comments - DPChallenge Forums

04/12/2002 11:56:19 PM · #1

On the voting page, which shows stats on how many images you've voted on. Could we get how many we've commented on as a line below that too ?

04/13/2002 11:47:30 PM · #2

Awesome idea. Done :)

Also note the new comment icons -- mouse-over them to see your comment you left for that image!

Drew

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

04/14/2002 12:03:43 AM · #3

Drew,

excellent addition... i like it :)

yyyap

Casio QV-4000

04/14/2002 12:08:43 AM · #4

Could we have a countdown clock to tell us how many days/hours left to submit a photo? That would help us who are not in the same time zone as you.

mykoleary

Nikon D3300

04/14/2002 12:12:00 AM · #5

Originally posted by yyyap:
Could we have a countdown clock to tell us how many days/hours left to submit a photo? That would help us who are not in the same time zone as you.

Or make it GMT so we don't need to guess what timezone the web server is in.

David Ey

Nikon D80

Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8D

04/14/2002 07:07:17 AM · #6

Originally posted by drewmedia:
Awesome idea. Done :)

Also note the new comment icons -- mouse-over them to see your comment you left for that image!

Drew

What did I tell ya---lightning fast these guys. Please go with a countdown tick and not GMT. There are enough to-ems and takeaways in our lives. But if you do and our heads blow maybe someone will get it in stopaction.

04/14/2002 08:59:10 AM · #7

Looks good - small issue - deleting submissions doesn't seem to delete comments : I get

Stats: You have rated 88 of 88 images in this challenge.
You have commented on 95 images in this challenge.

Doesn't really matter, but might confuse people.

04/14/2002 09:20:50 AM · #8

Originally posted by GordonMcGregor:
Looks good - small issue - deleting submissions doesn't seem to delete comments

Fixed. Thanks for pointing that out. And I think more importantly -- awesome that you commented on all of the images.

Originally posted by yyyap:
Could we have a countdown clock to tell us how many days/hours left to submit a photo? That would help us who are not in the same time zone as you.

Yes. We'll add that soon :)

Drew

04/14/2002 09:48:40 AM · #9

I think making comments on other people's pictures is a great way to learn as you improve your ability to find out what is good and bad.

Also great to get lots of comments on your own pictures - I've got 30 comments from about 180 people - maybe 150 people didn't think my picture was worth saying anything about ?

I think all comments are worthwhile, even if you feel 'you don't know what you are talking about' All opinions are equally valid.

I'd love to get 180 comments on a picture, even if they all said 'this sucks'

04/14/2002 10:04:28 AM · #10

Learning how to relay your thoughs on a photograph isn't something that comes easily for a lot of people. Most people can look at a photo and say "that's nice" or "that sucks" but putting the reasons behind it into words isn't always easy. I used to have a difficult time discussing what I didn't like about a photo because I didn't want to upset anyone. I love criticisms on my own photos and I wish I got more of them... I like to hear when people like my photo but I would much rather hear from those who don't if they can give me some constructive criticism...

Maybe some of you (myself included) should write some notes in here as to how you go about critiquing a photo...

* This message has been edited by the author on 4/14/2002 10:09:12 AM.

04/14/2002 10:17:33 AM · #11

Originally posted by GordonMcGregor:
I've got 30 comments from about 180 people

Check your profile page for stats on how many comments you've given/received :) ... got carried away last night.

Drew

Reuben

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

04/14/2002 10:30:04 AM · #12

I highly doubt it.

Originally posted by GordonMcGregor:

I'd love to get 180 comments on a picture, even if they all said 'this sucks'

04/14/2002 10:34:08 AM · #13

Originally posted by Reuben:
I highly doubt it.

Originally posted by GordonMcGregor:

I'd love to get 180 comments on a picture, even if they all said 'this sucks'

I would too as long as there was commentary on the factors creating the 'suck'...

[/i]

* This message has been edited by the author on 4/14/2002 10:34:36 AM.

* This message has been edited by the author on 4/14/2002 10:35:14 AM.

04/14/2002 10:41:12 AM · #14

Originally posted by drewmedia:
Awesome idea. Done :)

Also note the new comment icons -- mouse-over them to see your comment you left for that image!

Drew

Drew,

Do you have a time delay setup on this feature? I was just curious because sometimes the comment window disappears before i finish reading my comment... I have left some lengthy comments on several of the photos in the current challenge...

04/14/2002 10:54:21 AM · #15

Originally posted by jmsetzler:
Learning how to relay your thoughs on a photograph isn't something that comes easily for a lot of people. Most people can look at a photo and say "that's nice" or "that sucks" but putting the reasons behind it into words isn't always easy. I used to have a difficult time discussing what I didn't like about a photo because I didn't want to upset anyone. I love criticisms on my own photos and I wish I got more of them... I like to hear when people like my photo but I would much rather hear from those who don't if they can give me some constructive criticism...

Maybe some of you (myself included) should write some notes in here as to how you go about critiquing a photo...

As a starting point, I found this to be helpful. It is for film techniques, but much of it is relevent.

I could write a short page that gives some guidelines, if that would be
useful ?

04/14/2002 11:05:48 AM · #16

jmsetzler: No, it just uses the default IMG tag 'ALT', which is supposed to be used as a text alternative for images. The mouseover bubble is a browser feature, and I'm not aware of any way to change it.

Gordon: I hesitate to tell anyone 'this is how you should criticize a photo' -- BUT very soon we'll be asking our users if they'd like to write tutorials on a huge range of subjects. Yours might be a good candidate for something like 'photo criticism 101'. OR, ideally, I think I'd like users (and myself) to learn specific elements of photography and how to view them, so we can build a solid knowledge of photography and know what we're talking about and what to look for.

I'll post something in the forums about it later today when I can't stand writing my operating systems project anymore ;)

Drew

04/14/2002 11:13:21 AM · #17

Okay, I just wrote this - it may be useful. If it is, or if it is as a starting point, it could be added in as a new 'help' page

[start]

DPChallenge: Suggestions for Useful Comments

One of the greatest benefits of entering these challenges is getting useful feedback on your pictures. Objective, constructive criticism highlights things you may have overlooked in your pictures or gives insight into ways to improve them in the future. A good comment is not �this sucks� or �this is great�. A good comment would explain what you think is good or bad about the picture. Learning how to give a good, constructive comment is simple and examples of the kinds of things to consider when providing feedback on entries are shown below.

Critiquing the images of others also helps you grow as a photographer by forcing you to seriously appraise their work, discuss what is successful in those images and learn the visual language that enables you to provide useful commentary. These skills then help you to evaluate your own images and also to take better pictures in the first place.

Things to consider

Artistic Concerns
What is the subject matter ? Do you think it meets the challenge objective ?

What does the picture say to you ? Where do you think the focal point or main thing of interest is in the image ? Is it what you think should be the main thing that grabs your attention ? How does the framing of the image help or hinder this image ? Has the rule of thirds been used, or are there strong lines, diagonal components, strong colours or contrasts that influence how you look at the image ? Is the picture filling the frame or is the main center of the image small and surrounded by a lot of distracting elements ?

Technical Concerns
Is the image in focus ? Do you feel it should be, or is the lack of focus used to improve the image ? Has depth of field been used to improve the image by for example blurring the background to increase focus on the main subject ? Is the exposure correct ? If it isn�t, has it been over exposed or under exposed for effect or by mistake ? Is there texture in the shadows ? In the highlights ?

Personal Perspective
Do you like the picture ? Why ? Does it make you sad, mad, happy ? How does it make you feel ? If you were faced with the same subject, what would you do differently ?

The answers to any or all of these questions would be useful as feedback. You don�t have to answer every question for ever image (!) but these kinds of questions should be in the back of your mind as you provide comments.

[end]

Gordon

feel free to add/ subtract things

04/14/2002 11:15:54 AM · #18

Originally posted by drewmedia:
jmsetzler: No, it just uses the default IMG tag 'ALT', which is supposed to be used as a text alternative for images. The mouseover bubble is a browser feature, and I'm not aware of any way to change it.

Gordon: I hesitate to tell anyone 'this is how you should criticize a photo' -- BUT [i]very soon we'll be asking our users if they'd like to write tutorials on a huge range of subjects. Yours might be a good candidate for something like 'photo criticism 101'. OR, ideally, I think I'd like users (and myself) to learn specific elements of photography and how to view them, so we can build a solid knowledge of photography and know what we're talking about and what to look for.

I'll post something in the forums about it later today when I can't stand writing my operating systems project anymore ;)

Drew[/i]

I wouldn't want to tell people 'you must do this' but I think something that says 'how about thinking about these things' would be helpful. You are right though, something that says 'here is how to write a comment' suddenly needs a 'here is a short course in the main elements of visual language'

Guess you want notes that explain (short list, maybe we should get people to add to this as a 'requests list' ?)

Perspective
Shooting location (i.e., not always at eyelevel and horizontal..)
Rules of Thirds
Diagonal Lines
Leading Lines
Use of Depth of Field/ selective focus
Colour Theory and balance
Texture & Pattern
Exposure controls

Darkroom techniques (I started this at my site - would love comments/ feedback on it)

Gordon

* This message has been edited by the author on 4/14/2002 11:20:02 AM.

vin rigby

Panasonic DMC-FZ30

04/14/2002 11:22:36 AM · #19

Originally posted by GordonMcGregor:

I'd love to get 180 comments on a picture, even if they all said 'this sucks'

Its good to get any comments but when you examine the scoring patterns it is very disheartening to get a reasonable average between 5 and 6.5 with lots of 1's and 2's pulling your average down. These voters don't leave any comment 'cause they can't justify their scoring.
I think any voter giving scores of <3 or should have no option but to justify their score with comment.

Vin

Ronin

Sony DSC-S85

04/14/2002 12:12:30 PM · #20

I�ve received about 33 comments and 180 votes, all have been relatively positive.. but I wonder if some people who vote intentionally score low for no other reason other than to make them feel like they might have a better chance of winning... I don�t know maybe that�s just me being pessimistic

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

04/14/2002 12:47:55 PM · #21

Originally posted by ezns:
I�ve received about 33 comments and 180 votes, all have been relatively positive.. but I wonder if some people who vote intentionally score low for no other reason other than to make them feel like they might have a better chance of winning... I don�t know maybe that�s just me being pessimistic

That is difficult to tell. When you look at some of photos in the challenges and see that they have recieved scores all over the sheet, it makes one ask these questions. The variations come from people who use different criteria to judge a photograph. There are no rules (and there shouldn't be) on what criteria you may use. Try not to look at this from a prospective of winning or losing... Just try to use any viable feedback that you get to become better at what you are doing. Likewise, try to leave decent feedback on the photos that you critique as well...

yyyap

Casio QV-4000

04/14/2002 01:25:00 PM · #22

I might be asking a real stupid one.. but why don't we simply make it compulsory to comment? Until I write something, I can't vote. But my vote remains anonymous. Or do we not want that?

Mousie

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

04/14/2002 01:26:44 PM · #23

I don't want 180 'i like it/i don't like it' comments just because someone has to write *something*. I want comments from people who care enough to comment in the first place. We just need to get people to care more. :)

vin rigby

Panasonic DMC-FZ30

04/14/2002 02:59:40 PM · #24

Originally posted by yyyap:
I might be asking a real stupid one.. but why don't we simply make it compulsory to comment? Until I write something, I can't vote. But my vote remains anonymous. Or do we not want that?

yes I'd agree with compulsory comments and if you feel a shot deserves a 1 then you should be prepared to make yourself known - maybe this way voters will be deterred from making unfair judgements.

Vin