Comments on: Thoughts on photo competitions

By: Plumsie

Plumsie — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:32:41 +0000

If you don’t want to run it next year then I may step in. I’m good at making up arbitrary rules. will make the competition more interesting (All photos must be animated gifs to be printed as holographic photos in 10X2 format!)

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 29 May 2009 08:57:30 +0000

I didn’t say *all* canon shooters are evil :-)

By: Colin Morey

Colin Morey — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:42:14 +0000

I feel like I should say something in defense of Canon shooters, but well, I’ve just had a relaxing week meself, and I’ve got photos of birds to look at instead.

Just goes to show, it really isn’t the equipment,.. a good photo is still a good photo (I think we had that discussion at bungay as well).

And congratulations for destroying my grumpy reputation….

By: Duncan Hoyle

Duncan Hoyle — Wed, 27 May 2009 12:53:40 +0000

Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get my head into photo taking mode all week (creative energy directed elsewhere) , but I liked the idea of the competition.
Anyone who didn’t appreciate how much work you put into it and moaned about the rules should feel free to step in next year and run it with whatever rules they wish. I suspect that they won’t though.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:29:26 +0000

Update: He did end up submitting a photo, and as I was putting the entries out on display, he came back for another moan. He seemed to think that it didn’t look on print like it had on screen, and accused me of butchering his image by cutting bits off. I explained that all I’d done was give his image to the chemists, and ask them to print it at 8×6, the same as I did with everyone elses photo. If they’d cropped it in doing so, that’s not really under my control.

Of course, this was wrong of me too, as the rules hadn’t specified that all images were to be in 8×6 format (although I had told him previously that I was going to print them out in the chemists, which should have been a clue that it would either be 6×4, 8×6 or 10×8) and that this was outragious! I really wasn’t in the mood for this, and told him (quite strongly) to f$@! off and stop picking holes in the rules.

I will admit I was pleased that he didn’t win the audience vote (His subject matter, exposure and focusing were good, but I didn’t like his composition – it naturally drew the eye to an unfocused area of the image which meant it had no impact on me as a viewer.)

It was a draw in the end, and both winners were “point and shoot” photographers with popular subject matter and pleasing composition. The downside of a draw being that they had to share the trophy, King Solomon style. I really wish I’d got a picture of the trophy first. It was beautiful. Or at least as beautiful as a disposable camera spray painted gold and glued to a candlestick can be!

Oh, and I checked his exif data. Why are the dick waving know it all gear heads always canon shooters? ;-)

By: jani

jani — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:38:32 +0000

Hehe, good.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Mon, 25 May 2009 09:08:31 +0000

You were too nice. I’d have disallowed RAW and told everyone to shoot jpg format. Anyone who can’t handle that on an SLR can borrow my point and shoot. :)

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 24 May 2009 15:56:35 +0000

@Jani – we did get your postcard, thanks! It raised several smiles :-)

By: sweavo

sweavo — Sat, 23 May 2009 23:08:00 +0000

haha, field full of buttercups — good
field full of buttercups and several members of one of the most pedantic and obsessive groups of people still allowed to roam in society — less good
( hmm, now I’m not sure whether I mean jugglers or photographers either )

By: Stu

Stu — Sat, 23 May 2009 22:04:55 +0000

How about: RAW conversions must be performed with Auto or Default set.