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DPChallenge Forums >> Current Challenge >> After reviewing the zodiac signs entries.
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Showing posts 26 - 43 of 43, (reverse)
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 01/27/2004 06:18:55 PM · #26
One thing about photos that don't meet the challenge - if they don't meet the challenge, why post them in a challenge? It's the challenge that makes it interesting. If I just want to see good photos, I'll go browsing around and find the ones that fit that bill for me. The only reason to do the challenge, IMHO, is to try and meet it in some creative and personal way.

My stuff is so personal that I doubt it will ever get lots of high votes but I like to do the challenges because it's fun for me to see what I can come up with for a specific theme and I like to share it with others doing the same thing. I like to see what they come up with as well. It's the variety that makes it interesting for me.

I think that one thing I am sorry about (though I don't expect anything different) is that so many people want to get high votes that they shoot pictures for the audience rather than for themselves. I feel that's one of the reasons there are so many shots that are alike in any given challenge. It's a pity because it's the unique perspective each photographer has which is valuable to me, not whether or not they can wow the most people.

But, to each his own - we all have different reasons for everything, even for just getting up in the morning. :)
 01/27/2004 06:26:07 PM · #27
Originally posted by Neuferland:
Originally posted by vtruan:
I admit I'm a tough voter, my average is low do to mostly I have little tolerance to photos not meeting the challenge(they all get from 3 down to 1, IMO as it should be) in my eyes.


As where most people only take away 1 to 3 points for not meeting the challenge and then vote on the shot from that point. To take away anywhere from 7 to 9 points because it didn't meet the challenge, even if it's an excellent shot is more than tough, it's also mean, IMHO. :)

Deannda
Not meeting the challenge loses two points with me


I thought, and still do, that if a photo doesn't meet a challenge than it's missed the entire point and deserves a low score. If it's not in the realm of the challenge [as in, I didn't miss the point, it seriously just is wrong wrong wrong..like nature shots in the 'tacky decorations' challenge] then it basically gets a 1. If you can just submit any nice pic and still get a good score than we're back to the question of why have themes and challenges in the first place.
 01/27/2004 06:31:02 PM · #28
Everyone has their own way of voting and that's fine :)

Personally, if a photo doesnt meet the challenge I don't give it more than 5. Sometimes I scrap that rule, for example the PWL challenge. I can't tell if a moving light source is used, so in that case I will assume that all the entries meet the challenge.

Another example is the Black on Black challenge. Most of the entries completly went against my idea of 'low key' photographs (so to me missed the point of the challenge), but I just assumed that I was the one in the wrong and carried on voting as if they all fitted the challenge.
 01/27/2004 06:42:14 PM · #29
Originally posted by carlacryptic:
So, to make the image small enough to fit the challenge limitations, I had to resize the image. I used PhotoShop though and it clearly states the resultant size. Somehow, the image lost 73 K during the upload process. Just don't see how yet.

Carla:

OK, first, the sizes that Photoshop displays in the lower left bottom corner of the window are not the size on disk. That is the "raw" size in memory. Saving in a compressed format like .PSD or a lossy format like JPEG results in a lot less disk space being used.

Second, the only thing that is done to your JPEG file after you hit the "Submit" button here on DPC is that any extra markers in the JPEG (such as Adobe XMP data embedded in JPEG images) are removed via the 'jpegtran' utility to maximize browser compatibility. This is a "lossless" process, and the actual JPEG image data is not affected.

So your loss of 73K wasn't a result of simply submitting your picture.

For best results, you should use the "Image > Image Size..." menu option to set the larger of your width/height of your picture to 640 (the other side will adjust automatically to maintain proper aspect ratio). Next, use Photoshop's "Save for Web" option to adjust the JPEG quality. There is a great tutorial available here, and it explains exactly how to use the "Optimize to File Size..." feature.

Message edited by author 2004-01-27 18:43:31.
 01/27/2004 06:43:53 PM · #30
I have yet to see a fantastic photo that would be a ten but, alas it did not meet the challenge.

Most of the photos that that dont meet the challenge AT ALL are pretty bad anyhow. At least thats been my experience.
 01/27/2004 07:31:07 PM · #31
Just a totally neutral comment about all this: shouldn't this thread be in the Rant forum??
 01/27/2004 07:48:44 PM · #32
In the very very short time it takes for most people to view and vote on a submission I'm not surprised that a lot of people claim they dont meet the challenge as that's certainly not long enough to think about the entry past the superficial 'this is a X'. Yes, some images are obviously not meeting the challenge such as a building in an animal challenge, but there is a difference between not meeting the preconceived expectations of the voter's definition of the challenge, and the photographer's definition and interpretation of the challenge. There are times when it is my ignorance of certain cultures or experiences that have made me not see the connection with the challenge, and that isnt the photographer's fault but mine. Sometimes I think people use the 'not meeting the challenge' as the first and easiest thing they can use to not like an image. I think far too many people are far too eager to find faults rather than likes.
 01/27/2004 08:05:29 PM · #33
EddyG: Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Lol... the thing is, I am a professional graphic designer and use PS all the time and know all those things you're saying - for some reason, that particular image got uploaded incorrectly. It's very weird to me because I haven't made a mistake like that in years. None of my other uploads to this site have been so small and I uploaded them in the same manner. It's a mystery to me why this one didn't work.

Considering my approach to life, I'm thinking it's one of those situations in which there's a lesson I need to learn - maybe that I shouldn't let myself become complacent or make assumptions. When you've been doing something a long time, it's easy to do both. I'll be a lot more careful when I upload the next challenge photo. :)

(I used to sing professionally and this reminds me of something lots of performers do in a situation new to them (an audience that doesn't know or like them, for example)... the first stanza of a song goes totally haywire and you feel a total idiot and the adrenaline pushes you over the hump and you may do the best rendition of the song you've ever done in your life after that. Maybe it'll be like that here - the first challenge photo was definitely a wash but maybe the ones after that will make up for it and then some. :)

01/27/2004 08:14:12 PM · #34
Originally posted by moodville:
I think far too many people are far too eager to find faults rather than likes.


Very well said, Nyki.
 01/27/2004 08:14:52 PM · #35
Moodville: I feel pretty strongly that a photograph should work for the viewer without needing a lot of study or additional context. If it doesn't, it isn't effective. If one needs a lot of subtext to understand a visual image, it's too personal to work for a general audience. The challenges here are simple - you get one shot (pun intended! :) to get your point across with your photograph and it either works or it doesn't. It doesn't mean your photograph is necessarily a bad one, only that you didn't effect those viewing the photograph in the way you wanted to. If that's important to a person, they can learn from this. If not, it doesn't really matter how people react.

Just parenthetically, I look for unusual ways a photograph might meet the challenge and don't find that many that don't meet them at all. When I do, I will leave a comment saying I don't see how it meets the challenge. One person sent me an email afterwards to explain their position and I really appreciated it.

My approach to critiquing artwork is to be honest and explain my point of view so it isn't confusing. But, I only offer critiques in a spirit of positivity. I'm hoping that what I've said will illuminate my reaction in such a way that the person reading it will be able to take it for what it's worth to them. I don't pretend to know what is actually best for anyone but myself.
 01/27/2004 08:32:17 PM · #36
For me, if it's not meeting the challenge the best it's going to get is a 5. Typically I find that the shots that don't meet the challenge usually aren't very good anyway. If the shot is decent I'll leave a comment saying I don't think it meets the challenge. If they reply to me with an intellegent argument I'll re-vote it higher.

As for why I vote shots low that don't meet the challenge, what is the purpose of having a challenge if people just put up what photo they want? I like the idea of a free study challenge, and challenges where you really can make any photo work (NG or New Years Resolution), but if the challenge is Street Signs and there isn't a street sign in it, it's getting a low vote from me.
 01/27/2004 08:50:43 PM · #37
Originally posted by louddog:
For me, if it's not meeting the challenge the best it's going to get is a 5. Typically I find that the shots that don't meet the challenge usually aren't very good anyway. If the shot is decent I'll leave a comment saying I don't think it meets the challenge. If they reply to me with an intellegent argument I'll re-vote it higher.

As for why I vote shots low that don't meet the challenge, what is the purpose of having a challenge if people just put up what photo they want? I like the idea of a free study challenge, and challenges where you really can make any photo work (NG or New Years Resolution), but if the challenge is Street Signs and there isn't a street sign in it, it's getting a low vote from me.


concur..some people used actual road lines and such which is a creative take and still works. I don't think anyone is trying to be constrictive here, but there are rules for the sake of rules that we're supposed to consider when voting.
 01/27/2004 09:55:01 PM · #38
GoldBerry,

I agree entirely with you and the others who have commented on the point of having challenges in the first place, but I found your last line about rules a little amusing when juxtaposed with your signature.

Nothing serious - I just got a kick out of it. :D
 01/29/2004 03:08:07 PM · #39
After reviewing the Zodiac entries......

I think this is the lowest I have ever voted a challenge overall. Seems to me that there a lot of poor quality entries.

The challenge details say "photo representing one of these signs" but some entries are about more than one sign and many are about the zodiac as a whole. I feel kinda bad about voting so many very low scores.
 01/29/2004 08:06:15 PM · #40
Actually I think there are some really excellent shots in this one.

It's weird, though, how people seem to use red and blue a lot more in this challenge.

Originally posted by coolhar:
After reviewing the Zodiac entries......

I think this is the lowest I have ever voted a challenge overall. Seems to me that there a lot of poor quality entries.

The challenge details say "photo representing one of these signs" but some entries are about more than one sign and many are about the zodiac as a whole. I feel kinda bad about voting so many very low scores.
01/29/2004 08:23:12 PM · #41
Originally posted by darcy:
Assuming you strive to take professional quality photos for submission to the DPC, to use your own voting average as a measure against your own work doesn't make sense in an environment where the average photo is actually a below average photo in the professional world.


I'm not so sure about this.

In the 'professional' world, there are so many bad photos that it amazes me who is making a living out of photography at times. Sure, there are some fantastic images, too.

Just this morning, (in fact every morning in Japan) the newspaper had a bunch of advertisments. The product shots in most of them are badly lit, poorly cropped and blandly composed. In this world where we see hundreds of images daily, yes, most aren't all that good.
 01/29/2004 09:47:12 PM · #42
I think I vote to high and give more credit then credit do....... I rarely give 1's and 2's I mean there just has to be nothing there a black picture of nothing for those votes! A 3 maybe one or two for each challenge I vote, 4 is a step below being average 5 and I try to leave a comment, 6 is very good effort, 7 is gave it even more effort, 8 and 9 are really really good but I think might need more of something to get a 10, and 10 is WOW! I like it! And it met everything from challenge, good light, good subject, ect..........
I mean the only thing we win here is a ribbon or higher rank if your not in the top 10!

"Maybe I should vote low so my picture in challenges can get a better rank!"

I cant believe how many people cry and whine and have made comments about average votes since the day I started here, I havent even made a average 5 yet and every week I say I learned something new I applied it to my new challenge and yet its a roller coaster from 3 to 4 on all my entries and I say this one is it its gotta do better, but yall people are hard to please!! SO I please myself wether it meets the challenge or not!! And I take it and apply it to other pictures I might take and concentrate on learning PhotoShop skills!
 01/29/2004 10:21:08 PM · #43
Reminds me of a father after an elementary school Christmas play. After the show he complains that it was such a miserable performance and how it would never make it as a musical on Broadway. Luckily most of the kids never had to listen to his rant and the rest of the parents ignored him.

I've seen some pictures in photography how-to books that I'm sure a few people here would insist on voting in the 1-4 range... go figure, everyone has their own taste.

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