| Author | Thread |
|
|
06/13/2008 05:07:36 PM · #1 |
Hello everyone
I was quite surprised to see that this image by  Budya didn't do better in the "Partners" challenge:
This is the comment I left:
Originally posted by Sam94720:
The challenge description read: "Partnerships and teamwork are everywhere about us in nature and in human affairs; capture an image that shows a mutually beneficial relationship."
This image fits the description perfectly. I'm quite disappointed by its score. Most of the higher rated pictures basically just show two individuals - with no apparent mutually beneficial relationship. This picture captures the crucial moment in a truly mutually beneficial relationship beautifully. Technically it's also great, with perfect focus on the bee. Why would anyone give this a low rating or even a 1? I don't understand. Maybe people are not aware of the relationship between bees and flowers... |
I've been trying to figure out how DPCers vote, but you guys keep surprising me. ;-)
Could anyone please provide insights into why people rated this image low (20% of the votes were 4 or below)? Thanks a lot, I'm just trying to understand what goes through people's minds when voting.
Sam |
|
|
|
06/13/2008 05:37:16 PM · #2 |
My guess is that the focus and DOF are all heavily weighted toward the bee, resulting in a "single" subject. For Partners, voters would probably expect both to share the spotlight (all of the top 10 finalists have this characteristic). The composition pretty much pins your eye to the center of the frame, too, which doesn't help. Technically it's a fine image, but the score doesn't surprise me with the bee carrying all the weight.
Message edited by author 2008-06-13 17:37:41. |
|
|
|
06/13/2008 06:26:38 PM · #3 |
| Thank you, Shannon, I understand what you mean. However, since the flower is much bigger than the bee, I feel their weights are balanced by the focus and DOF. I think the picture would have been boring with a large DOF... |
|
|
|
06/13/2008 07:16:58 PM · #4 |
| Just another thought... perhaps the voters liked the pollen covered bees, to help show the partner connection more concretely. I think many of the bee shots in the challenge had that characteristic, and maybe after seeing it elsewhere, people decided that this one was too clean? Or, it could be that always repeated complaint that people are tired of bugs and flowers. |
|
|
|
06/13/2008 07:27:47 PM · #5 |
| This bee looks fairly heavily leaden with pollen. |
|
|
|
06/13/2008 07:43:57 PM · #6 |
I'm guilty of doing a standard "bug and flower" shot -> 
I can't claim to bee (hee hee) an expert on this kind of photography, but I might have a couple of additional suggestions; it might have been better if the bee was in some kind of context - it's a great shot but there's not really a sense of space or surroundings that might have bumped it up a few points. Also DPC voters are suckers for high saturation in shots like this; in my shot the bee was not that yellow and the sky was not that blue, to me the shot is slightly too grey to get people to push "7" instead of "5".
I do agree though it should have placed higher, there's the possibility that people speed voting may have missed the connection altogether and given it and offhand DNMC vote. I like to think higher of voters though :-p. |
|
|
|
06/13/2008 07:47:03 PM · #7 |
I think it's just another case where some good and really good shots don't score highly simply because of the weight of averages. It's a darn good bug shot and the voting breakdown shows that it was weighted with higher votes. Just that it was heavier on the 5's, and not quite enough WOW factor to grab a lot the 7's and higher. As good as it was, it just fell into the "nice, but seen it before" category.
I am learning to interpret the voting trend and I try hard to not be disappointed with anything over a 5. Especially if the comments indicate that I did connect with some people. You did good. |
|
|
|
06/13/2008 11:21:01 PM · #8 |
I would hazard to guess that DPCers don't like bees. If it makes you feel better, your shot scored better than the similar shot I submitted to the FS last month ;).
This was my original entry, but I converted the RAW to DNG and forgot to keep the original. Doh.
After seeing the results I was getting in the FS, I opted for a different subject for partners.
Message edited by author 2008-06-13 23:23:17. |
|
|
|
06/14/2008 12:01:04 AM · #9 |
| FWIW I gave it an 8 - but then again I'm pretty new around here and there are always at least one or two clear winners to me that are WAY down the list... I often feel as if I am missing something too. So much is individual I suppose. I saw that photo as technically sound (in my eyes) and met the theme. Others can be technically off (by quite a bit) but really have an artistic edge that stands out more than the "flaws" (for me) and others I have no idea how they meet the theme but are just such awesome shots, I can't help but score high. |
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 10/13/2025 06:20:56 PM EDT.
