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New idea for Photography & Video

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  #26  
Old 02-10-2005
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whoever takes responsibility, i will make a moderator for the playground forum...

yes, stickies can be added and taken away...
 
  #27  
Old 02-10-2005
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I vote for having to take the picture after the contest is posted, because we'll end up seeing pictures that have been posted on the site before, and it makes the contest a little bit more intresting.

Do you think we will be able to pull this thing off?
 
  #28  
Old 02-10-2005
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I think we cna pull it off yeah, but the whjole one week to get a picture thing is hard to do sometimes. Just don't want to have a dead week and have this die off, or something.
 
  #29  
Old 02-10-2005
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...die off....like u're song of the weeks?

i liked those!
 
  #30  
Old 02-10-2005
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Originally Posted by TippnOver
...die off....like u're song of the weeks?

i liked those!
Nah, they are just on temporary hiateus...

You missed the thread about my computer getting sent in for repair, so I can't post them anymore.
 
  #31  
Old 02-11-2005
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I'd be in; however, I think photoshopping should be limited somewhat, we don't want massive collages that have been so heavily retouched they're too perfect.
 
  #32  
Old 02-11-2005
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I think PS should only be used for boarders, resizing, and converting to gray scale. No cloning, layering etc...
 
  #33  
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I really think we should not limit the period of time the photos are from. Personally I have my slow weeks and then I have my busy weeks. I for one won't be able to participate at all some weeks, where I could have tossed in a photo I shot/edited weeks before. If we do limit the term where the photos are shot, I either see people cheating and changing the timestamp (which we cannot effectively prevent) and/or bunches of people not particpating because they were too busy to shoot something that week. There are environmental concerns too! Were we to have a plant/flower themed contest right now, anyone up here in the great white North would be out, as we have several feet of snow covering our plants & flowers.

As for photoshop, my concern is where exactly do you draw the line? I think what Phil mentioned is only the start of what we HAVE to permit. We also want to add levels, color correction, white balance adjustment, and shaprening to the list. Cloning out power-lines and random people is essential to some photographs. And then there's the whole issue of stitched panoramas. They are by-definition composited and I personally do a lot of cloning and level blending to get the seams just so. Not allowing that would effectively rule out all panoramas. Besides, how would you enforce this? I've seen some composited photos that look pretty damned real to me.

I'd volunteer to try to run this, at least in the beginning, although I really think more than one (active) member should be administrating this..
 
  #34  
Old 02-11-2005
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You could do images of lone stately deleaved trees with snow laden branches. I agree about the compositing, but I wouldn't want to see formations of a tiger's face in a waterfall.
 
  #35  
Old 02-11-2005
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Originally Posted by AllBlackStang
You could do images of lone stately deleaved trees with snow laden branches. I agree about the compositing, but I wouldn't want to see formations of a tiger's face in a waterfall.
Only problem with that is that subject is not widely avavilable. Tree's dont really lose their leaves out here in the warmer climate...

But I do agree, photo's shouldnt be to crazily doctored. If its a true photo contest the photo should speek for its self.
 
  #36  
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Originally Posted by AllBlackStang
You could do images of lone stately deleaved trees with snow laden branches. I agree about the compositing, but I wouldn't want to see formations of a tiger's face in a waterfall.
Why not? How is that any less 'art' than a photo straight out of a camera. Unless someone can tell me exactly where the line would be, I suggest that we have an anything-goes aproach. It'd be far too dificult to handle on a case by case basis..
 
  #37  
Old 02-11-2005
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Here are the rules on the photography forum I'm on and we have these contests all the time.

rules for the dgrin photo challenges

1. contests will start on mondays at 12:01am, and run for two weeks, ending on a monday at 12noon nyc time. the purpose of this is so that you folks will have two weekends in which to create your prize winning photographs.

2. at the end of the contest period, i, as benevolent host (or my designee if i'm not available) will choose the finalists which will be voted on by the dgrin membership. the voting thread will be started as soon as possible after the close of the contest period, and will be open for voting for approximately 48 hours. any member of dgrin is eligible to vote, whether they entered in the challenge or not.

3. all participants will be encouraged to post suggestions for themes for the contests. we'll do this in a separate thread, and i'll keep a constantly fresh bucket of topics for everyone to vote from every two weeks.

4. we now have prizes for the winner!

* a $40 gift certificate from amazon.com

5. i will be benevolent host for the contests. as benevolent host, my decision on submissions, voting, and any irregularities, will be final.

6. only one photo may be entered into the dgrin challenge thread. there will be a separate comment / critique thread in the shots forum for your "working entries," into which you may post your potential entries. the purpose of this thread will be for comments and critique of of your entries, provided by your fellow dgrin-ers. remember, to get enough meaningful criticism and help, limit your submissions to a reasonable number of shots at a time (suggestion: a couple at a time). you may enter a photo into the challenge thread at any time, and you can change that submission at anytime also. so, if on day one you have an entry that you like enough to submit, do so. if on day 9 you create a stronger entry, by all means change it. the order of entries in the challenge gallery has no bearing on the benevolent host's choosing of the finalists. i know for a fact that the benevolent host spends as much time evaluating the final entry for the challenge as he does on the very first entry.

7. other rules remain the same:

* in the spirit of good competition, please do not vote for your own photo
* let your creativity and imagination run wild. any and all photoshop etc is allowed
* photos must be fresh, shot during the contest period. (exif available) - and put the date taken in your entry post.
* photos must be not longer than 800 pixels on their longest side, and not more than 150K in size (smugmug users please link "medium" size for horizontal photos and "large" size for vertical photos).
* you must give a unique name to your photo, so everyone can vote on it

*** when we have a no-photoshop challenge, the following applies ***
only basic editing is allowed. this includes minor adjustments in color, contrast, exposure, sharpness. black and white conversion is allowed (including toning for same). that's it - no cloning, filters, special effects, etc.

that's it for the rules!

enjoy (challenge) photography
 
  #38  
Old 02-11-2005
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Originally Posted by NHBubba
There are pros at this site? I don't know of any.. I know SwatCop is an aspiring pro, but to my knowledge he still earns his bread another way.
.
Thanks Colin, yes I'm only aspiring pro at the moment. :)

I would like to head this thing up if no one objects. We can use the rules from the forum I'm on, change a few things. With me being over it it would also cut me out from displaying photo's in the contests, which I have no problem with.
 
  #39  
Old 02-11-2005
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You know I think I'm starting to agree with ya Colin, there shouldnt be a limit on doctoring photos. We're not doing this for any sort of "prize" right? The whole point of this seems to me to be have fun taking photos, sharing your work, and learning from others. I have seen several photos taken by members here that look absolutly amazing in their "stock" form and several that are amazing "moded" a little.
 
  #40  
Old 02-11-2005
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There has to be a limit to what you can do with photoshop, we have rules for that also. The photo's need to be fresh, taken within the time frame of the contest, it gets people out and taking pictures. Can't make the time frame can't join the chall. Sorry just the way it should be.
 
  #41  
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Originally Posted by rngprerunner
We're not doing this for any sort of "prize" right? The whole point of this seems to me to be have fun taking photos, sharing your work, and learning from others. I have seen several photos taken by members here that look absolutly amazing in their "stock" form and several that are amazing "moded" a little.
Precisely!

I know I for one am not about to volunteer to donate anything that would constitute a prize or anything like that. So in my mind it's just for the funuvit..

Swat, I like the rules listed from DGrin.com. They seem to match what I suggested (which was just a shot from the hip blend of common sense) pretty well. I do, however think there should be a few ammendments. This is, afterall, not a photography site, so I maintain that we should not limit the shots to those shot within the time period of the challange. Sure, it does get people out shooting, but then I worry that it will reduce the challanges to 1 or 2 entries per challange, which is rather pointless. If it turns out that folks are recycling old shots and never shooting anything new, then maybe that ammendment can be added. In the meantime I really think we CANNOT have too many entries.

The time limit of 2 weeks for entries seems a little long to me, especially if we accept shots from before the challange started. People like instant feedback (I know I do) and I worry the challange threads will be forgotten after more than a week. I even thought a shorter period might be more apropriate, but we certianly need to include a good solid weekend in the period. Maybe a designated start time, like 12:01 AM Monday morning is the way to go. That ensures we have the weekend for crunch time to shoot, process, and submit the photos. Although it may not work out so well for our HS and college attending members..

And I don't mind if people vote for themselves. If each member votes for their own photo, then the votes cancel out anyhow. It seems a little self-important to vote for yourself, but it doesn't bother me. How would you enforce such a rule anyhow?

The rule about non-photoshop'ed contests could be interesting. Meaning maybe we could have some challanges not open to photoshoped entries and some open to whatever. I worry non-photoshop rules favor those w/ better equipment (ie sharper lenses and less need for sharpening). And personally I don't see any advantage to photoshopping the hell out of an image. At some point the shots start to look bad because they are overdone, I would be hard pressed to vote for such a photo.

And I don't see why a moderator can't participate. I think (hope) we're all mature enough to make this fair. As has been said, it's all in good fun anyhow. There isn't anything to gain anyhow..
 
  #42  
Old 02-11-2005
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Originally Posted by NHBubba
Swat, I like the rules listed from DGrin.com. They seem to match what I suggested (which was just a shot from the hip blend of common sense) pretty well. I do, however think there should be a few ammendments. This is, afterall, not a photography site, so I maintain that we should not limit the shots to those shot within the time period of the challange. Sure, it does get people out shooting, but then I worry that it will reduce the challanges to 1 or 2 entries per challange, which is rather pointless.
But that is the whole point of the Challenge, get poeple out shooting, not go through old pictures to see which ones they can include in this one.

The time limit of 2 weeks for entries seems a little long to me, especially if we accept shots from before the challange started. People like instant feedback (I know I do) and I worry the challange threads will be forgotten after more than a week.
Two weeks seem fair because alot of us work and do not have time to get out and shoot right off hand, this way they can shoot, process, etc.

And I don't mind if people vote for themselves. If each member votes for their own photo, then the votes cancel out anyhow. It seems a little self-important to vote for yourself, but it doesn't bother me. How would you enforce such a rule anyhow?
Don't think there is a way to tell, just a "Honor System"

The rule about non-photoshop'ed contests could be interesting. Meaning maybe we could have some challanges not open to photoshoped entries and some open to whatever. I worry non-photoshop rules favor those w/ better equipment (ie sharper lenses and less need for sharpening). And personally I don't see any advantage to photoshopping the hell out of an image. At some point the shots start to look bad because they are overdone, I would be hard pressed to vote for such a photo.
I'll post the rules for the use of photoshop in the "non-photoshop" challenges. Its not like your thinking.

And I don't see why a moderator can't participate. I think (hope) we're all mature enough to make this fair. As has been said, it's all in good fun anyhow. There isn't anything to gain anyhow..
Ok
 
  #43  
Old 02-11-2005
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Rules for No-Photoshop;

*** when we have a no-photoshop challenge, the following applies ***
only basic editing is allowed. this includes minor adjustments in color, contrast, exposure, sharpness. black and white conversion is allowed (including toning for same). that's it - no cloning, filters, special effects, etc.
 
  #44  
Old 02-11-2005
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Originally Posted by swatcop169
But that is the whole point of the Challenge, get poeple out shooting, not go through old pictures to see which ones they can include in this one.

Two weeks seem fair because alot of us work and do not have time to get out and shoot right off hand, this way they can shoot, process, etc.

Ok
Two weeks is too long with the crowd we have here. Look at how long threads last, two days avereage? Maybe a week if its a good one? Us young people (20's) have a short attention span and seeing as how that seems to be the majority of the members, letting something like this drag on for two weeks wont last... just the way I see it.

I to think past photos should be alowed. Yea its cool to get people out working on it, and I'm sure it will. I know that I will get out and try to find new and creative things, but I also have some amazing shots from when I was in Hawaii a while back and if the subject matter is fit I know I would like to submit one of those but with that rule in place I couldnt... just my .02cents I'll play no mater what guidelines are decided upon.
 
  #45  
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Swat, I understood what you meant, as I saw it on DGrin.com as well. But it just seems a little vauge to me. Especially the bit about adjusting sharpness.. but then outlawing the use of filters. Personally I use USM to adjust sharpness on my resized photos all the freakin' time.. and USM is a filter. Conversely not letting folks use the USM filter would hamstring those w/ cameras that don't shoot RAW as we can sharpen in RAW conversion and they can't. This is but one example of how I just don't see where there is a comfortable line to draw. I'd rather try the anything-goes route first and then roll it back if it gets rediculous. However the occasional no-photshoping, direct-from camera to you challange could be fun too. Under those circumstances I would say we should go even further and prevent any form of cropping, color correction etc. This would encourage proper framing in the field (something I do poorly!) and proper (or creative) use of filters and other photo aids. I see a place for both types of challanges..

Also it seems evident to me that the 2 vs 1 week submission term is directly dependant on if we accept photos only shot during that time or if we accept them from whenever. If they are shot whenever then we don't need 2 weeks, but if we require them shot in that period, then 2 weeks is probably needed. Maybe a poll is in order as this seems to be pretty much the only hold up?!
 
  #46  
Old 02-12-2005
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I think this sounds like a great idea. Some challenges should have different sets of rules depending on the title. For instance some of the challenges could allow photoshopping, etc. But otherwise, this is an excellent idea. I don't take many pics myself, but Diabolic does, this will just give him more of a reason to put that camera to use some more I dont really like the idea of the prizes. I thought this would be for fun. I just dont think its a great idea to be giving out prizes. But just my opinion.
 
  #47  
Old 02-12-2005
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I don't like the idea of prizes either because it can cause fights in the forum. I think this should be all for fun. I for one wouldnt want to take pictures to win something, i want to take them for fun. Just my 2ct.'s
 
  #48  
Old 02-12-2005
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yea no prizes beacuse its will cause arguments and just be a pain. on the topic of the photoshop i think i agree that it should just be borders, cropping, levels, white balance, color correction, and minor cloning. one the issue of panoramas i say that that should either be allowed in all entries or just have a panorama contest.

in the spirit of good competition, please do not vote for your own photo
i say we can vote for our own because you know that people will vote for there own no matter what and if we say that you cant people will more then likyl still do it.
 
  #49  
Old 02-12-2005
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Originally Posted by 4X4XLT


i say we can vote for our own because you know that people will vote for there own no matter what and if we say that you cant people will more then likyl still do it.
I definetly agree with that. Only because ive seen that everytime phil sees someone elses pics hes all like "he takes better pics, or that one is better" so im sure that everyone will find someones pics to be better than theirs. And if there are no prizes involved people will probably be more honest and able to vote on their own if they want. It's all in good fun anyway! :)
 
  #50  
Old 02-12-2005
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alright well i say we try out this contest pretty soon with the rules we have now and see how it works. this way we can amend some of them if need be. what do you guys think the first subject should be?

edit:: this wont be a problem once its spring and summer but we cant have any subjects that involve winter due to the lack of snow in the southern part of our country
 


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