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Showing posts 26 - 50 of 85, (reverse)
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 05/01/2006 07:59:47 PM · #26
Here's a challenge for those who think there is no creative way to take a shot of a flower.

1) Find a single flower or group of flowers, be they in a vase, a field or your backyard. The flower(s) must be the primary subject though don't need to fill the frame.

2) Compose 36 shots of the same, boring flower(s). Get in close, shoot wide, find patterns, colours etc. Use shallow DOF, use deep DOF, off-center, centered. You get the picture.

BTW, you can use this exercise with anything. In the end you'll see the chosen object in a different light. You may never be inspired by a flower shot but the exercise should get you thinking about different ways to shoot things and not just take the same old shots.
05/01/2006 08:04:59 PM · #27
3) Pose someone nude with a flower. Sorry, couldn't help myself :-)
 05/01/2006 08:05:01 PM · #28
I feel like I'm being taken completely wrong, of course there are well done creative flower shots that are amzing and inspire others but in a challenge with unlimited different subjects to shoot, do we really want 1/3 of them to be the same subject?
 05/01/2006 08:05:24 PM · #29
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
I agree, time to get rid of flowers and bugs and water and kittens and dogs and kids and babies and LANDSCAPES...

Hell, I vote that if a picture has ever been shot of it before, it shouldn't be allowed in challenges. Soon, we can just end all this silly photography and voting.


LOL
 05/01/2006 08:07:01 PM · #30
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
3) Pose someone nude with a flower. Sorry, couldn't help myself :-)


Then the main subject isn't a flower then, is it?
;oP
 05/01/2006 08:08:39 PM · #31
Originally posted by cpanaioti:
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
3) Pose someone nude with a flower. Sorry, couldn't help myself :-)


Then the main subject isn't a flower then, is it?
;oP


Could be, depends on where ya put the flower :-P
 05/01/2006 09:00:42 PM · #32
just a little section from my profile page about my flower shots:

"For thoes of you who hate seeing "another flower" photo try looking at the photo. what is it about that flower the photographer wanted to photograph? I happen to love( and i mean love) photographing flowers. Its my thing. I have always loved flowers and i tend to want to remember one flower over another for one reason or another. It might be the color(royal splash), could be the petals themselves(double tiger,Burst of blue 1), the water on the petals(heaven tears,after the rain, and dalhia), or the shadows created by light playing on the petals(hide n seek,glad to be red) that im really taking the photo of. so please dont just look at a flower photo and do the whole "roll the eyes and say " oh geesh...another flower". look at it please and vote what you feel the photo deserves"
 05/01/2006 10:15:11 PM · #33
Originally posted by trnqlty:
I feel like I'm being taken completely wrong, of course there are well done creative flower shots that are amzing and inspire others but in a challenge with unlimited different subjects to shoot, do we really want 1/3 of them to be the same subject?


I don't want to say too much on this subject yet as I may have a shot entered and voting is still going on.

That said, perhaps you might want to consider that there are people who are doing this for fun on top of their already busy lives. Perhaps some of the people you complained about thought long and hard about this, but had little time to actually create their shot and therefore something naturally occurring such as a flower worked well.

Do you think that coming up with a high scoring shot of a cliched subject such as a flower is more difficult or a totally unique, very creative subject?

Lastly, people don't know what others are shooting per se, so when I enter flower A in challenge B, how do I know 100 other people are going to do the same?

My overall point is, where you say don't limit your creativity by shooting flowers and "think outside the box" (there's a freakin cliche for ya!), I'm saying don't limit your creativity by ignoring what is still inside the box, but can be done in new and exciting ways. If we weren't allowed to shoot things that had been done before, at some point there'd be nothing left to do. I shoot what I shoot because I find it interesting. If others do not because it has been done previously, oh well.

I hope also that people are not voting lower for an image because it is a cliche even though it might be a great shot and perfectly meet the challenge.

Edit - by the way, these questions aren't meant to be aimed at you, even though I quoted you. I am simply trying to get people to think about both sides of the issue with an open mind. Don't like something people did, try to figure out why they did it.

Message edited by author 2006-05-01 22:16:50.
 05/01/2006 10:20:34 PM · #34
Since the contest is still open, I think that specifically pointing out anything is not kosher.....like flowers..or ice cream...or babies..etc

if you're bored: don't vote - take your camera out and shoot something interesting
 05/01/2006 11:37:55 PM · #35
Originally posted by capturedinprint:
...

if you're bored: don't vote - take your camera out and shoot something interesting


... like a flower. ;oP
 05/01/2006 11:45:01 PM · #36
Originally posted by cpanaioti:
Originally posted by capturedinprint:
...

if you're bored: don't vote - take your camera out and shoot something interesting


... like a flower. ;oP


With a nude person :-P
 05/01/2006 11:46:29 PM · #37
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
Originally posted by cpanaioti:
Originally posted by capturedinprint:
...

if you're bored: don't vote - take your camera out and shoot something interesting


... like a flower. ;oP


With a nude person :-P


LOL
 05/02/2006 12:01:13 AM · #38
As a mainly flower photographer because I have nothing else to shoot, (but would shoot people WITH flowers if given the opportunity ;) ) I like flower shots! Just not boring ones.
 05/02/2006 12:16:49 AM · #39
For a DPC submission, it's a simple caveat. You KNOW when you submit a flower, that there is a large portion of the DPC community that will not like it. So you do it at your own risk and let the voting cards fall where they may. It's your submission and ultimately your score. So submit whatever you like.

For the record, I myself fall into the anti-flower camp and can't stand looking at them. BUT, I try my best to base my voting on technical and photographic merits (since emotive quality and subject interest are non-existent to me in this area). Having said that, I'm know that when I'm faced with LOADS of flower photos to judge, it becomes just a little bit harder to move that mouse to the right and click up the 1-10 scale ;)
 05/02/2006 01:09:46 AM · #40
I dislike flowers.
Hard to believe, since my highest scoring is a flower!
Ironic, but yeah, I dislike flowers photos (most of them, not all)
 05/02/2006 01:17:27 AM · #41
No execuses, crayon. You sold your soul to the flower gods. :-P
 05/02/2006 01:31:08 AM · #42
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
No execuses, crayon. You sold your soul to the flower gods. :-P


I personally felt that flowers are easy to shoot, but hard to make it interesting - especially for myself, a non-flower person ;)
 05/02/2006 01:41:07 AM · #43
If flowers could take a nice 80k volt blast I might be able to ribbon with one of them.. Hmmm, I got Ideas now...
 05/02/2006 01:43:27 AM · #44
Originally posted by MQuinn:
If flowers could take a nice 80k volt blast I might be able to ribbon with one of them.. Hmmm, I got Ideas now...


Quck hijack... what do you use to generate your sparks? Tesla coil?
 05/02/2006 02:59:53 AM · #45
Originally posted by cycleboy:


My overall point is, where you say don't limit your creativity by shooting flowers and "think outside the box" (there's a freakin cliche for ya!), I'm saying don't limit your creativity by ignoring what is still inside the box, but can be done in new and exciting ways. If we weren't allowed to shoot things that had been done before, at some point there'd be nothing left to do. I shoot what I shoot because I find it interesting. If others do not because it has been done previously, oh well.

I hope also that people are not voting lower for an image because it is a cliche even though it might be a great shot and perfectly meet the challenge.


You're absolutely right but, out of the numerous flower entries, how many were done in new and exciting ways? Some certainly were but not near a majority. I can certainly appreciate a good photograph when I see one no matter what the subject. The whole point of this post originally was not to condemn those who shoot flowers, but to perhaps take some tips from the macro challenge and next time not allow them so that there is more variety in the challenge. I'm very sorry for offending any one who did shoot floral pics. I believe cycleboy spoke up well and I can't say I disagree with anything he said. This is certainly a learning experience for eveyone involved and I don't want to infringe upon that but, I don't think limiting certain entries really limits creativity. It may simply push someone farther to find and enjoy an entirely different subject.
I too apologize for posting this while the competition is still in voting. I didn't even think about it earlier but i should have waited until it was over. And just for the record, I do have a select few flowers at the top of my voting list.
Also, I'm finally glad to have created a thread that lasted for more than 45 minutes.
 05/02/2006 03:27:50 AM · #46
Yellow was so full of daffodils I thought I would go mad, but we all have to learn by doing, by clicking. Flowers included. If they bore you when you are voting and it might show in your voting, be fair and go on to the next without voting for the darned flower.
I didn't think I would go there, but I find flowers a very good exercise in many ways, focusing for example. And light, and composition ... well a whole bunch of things.
What do you do when you are watching TV and don't like what you see?
You push a button. Here on DPC it looks like this: >>

Edit: Spelling, as usual.

Message edited by author 2006-05-02 03:29:07.
 05/02/2006 03:36:50 AM · #47
Agree with above. I find a lot of these flower shots pretty dull, and lacking in imagination - however, sometimes I find one which is brilliantly well done, and that user deserves to get a good score.

I give boring flower shots, like any other mundane shot - which have no imagination - lower scores. That's probably the best way to deal with the issue.

EDIT: spelling

Message edited by author 2006-05-02 03:56:24.
 05/02/2006 03:47:10 AM · #48
I take exception to #27. I never get bored with "golf balls" no matter how many weekends I spend on the links (come to think of it, I have never photographed a golf ball).
 05/02/2006 06:49:58 PM · #49
i've been telling my friend to quit taking pics of flowers...and when i came here to vote, i almost went crazy...
(i know that was kinda random considerin what you guys are talkin about but yeah i agree that pics of flowers should be banned)

Message edited by author 2006-05-02 18:51:57.
 05/02/2006 10:36:31 PM · #50
Do you guys really think that any subject should be banned?

(assuming of course it meets or nearly meets standards of common decency - cheese shots excepted!)

I mean, that's what people have tried to do to fantastic artists throughout history. Where would we be if they had gone along w/ popular opinion and stopped painting things considered at the time to be un-artistic or too shocking for public consumption? (I'm thinking of masters such as Matisse, Van Gogh, or Picasso)

I can see for certain challenges where a flower shot (or any overdone image) would be an obvious easy choice, it may make sense to put in the rules that the obvious easy choice is not allowed.

But to just say, "NO MORE FLOWER SHOTS!" is to limit everyone's creativity. After that, someone will say landscapes are overdone, let's ban them and so on.
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