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Originally Posted by - Paul -
I admire the sentiment and agree mostly - I'm aware that the way things are going currently could be seen as a bit "cliquey". This is what I personally wish to avoid. Anyone should be able to enter and their photo should be voted on. If a photo wins that you disagree with - that's the way it is - the forum voted. If it stops the regulars from posting I'd be surprised but if it happens and there are no entries for the contests then so be it. I don't think this will happen.
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I agree that anyone should be allowed to enter and I don't think anything is wrong with that by any means. If I disagree with the winner thats fine, art is subjective anyway. However its a very different situation when you have a 2 technically sound photos against each other and when you have 1 sloppy photo with a "sensational" subject versus a much more technically stronger one and that unsound piece wins by popularity with the help of randoms or people who don't actually know what they are talking about and just think its "cool".
Just because you've never seen a Rolls Royce v12 engine before doesn't mean it was a better PHOTOGRAPH than a flower in a vase, ya know?
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Originally Posted by - Paul -
Why do you think that the contests could be better? How could you improve them? If the voting is still left visible - it should be fairly easy to spot any random voters.
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problem is we don't do anything about that, we just say oh hey, random guys voted on this one... they still won though. My thought was by making the voting 2 rounds - a judging of people who have displayed photographic knowledge and successfully won a contest (meaning the masses agreed they knew what they were doing) can choose the strongest ones for the theme they chose. Then we let the masses decide out of that group, which one was the best of the best. That to me sounds like how it should be done. People might not like it cuz they get left out now and then but that really just speaks to how much they want it. Do they just feel bad and say fuck it I don't want to be a part of this or do they work at getting better and more focused on the theme/subject so that the next time they are included in it?
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Originally Posted by - Paul -
Re searching the archives to fit - I always do that. I don't see anything wrong with it. I took the photo,why discount it just because the forum contest theme appeared after I took it?. I still learn from other entries, I'm still inspired by other entries. I still take photos. I still enter and I still vote.
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Not disputing that it shouldn't be allowed, I've done it too. I'm just pointing out that a lot of times the submissions I'm referring to barely fit the theme like they could/should. They aren't being carried out in a manner of seriousness to fit the theme as best as they can but rather stretch the theme as far as they can to make what they have already shot work for the contest. By doing so, it makes it seem that people don't take things seriously (I know these are for fun but a certain minimal level of seriousness should be maintained to keep things moving). I mean if I picked a theme of "water" how many people would go shoot something in their sink or bathtub and how many would make a 10 min drive to some sort of body of water they lived by? I would probably guess on a 70/30 split in favor of the bathtub. I just think that the people who make the effort should be rewarded more for doing so than the ones who half ass it just for the sake of doing it. Sure they can be a part of the contests but I see it as a real honor to be chosen as a winner amongst your peers as "the best" and if you're half assing it then why are you more deserving than someone who worked their butts off for it, especially when 9/10 times their photo is technically speaking more sound than the other?