Is the photography comp dying?

[hiccup]

I think there's maybe too much focus on the criticism and the voting and the winning rather than the taking part. It's just a laugh, innit? No big cash prizes, just the chance to pick a theme. I'd rather see all sorts of people enter all sorts of photos, rather than worry about how they might be critiqued. I've garnered something like two third place votes in the couple of years I've been entering, but that's not why I enter.

I think the ask the critics and monthly threads are better places if people want to comment/get feedback. Not that people shouldn't make comments in the comp thrread (I did a few minutes ago), but I don't think that should be the focus.

 

[Gromit]

I think there's maybe too much focus on the criticism and the voting and the winning rather than the taking part. It's just a laugh, innit? No big cash prizes, just the chance to pick a theme.

Good point. If you notice when the results are annouced we seem to end up with a league table of all entries. Winners up the top and no votes down the bottom. If you aren't in the top half it can be disheartening.

Do away with annoucing anything other than the winner a good idea?

 

[Robster970]

Good point. If you notice when the results are annouced we seem to end up with a league table of all entries. Winners up the top and no votes down the bottom. If you aren't in the top half it can be disheartening.

Do away with annoucing anything other than the winner a good idea?

Losing is an inevitable part of competing - if people don't like losing, they should not compete. What's the problem with competition, aspiring to win, accepting that you lost, improving, etc? I'm not writing this to be inflamatory but I am genuinely at a loss to understand how a competition cannot be like a competition

 

[hiccup]

I dunno. It can be nice to see if you got one or two votes.


EDIT: in response to Marius

 

[e19896]

Are people going off to meet the challenge though? Or just digging into their portfolios?

I always get the impression that unlike mine few photos have actually been taken in that month. Its encouraged that people submit new photos but there is no penalty for submitting old ones so people will always raid their cupboard.

only sometimes i raid the cupboard. i'll allways try to enter new stuff as i have done for this month

Taken this morning (21 11 07) following my first post on this subject..

 

[besgreyling]

Me too but as someone said earlier in the thread, if theres no feedback and no comments, you soon lose interest.
I realise that not everyone knows each other but there was a bit too much backslapping going on regardless.
Unfortunately it feels a bit like that all over urban and it gets pretty tiresome reading what so and so thinks about every little thing day in day out.
If you never welcome anyone else into your close circle of chums, it's fairly obvious that you're going to get bored with each other after a while.

As for the comments about only a few people on the comp thread ever producing anything worth looking at and the rest being shit,
I'd suggest to those people that they remove their heads from out of their arses before they get stuck up there permanently.

Well said!

 

[alef]

Perhaps but constructive criticism? You know, "I do/don't like it but you could have **** to make it better" would be helpful possibly? ...

Please post up some photos you'd like feedback on and make clear you want to know what others think. I'm sure lots of people will give you their $.02.

 

[sovietpop]

I'm not really bothered about criticism on the comp threads. I just like the fact that each month I have a theme to think about and that makes me go out and take photos. I'd keep entering even if only three other people did, just cos I like the fact that it motivates me to go out with a camera.

thats exactly how I feel. I'm not sure how useful criticism is anyway, surely everyone has to find their own style?

 

[Pavlik]

It's just a laugh, innit? No big cash prizes, just the chance to pick a theme.

It's not just a laugh though is it.
Can't speak for anyone else but I was spending loads of time shooting, editing, choosing and posting my entries. It wasn't that much fun tbh.
And its a competition so it's only really fun for if you win isnt it.

I do agree with many of the comments above though. I believe my photography improved quite a bit just by being ignored on the photo comp thread. So I tried harder and over a period of 18 months i was still getting largely ignored.
In the end I decided I could pass my time doing things that would be more profitable and enjoyable.

Life is short isn't it. Why waste your time banging your head against a wall?

e2a, forgot to add that I always made a point of commenting on someone else's pictures every month, thinking that a little give and take was neccessary to get the ball rolling, bit it didn't make much difference.

 

[Robster970]

Life is short isn't it. Why waste your time banging your head against a wall?

fwiw, i'd like to see you post again. I think you probably know I liked your work from brief pm exchanges we had.

 

[hiccup]

It's not just a laugh though is it.
Can't speak for anyone else but I was spending loads of time shooting, editing, choosing and posting my entries. It wasn't that much fun tbh.
And its a competition so it's only really fun for if you win isnt it.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I enjoy the process of shooting, editing etc, and enjoy that whether or not I win, or get any votes, or whether or not people comment on my photos.

I don't agree that you have to win a competition for it to be fun. Not everyone can win.

 

[Pavlik]

fwiw, i'd like to see you post again. I think you probably know I liked your work from brief pm exchanges we had.

Thanks.
I just had a thought while in the bath.
How about adding a 'rule' that each poster comments on the picture posted above before you post your own?
That way everyone gets feedback and no one gets ignored.

 

[Robster970]

Thanks.
I just had a thought while in the bath.
How about adding a 'rule' that each poster comments on the picture posted above before you post your own?
That way everyone gets feedback and no one gets ignored.

Interesting - is that in conjunction with an anonymous comp too?

 

[Pavlik]

I don't agree that you have to win a competition for it to be fun. Not everyone can win.

I know it's not true.
I was brought up in Canada (where winning is everything)

 

[Firky]

Please post up some photos you'd like feedback on and make clear you want to know what others think. I'm sure lots of people will give you their $.02.

Yep, you need to ask! However what gets (my goat and I think it was guerrillaphoto amongst others) is when people ask for it then go off in a huff when people point out it is crap! That's why I don't really say much now unless I know the person is mature enough to take it in a constructive way.

 

[alef]

Back in the summer I posted up a picture I'd taken of a street cleaner dressed as a pirate and invited others to have a go photoshopping it. There was a good response from quite a few people. I'd suggest repeating the exercise, might even be popular enough to have the "monthly show off your photoshop skills thread".

Would someone please choose a shot of theirs they're happy to share and post up the full res version for us all to mess about with?

 

[Firky]

That's a good idea.

I'll have a dig around for a RAW photo

 

[mauvais]

Another thing is we could maybe encourage people to post shots for critique prior to entering them into the competition.

It always feels like a bit of a faux pas to enter photos I've posted before, so I avoid it, but it might get more people interested.

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

. eta soz but not in the mood for it tonight

 

[e19896]

no it aint and if anything thishas inspired people to look and post as siad some of the subjects have been hard but then there is nowt like a challange...

 

[Skim]

I haven't paid much attention to the competition recently, either entering or voting. I haven't done much snapping in the last few months, and when I have I've preferred to use Flickr, try a challenge in pastures new. The system Urban has for looking through competition entries is pretty tiresome to look through – I'm not putting down the hard work that people have put into maintaining the competition page, but I would just rather enter competitions on Flickr because it's so much easier. And there I can have a photo judged by a different set of people, it's a good challenge.

I can't see what difference anonymity is going to make to the photo competition, but maybe I'll be proved wrong. I'm probably regarded as a member of Teh Clique, that cosy group of regulars who are killing the competition by smugly vote for each others' snaps. It's a ludicrous notion, but bring it on – let's see if anonymity really makes a difference.

 

[Firky]

Skim and Alef, you're both new parents, as is Robster, if you still had time for entries then I'd be amazed

I tihnk the anon' flickr page won't work as well as people think. Some people have a very blatant style.

 

[Robster970]

Skim and Alef, you're both new parents, as is Robster, if you still had time for entries then I'd be amazed

I tihnk the anon' flickr page won't work as well as people think. Some people have a very blatant style.

I've been a parent for over 4 years now, it's newborns that cause all the problems. When they get a bit older it gets a bit easier, sort of.

 

[alef]

Skim and Alef, you're both new parents, as is Robster, if you still had time for entries then I'd be amazed

I tihnk the anon' flickr page won't work as well as people think. Some people have a very blatant style.

We could try to imitate other people's styles or otherwise experiment with our anonymity.

So after the winner is announced with all the identities be revealed? Will this be some sort of online masquerade party?