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 08/29/2005 07:15:37 PM · #26
Originally posted by bucket:

look at the top 10 shots in this challenge, and this one and you will see a difference...


Ok. You're killing me here.
I gave this image a 9.
It placed 19th in its challenge of 198 entries.

WHAT ARE YOU POINTING TO?
(Sorry for the shout, but I hate to have to do all the work.)
 08/29/2005 07:15:47 PM · #27
Originally posted by bucket:

look at the top 10 shots in this challenge, and this one and you will see a difference...


totally. that's why it was hands down my favorite image in the challenge.

also why it has 20 favorites. :)

it has mass appeal for those who like certain types of photography and get sick of looking at cute colorful zoo animals.
 08/29/2005 07:18:57 PM · #28
Ok. Here's one that didn't do well in the recent challenge that I think should have done much better as it is an outstanding photograph but not exactly "DPC" standard.



edit: I didn't even realise this was bucket's till just now! LOL. what a wonderful coincidence. I'm with you bucket, i'm with you...

Message edited by author 2005-08-29 19:33:13.
 08/29/2005 07:26:11 PM · #29
I think, more than anything, DPC and its voters go through phases. We had weeks of massive post processing, weeks of birds, weeks of seaside images, weeks of sunset images, weeks of pure white backgrounds. People eventually tire of the same types of images and actually mark down because of it or accuse the photographer of a lack of originality. I am not saying I agree or that the images are not great and not special; I am just saying that trends are trends and they come and go.

What I look for and what I prefer are the timeless images that go beyond the trends. The Coco Chanels of the DPC world if that makes sense. 2 photographers that immediately come to mind, outside of those mentioned, are sher9204 and jjbeguin, two amazing photographers with unique visions of the world.

for what its worth...
 08/29/2005 07:28:02 PM · #30
Originally posted by KaDi:
Originally posted by bucket:

look at the top 10 shots in this challenge, and this one and you will see a difference...


Ok. You're killing me here.
I gave this image a 9.
It placed 19th in its challenge of 198 entries.

WHAT ARE YOU POINTING TO?
(Sorry for the shout, but I hate to have to do all the work.)
text

I am not saying that a great photo will be completely ignored..but can't you see the difference?
aren't the others just a little different from this..and don't they all have something in common?
for me this one was easily the best shot in the challenge..it had a sense of purpose, it make a statement..
19th...how and why???? i can't imagine ever taking a better photo for a challenge than that shot...
 08/29/2005 07:30:52 PM · #31
Originally posted by bucket:

19th...how and why???? i can't imagine ever taking a better photo for a challenge than that shot...


19th how and why? Statistics...tenths of a point.
That and possibly voters are sometimes afraid of what touches their hearts?
 08/29/2005 07:32:36 PM · #32
Originally posted by bucket:

for me this one was easily the best shot in the challenge..it had a sense of purpose, it make a statement..
19th...how and why???? i can't imagine ever taking a better photo for a challenge than that shot...


Hmmm... maybe it goes back to the statement about DPCers preferring hyper-reality. with sugar on top. I wish I remember who here said that.
 08/29/2005 07:32:41 PM · #33
Originally posted by dahkota:
The Coco Chanels of the DPC world if that makes sense. 2 photographers that immediately come to mind, outside of those mentioned, are ...


I love that you brought Coco into this, because it gives me the excuse to badly mis-quote her....=)
I heard recently, that she said something about her success, like "I imagined for everything I hated there was and opposite that I would like."
 08/29/2005 07:42:21 PM · #34
Here are some of my favorite shots that I don't think have the "DPC Look" you have described (of course, I've been wrong before!):

Mine:


Other people's:


EDIT: Removed duplicate

Message edited by author 2005-08-29 19:43:51.
 08/29/2005 07:45:04 PM · #35
Originally posted by KaDi:
Originally posted by dahkota:
The Coco Chanels of the DPC world if that makes sense. 2 photographers that immediately come to mind, outside of those mentioned, are ...


I love that you brought Coco into this, because it gives me the excuse to badly mis-quote her....=)
I heard recently, that she said something about her success, like "I imagined for everything I hated there was and opposite that I would like."


How's this:
"I invented my life by taking for granted that everything I did not like would have an opposite, which I would like."

Not a bad philosophy. thank you for leading me there. :)
 08/29/2005 07:47:55 PM · #36
Originally posted by JPR:
Ok. Here's one that didn't do well in the recent challenge that I think should have done much better as it is an outstanding photograph but not exactly "DPC" standard.



edit: I didn't even realise this was bucket's till just now! LOL. what a wonderful coincidence. I'm with you bucket, i'm with you...
text

you are really killing me...way too funny..oh man..oh my gut...
 08/29/2005 07:59:56 PM · #37
Originally posted by dahkota:

How's this:
"I invented my life by taking for granted that everything I did not like would have an opposite, which I would like."

Not a bad philosophy. thank you for leading me there. :)


Here's the listen I was thinking of: Writer's Almanac by Garrison Keillor (Scroll down to August 19 for text and audio.)
08/29/2005 08:00:59 PM · #38
Originally posted by KaDi:
Maybe there is a "DPC Look"?
At least lately....
What do these photos have in common? What do you think?


Well they are all infocus and well lit.
No, i'm not being sarcastic. Seriously, i have seen alot of out of focus photos/photos taken in very dim light. Light and a tripod/ stable surface are probably a good first start to the DPC look ;)
 08/29/2005 08:02:11 PM · #39
Regarless if DPC has its own style or not. There are still some pretty damn good photos here.

Travis
 08/29/2005 10:13:23 PM · #40
The problem I have, is that we're dealing with too many "opinions" with voting. Even with juried events we're only dealing with 5 or so people's opinions max.

I'm used to doing things FOR someone. If someone tells me they want a creative picture of something, then I only have to worry about what they're looking for. If I'm entering into a contest, I can typically research what's done well there in the past, or I can research the judge(s) themself and look into what they like. (assuming I plan)

Here, and with most of the shots I take, I shoot what I think people are looking for. Since I'm a people (hush, I know) I figure I know what everyone wants. I find I'm wrong.

Most of my shots I think are really good compositionally, lacking slightly technically. But I don't think I'd make up the difference from 4.5ish to 6.5ish or higher just because my shots are technically perfect.

I thought about redoing my Nude3 entry, but I don't think I'm going to. I can't imagine that I can get all 500+ voters to tell me if their votes would have gone up. And by how much.

I think I've digressed to rambling again, either that, or killing the thread, who knows...now to just decide if I'm going to renew my membership for next year.
 08/29/2005 10:56:52 PM · #41
Originally posted by eckoe:
I'm used to doing things FOR someone. If someone tells me they want a creative picture of something, then I only have to worry about what they're looking for. If I'm entering into a contest, I can typically research what's done well there in the past, or I can research the judge(s) themself and look into what they like. (assuming I plan)


I agree. I was hell-bent on getting a ribbon, entered every challenge with stuff I really liked. Then, after scores that hurt my little feelings, I realized two things:

1- I don't know my audience, my target demographic, at ALL

and the corollary to that

2- If I do win a ribbon what does it mean? If I go to all the work to please the demographic that I don't understand, then what have I gained when I finally please them?

Here's my new challenge - stock photography. Enter as many images as you wish. Your first judging comes from the screeners to get on the site, then from the buyers who look and don't buy. But now I have a target, and I have something real to gain by learning to please any given stock site's demographic.

I continue to vote, the mental exercise of why I do or don't like a photo really has helped my photography get better, I'm quicker to "judge" what I see through the viewfinder.

As for the elusive DPC ribbon... I've accepted that it will probably never be. I'll be content to glean what I can from those who consistently produce photos with the DPC mass appeal and learn from all who are so willing to share.

It's still a great place to hang out.
 08/29/2005 10:57:49 PM · #42
Too often the ribbon winners here are cloned from some strange view of creativity, I dare not say, artistry. The DPC 'look' is the chain and ball that limits the growth of this site. Too many DPC'ers refuse to look beyond the pretty and 'otherworld' look to many photos here. Too many photos are carbon-copies of themselves. As for the warped and often illogical voting habits.............
 08/29/2005 11:04:16 PM · #43
Originally posted by Thousands_Fall:
There is no art in DPC, there are only photographs.


Gee... thanks.
 08/29/2005 11:16:24 PM · #44
Originally posted by eckoe:
The problem I have, is that we're dealing with too many "opinions" with voting. ....

I'm used to doing things FOR someone. ...

Here, and with most of the shots I take, I shoot what I think people are looking for. Since I'm a people (hush, I know) I figure I know what everyone wants. I find I'm wrong....

I think I've digressed to rambling again, either that, or killing the thread, who knows...now to just decide if I'm going to renew my membership for next year.


Won't let you get out so easily as declaring yourself a "thread-killer"...after all, that's my job! :-)

But you touched a point with me. Maybe, what makes this a special place, for me (at least), is that the only opinion I'm really dealing with here is mine.

I, too, am used to doing such-n-such for so-n-so in my everyday world. (Not necessarily in my photography which is primarily a passion/hobby.) In my everyday world there are relatively clear directions and rules--get the job done, quality can be compromised, showing up is enough sometimes.... In my "art" world, the thing I'm here to do, just showing up is not enough, quality and experimentation is vital---and, yet, failure is not fatal.
 08/29/2005 11:22:23 PM · #45
Originally posted by dahkota:
Hmmm... maybe it goes back to the statement about DPCers preferring hyper-reality. with sugar on top. I wish I remember who here said that.


Ask and ye shall receive:
//www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=read&FORUM_THREAD_ID=259752
ThatCloudThere:

"No, I don't care about the suffering at all (that sounds harsh!)...my concern is that reality has become sugar-coated. The girl with pimples now has silky smooth skin, the sunet always lights the sky afire and the green grass always glows...we've come to expect the rare and beautiful because we can make it happen in PS.

And as a result, the viewers experience is also diminished because the awe and wonder is gone...it's now expected."

M
 08/29/2005 11:36:20 PM · #46
Originally posted by digitalknight:


It's still a great place to hang out.


That's kinda what I was thinking. My wife and I were discussing it earlier, and reguardless of what my scores are, (amusingly in 50 weeks, my score has actually gone down by .2) but I have prints of my own work up in my house, as well as friends houses. I've tasked myself to first do NYIP, and then decide if I want to try to make an income with this current "hobby".

Occasionally, something ticks me off here, like unconstructive comments, or inconsistent commenting and I ignore a thread. But the likelyhood of me making another set of decent comments and helping someone else, or me recieving a comment that makes me say "duh" I should have seen that.

I'll likely renew... if for anything, to keep learning from the forums, and comments.
 08/30/2005 12:06:07 AM · #47
i don't believe in a dpc style. what i do believe in is short term trends. it really depends on who is winning. i can remember back about two years ago dpc was all about set-up studio looking shots of mostly inanimate objects. i believe this was due to the success of studio shots at the time.

examples:







i believe in mimicking and not a dpc look.
 08/30/2005 12:35:22 AM · #48
Originally posted by Thousands_Fall:
Thats what DPC is though. Over saturated, high contrast pictures, that are shotten from one angle. There is no art in DPC, there are only photographs.



This is exactly what I mean. No offence to the artist, but look at the profile. He has had his camera for about a year, and scored in the challenges. Now the picture is an interesting subject, but isnt asthetically pleasing. Look at how the picture was taken, it apears to be shot as he was walking by this person. Not for artistics sake, but to take a picture of the freaky things he has seen.


Not sure if I agree if there is a "look" to dpc or not, I think that has been covered sufficiently. I do want to take issue (I think) of the opinion posted about this shot.

True, the shot is NOT aesthetically pleasing. Poverty rarely is. This shot is not sugar-coated, in any sense, but it reaches most people in a gut-wrenching way.

Yea, it was shot as he walked by. But, I find the angle to be part of the captivation of it -- looking down on the man makes him even more frail and weak.

It is not "artsy" in the artsy-fartsy only high brows understand it, but it is artistic in that it communicates across language barriers, racial barriers and socio-economic barriers.

I think nborton summed it up nicely with the phrase "short term trends."
 08/30/2005 12:37:13 AM · #49
We could change the site from DPC to PCC (photo coping challenge)! Just kidding..............
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