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DPChallenge Forums >> Challenge Results >> Why did this image score so badly?
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08/26/2019 12:58:08 AM · #1
OK, I haven't done this for a long time but maybe I should not give up as yet.
How did you score this image and why:
08/26/2019 01:07:29 AM · #2
6 is bad?
08/26/2019 01:19:17 AM · #3
Originally posted by tnun:

6 is bad?

Yes, if you want to win the Ribbon Race with Anita :(
08/26/2019 02:31:48 AM · #4
I liked this image. I scored it a 7.

Personally, would have scored it higher if you had used a longer exposure, to get a smoother effect on the flowing water.
08/26/2019 03:30:39 AM · #5
Originally posted by Martus:

I liked this image. I scored it a 7.

Personally, would have scored it higher if you had used a longer exposure, to get a smoother effect on the flowing water.

OK, thanks for feedback.
08/26/2019 03:53:45 AM · #6
Some background explanation. I spent quite some time on this challenge. I started with Puddles, waited for the rain, none, then finally a thunderstorm at night! Rushed out to get some photos, unfortunately no puddles, the drainage is too good here ;)

Then Ponds. It would be easy in Australia, every rural property had at least one, although they were called "dams", usually formed by blocking small creeks. We had one, there was one at our gate, just lots of them. But not here. There are either big dams forming "lakes" or bathtubs for cattle filled from water cisterns. I gave up on looking for ponds.

Finally Streams that I prefer to call Creeks, presumably the same thing i.e. small "rivers". Not shortage of these but then how to make them look interesting. So I thought cascades! The creek going through Lavaux vineyards cascades in quite a few places as they are on steep, terraced slopes. Then I spent some time on Google Earth to find the most accessible places to take photos. And finally I spent few hours on PP.

There was a lot of effort in this but all in vain, not even TT. Maybe I am putting the effort into the wrong thing, I thought. Hence this thread, I would like to spend some time trying to understand voters. So PLEASE let me know how you voted and why :) This has always puzzled me and I would like to learn a bit about how you vote.
---
Miss-spelled Puddles, something bad must be setting into my brain :O

Message edited by author 2019-08-26 06:44:06.
08/26/2019 06:01:17 AM · #7
I can't remember what I gave you, I think a 6, but I usually score high :-), so the 6 was definitely a "low" score in my overall scoring. Personally, but that was just a personal take on the challenge, I preferred the "non-landscape" images in this challenge, there were such clever ones - top 3 were all among my favs. So, nothing "wrong" with your image as far as I am concerned, I just liked others more :-). Sorrrrrrry :-(.
08/26/2019 06:38:27 AM · #8
Yours is a beautiful image. I gave you a 7. I think this challenge was more about the subject than the quality of the image. You just have to look at the top 3 entries. All puddles! That is what struck with the voters. The others in the top ten were either puddles, a stream , or well defined ponds. There is one waterfall in the TT but that is in the background. I think DPC , as we all have grown to understand, is not always about the quality of the image but how well the viewers feel it satisfies the challenge description.
08/26/2019 08:02:42 AM · #9
Many of us spend hours shooting and pp'ing and don't finish in the TT and don't feel the need to moan about it. Took a look at the pic and to be honest I just don't find it that interesting, I've seen hundreds of pics just like it and shot long-exposure *silky water* shots myself.. Technically there is glare on the water which is a bit off-putting and there really isn't anything about it that would make me give it more than a 5. Sorry but that's just how it is.
08/26/2019 08:13:54 AM · #10
Originally posted by snaffles:

Many of us spend hours shooting and pp'ing and don't finish in the TT and don't feel the need to moan about it. Took a look at the pic and to be honest I just don't find it that interesting, I've seen hundreds of pics just like it and shot long-exposure *silky water* shots myself.. Technically there is glare on the water which is a bit off-putting and there really isn't anything about it that would make me give it more than a 5. Sorry but that's just how it is.

Thanks, Susan, for "brutal" honesty ;) It is very useful, I got a few comments now that it was just boring.

PS I am not moaning, I have set a target for myself and I am trying to learn everything I can to let me get there :)
08/26/2019 08:26:25 AM · #11
All this is a subjective take. However beautiful and fascinating waterfalls are, they are featured in so many photos that I've become a bit bored with them. They tend to blur together. Kind of like kittens. What I like about your image is the depth realized within its small compass and the small leaves under the overhang on the right, which come across as dabs of color. What I don't like is the brighter green foliage in the upper left. It's brightness competes, unnecessarily, with the body of the image, pulling the eye away from the main subject. The latter can be an interesting technique, a coy sleight of hand, but I don't believe that was the intention here. Overall I liked the image and gave it a 6. You have offered us many splendid images and have received due recognition for them. Perhaps you've come to expect stellar results and find it jarring when an image of yours just doesn't resonate with voters the way you feel is deserves to. So it goes. In viewing entries voters focus on the image, not on how much effort one might speculate the photographer put into it. You know about it, but others don't. Your personal ribbon race is certainly extraneous to the efforts voters expend in evaluating and rating individual images. It's great to have high standards for your art, as you do, and to so execute your efforts to meet those standards, also as you do. You and Anita are terrific photographers, and the road is long. I'm sure that on the whole you'll be pleased with strong, enthusiastic receptions as challenges after challenges unfold.
08/26/2019 09:59:21 AM · #12
Hello:

In my opinion, the main part of the photo being the waterfall and surrounding shrubs are blown out i.e. overexposed and the darker areas are underexposed, that's probably the main reason the phot did not score the way you wanted it to. I think it's a bit soft also, I would like a photo of this type to be crystal clear, a tripod is a must and maybe a longer exposure. I like the subject matter just not the way it was exposed and the focus.
08/26/2019 10:35:50 AM · #13
It's a beautiful image but it's not a puddle, pond or stream.. it's a waterfall and I think that may have influenced the scoring. JMO
08/26/2019 10:39:58 AM · #14
Originally posted by gipper11:

In my opinion, the main part of the photo being the waterfall and surrounding shrubs are blown out i.e. overexposed and the darker areas are underexposed, that's probably the main reason the phot did not score the way you wanted it to. I think it's a bit soft also, I would like a photo of this type to be crystal clear, a tripod is a must and maybe a longer exposure. I like the subject matter just not the way it was exposed and the focus.

Originally posted by digifotojo:

It's a beautiful image but it's not a puddle, pond or stream.. it's a waterfall and I think that may have influenced the scoring. JMO

Mirroring my thoughts on the image.
08/26/2019 11:14:34 AM · #15
I'll echo a couple of people: fine image, wrong challenge. "Waterfall" felt a bit like cheating, in this challenge... And technically it's not up to your usual standards, Margaret. And you STILL got a 6 and almost cracked top 10 :-)
08/26/2019 11:17:15 AM · #16
Because this image was in the competition, and it was, effectively, just a slightly better version, so naturally, that ensured that you'd end up lower.


Message edited by author 2019-08-26 11:17:33.
08/26/2019 11:31:45 AM · #17
I'm glad you're getting feedback. This is the type of question we SHOULD be asking. It's not a moaning or complaining, it's simply "why didn't it work for you?"

I actually thought it fit all right. It could fit the stream option.

However...

For me it was more of a: been there, done that, got the tshirt. Things that used to score well don't do as well as they used to, simply because we've seen it soooooo many times.

I have shots that I enter that used to be 7s and barely make the 6s. It's hard to get excited about things that are just routine. I found myself scoring that challenge much lower than I usually do, because most of them were just dull.
08/26/2019 01:36:02 PM · #18
The same thing happened in Low Key whereas some ppl didn't feel an image met the challenge. I did my research ahead of time so I know what low key entails but you can't convince some voters.
08/27/2019 12:34:51 PM · #19
OK, to summarize:
1. boring, déjà vu, etc
2. not quite on the challenge topic, sort of DNMC
3. technically not good - too blurry, overexposed, the plant on top left too bright, glare on the the water
4. too short exposure, more smoothing needed
5. personal likes/dislikes

Thanks! I learned something! Anita, beware! ;)

Message edited by author 2019-08-27 12:35:18.
08/27/2019 12:44:54 PM · #20
Originally posted by marnet:

OK, to summarize:
1. boring, déjà vu, etc
2. not quite on the challenge topic, sort of DNMC
3. technically not good - too blurry, overexposed, the plant on top left too bright, glare on the the water
4. too short exposure, more smoothing needed
5. personal likes/dislikes

Thanks! I learned something! Anita, beware! ;)


Hmmm... I didn't realize that no one was giving you two a run for the money. I'm late to the game -- but perhaps I should step it up and notch. :P
08/27/2019 01:05:13 PM · #21
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

I'll echo a couple of people: fine image, wrong challenge. "Waterfall" felt a bit like cheating, in this challenge... And technically it's not up to your usual standards, Margaret. And you STILL got a 6 and almost cracked top 10 :-)


Listen to the Bear!! ;-)
08/27/2019 02:49:59 PM · #22
Originally posted by vawendy:


Hmmm... I didn't realize that no one was giving you two a run for the money. I'm late to the game -- but perhaps I should step it up and notch. :P

You are on Wendy! :)
08/28/2019 08:40:32 AM · #23
I scored it a 6. I like it. To echo some others I think I would have liked it a little more with a bit longer SS. I also felt it was a tad bit over sharpened.

Message edited by author 2019-08-28 08:41:05.
08/28/2019 08:57:24 AM · #24
I scored you a 6 - above my average for the challenge, but I do remember being in a bit of a quandary with it.

Pros: Met the challenge for me; I liked the composition, and the inclusion of the greens in the upper left; I felt the shutter speed was an appropriate choice - and gave the feel of a small mountain stream. A longer shutter speed to give a more silky appearance may be the fashion at the moment (and goodness, I've done it to death myself) but I like this.

Cons: Appearance of a very slight magenta caste; highlights in foreground rock seem too bright - at first I thought it was over-exposed, but I don't think the whites are blown, but I find them uncomfortable to view and draw the eye; doesn't seem as finely focussed as I would expect of a landscape photo - did you use a tripod, is your depth of field sufficient?

By way of comparison, I scored Distant Colours' waterfall a 7 and Georges' valley an 8.
08/28/2019 09:23:43 AM · #25
Since the feedback keeps on coming (thanks!) I thought I will post Before/After images - as taken with some basic PP compared with the entry:

There were no blown highlights, I just thought the image with the basic PP was boring so I tried to make it look dreamy. Very clearly it did not work.
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