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07/21/2008 06:10:10 PM · #151 |
Originally posted by SteveJ:
My membership expires in 21 days and I can't find a reason at the moment to renew it. I have entered challenges, the votes and comments have been obscure and nothing to do with the original context of the site...a challenge site, not a photo competion site...I am confused.
I have been here quite a few years now and have learnt a lot about the technical side. I think my photos are good and meet the challenges, maybe not ribbon winners, but comsistent and average. Yet the scores are below average and this is a real reason for concern.
This weekend I visited a local garden show where one category was photos, and without being egotistical or bigheaded, I have dumped better photos than those that won. So, why should I renew my membership?? |
My membership expires in a week or so and I feel pretty much the same way. Looking at the winners of a recent challenge it occurred to me that I certainly don't want to be taking pictures like that. There's a lot of technical expertise that I don't have, mind and I wouldn't mind having it.
I discovered the Internet and what were then Usenet discussion groups, a little over ten years ago. People were complaining how the place was going to the dogs. I didn't feel that at all but within a year or two I'd formed some sort of unformulated idea of how things ought to be and how people ought to behave. I'd also experienced the strange phenomenon of really being quite upset, to the point of physical discomfort, by little letters on a screen produced by electrons transmitted through a web, no less, that could have been sent by a ten year old kid or an eighty-five year old granny for all I knew.
Usenet's all but useless now, and software and hardware and bandwidths have grown so discussion forums and sites like this one are possible. The wonderful anarchy and freedom of the good/bad old days is necessarily forfeited and registration is obligatory. You can still get niggled at folk though. I think one of the dangers is the invisibility cloak we all have on here. Voices, clothing, foibles, body language and all sorts of even more subliminal and subtle triggers would ensure that we never struck up a conversation with people with whom we converse in regular basis on the net.
It was poetry that I was first involved with on Usenet. I'll not go into all the ills that festered forth there, but I'm disillusioned. I never had a place to share my poetry before though, and what has been a passion or a hobby throughout my (self) conscious life has benefitted greatly.
I think what's good about this place is that you get somewhere to show your pictures. I'd agree that comments are neither quantitatively nor qualitatively what one might hope for, but they're still better than what you get if you inflict a slide show on friends, family or neighbours. Come to think of it, dpc's doing them no small favour too.
Not renewing membership doesn't mean leaving the site altogether. I'm strapped for cash these days, but a year's membership is still a lot less than a week's grocery. There'll probably be a period where I'm a non-member though. I'd rather you didn't leave, Steve, 'cos I'll miss you. Fat lot I've done to give you that impression while you're here.
Am I still waffling on? Oh dear.
The tenuous parallel that I was trying to establish between the old poetry boards is something like this. New people are coming in all the time. The demographic is changing. People are here for different reasons or the way they found the place is different. Their attitudes and their manners in use and communication will be different. Things ain't what they used to be. But I'm changing too - especially with regard to my use and experience of this site. It just may be that there's a sort of one year, two year, four year period after which you're a mature student, as it were. Can you remember how funny rag magazines were when you were twenty years old?
You're still a valuable member of the community. A valued one, too, however poor a job we do of showing it. |
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07/21/2008 06:11:30 PM · #152 |
Sugar
Votes: 64
Views: 133
Avg Vote: 4.3438
Comments: 2
Favorites: 0
but of course I did a snaffles shot...;-)
Finished the shoot, have a ton o' film to go through...I definitely have my work cut out for me tonight! |
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07/21/2008 06:12:08 PM · #153 |
Originally posted by SteveJ:
My membership expires in 21 days and I can't find a reason at the moment to renew it. I have entered challenges, the votes and comments have been obscure and nothing to do with the original context of the site...a challenge site, not a photo competion site...I am confused.
I have been here quite a few years now and have learnt a lot about the technical side. I think my photos are good and meet the challenges, maybe not ribbon winners, but comsistent and average. Yet the scores are below average and this is a real reason for concern.
This weekend I visited a local garden show where one category was photos, and without being egotistical or bigheaded, I have dumped better photos than those that won. So, why should I renew my membership?? |
Because of this part of your post ^^^^^^^^^
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07/21/2008 06:16:44 PM · #154 |
Originally posted by NikonJeb:
Oops....
Any other time I'm hangin' around being a nuisance.....somebody calls me and I'm outta touch.....okay, more than usual.
One thing I have found after many years of automotive involvement is the sheer extent of my ignorance.
That said, I did specialize in extensive knowledge of strange cars, and it's well known amongst my peers in the oddball car community that I have a propensity to develop an attachment for orphan bastard cars......the ones that had a bad habit of being transition cars, or something obtuse that they only made a few of, which this Tudhope falls neatly into the category thereof.
And......I NEVER heard of one of the goofy things.
Truth be told, with the exception of the assorted car plants that are satellites of the Detroit Big Three, I cannot say that I've ever heard of a Canadian car. |
I've been away at a wedding all through Sunday and right back to work this morning so this is the first time I had to sit down and have a look see if I was able to stump Jeb.
YAH HOO I did it and on my first try (dancing across the floor, doing cartwheels(yes I can still do cartwheels) and singing "I did it, I did it"). I can't believe it, really, I can't.
I would like to thank Ernie ( basssman7) for the invite to this wonderful team community and everyone who wished me well, good luck, and welcome to Team Suck.
A very special thank you to my good friend Barbara ( BAMartin)for her warm welcome and support, and of course "our" (I like that, "our") fearless leader Don ( posthumous) for giving me a challenge just to get started. I hope I live up to all the hype.
MAX! sits back a awaits approval from fearless leader.
Thank you everyone, I look forward to contributing to what ever team I'm assigned to.
MAX! |
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07/21/2008 06:20:07 PM · #155 |
I have my fingers crossed that you will be a part of Team Minus, we would really welcome you with open arms....
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07/21/2008 07:21:44 PM · #156 |
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07/21/2008 11:17:19 PM · #157 |
Just received a comment from another  dsterner and I completely agree with your point of view, I tossed a coin over that decision tails came up. |
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07/21/2008 11:24:13 PM · #158 |
Originally posted by BrianR:
Just received a comment from another dsterner and I completely agree with your point of view, I tossed a coin over that decision tails came up. |
about time I heard from a team mate!!! Hello Mate!!! |
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07/22/2008 12:07:42 AM · #159 |
Nice post, Peter. The internet has indeed become a community of sorts, and as a community has the full gamut of personalities. Which may be one reason I really like it, and why it aggravates me at times, too. It can be a bit of an addiction as well. Reactions (to be read as "scores") to some of my shots have truly been upsetting at times and I sometimes worry that I take it all too seriously at times as well. Yet I keep coming back. Wonder what that should tell me.... :-)
Best part of dpc, in my humble opinion, is Team Suck. Sounds kinda corny, but to me it is. |
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07/22/2008 01:12:30 AM · #160 |
Thanks again to quiet_observation for posting results while I was (sick/absent/abducted by aliens/eaten by a grue).
I did get to visit some of the flood damaged areas of Iowa near my grandfather's town. It was a bleak looking day, with no color in the sky and generally hideous light conditions for landscapes.
    
    
    
As always, someone send me a PM if I need to add someone to a team, change someone's account name, or put them on a different team. |
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07/22/2008 01:41:40 AM · #161 |
Originally posted by raish:
This is an enlightened dictatorship. |
It's enlightened? *ducks boiling oil*
Originally posted by Kelli:
... does anyone wanna give me some feedback on my Anything But entry? |
Left a comment.
Steve, if nothing else, you've got Team Suck and portfolio space. But even if you decide to drop the portfolio, you should still play here on TS.
Meyers: wow, those shots show the awesome power of water. And I mean "awesome" in the somewhat archaic mode of "awe-inspiring," as opposed to "way bitchin' dude!" My 8-year old needs to learn the difference, too. About every 3rd word is "awesome!"
And to everyone in the 2-person portrait challenge: oops. I just realized I had the high score. I'll be commenting shortly. Right now I need to go to bed. My fever of 103 last night has fallen to "only" 100 tonight.
BTW, I can't remember whether I posted the link to my Hawaii pics (I've uploaded several more). If I did, please forgive me. But here they are. I've already had three offers to buy lava pics, and one of those folks is showing them to galleries on the Big Island. :)
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07/22/2008 07:27:19 AM · #162 |
Go rest Jeffrey - get better.
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07/22/2008 09:46:15 AM · #163 |
Originally posted by SteveJ:
My membership expires in 21 days and I can't find a reason at the moment to renew it. I have entered challenges, the votes and comments have been obscure and nothing to do with the original context of the site...a challenge site, not a photo competion site...I am confused.
I have been here quite a few years now and have learnt a lot about the technical side. I think my photos are good and meet the challenges, maybe not ribbon winners, but comsistent and average. Yet the scores are below average and this is a real reason for concern.
This weekend I visited a local garden show where one category was photos, and without being egotistical or bigheaded, I have dumped better photos than those that won. So, why should I renew my membership?? |
Steve, I'm right there with you buddy. I know exactly how you feel. What you need is an IM buddy. Someone you can rant & rave with about the scores, yet get a real feel on what your pictures are worth before you even enter them. Don't let this place screw with your head. Terry (Doyle) & I IM each other all the time. We complain, we compare, we offer each other advice and encouragement. I think I'd have given up by now if not for her. I'm still stumped as to scores, but at least I know that someone genuinely likes my pictures (besides my family & friends). I also joined a local meetup photography group and was getting great feedback there (but have missed the past few months because of other commitments). My latest entry (Sugar), I was showing her my pictures, we picked one and I said, "I swear if I get another 4.5 I'm going to give up!". She said "No way can that get a 4.5". Guess what...
Sugar
Votes: 80
Views: 138
Avg Vote: 4.5000
Comments: 0
...and not a single comment telling me why! But I love the people here on TS, and wouldn't give that up for scores or money, so here I am.
eta: And thanks for the feedback on my Anything but guys and gals!!
Message edited by author 2008-07-22 09:48:05. |
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07/22/2008 04:56:14 PM · #164 |
Still no word from Don, (sniff) about a team :(
MAX! |
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07/22/2008 05:00:02 PM · #165 |
Originally posted by Quigley:
Still no word from Don, (sniff) about a team :(
MAX! |
Don's offline until next Saturday, I believe, Max. Patience! :) (and Welcome!) |
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07/22/2008 05:24:01 PM · #166 |
Originally posted by krnodil:
Originally posted by Quigley:
Still no word from Don, (sniff) about a team :(
MAX! |
Don's offline until next Saturday, I believe, Max. Patience! :) (and Welcome!) |
Ah yes patience I have especially if I know something GOOD is coming:)~
Thank you for the welcome.
MAX! |
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07/22/2008 07:04:12 PM · #167 |
Hi all...
MAX! Welcome to the craziest part of dpchallenge!
Jeffrey, go and relax. That's an order. :-)
Now, yesterday I did my first ever shoot with a model, in this case a very seasoned one. Lois has been modelling since her teens so she knows her angles quite well. [thumb]702024[/thumb]
She wanted a shot from this angle, and I'm not done pp'ing it yet. (Her bf was holding my homemade reflector, so yes there is some glare on the back of her wrist, and I am still trying to perfect the calibration). But though it's a good angle, there are a few roots showing and I need to blend them in.
Any ideas, anyone?
Message edited by author 2008-07-22 19:04:49. |
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07/22/2008 07:12:41 PM · #168 |
Originally posted by Quigley:
Originally posted by krnodil:
Originally posted by Quigley:
Still no word from Don, (sniff) about a team :(
MAX! |
Don's offline until next Saturday, I believe, Max. Patience! :) (and Welcome!) |
Ah yes patience I have especially if I know something GOOD is coming:)~
Thank you for the welcome.
MAX! |
Decide what team you want to be on and the suck wheels will turn. |
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07/22/2008 10:58:50 PM · #169 |
| btw, I wanted to thank my fellow TSers for giving me such encouraging comments in my recent Anything But... entry, they are much appreciated. :) |
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07/22/2008 11:25:18 PM · #170 |
Originally posted by snaffles:
Now, yesterday I did my first ever shoot with a model ... [thumb]702024[/thumb]
Any ideas, anyone? |
Yep: decide where your ideal dark and light placement would be, and then make it so using soft light layers. Follow idnic's excellent tutorial to start.
To me, her face is too dark relative to, well, everything else. The glare on her wrist doesn't bother me in and of itself, just that it pulls my attention away from her eyes.
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07/23/2008 12:05:26 AM · #171 |
| Yummy yummy images are up in the results thread. Congrats to Doyle and BAMartin for being the top chefs this week, and to Melethia for the top overall score! |
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07/23/2008 04:31:11 PM · #172 |
Hi all
I did some more work on that photo I posted yesterday. Now I've fixed her hair and sharpened up the image a bit. Criticques/comments welcome.
Jeffrey, thanks for the link to idnic's tutorial!
Before: [thumb]702024[/thumb] After: [thumb]702351[/thumb]
BTW if anyone thinks this pic looks really washy and undersaturated, please say so. I calibrated my iMac yesterday but have not calibrated this thing (PC).
Message edited by author 2008-07-23 16:33:28. |
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07/23/2008 06:46:24 PM · #173 |
| It's been warm here and I've been a slug, none of the challenges have set off any bells giving me ideas. Not that I haven't been taking pictures just none that would work for challenges. I'm finding it hard to believe that it is almost the end of July. It is true the older you get the faster time goes by. I do stop by at least once a day and live through my friends here as I have no life ;) |
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07/23/2008 07:36:34 PM · #174 |
*hugs* Aww, cheer up, there are always more challenges. I pulled my Sugar entry and didn't even shoot for either Hot or Cold.
Besides, I've been on a rather steep learning curve today, learning from luminaries like idnic, TCGuru and Ernie about how to do cool PS things. Joining this site has taught me so much, not least including to always save the original file - so I can always go back to the RAW file and go from there. |
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07/24/2008 12:13:12 AM · #175 |
Hi fellow suckers. I need some advice on a shot, I shot my first maternity shot and am having trouble processing them. can someone give me some comments and ideas on this shot?
Thanks
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