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10/07/2009 05:34:32 PM · #51 |
| This is a great topic for many reasons but primarily because I fianlly submitted for a couple of challenges after just being an observer for a year or more. I thought I had some good entries but it seems they are only average. It was a bit disappointing at first because it reminded me of the pin-up and critque process I went through back in college. My peers and I would get slammed. We all learned to not take it personally. I have my reasons for doing what I do, sometimes it resonates with people and sometimes it doesn't. Either way all comments are inherently valuable whether I like them or not; sometimes they help me to see where I have become blind. I also think there is a great deal to learn from comments about other's photos as well. |
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10/07/2009 05:55:52 PM · #52 |
Originally posted by Melethia:
OK, so hate may be kinda strong, but really disliking challenges at the moment. I kinda wanted to participate fully in the golf thing since I did sign up, but I can see now that I really should quit entering for a month or so, again. I just can't quite get the hang of the place (after five years. I'm a slow learner.)
Recommendations? |
Ya know, Deb, with two current submissions both in the 4s, and many more behind them, I too feel ready to 'quit' for a while. I thought I 'knew' DPC for a long time, but now? Um, maybe not.
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10/07/2009 07:05:39 PM · #53 |
Maybe this has already been mentioned but I don't enter many challenges because they are ALMOST always too specific. With a full time job and family it's hard to go out and shoot challenges with very narrow descriptions. I pretty much just enter Free Studies because it's much easier to do. That's why I like very broad challenges like B&W, Bokeh, Flowers, image grain etc. The good thing about those type of challenges is that more people tend to enter them. I know that many DPCers really enjoy these specific challenges, but for me, it's difficult to get out and find a shot that meets the challenge.
So Deb, I know what you mean and I can empathize with you. One advantage that you have is the ability to find the key to the Magic Kingdom when you really want to. I'm still outside the gate trying to get Mickey or Minnie to sneak me in. Or, maybe even Goofey. One thing I've been saying about photography for over 35 years is that I don't ever want it to be anything more than a hobby. I remember shooting images way back when ISO was ASA and I've always shot what I wanted and not what I had to. Maybe that's why I'm still outside the gate waiting, but I also still enjoy my hobby.
Hope you feel better about things. I do know what the frustration feels like. |
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10/07/2009 08:27:31 PM · #54 |
Can't you see this is all just a GIANT SCAM, people!?!  Melethia is being impossibly nice and insightful about your photos, but to what end?? What are her secret motivations? Already, a side-challenge has been named in her honor.
CAN'T YOU SEE WHAT'S GOING ON HERE??
Slowly, insidiously, DEB IS TAKING OVER DPC, not through some noble means like military coup, revolting peasants, or three-legged spaceships (none of those work, btw. I've tried them all.), but by a relentless barrage of NICENESS, COURTESY & CARE. She. Must. Be. Stopped.
Quickly!!
Before the treasured DPC values of anal-retentiveness, linear thinking and boxy boxedness are forever compromised!!!
YOU MUST ACT NOW. Tie a Virtual Ribbon around your head, turning it into a Virtual Blindfold. Then vote on three challenges in five seconds, giving high scores to anything that looks sweet enough to lick off the screen, lodge three complaints against Slippy, defend rules and authority on the forum 5 times, and then go out there and take photos only of previous ribbon-winning set-ups, to guarantee the continued integrity of this site.
DO NOT DELAY>>>><<<<<<< DPC NEEDS YOU >>>>>>>>>
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10/07/2009 08:34:43 PM · #55 |
Originally posted by posthumous:
Can't you see this is all just a GIANT SCAM, people!?! Melethia is being impossibly nice and insightful about your photos, but to what end?? What are her secret motivations? Already, a side-challenge has been named in her honor.
CAN'T YOU SEE WHAT'S GOING ON HERE??
Slowly, insidiously, DEB IS TAKING OVER DPC, not through some noble means like military coup, revolting peasants, or three-legged spaceships (none of those work, btw. I've tried them all.), but by a relentless barrage of NICENESS, COURTESY & CARE. She. Must. Be. Stopped.
Quickly!!
Before the treasured DPC values of anal-retentiveness, linear thinking and boxy boxedness are forever compromised!!!
YOU MUST ACT NOW. Tie a Virtual Ribbon around your head, turning it into a Virtual Blindfold. Then vote on three challenges in five seconds, giving high scores to anything that looks sweet enough to lick off the screen, lodge three complaints against Slippy, defend rules and authority on the forum 5 times, and then go out there and take photos only of previous ribbon-winning set-ups, to guarantee the continued integrity of this site.
DO NOT DELAY>>>><<<<<<< DPC NEEDS YOU >>>>>>>>> |
LOL!! ...and to think I just signed up to a side challenge with 'Honorary' in the title... :) |
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10/07/2009 09:13:45 PM · #56 |
Rut? Abyss it seems for me. Never that good to begin with, average at best. But for quite some time now it just seems something has been missing from my whole idea to image to submission process.
Ever since I got married or close to it it seems. I used to think and create these images in my mind all the time. I always instantly had an idea - good or not. And now it seems like it is a chore just to think about it. Like I stopped progressing. Stopped trying to push my own limits. Stopped trying to wedge a woody into every challenge. Stopped trying to create a ridiculous shot just for the fun of it...and still have it fit the challenge.
So Deb, from all the glitter that may or may not be gold (blue, red, yellow as the case may be), there is always something to take with you and call your own. It has been said in this thread and has been said in many others, shoot for you - your own satisfaction. That time when you sit at the computer and browse your images and suddenly you realize you are smiling. Not because the shot is all that great. But because the memory of that moment in time is something that brings joy and happiness and you can replay the event in your mind and still find that joy and smile.
Message edited by author 2009-10-07 21:18:19. |
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10/07/2009 10:28:07 PM · #57 |
It's funny, 'cause Deb was the one who most inspired me to be comfortable with my image BEFORE I submit it, and then let the votes fall where they may.
I have not been upset or unduly disappointed since. I've been puzzled, or disinterested once I saw which way the voting was going, but I no longer care if I missed the mark with the voters.
Remember this: The "I really love my shot" gang - March '08?
That was inspired by you, Deb, and you've taught more than just me how to work within the inner parameters rather than be downtrodden by a voting cycle.
Anyhow, dear lady......you are a kind and delightful presence, and an inspiration to so many.
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10/07/2009 10:33:15 PM · #58 |
Originally posted by posthumous:
Can't you see this is all just a GIANT SCAM, people!?! Melethia is being impossibly nice and insightful about your photos, but to what end?? What are her secret motivations? Already, a side-challenge has been named in her honor. |
Hrrmph! And I'm what? Window dressing? Stinky cheese? Not nice enough? Jejeje�
R. |
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10/07/2009 10:34:31 PM · #59 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Hrrmph! And I'm what? Window dressing? Stinky cheese? Not nice enough? Jejeje� |
She's got "people". |
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10/07/2009 10:43:54 PM · #60 |
Originally posted by posthumous:
Can't you see this is all just a GIANT SCAM, people!?! Melethia is being impossibly nice and insightful about your photos, but to what end?? What are her secret motivations? Already, a side-challenge has been named in her honor. |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Hrrmph! And I'm what? Window dressing? Stinky cheese? Not nice enough? Jejeje�
R. |
Nope! Baloo from The Jungle Book.....
"Baloo took on a real personality - a bear with a beat and a philosophy! His thinking was simply that life goes on one way or another and should be "lived up" in ease and fun."
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10/07/2009 10:52:59 PM · #61 |
Originally posted by Melethia:
Hopefully you aren't suggesting I comment more, Jeb.... :-) |
Nope! You're my commenting heroine!.....8>)
Originally posted by Melethia:
I'm also a bit dejected about the whole commenting thing of late. I've commented a couple hundred entries in the past three challenges I've voted and a good third or so of them are not marked helpful. I do realize some people don't check that box out of principle (ie never check it) but I think some just don't care, and that's depressing. |
I think there are people out there who, like me 'til you told me how, are simply daunted by the task of rooting back through their images to find ones no commented upon.
They just don't know you can click on your comments received number, then tick a dropdown box that says "Comments not marked as helpful" and have them all pulled up right before your very eyes!....8>)
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10/08/2009 12:25:47 AM · #62 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Originally posted by posthumous:
Can't you see this is all just a GIANT SCAM, people!?! Melethia is being impossibly nice and insightful about your photos, but to what end?? What are her secret motivations? Already, a side-challenge has been named in her honor. |
Hrrmph! And I'm what? Window dressing? Stinky cheese? Not nice enough? Jejeje�
R. |
Don't worry, there's a manila folder with your name on it.
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10/08/2009 12:49:31 AM · #63 |
Don, pretty darn sure "niceness" will never catch on. Nor courtesy or care. Good of you to notice, though.
I, like many of you, watch the little moving average bit. I had mine all the way up to the glorious heights of x.xx67 just a short month ago, I think it was. In the past two days I have plummeted to x.xx51 and am in free fall. Gotta tell you that this is a SIGNIFICANT accomplishment for someone with over 300 challenges! I am so proud!!
Not really proud, but it sounds good, yes?
I may take my camera out today, if I can figure out how to focus the damn thing (it has way more options than the other one).... I will probably even shoot for a challenge. I do enjoy the shooting for a challenge - I like having a goal. But I do shoot for myself, too. And yes, I enjoy looking over the little beasties on my hard drive.
Oh and Bob - my Free Studies suck, too. :-) That, I don't mind. |
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10/08/2009 01:36:11 AM · #64 |
Face it Deb. You suck.
;-)
Message edited by author 2009-10-08 03:29:42. |
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10/08/2009 02:51:15 PM · #65 |
My avg is 5.00whatever
It never goes below 5 no matter how hard I try. |
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10/08/2009 03:07:50 PM · #66 |
when I first started I would just go out and shoot anything that caught my eye, and if something I shot that week fit a challenge I went ahead and entered it and a lot of the scores came out high 5's low 6's. Then I started shooting for the challenges and oh my, my scores went down faster than the Titanic. Needless to say IM back to shooting what I like and my scores are generally better. Then again though, yea a high score is nice and all but in the case of my latest FS entry that came in very low, I had great comments on it and to me that was worth more than a high vote :)
-dave |
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10/08/2009 03:27:10 PM · #67 |
I shoot what I like but I also shoot with the challenge in mind. Still not working very well. Alas, I do think I'll take the advice of lots of good folks here and take a break from challenges for awhile. Maybe a LONG while... :-) (Though I really do like the idea of into and out of the frame....)
I KNOW better.... I really do.... Gah. |
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10/08/2009 11:21:34 PM · #68 |
| I'm wondering, does this kind of discontentment happen on every photography site or just DPC? I ask because I've never seen a thread like this at Fred Miranda, or Photo.net or DPReview or anywhere else. Not to say it hasn't ever happened, but if it has I am not aware of it, whereas here it seems a matter of course for people to say they're fed up with it. |
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10/08/2009 11:38:08 PM · #69 |
What about the other photo contest sites?
At most of them that I've been to, the complaints, feelings of discontent, whatever are pretty much par for the course.
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10/09/2009 09:49:25 AM · #70 |
Originally posted by karmat:
What about the other photo contest sites?
At most of them that I've been to, the complaints, feelings of discontent, whatever are pretty much par for the course. |
But DPC has the best complainers anywhere! |
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10/09/2009 10:01:42 AM · #71 |
Originally posted by posthumous:
Originally posted by karmat:
What about the other photo contest sites?
At most of them that I've been to, the complaints, feelings of discontent, whatever are pretty much par for the course. |
But DPC has the best complainers anywhere! |
LOL!
However, DPReview holds it's own on brand flaming (Canon! No, Nikon! Pentax who?!) in their forums. :-) |
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10/09/2009 10:50:46 AM · #72 |
Originally posted by Melethia:
I shoot what I like but I also shoot with the challenge in mind. Still not working very well. Alas, I do think I'll take the advice of lots of good folks here and take a break from challenges for awhile. Maybe a LONG while... :-) (Though I really do like the idea of into and out of the frame....)
I KNOW better.... I really do.... Gah. |
I think you're right. Relax and shoot what you wish. If you have Challenges in the back of your mind, that tends to guide what you are going to look for to some degree and if it's at the forefront it can jumble you up and then you run the risk of producing nothing worth while.
If you really want to compete and get great scores, steadily, you need models, light set-ups or just be really good at churning out ideas. For what you and I generally do there's a more limited audience so, you'll always be at a slight disadvantage...if scores are the thing. Right now, I'm happier with the images I produce shooting 20 minutes in a week...or pulling out my camera here and there than when I'd spend days and days shooting for Challenges.
1x had a Portraiture thread a few weeks back discussing it's key elements and Brett Walker's name came up, which sent me on a 2hr. rampage. I think I got cooler images in those 2hrs of shooting than I did in some time. It was very random that my energy and his inspiration clicked...and that's the way to go. If something turns you on...Rock and Roll but if it doesn't, why bother?
To me breaking 6 is an small indicator that I've connected with the general population. Outside of that, I'm not looking for much more. Personally, I'd rather have a hip cult following than mass appeal...which you certainly have. Foster that...
eta: Unlike Don...sub 5 is a little too hip and too cult for me...lolol
Message edited by author 2009-10-09 11:21:16. |
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10/09/2009 11:30:10 AM · #73 |
Originally posted by pawdrix:
To me breaking 6 is an small indicator that I've connected with the general population. Outside of that, I'm not looking for much more. Personally, I'd rather have a hip cult following than mass appeal...which you certainly have. Foster that... |
Words of wisdom...
R. |
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10/09/2009 11:44:44 AM · #74 |
Originally posted by hajeka:
Originally posted by vawendy:
Your last three challenges didn't end so badly. I think you and I should just start the "I hate this week's challenges" club! |
I like to join...
But perhaps we need some more interesting side challenges ( with excuses to ladpupmoe, since she started the only October side challenge,as far as I know)
What about a "Slice of life" in November? |
YES! I was thinking about setting one up anyway. |
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10/09/2009 11:51:37 AM · #75 |
How about a slice of life with a twist? Or perhaps two separate challenges - the normal "slife" (heh - slice of life with a typo!) and one with  Pawdrix's "select two or more" list (which I'll go find in a minute if someone else doesn't find it first.) |
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