with the low camera angle the northern lights almost look like a magical sail above the skiff intermixed with sparse clouds that are glowing with orange and bright red from the setting sun.
Dam you're good Robert o_O
-dave
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02/06/2008 11:48:26 AM · #20 |
Sounds like y'all are completely misunderstanding the OP, at least as far as the abandoned buildings challenge is concerned. She didn't say the top shots didn't meet the challenge, but that the backgrounds completely overwhelmed what was supposed to be the focus of each picture - the building.
I agree that a background is important to a photo (that's a no-brainer), but if the photo is supposed to be about a particular object/idea/whatever, shouldn't that object/idea/whatever be the primary focus of the shot? The challenge was "abandoned buildings" not "gorgeous, sweeping landscapes." Shouldn't the *building* have taken center stage? Isn't that what we're supposed to be voting on?
I know we've gotten away from the old idea of keeping the challenge topic as a high priority (now it's just "should consider"), but I think the OP is right - in some of those shots, the challenge topic was an afterthought. |
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02/06/2008 11:53:21 AM · #21 |
| If you think it was an afterthought then vote that way and leave a comment explaining what could have been better. Just as I shouldn't tell you how to vote, don't tell others how to vote. Nice and simple. |
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02/06/2008 11:55:20 AM · #22 |
Originally posted by elemess:
Sounds like y'all are completely misunderstanding the OP, at least as far as the abandoned buildings challenge is concerned. She didn't say the top shots didn't meet the challenge, but that the backgrounds completely overwhelmed what was supposed to be the focus of each picture - the building.
I agree that a background is important to a photo (that's a no-brainer), but if the photo is supposed to be about a particular object/idea/whatever, shouldn't that object/idea/whatever be the primary focus of the shot? The challenge was "abandoned buildings" not "gorgeous, sweeping landscapes." Shouldn't the *building* have taken center stage? Isn't that what we're supposed to be voting on?
I know we've gotten away from the old idea of keeping the challenge topic as a high priority (now it's just "should consider"), but I think the OP is right - in some of those shots, the challenge topic was an afterthought. |
I disagree, my shot on that challenge has the abandoned building following the rules of thirds. The first thing that attracts the eye is the building. Yes the background adds drama, but if you ask someone about it, would they say its about the sky or the grass?
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02/06/2008 12:08:18 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by elemess:
I agree that a background is important to a photo (that's a no-brainer), but if the photo is supposed to be about a particular object/idea/whatever, shouldn't that object/idea/whatever be the primary focus of the shot? The challenge was "abandoned buildings" not "gorgeous, sweeping landscapes." Shouldn't the *building* have taken center stage? Isn't that what we're supposed to be voting on? |
Who says? Who's qualified to tell a voter what they're supposed to be voting on? There's nothing to say that in order to meet the challenge topic, the frame must be comprised entirely of said subject, or the photograph must be a study of the subject. |
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02/06/2008 12:13:06 PM · #24 |
There's a very fine line between "the wow factor created by an original and out of the box idea", and DNMC. Personally I haven't quite hit the mark yet, and I've get a couple personal worsts (of which I'm quite proud) to prove that I've tried.
Still, I maintain a positive attitude and happily ignore those who tell me what I should shoot and enter. =D Cheers! |
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02/06/2008 12:28:58 PM · #25 |
Originally posted by JaimeVinas:
Originally posted by elemess:
Sounds like y'all are completely misunderstanding the OP, at least as far as the abandoned buildings challenge is concerned. She didn't say the top shots didn't meet the challenge, but that the backgrounds completely overwhelmed what was supposed to be the focus of each picture - the building.
I agree that a background is important to a photo (that's a no-brainer), but if the photo is supposed to be about a particular object/idea/whatever, shouldn't that object/idea/whatever be the primary focus of the shot? The challenge was "abandoned buildings" not "gorgeous, sweeping landscapes." Shouldn't the *building* have taken center stage? Isn't that what we're supposed to be voting on?
I know we've gotten away from the old idea of keeping the challenge topic as a high priority (now it's just "should consider"), but I think the OP is right - in some of those shots, the challenge topic was an afterthought. |
I disagree, my shot on that challenge has the abandoned building following the rules of thirds. The first thing that attracts the eye is the building. Yes the background adds drama, but if you ask someone about it, would they say its about the sky or the grass? |
Agreed, the building in your photo was certainly the primary subject. The environment in which the building was set is all bonus material.
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