Survival of the Fittest: Wildlife Scores

01/22/2007 02:29:49 PM · #101

Originally posted by yakatme:

It's my opinion that when the challenge description says "in a natural environment" photographers should be honest and submit a photo of an animal in a natural environment.

THIS challenge was to take a picture of something miniature. THIS one was to take a picture of rain. I didn't do either, but I made it appear as if I did. Don't even get me stareted on the 4-5am challenge. IMO, honesty is a matter of obeying the rules. On this site we judge the image, not the process, and as long as that image is achieved legally I consider it honest work.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 ED

01/22/2007 02:31:21 PM · #102

Originally posted by noisemaker:

it is natural to some extent though.

like there in a natual habitat.

so it's basically natural!

No, it's not against the rules. It defies the challenge details.

If the details had said "basically natural" then I would have felt fine exploring the numerous opportunities that a zoo like Metro Dade Zoo here in Miami affords.

But it didn't and I wouldn't have felt right inside if I did submit a zoo shot.

But that's just me I guess. BTW, I didn't intend to enflame this discussion and it seems that it's getting there a little. If it does escalate I'm just going to drop it. It's not quite that important to me.

jaysonmc

Nikon D200

Nikon MF 105mm f/2.5 AIS

01/22/2007 02:33:00 PM · #103

Originally posted by SaraR:

Originally posted by noisemaker:
its not going against the rules by submitting a zoo shot.

I guess that's the thing about DPC - there are no 'rules' as to what the challenge is about, just interpretations. Some will interpret the instructions more stringently than others, some will view them as lax guidelines. Personally, I have taken the wildlife theme to mean out there in the natural environment - the 'challenge' for me was to explore this element of photography... and how much respect I now have for the wildlife masters!

Too bad my interpretation is usually wrong. :)

kandykarml

Nikon D80

01/22/2007 02:33:02 PM · #104

OK.. I'm wondering about something else here.. If you don't agree with pictures taken at a zoo, then how are you going to vote on this challenge..
It's impossible to tell if the animal is in captivity and since you don't know who the photographer is, hence you don't know where they live, how will you chose to vote on these pictures? Are you just assuming it's a zoo shot and then because you don't agree that it meets the challenge, you vote it low?? My picture doesn't have a animal found in a zoo or come from any extreme wildlife location, so it doesn't effect me at all..

I'm just curious to how you vote if you truly don't know it's a zoo shot.. What if you were wrong & the person did risk life & limb to catch this amazing National Geographic shot and you shorted it just because you thought they didn't meet the challenge rules.

Jason_Cross

Nikon D50

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

01/22/2007 02:36:01 PM · #105

I am not voting down zoo shots. Wild animals are still wild even when in captivity. Natural enviornment would count for me even if it was a "re-created" one. I mostly am voting based on the quality of the image, and would probably give most of these the benifit of the doubt. Doesn't look like anybody took their house cat/dog yet, so I think the wildlife thing still holds true.

6.03 - Finally I am above the 6 mark. It has been a while. I think I would have done better if people thought mine was a natural enviornment. Which it is 100%. But I am still happy with the 6.

Message edited by author 2007-01-22 14:39:05.

DrAchoo

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

01/22/2007 02:36:29 PM · #106

Back to the scores...or at least where someone hides the scores...

Votes: 82
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01/22/2007 02:37:05 PM · #107

Originally posted by SaraR:

Exactly!

There are numerous shots of birds in this challenge that appear to be taken from a distance and cropped quite a lot and losing detail in the process.

I wonder how many of these contestants entered these shots because they had respect for what SaraR calls 'wildlife masters'. I would be willing to bet that a lot of the photographers who entered these shots of birds did so knowing that it didn't represent their best work and that they could have gone to a zoo instead but chose not to.

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

01/22/2007 02:37:26 PM · #108

Originally posted by kandykarml:

It's impossible to tell if the animal is in captivity and since you don't know who the photographer is, hence you don't know where they live, how will you chose to vote on these pictures?

Even that wouldn't be enough since there are large wildlife reservations (not zoos or game preserves) in many countries, so it's quite possible to get a picture of a giraffe in the U.S. in a natural environment.

Strikeslip

Canon EOS-5D

01/22/2007 02:38:59 PM · #109

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Back to the scores...or at least where someone hides the scores...

Votes: 82
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Achoo's got the banana going! Lookout! :-D

jaysonmc

Nikon D200

Nikon MF 105mm f/2.5 AIS

01/22/2007 02:39:15 PM · #110

Votes: 81
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Avg Vote: 5.1605
Comments: 3
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kandykarml

Nikon D80

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 ED

01/22/2007 02:41:38 PM · #111

Very true scalvert..

Sorry, I don't know how to do this Originally posted by business everyone else does..

votes = 84
views = 113
avg = still stuck on 4.86

And, still not a single comment.. Thank goodness I have a full week to obess over this..lol

01/22/2007 02:43:57 PM · #112

Originally posted by kandykarml:

Sorry, I don't know how to do this Originally posted by business everyone else does..

Go to the box that contains the text that you want to quote and press the "quote" button.

edit to add: Congratulations on entering your first challenge. Good luck.

Message edited by author 2007-01-22 15:15:30.

nheilweil

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

01/22/2007 02:44:51 PM · #113

IMO the challenge here is photography, not tracking.

I agree the challenge is for photography, and to my eye, the shots that really blow me away are the ones where the animals are composed in a way that includes their beautiful surroundings. When I see what looks like a tightly cropped shot of an animal which was probably taken at a zoo, it doesn't say "wildlife" to me as much as when I see the forest or sky or lake and there's an amazing pic of an animal in it's environment. That's just my personal aesthetic and, after all, this isn't an "Animal" challenge, it's a "Wildlife" challenge so I'm looking for shots that best capture the essence of what that means to me.

While I don't care how much actual effort the photographer had in getting a capture, I love the pics that feel like I can't quite work out how they got so lucky and had such skill to get the shot (there's a few in this challenge that are amazing in that regard). I'm think I'm more interested in images that are beautiful but also don't seem easily snapped. It gets me wondering about how the photog was able to find and capture that unique and rare moment.

Also, my experience is zoos are really photo friendly and that zoos with bars are a thing of the past. Zoos today seem much more sensitive to providing an environment which better replicates the animals natural surroundings. I went to Seattle's zoo this week and within 2 hours had shot dozens of exotic animals up close with no bars (either open air or sometimes glass)...not wildlife but darn fun!

silverscreen

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

01/22/2007 02:44:54 PM · #114

Originally posted by silverscreen:

Votes: 31
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OK for a last minut entry I guess :)

...and rising:

Votes: 87
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:)

01/22/2007 02:45:34 PM · #115

Originally posted by Strikeslip:

Originally posted by DrAchoo:
Back to the scores...or at least where someone hides the scores...

Votes: 82
Views: 159
Avg Vote:
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Achoo's got the banana going! Lookout! :-D

Ever since he teased us with the details of his outstanding outtake I've been dying to see his entry and score.

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

01/22/2007 02:46:34 PM · #116

Originally posted by yakatme:

I wouldn't have felt right inside if I did submit a zoo shot.

Fair enough. I wouldn't vote down entries from a zoo, park or bird feeder, but probably would place a premium on entries that were definitely wild.

quiet_observation

Canon EOS-7D

01/22/2007 02:46:35 PM · #117

We have raccoons, opossums, deer, foxes that all live within an urban area-this is their natural habitat. So if I were to take a photograph of one on a city street this would be DNMC just because a lack of understanding of someone else's environment? This does not seem right.

Delta_6

Canon EOS-7D

01/22/2007 02:49:39 PM · #118

Votes: 86
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Updated: 01/22/07 02:48 pm

To be expected.

silverscreen

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

01/22/2007 02:51:24 PM · #119

Originally posted by kandykarml:

Personally I don't care if the picture was shot in a zoo - as long as I don't see any bars or stuff like that. To me it's OK if the "natural environment" as stated in the challenge description is in a zoo. But, there are a few pictures that look like they were shot indoor and to me these pictures say "pet" and not "wildlife" - and I vote accordingly.