CHAT - Weekly competition - Saturday 11th April - Sunday 19th April 2015 - WATER

[Jediboy]

Good entries coming in again this week. Hoping to get my effort over the weekend.

[DigiDiva]

Not sure I can this week. Flying Sunday and lots to do

[Reinardina]

The theme inspired me to 'have a go,' and do something different.

Not sure I'll enter it, as I have a long list of contractors and 'things' lined up for next week (still renovating my apartment), so haven't really had much time for photography, and am out of the competition 'mood.'

However, the positive reactions to the shot, may just make up my mind for me.

I'll upload it here, to test the water, so to speak.

Water

[ABERS]

The theme inspired me to 'have a go,' and do something different.

Not sure I'll enter it, as I have a long list of contractors and 'things' lined up for next week (still renovating my apartment), so haven't really had much time for photography, and am out of the competition 'mood.'

However, the positive reactions to the shot, may just make up my mind for me.

I'll upload it here, to test the water, so to speak.

Water

One can usually predict the run of the mill responses to whatever competition brief is set, but your H2O image shows a creative, simple but effective approach that is both eyecatching and unique.

You seem a little reluctant to enter it due to outside commitments, but do you need to? It's there for all to see as an example of what can be achieved with a little thought 'outside the box'.

I'm sure many more people would enter pictures on just a theme if all the dreary business of setting a new one and putting up polls and making time to go out and take pictures to fit could be avoided. Don't worry if you don't enter it, you can be assured not being voted the best of half a dozen pictures will not take away the fact it is a superb image.

[Graham]

The theme inspired me to 'have a go,' and do something different.

Not sure I'll enter it, as I have a long list of contractors and 'things' lined up for next week (still renovating my apartment), so haven't really had much time for photography, and am out of the competition 'mood.'

However, the positive reactions to the shot, may just make up my mind for me.

I'll upload it here, to test the water, so to speak.

Water

One can usually predict the run of the mill responses to whatever competition brief is set, but your H2O image shows a creative, simple but effective approach that is both eyecatching and unique.

You seem a little reluctant to enter it due to outside commitments, but do you need to? It's there for all to see as an example of what can be achieved with a little thought 'outside the box'.

I'm sure many more people would enter pictures on just a theme if all the dreary business of setting a new one and putting up polls and making time to go out and take pictures to fit could be avoided. Don't worry if you don't enter it, you can be assured not being voted the best of half a dozen pictures will not take away the fact it is a superb image.

Thanks Alan. You've just saved me a lot of typing. 

[Reinardina]

Thanks gentlemen. You've made up my mind for me. I will not enter it.

Thinking of a new theme in case of a win, is always a drain on my brain, as I can never think of anything remotely challenging.
Also, my camera hardly gets an outing these days, though this morning I watched, and photographed, the flag raising ceremony of the Sikh Vaisakhi Festival. Nice and colourful; could give me some images to play with.

In lost hours (waiting for contractors/phone calls, or in the evening), I do a bit more editing, and the H2O image is highly artificial, and contains only part of a real photograph (a bit of rippling pond), the rest was done by computer.

I quite enjoy this form of editing, and will try it again.

[Jediboy]

I have taken a fair few photos this weekend but have struggled to get anything I'm happy with. This was taken with my camera in a fish tank, and the tank was partially submerged in the river but I'm not particulalry happy with the results.

[Jediboy]

And this one was grabbed whilst boiling water for my coffee. Again, nit that happy. Coffee was lovely though.

[spikeyjen]

One can usually predict the run of the mill responses to whatever competition brief is set, but your H2O image shows a creative, simple but effective approach that is both eyecatching and unique.

You seem a little reluctant to enter it due to outside commitments, but do you need to? It's there for all to see as an example of what can be achieved with a little thought 'outside the box'.

I'm sure many more people would enter pictures on just a theme if all the dreary business of setting a new one and putting up polls and making time to go out and take pictures to fit could be avoided. Don't worry if you don't enter it, you can be assured not being voted the best of half a dozen pictures will not take away the fact it is a superb image.

I'm really not sure how to take this, but I actually find it offensive, even with the smiley at the end.
Are you saying that the quality of the images put up for weekly comp are generally 'run of the mill' and that people cannot be bothered entering because of the 'dreary' task of setting up a new competition. How else will people learn, and do we not try to provide a supportive place for people to show their work?

what do you suggest we do instead? not have a competition?, go somewhere else to show our 'run of the mill' pictures? Not be bothered entering in case we have to set up the poll?
I just wonder what anyone who is new to our site must think of comments like this (whether or not the sarcasm is intended).
I actually think R's photo IS worthy of being entered and am saddened to think that she will choose not to do so because of your comments.

[ABERS]

I'm really not sure how to take this, but I actually find it offensive, even with the smiley at the end.
Are you saying that the quality of the images put up for weekly comp are generally 'run of the mill' and that people cannot be bothered entering because of the 'dreary' task of setting up a new competition. How else will people learn, and do we not try to provide a supportive place for people to show their work?

what do you suggest we do instead? not have a competition?, go somewhere else to show our 'run of the mill' pictures? Not be bothered entering in case we have to set up the poll?
I just wonder what anyone who is new to our site must think of comments like this (whether or not the sarcasm is intended).
I actually think R's photo IS worthy of being entered and am saddened to think that she will choose not to do so because of your comments.

Firstly I apologise if you are offended by what I wrote, no sarcasm is or was intended.

I'm not suggesting any of the things that you list, please continue with the enjoyment that you and the other half dozen or so people get from the weekly competition.

"How else will people learn, and do we not try to provide a supportive place for people to show their work?"

People learn by making mistakes usually and it's rare that any  mistakes are highlighted by comments on competition entries.

Yes CC tries to provide a supportive place for people to show their work, the galleries and especially these threads

http://cameracraniums.com/forum/index.php?topic=339.0

http://cameracraniums.com/forum/index.php?topic=837.0

but these are by and large ignored and vastly underused.

Of course R's picture is worthy of entry into any competition, the point I was trying to make was that it didn't need to be entered for anyone to see and enjoy it. The smiley was aimed at R's image, a thumbs up for something different and creative.

[Reinardina]

One can usually predict the run of the mill responses to whatever competition brief is set, but your H2O image shows a creative, simple but effective approach that is both eyecatching and unique.

You seem a little reluctant to enter it due to outside commitments, but do you need to? It's there for all to see as an example of what can be achieved with a little thought 'outside the box'.

I'm sure many more people would enter pictures on just a theme if all the dreary business of setting a new one and putting up polls and making time to go out and take pictures to fit could be avoided. Don't worry if you don't enter it, you can be assured not being voted the best of half a dozen pictures will not take away the fact it is a superb image.

I'm really not sure how to take this, but I actually find it offensive, even with the smiley at the end.
Are you saying that the quality of the images put up for weekly comp are generally 'run of the mill' and that people cannot be bothered entering because of the 'dreary' task of setting up a new competition. How else will people learn, and do we not try to provide a supportive place for people to show their work?

what do you suggest we do instead? not have a competition?, go somewhere else to show our 'run of the mill' pictures? Not be bothered entering in case we have to set up the poll?
I just wonder what anyone who is new to our site must think of comments like this (whether or not the sarcasm is intended).
I actually think R's photo IS worthy of being entered and am saddened to think that she will choose not to do so because of your comments.

Thanks for the compliment Jen. But the main reason I am not entering, is the fact that my time at the moment, is totally taken up with other things. Photography has a low priority just now, a few snapshots and that's it.

And yes, I find thinking of a new challenging  theme, a horrible job. I have my creative moments, but they hardly ever stretch to finding an interesting task. The setting of the poll, however, is the least of my 'worries,' as that is a purely 'technical' thing.

I do not go out especially for a competition entry these days (I used to, when I was new to the game, and enjoyed it very much; I learnt a lot), but keep an eye open for possibilities, when I am out with the camera.
Now that I haven't entered for a few weeks, I realise that did put pressure on me, even though I did not knowingly look for an entry.

When 'Water' came up, I considered the possibilities: fog, clouds, condensation, the duck pond or boating lake, the docks. But I've done them all to death. And that is, in my opinion, what ABERS means with 'run of the mill.'
Not the quality of the image, but the predictability. If you only have a week, or even just a weekend, it does limit the choices.

If I could have photographed one of those storm waves hitting a seaside town, I would have done it, but all the other possibilities I could think of, were 'the usual suspects.'

The theme kept playing in my head though, while waiting for telephone calls, contractors and serving tea to builders, so I set to work to create a different water image.

It has very little to do with photography, apart from part of an image from the local duck pond, and all with 'playing around with the software,' in the evening, or while hanging around waiting for people to finish, so I can have the place to myself again.

And now I have to go, as I haven't had breakfast yet, and the next contractor can be here any minute.

PS Just got a note that another comment has been added to this thread, and a quick look tells me it is by ABERS, but I don't have time to read it properly or adjust my comment, so here goes!

[jinky]

As ever the solution here is simple - if indeed there is a problem ! Enter any photo you want in the comp if it fits the brief / timing of the comp  - don`t if it doesn`t or you cannot be bothered / have time constraints due to other pressures. I don`t understand the concept of feeling pressure to enter a "for fun" weekly competition  and if it does only serve to offer a little amusement for 6 or 60 (as if ;-)) then sobeit. Like R I photograph other things in the week that never make it onto this site or anywhere else. I don`t always enter but I never worry about whether I do or not. It would be great if those other links Abers put up did engage anyone at all - even 6 would be a change - but the reality is they never have and stuttering as it is the comp has at least engaged some with varying levels of success in terms of images submitted whether judged as run of the mill or not by entrants or others (whatever run of the mill means given that people have different experiences of what they have done / not done before).

[Oldboy]

Guess which dunderhead forgot to enter his image! 

[Reinardina]

Guess which dunderhead forgot to enter his image! 

And only now discovers it!