DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register
 

DPChallenge Forums >> Challenge Results >> self fulfilling prophecy? group think?
Pages:  
Showing posts 1 - 20 of 20, (reverse)
AuthorThread
09/26/2014 10:04:20 AM · #1
I know, I know, another discussion about voting and scores. I can hear it now "it works.." and "it ain't broke- so blah blah" - and let me preface this by saying I know I am not a repeat ribbon winning superstar. I love a beautiful photograph as much as anyone, and appreciate the technical use of a camera to make that happen. but listen for a minute.

While perusing the Woody entries, last night, I found myself clicking through and voting and, being able to pick which entry would win or finish at least top 5. Does everyone do this, and then, vote accordingly? Notice I didn't say the best or the ones I preferred, but the shots I thought were going to win-

Maybe it is just me, but I wonder if some others aren't kidding themselves as to what they "really like" or know deep inside is quality, and what "appears on the surface to be a winner." Perhaps people do the same and see an introspective black and white and say"that's not a winner- that's a posthumous award..." (What makes it doubly tough is that there are always a few at the top that are "deserving" - for instance, Ken's red ribbon is a clever, well done play on the Woody Genre(if there is such a thing, and who would expect anything less...) and Robert's positioning the woody in front of a 10+ Cape Cod marsh was a nice touch as well, and worth of any podium.) But for the most part, the third page was the best, in my opinion.

Anyway, not a rant, just an observation. When I was in in elementary and middle school, and an election came around, they would do a mock elections.I remember particularly 1980, everyone saw the shiny, slick, predicted winner and jumped on the bandwagon. Sheep. I don't really care how people vote, but does it limit the chances people take on what they enter?
09/26/2014 10:11:45 AM · #2
I never look at what I think will win. I'm only interested in things that interest me. At times I get a little tired of the sunset landscape shots and think "it's too bad they're in there, they'll win, even though they're not as interesting as some of the funky takes on the challenge." But I certainly wouldn't vote high for it because I think others will like it.

(I like page 2 better than page 3, btw. ) :D

09/26/2014 10:25:30 AM · #3
i started voting like or dislike, 10 for like, 1 for dislike. it just makes sense to follow all the social media sites success.
09/26/2014 10:27:00 AM · #4
Originally posted by Mike:

i started voting like or dislike, 10 for like, 1 for dislike. it just makes sense to follow all the social media sites success.


That's why I get so many ones! ;P
09/26/2014 10:27:59 AM · #5
Originally posted by vawendy:

Originally posted by Mike:

i started voting like or dislike, 10 for like, 1 for dislike. it just makes sense to follow all the social media sites success.


That's why I get so many ones! ;P


replace those squirrels with naked women and you will get more 10's
09/26/2014 10:28:48 AM · #6
i see images and will sometimes comment that i figure they'll ribbon/hm/top10, and on occasion they end up sub-50%. There are also those images in which i can predict with 95% certainty who took it (as do many others), but doing so does not change my vote. Ask around from people who've received some critical remarks from me and they can attest to the fact that i vote and comment based on what i like, and that repetition of the same image (sometimes from multiple people at a gtg, or family members shooting together) will illicit comments and higher/lower scores from me based on which of the same scene i prefer, and on occasion if the same people are using images that seem to be recycled (because they were out shooting already and are not setting up for another shoot when "one of these can be shoehorned into the challenge").
you will always find the "oooh pretty!" voters, and new members are often dazzled by some of the pretty images and can't initially fathom how some of these can be camera images and not "digital creations" (where many will say that they cross the line too often)
09/26/2014 10:33:21 AM · #7
Originally posted by Mike:

Originally posted by vawendy:

Originally posted by Mike:

i started voting like or dislike, 10 for like, 1 for dislike. it just makes sense to follow all the social media sites success.


That's why I get so many ones! ;P


replace those squirrels with naked women and you will get more 10's


The squirrels are naked…. and some of them are female!
09/26/2014 10:35:53 AM · #8
Originally posted by vawendy:



The squirrels are naked…. and some of them are female!


but they have nuts...
09/26/2014 10:48:07 AM · #9
I vote all 5s and hope it helps.
09/26/2014 11:51:15 AM · #10
I only vote 1's to help my entry do better.
09/26/2014 01:16:17 PM · #11
As with all the other "why" threads on this matter, I don't think we can make any sort of generalizations. Anyone spending a significant amount of time with any organization gets good at identifying stuff. On DPC, it is easy to identify images with the sort of qualities native to images that ribbon. But as others have noted, my voting does NOT support those images. While technicals are important to me, I am more inspired/excited/impressed with creativity. It is not surprising that my "favorite" images in a challenge often do not finish on the front page at all.

All "contests" follow the law of large numbers. That is all.
10/02/2014 03:00:02 PM · #12
I've never paid attention to "average vote cast" numbers on a homepage before until I noticed a 4.3 next to a relatively 'new' person's homepage and began to wonder why. I've started to notice where
low voting averages exist and wish I could make sense of it. Is there a pattern of voting between "low achievers" voting low scores or the reverse. Since its information that has always been available here
I wonder if some statistician have ever had a go at it. It is curious.
10/02/2014 03:23:19 PM · #13
maybe they just dont think the quality is good overall?

in any case, does it matter? do really need to start another witchhunt?

fwiw, there are much more interesting human habits to discuss than voting tendencies.

Message edited by author 2014-10-02 15:24:24.
10/02/2014 05:02:22 PM · #14
My taste is slowly evolving I'm finding myself liking more street type photography and more people (life) shots. Maybe I'm just getting a bit tired of the landscape and studio shots. Who knows. I like to reward creativity but when I see the same images over and over I cant help but score it lower than the first couple of times I viewed it.
10/02/2014 06:08:44 PM · #15
Remember that there are as many reasons that people participate as there are people who participate. And that everyone is at a different point of their journey. Some folks start out with ZERO knowledge and are properly inspired what look to be "perfect" images. Others have been around the block a few times and are becoming interested in other forms of visual expression. There is no right or wrong. Just personal preferences.

Looking at "blurry messes" over and over can be just as mind-numbing as "eye candy". But to the person who created the image, it may be their first time trying the technique, the subject, etc.

And isn't that why many of us are here? To learn something new?
10/02/2014 06:50:43 PM · #16
Originally posted by tanguera:

Remember that there are as many reasons that people participate as there are people who participate. And that everyone is at a different point of their journey. Some folks start out with ZERO knowledge and are properly inspired what look to be "perfect" images. Others have been around the block a few times and are becoming interested in other forms of visual expression. There is no right or wrong. Just personal preferences.

Looking at "blurry messes" over and over can be just as mind-numbing as "eye candy". But to the person who created the image, it may be their first time trying the technique, the subject, etc.

And isn't that why many of us are here? To learn something new?


hear...hear.... + Gazillion!!!! And you NEVER know where the journey will take you...but it's a ride that's for darned sure!!! I know I've learned soooo much from this site...it totally amazes me.
10/02/2014 08:29:27 PM · #17
I promise I wasn't site bashing. I was simply noticing a phenomenon where people try to win rather than make an interesting photo.
10/02/2014 09:01:36 PM · #18
Originally posted by tanguera:

Remember that there are as many reasons that people participate as there are people who participate. And that everyone is at a different point of their journey. Some folks start out with ZERO knowledge and are properly inspired what look to be "perfect" images. Others have been around the block a few times and are becoming interested in other forms of visual expression. There is no right or wrong. Just personal preferences.

Looking at "blurry messes" over and over can be just as mind-numbing as "eye candy". But to the person who created the image, it may be their first time trying the technique, the subject, etc.

And isn't that why many of us are here? To learn something new?


I so love this
I don't think I will ever come out of the newbie stage, I think I am still trying to come out of the box and find something that I am really kicking on shooting and trying to find my own way and style without copying someone else, that has been the hardest thing for me... but what I am finding out is each specialty has their own equipment and lenses and that is $$ down the pocket.

Its the styles that I love so much here and learning to appreciate others styles.. I am still trying to figure out the blurry ones myself that you can't tell what they are but now I can appreciate them more because its more artsy than anything, and being on DPC has really opened up new worlds of shooting. After I find the style I will worry about making the picture pretty..

I kinda vote the same way, I have my favorite ribbon winners, and my top favs and will vote accordingly to what strikes me best.
if it did, you will know it by comments, just wish I could give more in-depth comments .. I will be able to start commenting soon though again.

Message edited by author 2014-10-02 21:03:25.
10/02/2014 09:17:39 PM · #19
Originally posted by blindjustice:

I promise I wasn't site bashing. I was simply noticing a phenomenon where people try to win rather than make an interesting photo.


Nor was I insinuating you were :)

But this is, after all, a competition site, designed to have a "winner".

And I think DPC perfectly works the same way as the world at large. For some, it's "perfection" is "interesting". For others it's the journey and not the destination. The former is a vast group of people, while the adventurers are a small group. Based solely on numbers, it's not a mystery as to why the former types of images usually win.

Perhaps we just need to expand our personal definition of "winning" :)

Message edited by author 2014-10-03 00:12:41.
10/02/2014 09:27:51 PM · #20
winner, winner, chicken dinner...I'll eat anything
Pages:  
Current Server Time: 03/28/2024 08:58:58 AM

Please log in or register to post to the forums.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Prints! - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2024 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 03/28/2024 08:58:58 AM EDT.