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DPChallenge Forums >> Challenge Suggestions >> Ongoing Straight/Unedited Challenges
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 07/12/2006 01:29:11 PM · #1
The Straight from the Camera challenge was a lot of fun to shoot for as well as to vote on. I felt it was a very 'grounding' experience to have to compose/expose shots more carefully in the camera. It certainly made me more aware of the crutch of PP. It also made me appreciate being able to PP in the rest of the challenges (I'd never poo-poo that ;-)

I wish that there could be recurring Straight from the Camera challenges at DPC - like once every 2 months or so, to keep us in touch with basic skills. How 'bout you?
 07/12/2006 01:33:01 PM · #2
Even though I've only entered 2, I definitely like the idea of there being an unedited version of challenges. I missed the previous one by a day. Perhaps a crop only?
 07/12/2006 01:34:47 PM · #3
Maybe one of the Open Challenges should be that way all the time.
 07/12/2006 01:36:07 PM · #4
I like the once every couple of months idea... it seems this shouldn't be as often a thing as the other challenges.

Maybe have different editing restrictions for different challenges? The last one was resize and save for web only - in addition to these things, there could be a challenge that was also crop, or crop and resize, or sharpening only or whatever (so that in each challenge you could resize and save for web, obviously, plus the other things).
 07/12/2006 01:37:07 PM · #5
Originally posted by NstiG8tr:
Maybe one of the Open Challenges should be that way all the time.


Not a bad idea, considering that I am not a member :-) Maybe not every week, but once in a while (every 2 weekes ? :-))) loool)


Message edited by author 2006-07-12 13:37:59.
 07/12/2006 01:41:05 PM · #6
Having seen the full results of the last one, I'm impressed. I too would like to see these become a regular feature on DPC, as I think they would be a big boost toward better photography. A lot can be done in camera, if only the time and skill applied.

I think we tend not to take the time and learn the skills nearly as well when we know we can photoshop the image and get similar results.
 07/12/2006 01:45:02 PM · #7
Also, some of us aren't theat great with post processing yet.
 07/12/2006 01:47:27 PM · #8
Originally posted by HikerDude:
Also, some of us aren't theat great with post processing yet.


so true, so true...I am one of them!

07/12/2006 01:48:11 PM · #9
I enjoyed both taking a picture and voting for the straight from the camera challenge. I'd like to see it done regularly, as well.
 07/12/2006 01:55:51 PM · #10
I dunno, the basic editing rules are limiting as they are and while this challenge was fun, I personally would just get frustrated if this was done on a weekly basis and would very quickly loose all interest in these challenges.

I mean not even having control over the amount of contrast, saturation and sharpening +rotating the photo if you want it in portrait mode, that is just too much... and trust me, I am a "purist" and do as little post processing as I can get away with.
 07/12/2006 01:56:54 PM · #11
i get frustrated enough with basic editing. shooting in JPEG and not touching it at all is really just not something i'm that into.
 07/12/2006 02:07:53 PM · #12
I think a 48-hour challenge like this every 3-4 months would be good - just to make us all work skills other than post processing. Keep the PP to a minimum, like crop, resize, sharpen, save for web. It makes you think more about what the camera can do than Photoshop.
 07/12/2006 03:03:51 PM · #13
I agree that it shouldn't be done too often. Why did we go digital in the first place? Not to always shoot straight out of the camera all of the time. But, sometimes it is fun.
 07/12/2006 03:12:58 PM · #14
Originally posted by macpapas:
I think a 48-hour challenge like this every 3-4 months would be good - just to make us all work skills other than post processing. Keep the PP to a minimum, like crop, resize, sharpen, save for web. It makes you think more about what the camera can do than Photoshop.


how about every month?
 07/12/2006 03:21:58 PM · #15
Originally posted by Larus:
I dunno, the basic editing rules are limiting as they are and while this challenge was fun, I personally would just get frustrated if this was done on a weekly basis and would very quickly loose all interest in these challenges.

I mean not even having control over the amount of contrast, saturation and sharpening +rotating the photo if you want it in portrait mode, that is just too much... and trust me, I am a "purist" and do as little post processing as I can get away with.

Larus as purist? Hmmmm... not the first word I would have used to describe your work.

You still have control over those things by using your camera's settings. It's just that you have learn to do it with a different tool, and perhaps your control is not quite as precise.

I'm glad to see that so many people feel like they learned something from Straight, and we can all come away from it with whatever want to. I feel that my long-time pushing for this type of challenge was vindicated to a pleasing degree. People who had never used some of the settings on their cameras learned how much can be done with them. People who are not yet comfortable with sophisticated techniques learned that you can produce quality without them. Even some people who are expert editors had their eyes opened a bit as to what is possible without using those skills. Some of us re-learned some very basic things we had not used in a while, like that shooting jpeg is fine for high quality, web-sized images.

I think that the two most missed editing tools in the Straight from the Camera challenge were cropping and sharpening. So maybe the next step should be to have a challenge where those two tools are the only ones we could legally use. But however it is done, I am looking forward to the next version of this type of exercise.
07/12/2006 03:27:51 PM · #16
Originally posted by muckpond:
i get frustrated enough with basic editing. shooting in JPEG and not touching it at all is really just not something i'm that into.


I totally agree. Also, I use a lot of my challenge shots for other purposes, and shooting them in JPEG just doesn't thrill me at all.
07/12/2006 03:31:03 PM · #17
Originally posted by Larus:
I dunno, the basic editing rules are limiting as they are and while this challenge was fun, I personally would just get frustrated if this was done on a weekly basis and would very quickly loose all interest in these challenges.

I mean not even having control over the amount of contrast, saturation and sharpening +rotating the photo if you want it in portrait mode, that is just too much... and trust me, I am a "purist" and do as little post processing as I can get away with.


I agree. Besides, editing WAS done to a vast number of the entries submitted in Straight. The only difference is the camera was doing the editing and not the photographer. I'd rather see what the photographer can do and not a piece of equipment or algorithm.

Message edited by author 2006-07-12 15:32:03.
 07/12/2006 03:49:42 PM · #18
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
Originally posted by muckpond:
i get frustrated enough with basic editing. shooting in JPEG and not touching it at all is really just not something i'm that into.


I totally agree. Also, I use a lot of my challenge shots for other purposes, and shooting them in JPEG just doesn't thrill me at all.


FWIW you can easily get around that by doing what I did; your camera lets you shoot RAW + JPG, and you can set the JPG quality (I used medium, which is plenty for a 640-pixel image) so it doesn't eat up much more space. The JPG will be delivered to whatever parameters you set in the camera, and the RAW, as always, can be tuned up any which way you want to for those "other purposes".

That said, I still don't see this as being a particularly useful exercise. I see no point in encouraging people to rely on their cameras to process images for them, when they OUGHT to be learning how to do it in PP, even if they want to stay away from "photoshop magic".

What I did find interesting about the exercise was the "no crop, no rotate" rule. In retrospect, the "no rotate" part should have allowed 90-degree rotation to correct orientation, certainly. But I see people below suggesting modifying the "rule" to allow cropping, which I think is REALLY taking away from the point of the exercise. It's REALLY good, in my opinion, to sometimes force people to take the time to set up their shot perfectly as far as leveling the camera and using the full frame..

R.
 07/12/2006 04:04:53 PM · #19
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

What I did find interesting about the exercise was the "no crop, no rotate" rule. In retrospect, the "no rotate" part should have allowed 90-degree rotation to correct orientation, certainly.


I'm baffled why "no rotate" was in the rules. "No crop" makes sense. I spent decades shooting 35mm slide file with cameras which didn't even have zoom lenses, and it wasn't that hard!
07/12/2006 04:08:19 PM · #20
I like the concept as well.
 07/12/2006 04:38:58 PM · #21
Originally posted by talmy:
I'm baffled why "no rotate" was in the rules. "No crop" makes sense.

Basically, it was just an oversight which could not be corrected until it was too late. The first challenge of this type allowed 90-degree rotation.
 07/12/2006 05:34:23 PM · #22
Originally posted by yanko:
... editing WAS done to a vast number of the entries submitted in Straight. The only difference is the camera was doing the editing and not the photographer. I'd rather see what the photographer can do and not a piece of equipment or algorithm.

It's not really a question of the camera doing the editing or the photographer doing it. It's more like which tool a photographer uses to do it, the camera or software.
07/12/2006 05:42:05 PM · #23
I had fun in that challenge...I wouldn't mind seeing a repeat of that challenge occasionally (maybe 2-4 times per year).
 07/12/2006 06:02:31 PM · #24
I enjoyed the "just shoot" part of the challenge, and very much enjoyed the voting as well. I'm one of those who also found the challenge to be a motivator in learning more about my camera and what it can do. Put me in the "let's do it again" camp.
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