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08/12/2002 10:28:54 AM · #1
DPChallenge, or the web in general, has ruined my photography. I no longer see anything through my lens except challenge topics, scores, thumbs up/down, and comments.

Help. Please. My scores are sliding down into oblivion.
08/12/2002 10:45:42 AM · #2
Originally posted by mci:
DPChallenge, or the web in general, has ruined my photography. I no longer see anything through my lens except challenge topics, scores, thumbs up/down, and comments.

Help. Please. My scores are sliding down into oblivion.


Know the feeling. Take a break. Take some pictures that can't be
fitted into the challenge topic. Shoot for fun. Don't take any pictures
at all. Don't enter the challenge - the world doesn't end!

Try doing 'anti-challenges' - take the worst pictures you can, see
how bad you can really make them - make all the mistakes you are aware
off - put your thumb over the lens in some if that's what it takes.

Find the fun again.


And if you get any that are really, really really good, don't post them on the web!

Get them printed, frame em, put them on your walls, don't share them
with the rest of the world. then see where you are and start doing
the challenges again.

Just an idea.

* This message has been edited by the author on 8/12/2002 10:45:27 AM.
08/12/2002 10:46:02 AM · #3
In the spirit of the challenge, too bad...so sad...more room for me at the top! :P (me at the top...lol).

If you're serious, maybe a leave of absence is in order. Go out and take pictures just for the fun of it. You'll get your groove back. :)
08/12/2002 11:19:16 AM · #4
Originally posted by mci:
DPChallenge, or the web in general, has ruined my photography. I no longer see anything through my lens except challenge topics, scores, thumbs up/down, and comments.

Help. Please. My scores are sliding down into oblivion.


Maybe it's because I'm fairly new to dpc, but I find things to be almost the opposite for me. The challenge makes me get out and shoot, and not only for the challenges - it has made me look around more for interesting subjects/topics/shots. So far, I have found that when I am out looking for shots for a challenge, I shoot A LOT of pics that are totally unrelated to dpc/challenges, and I have gotten some really good shots. I am more motivated in general.
08/12/2002 11:21:24 AM · #5
DPChallenge can help you become a better photographer if you can withstand the critique that happens here. Of all the sites I have posted on in the past and present, this one generates the most unexlainable comments and scores I have ever seen :)
08/12/2002 11:24:44 AM · #6
I find it quite relaxing to take a week off from the challenge every now and then, and im enjoying another one right now....now all i have to worry about is where am i going to find a pencil. Good luck
08/12/2002 11:30:42 AM · #7
As has just been said - you have to find the fun again.
Some of the things I am doing:
- create your own topic for your own challenge,
- print up your "best shots" and hang them around where you can enjoy them
- replace these "best shots" frequently
- take a series of pictures using a new (for you) technique

- Repeat to yourself - have fun
08/12/2002 11:34:57 AM · #8
A 'series' is my next personal project. I had an idea from a magazine that I get and the topic will be 'Form and Function'. I will share as I complete photos... I'm looking for props now... :)
08/12/2002 11:49:29 AM · #9
display one of your framed photos in the office, and rotate different ones 'through the office'. co-worker comments are much more kind than dpchallenge comments! ;) seriously, it's good to just hear 'i like it. WHAT? YOU took that?' comments.
08/12/2002 11:51:26 AM · #10
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
A 'series' is my next personal project. I had an idea from a magazine that I get and the topic will be 'Form and Function'. I will share as I complete photos... I'm looking for props now... :)


Oh, John, don't use props. You'll get too many comments about how it's "too setup" or "too contrived".

*sigh* (heh)
08/12/2002 12:17:50 PM · #11
Originally posted by mci:
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
[i]A 'series' is my next personal project. I had an idea from a magazine that I get and the topic will be 'Form and Function'. I will share as I complete photos... I'm looking for props now... :)


Oh, John, don't use props. You'll get too many comments about how it's "too setup" or "too contrived".

*sigh* (heh)[/i]

Fortunately, I could care less what kind of critiques these photos get from the dpc folks :)

08/12/2002 12:18:50 PM · #12
After all, DPC is a base of primarily amateur photographers and amateur critics... I don't expect professional critique here...
08/12/2002 07:07:33 PM · #13
Originally posted by mci:
DPChallenge, or the web in general, has ruined my photography. I no longer see anything through my lens except challenge topics, scores, thumbs up/down, and comments.

Help. Please. My scores are sliding down into oblivion.


ROFLMBO....I know the feeling all too well! Friends and family, even my local photography club pat me on the back and praise my work...lol Now....my scores are dipping lower and lower on here though. It has been a real eye opener. Still laughing though! With the current challenge I started off with scores in the 6. range last night. This morning waaaaaay down to the 4's but no constructive criticism...now it's up into the 5's....can drive a girl crazy! Well, as anyone in show biz knows, "the public is fickled!"
I will continue to enter the challenges...ha...as if I could stop, and glean what I can, lick my wounds on Monday and just try to make the best pictures I can.
[url=www.pbase.com/gracious]My Lowly Photographic Works tehehe[/url]
08/13/2002 01:41:30 PM · #14
man, all I can say is dont live and die by your scores. this is my first week here and this site is very aggrivating. so many excellent shots get very low scores. my approach is it's nice to use the challenge as an assignment to get me out taking more shots. I am not going to compromise what I know is good just to get a better score. maybe it would help to do the challenges but not to submit the photos. just critique the shot yourself. use it to help you grow. if it is too bad I would just leave the site for a while and not even visit it. just go out and take pictures of what interests you. thats what photography is about anyway. I agree with jmsetzler, you have to remember this is an amatuer site with amature critiques. dont put much into it.

-Charles
P.S. another suggestion might be to look at some professional photography. for instance on the newstands right now is the Communicating Arts Photography Annual. take a look at all the images that won awards in there and you will see that there is very little that would go along with what you see on this site. also check out photosig.com. the talent and quality of images on that site is just increadible.

* This message has been edited by the author on 8/13/2002 1:45:13 PM.
08/15/2002 04:10:34 PM · #15
MCI, just forget about the challenges, take your Own Shots for your own fun on your own time. forget about what anyone else thinks, its your own world in photography.
08/15/2002 04:21:48 PM · #16
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
After all, DPC is a base of primarily amateur photographers and amateur critics... I don't expect professional critique here...


I usually agree with you, John, but here I find this a bit harsh. While it's true that some comments can be weeded thru, and some opinions too (translated into votes), it is still a good random reference to how the world sees your work, or how it would be recieved by the masses. "Professionals" don't have their work received only by other professionals. They expect it to be out there and viewed by the masses who are mostly made up of "amateurs".

08/15/2002 04:24:34 PM · #17
Originally posted by mci:
DPChallenge, or the web in general, has ruined my photography. I no longer see anything through my lens except challenge topics, scores, thumbs up/down, and comments.

Help. Please. My scores are sliding down into oblivion.


I, too, was feeling this way. I took time off during "Corporate World" and "Something New" because, as I laughingly stated in the "addicted" forum, I was 'forgetting' I was 'allowed' to photograph other things - for my own fulfillment! ;0)

I also think that the challenges of the last few weeks, and I expect "Pencil" to be as well, difficult challenges. Don't be so hard on yourself! :-)



08/15/2002 04:57:50 PM · #18
i still agree with john. you have to keep in mind who is critiqueing your photo. true most people arent photographic experts but if you want to improve your talents i would think you would want to learn from the best. it doesnt always have to be proffessionals. if you go to a site like photosig.com and look at some of the images by amatuers you would be hard pressed to distingush them from a proffessionals work.

this site is very inconsistant on the way photos rank. i see nothing more than average snapshots ranking above a photo that clearly had some technical merit to it. it's aggrivating when some comments that part of an image is out of focus when clearly that was the intent of the photographer. i think the problem is people here vote heavily on how relevant the photo was to the given challenge.

photography is an art and as a viewer i think it requires some kind of self education of the process so as to appreciate what went into making an image. i dont put much into the "i dont know much about art but i know what i like" opinion. just my thoughts. i could be completely wrong here.

for me i want to become a better photographer for my own satisfaction. my desire is not to be appreciated by the masses. photography is a personal journey for me.

i apologize if i have offended any one.

-Charles

* This message has been edited by the author on 8/15/2002 4:58:36 PM.
08/15/2002 07:19:04 PM · #19
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
After all, DPC is a base of primarily amateur photographers and amateur critics... I don't expect professional critique here...


And, I hope it stays that way!



* This message has been edited by the author on 8/15/2002 7:20:38 PM.
08/15/2002 07:36:04 PM · #20
Originally posted by goodtimecharlee:
photography is an art and as a viewer i think it requires some kind of self education of the process so as to appreciate what went into making an image. i dont put much into the "i dont know much about art but i know what i like" opinion. just my thoughts. i could be completely wrong here.

-Charles



One can only enjoy the ballet if one has studied and practiced it a number of years oneself? One can appreciate Beethoven only if one has studied music theory, composition and a few instruments? One can only enjoy a movie if one has attempted to make a full length movie oneself? One can appreciate the grandeur of Shakespeare only if one has written some fairly successful plays and sonnets oneself? Those artists then only cater to their only little clique?

It seems to me a benchmark of art is that it has a universality (often, that is) that can be appreciated across all cultures and all ages. Even though we didn't live in the Stone Age we can feel deeply moved by the "chalk" drawings in the caves of Lascaux.


* This message has been edited by the author on 8/15/2002 7:38:15 PM.
08/15/2002 07:39:16 PM · #21
Originally posted by Journey:
Originally posted by goodtimecharlee:
[i]photography is an art and as a viewer i think it requires some kind of self education of the process so as to appreciate what went into making an image. i dont put much into the "i dont know much about art but i know what i like" opinion. just my thoughts. i could be completely wrong here.

-Charle



One can only enjoy the ballet if one has studied and practiced it a number of years oneself? One can appreciate Beethoven only if one has studied music theory, composition and a few instruments? One can only enjoy a movie if one has attempted to make a full length movie oneself? One can appreciate the grandeur of Shakespeare only if one has written some fairly successful plays and sonnets oneself? Those artists then only cater to their only little clique?

It seems to me a benchmark of art is that it has a universality (often, that is) that can be appreciated across all other cultures and all ages. Even though we didn't live in the Stone Age we can feel deeply moved by the "chalk" drawings in the caves of Lascaux.
[/i]

You can certainly appreciate music without any formal training or understanding
of what is going on. The same with ballet and the same with chess or
anything else requiring skill or talent to master.

You can also get a huge amount more out of it if you have a better
understanding or appreciation of the language being used in any of the
cases.

These are all forms of communication. You get a whole lot more out
of it if you understand the language.

08/15/2002 07:47:21 PM · #22
Things can be appreciated by anyone.

But to be competent to JUDGE them, *that* is a different tale.

Would you ask the public to judge figure skating? No, they are not attuned to the nuances which can make one performance better than another.

The public's maw is jaded; deluged with unbelievably high production values 24/7, it becomes unable to see anything that's not as glossy as Britney Spears, George Lucas, or Maxim magazine. Or anything deeper than those aforementioned.

Sad? Cynical? Possibly. But it's true.

You have to always remember that not only is this a site for photographers, but it's a site for 'non-enthusiasts' as well - i.e. people who are just surfing for pleasure.

Mike, you're waay too talented to be fazed by or wavered by this site. Just shoot for yourself, even if you don't win. Gordon gives great advice. Play with the reactions to your photos (remember 'dividends' ;)?) Have fun with it. Know that you're good, because you are. ~Kollin
08/15/2002 08:50:22 PM · #23
Originally posted by mci:
DPChallenge, or the web in general, has ruined my photography. I no longer see anything through my lens except challenge topics, scores, thumbs up/down, and comments.

Help. Please. My scores are sliding down into oblivion.


I know the feeling. I took better pictures before this site. I take better pics when I'm doing it cause I like it and not doing what every one else says to do to make your pictures better. Just take a break from the site altogether for awhile and try to remember photography
before the site....then your pics will improve again.

08/15/2002 10:13:14 PM · #24
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
After all, DPC is a base of primarily amateur photographers and amateur critics... I don't expect professional critique here...


I think we should all keep this in mind at all times...

Opps, My entry really didn`t fit the challenge... Opps, I posted under `rant` instead of `curious`, Opps, my pic really sucks, Opps, that question was really dumb... We have all been there and done that...

We are all just amatures here and entitled to goof on every step. Leave "serious" to the pros... JUST HAVE FUN! And when you `burn out`, take a break. The love of it all does come back... And I am learning that if a break doesn`t do it for you, then the members of this site will give you a group hug instead! Ya gotta love this place!
08/16/2002 01:13:05 AM · #25
Journey,
i was not trying to imply that you have to have a degree in photography to be able to enjoy it. what i am saying is if the viewer takes some time to learn a little about technique and what to look for then it can be more enjoyable to for them as well. that way they can appreciate the work that went into it and not just look for a pretty picture. it's not much different than being a sports fan. many fans understand the subtleties of the plays in football or the stratagies in baseball, golf or any sport.

i think i agree with kollin. if we based quality on what has mass apeal it would be a sad state of affairs in my opinion. just look at what tops the music charts, what the most popular films are and the top rated tv shows. the publics tastes change with the wind. i doubt few people over the age of 25 would disagree that mozart was much more talented than Eminem is, but if you base quality on popularity you would have to give it to Eminem right now because he sells mad amounts of albums.

every one has their right to opinion and you shouldnt have to justify why you like a piece of art. there will always be people who prefer Rembrandt and there will be people who prefer velvet Elvis.
i've enjoyed this conversation. this will forever be an argument i'm afraid.

i dont want anyone to think that i think there is something wrong with this being an amatuer site. i think it's great. you just have to keep that in mind sometimes and not forget it. as with anything you have to question the critiques and take some peoples opinions with a grain of salt

-Charles

* This message has been edited by the author on 8/16/2002 1:17:11 AM.

* This message has been edited by the author on 8/16/2002 1:21:30 AM.
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