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07/15/2009 04:05:08 AM · #1 |
Ok I'm feeling a little jaded after my last photo (looking down into an alley from the roof of my home), in the challenge titled "looking down" came in behind a picture of...A BIRD CLEANING ITSELF.
Admittedly it was a pretty white bird and a quite nice photo. But that's just my point. Do people really place much relevance at all on the challenge subject when they vote? Or does prettiness reign supreme here?
Of course I know it's not all black and white, there's image quality, composition, etc etc etc. But surely the subject of the challenge should be high up, no?
Yet it seems to not be the case at all. Pictures of rocky shorelines and closeups of bugs frequently win regardless of the challenge. Sure they're often wonderful photos, but again - isn't half (if not most of) the challenge with these contests actually getting a photo that's relevant?
The way things seem to be now, it would make more sense to title these weekly challenges A, B and C.
I get paid to think conceptually - it's a large part of my job - and if an idea isn't on brief, no matter how good it may be, it's not worth anything. So maybe I'm just conditioned into thinking that way. Dunno. Photography is a whole different kettle of fishy ball games. And after all, it's just a free contest for godsakes, a hobby, so who cares really. Just a bit jaded after seeing yet more rocky shores and bugs on top. Anyway I'm done. That's my rant.
Still...a freaking bird cleaning itself.
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07/15/2009 06:10:49 AM · #2 |
lol, for heaven's sake, you got a 5.1 for an image that, quite frankly, would barely be visible on poorly calibrated monitors. Let me tell you, there's heaps of those voters about, so your score is a small miracle in itself!
As for your main gripe, sometimes yes, sometimes no. It can be hard to take at times, but just go with the flow. It's only numbers. |
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07/15/2009 06:19:23 AM · #3 |
Where's the dead horse graphic when you need it?
Seriously, this has been discussed more than once, and having seen the images in question I understand how you feel. There's a lot of voters around here that split their vote into several categories (technicals, imapct, appeal, uniqueness, creativity, lighting and so on) and then take the average.  nobodys image is technically better than yours and a lot more appealing, while yours fits the challenge perfectly, but doesn't contain very much impact or beauty. Does that make sense? |
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07/15/2009 07:00:13 AM · #4 |
"lol, for heaven's sake"?
I'm merely asking a question here, no need for exasperated head grasping or hyperventilating. Obviously it's a post-result reaction, together with an observation built over time.
You can give me a 1 every vote if you like. I'm merely trying to understand what's going through the heads of voters in this place. |
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07/15/2009 07:05:21 AM · #5 |
Message edited by author 2009-07-15 07:05:53. |
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07/15/2009 07:06:29 AM · #6 |
Originally posted by eyewave:
Where's the dead horse graphic when you need it?
Seriously, this has been discussed more than once, and having seen the images in question I understand how you feel. There's a lot of voters around here that split their vote into several categories (technicals, imapct, appeal, uniqueness, creativity, lighting and so on) and then take the average. nobodys image is technically better than yours and a lot more appealing, while yours fits the challenge perfectly, but doesn't contain very much impact or beauty. Does that make sense? |
Yes I understand that. I'm certainly not suggesting mine is great. Though you're right, nobody's is better lol. Just the votes seem to favour prettiness over relevance to the extreme, all the time, regardless of whether I've entered a challenge or not. I just cited the bird pic as an example because that was my latest experience with it.
But like I said, maybe that's just how it goes. It's a pity though. I've seen a lot of great images here that weren't visual stunners but were extremely good ideas and they rated like rubbish. Just a shame that's all. But then again this is photography and not the patent office, so I guess that's how it goes. |
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07/15/2009 09:24:41 AM · #7 |
Originally posted by surlybiff:
Do people really place much relevance at all on the challenge subject when they vote? Or does prettiness reign supreme here?
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Does this image answer your question?
Some pretty crappy lighting here. Didn't even bother to smooth out the cracks in the sand. The composition is pretty plain jane to me too. All and all, when I look at it, I go, Bleh. A few kids playing on the beach, big deal.
But for the DPC crowd any pic with a kid in it, is an automatic 1 point bonus. Add any neat or weird aspect and make that 1.5 points. And if it's in a subject challenge and exactly meets the challenge make that 2 to 2.5 points of bonus. And maybe.... if voters recognize the kids of a member an additional .5 point bonus... or a -.5 point bouns. Looking at the scores and comments on the picture you can see that several peeps gave it the lowest score possible, while a few gave it the highest. Two people commented on the image that they thought they recognized it as Scalverts. I suspect that MANY more recognized it as his. So it looks like to me there is a penality for making yourself identifiable during the voting... but there may also be a bonus. So maybe it all cancels out. But that's all speculation.
So... do people place any relevance on subjects???? You darn tooting. I'd have voted Scalverts a 5, as for the OP I'd have voted yours a 4. At least I could see his subjects. (I did not vote, nor enter in this challenge.)
Anyway, off to get some coffee so I won't be a surlybiff this morning. :) |
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07/15/2009 09:31:55 AM · #8 |
Originally posted by FireBird:
Originally posted by surlybiff:
Do people really place much relevance at all on the challenge subject when they vote? Or does prettiness reign supreme here?
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Does this image answer your question?
Some pretty crappy lighting here. Didn't even bother to smooth out the cracks in the sand. The composition is pretty plain jane to me too. All and all, when I look at it, I go, Bleh. A few kids playing on the beach, big deal.
But for the DPC crowd any pic with a kid in it, is an automatic 1 point bonus. Add any neat or weird aspect and make that 1.5 points. And if it's in a subject challenge and exactly meets the challenge make that 2 to 2.5 points of bonus. And maybe.... if voters recognize the kids of a member an additional .5 point bonus... or a -.5 point bouns. Looking at the scores and comments on the picture you can see that several peeps gave it the lowest score possible, while a few gave it the highest. Two people commented on the image that they thought they recognized it as Scalverts. I suspect that MANY more recognized it as his. So it looks like to me there is a penality for making yourself identifiable during the voting... but there may also be a bonus. So maybe it all cancels out. But that's all speculation.
So... do people place any relevance on subjects???? You darn tooting. I'd have voted Scalverts a 5, as for the OP I'd have voted yours a 4. At least I could see his subjects. (I did not vote, nor enter in this challenge.)
Anyway, off to get some coffee so I won't be a surlybiff this morning. :) |
Photos like Shannon's remind me of that South Park episode where everyone was addicted to watching videos of "Baby Animals with Wide Angle Lenses", and nobody could understand why it was so popular, until it was discovered that everyone was high on Cough Syrup.
Sometimes I think this whole place is constantly high on Cough Syrup. |
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07/15/2009 09:52:32 AM · #9 |
| brutally honest here. Your picture kinda sucks,it is too dark and yellow, there is something at the end of the alley that looks like two tires stuck together. Trying to be artistic with the angle is only sorta making it look lopsided and having to tilt ones head to see it. the focus is all over the place, I am not sure where to look at first, pick one area and stick to that. It is boring. you did nail the subject though with from above. |
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07/15/2009 08:18:15 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by surlybiff:
"lol, for heaven's sake"?
I'm merely asking a question here, no need for exasperated head grasping or hyperventilating. |
wow, you probably want to reread your opening sentence before going off at me like that.
Originally posted by surlybiff:
Obviously it's a post-result reaction, together with an observation built over time. |
Which is why I said it can be hard to take sometimes. Heck, I was pipped by a rodent once! But I have to keep reminding myself that this is simply a game :) |
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07/16/2009 01:13:43 AM · #11 |
Originally posted by rinac:
Originally posted by surlybiff:
"lol, for heaven's sake"?
I'm merely asking a question here, no need for exasperated head grasping or hyperventilating. |
wow, you probably want to reread your opening sentence before going off at me like that.
Originally posted by surlybiff:
Obviously it's a post-result reaction, together with an observation built over time. |
Which is why I said it can be hard to take sometimes. Heck, I was pipped by a rodent once! But I have to keep reminding myself that this is simply a game :) |
Sorry didn't mean to go off, but please give a guy a break. People get jaded after having a bad challenge, no need to kick up a big fuss about someone venting a little. I'm over it already, but I've seen people go absolutely nuts in here over these contests. I usually just enter for fun and don't bother getting upset at how my photos rate. But the last few challenges did make me wonder about the point of even having subjects and when I saw that bird cleaning itself in the "looking down" challenge it just spurred me to have a bit of a rant, that's all.
But yeah it's just a game, cheers for the comments anyway. Good luck with the next one! |
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07/16/2009 01:57:45 AM · #12 |
Well first off, won't sugar coat, I will say that your photo is just not really very good for a number of reasons. Mainly though, despite the efforts of your title, it does not have a subject, and the picture does not tell a story, it 'says' nothing.
And you will always be killed by the 'tilt', unless the addition of the tilt improves the photo, which in this case does not.
Moral of the story is that being 'On-point' to the challenge is no guarantee of success, and images which are flawed will always do poorly.
Conversely, an image that is a good, complete image will tend to do okay no matter how tenuous a link to the challenge, though its success will be limited in proportion to the length of the shoe horn used to wedge it in.
I agree with you, however, about the state of affairs on the site that seems to reward shoe-horning and eye candy and the resulting stifling of creativity, etc... yeah maybe it's true, but there is just not much to be done about it. The voters vote how they want to vote, although I have found that more often than not the cream sifts to the top, and good photos get recognized eventually even if they don't make the top 10.
The best is once in a while when a real unique image hits the front page, that's when you know it's a gem.
Best advice i could give is stick around and enter challenges and learn what 'the people' want, use that as a tool for improvement, but keep your vision.
Oh and you can't knock Scalvert's work, his style has a place in this world and quite frankly he's exceedingly good at it. The world has its Scorcese's and its Spielbergs and they appeal to different audiences. |
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