Request all friends and seniors from Cambridge forums regarding competitions

[sachinpt]

Hello all friends and seniors from Cambridge forums.

I joined last week in this forum, daily I read experts advise and enjoy best photos with all details here.

I like monthly and mini competition thought and participated in that also, its really good.

But when I go through all competitions which are running now to see and vote these best participants photos then I saw some photos which are same in all competitions.

Same photo in monochrome……. Same in Mini competition …………. Difference is just made by editing software.
I agreed maximum peoples used editing software … I am also using.. but my request to all my friend, seniors and specially to administrator that if possible then please allow one photo in only one competition, it should not be in other competitions like monochrome or other mini.

My other request is if possible then photo entry is in specially category like Nature, Landscape, wildlife, Portrait …… at least for mini competitions.

Please consider my request for healthy and good competition…. Because from these competitions photo we learn many things.

Thanks

Sachin

[Colin Southern]

Hi Sachin,

my request to all my friend, seniors and specially to administrator that if possible then please allow one photo in only one competition, it should not be in other competitions like monochrome or other mini.

Unfortunately, it's not possible to police this - the mini-comps turn over very quickly, and have been on "auto pilot" for about a year now (I don't think any of the admin team go anywhere near them). Also, I'm not sure if entering different versions of the same image in both comps should be an issue.

My other request is if possible then photo entry is in specially category like Nature, Landscape, wildlife, Portrait …… at least for mini competitions.

Sorry - I don't think this is going to happen in a hurry. In essence, what you're asking for is seperate competitions for these types of photography, which I think would be a nightmare for users to keep track of.

[revi]

To be honest, I find that the turnover is very fast in the competitions as is (up to two per day in each category?).
I feel that that's too many to deal with, especially as some of the pictures need a bit of reflection to be appreciated
and judged correctly. That said, I don't see any reasonable way to limit the number of entries.

I do agree that only one version of an image should be entered (as I see it, the competitions are supposed to
showcase your best work, so pick either the B/W or colour version, but well...). I tend to exclude those that post
multiple versions from my votes for one thing, it allows me to give more time to the others)...

What I find worse though, is seeing the exact same image appearing several times (which is against the
competition rules, btw). In this case, it was first in two consecutive competitions as well (thought it might have been
an accident), now I have seen it a 3rd time...
Would that be worth an official warning (and for repeat 'offenders' perhaps a ban from the competition in which it occurred)?
This would go against the friendly, casual atmosphere here, but if this gets a regular practice, we might have more problems.

As for categories, as long as the number stays limited (3, 4 max) I don't think users would lose track. It would give a better
chance to the pictures in the less 'popular' categories (popular with voters, not necessarily with the photographers). As has
been noted before, portraits and landscapes tend to get more votes than others..
Remains the question 'Which categories'... Just 'landscapes', 'portraits' and 'others' seems a bit extreme

[Donald]

What I find worse though, is seeing the exact same image appearing several times (which is against the
competition rules, btw). In this case, it was first in two consecutive competitions as well (thought it might have been
an accident), now I have seen it a 3rd time...

Personally, I find it quite amazing that anyone would even think of doing that. Why?

This is a forum for learning and development and for people primarily focused on enhancing their knowledge and skills. What possible learning is attached to submitting the same image a number of times? That's suggests someone who's only trying to win competitions. And that, if you look back to why Colin started up the Mini Comps, was never the intention. It was to encourage those who were maybe reluctant to post images, to do so. The competitions on CiC were always meant to be fun ratehr than competitive.

Adopting that practice and contributing to, what I now consider is, the ridiculously high turnover in the Mini Comps is not only selfish but is contributing to those Mini Comps becoming less and less effective. I for one, and there are many others, just do not bother any more even visiting the Mini Comps section. I'm afraid I see nothing constructive taking place in there. I knwo i am missing soem spectacular images and I regret that bitterly.

I just wish that everyone could be helped to understand that learning and improvement doesn't flow from spending one's photographic life wallowing in competition threads. That's probably the least effective way of acquiring knowledge.

[Andrew1]

I am one who visits the minicomps as often as they come up. I don't post but I do look at all the pictures and vote when one or two catches my eye. From my perspective, finding photos that have been posted a couple of times in a different format whether it be cropping or monochrome is not a problem. Someone is taking the time to make what they thought was a good shot a little bit better. Seeing the same photo jump up every once in awhile is not going to make me look more, in fact the opposite would happen. It'll get skimmed over. The members who do that are doing it for some reason though, perhaps a processing change I'm not noticing. If they are posting the same image they are probably aware they are not doing themselves a favour. Maybe the first time or two they submitted it the found themselves up against some truly great photos and didn't get what they thought a correct rating. An ego thing but hey, we all have our quirks.

To me, finding multiple posts doesn't matter. They aren't doing me any harm but if there are too many I may end up being like Donald and just not bother visiting. I hope not. The thing is, the mini comps are not really competitions. There's no prize, there's no test, no elevation of the photographer to master status, nothing. It's a showcase and only that. Call then mini-shows if it's a tick for you. What is there is the self gratification that someone else likes your favourite photo of the day. And that's great. I like going there for it's informality and hope it doesn't go away. Too many repeats? Fugetabotit.

PS: If you are going to put in a rule I'd like to see one that says there can only be one good photo per comp. Far too many of the submissions are just too good to find only one to vote for.

2 cents.

[Fit]

I'll play... a thought or two about the mini-comps:

1) Extend the entries per competition to 15 or maybe 20 per. Cuts the number of comps down and slows the churn some. great to see their popularity nonetheless.

2) Limit the number of votes one can cast to one. or a couple. More discrimination.

[Geoff F]

I'll play... a thought or two about the mini-comps:

1) Extend the entries per competition to 15 or maybe 20 per. Cuts the number of comps down and slows the churn some. great to see their popularity nonetheless.

2) Limit the number of votes one can cast to one. or a couple. More discrimination.

When these Mini Competitions first started I was concerned that they would be dominated by just a small clique of the very best photographers so the majority of members simply wouldn't bother to enter. Fortunately that hasn't happened.

Initially, it took quite a while to reach 10 entries. In those days, I often entered my photos, but rarely do so nowadays.

The risk, as I see it, from increasing the number of entries in each competition is that it becomes too unwieldy and confusing to decide between multiple entries. I often don't bother to vote in the monthly competitions because of this; although I still vote in the 10 entry mini comps.

But, yes I do agree that I am finding it a little bit time consuming to vote on several competitions per day, which often occurs, and I'm not giving quite so much time to each entry.

Originally, many of use just voted for the one photo which we liked best. Which did mean some agonising decisions. Eventually, as the number of votes wasn't limited to just one, multiple voting seems to have become the norm but I limit myself to a maximum of 5 votes. Does anybody else do something similar?

Whether this 'showcase of members work' should be in the form of a competition was another item which was discussed at the beginning. I was a little concerned here because I had seen how, on other sites, the amount of votes allocated to individual images caused a lot of 'bitchiness' particularly when the voters names were shown.

The 'secret ballot' idea of these competitions is certainly an excellent method.

Although I still vote, I usually don't return to see who has won.

But at least we are talking about concerns over an area for displaying photos becoming too popular instead of worrying about a lack of entries.

[Colin Southern]

Extend the entries per competition to 15 or maybe 20 per. Cuts the number of comps down and slows the churn some. great to see their popularity nonetheless.

There's a limit of 10 options on a poll.

Limit the number of votes one can cast to one. or a couple. More discrimination.

This would mean that a good image that may be everyone's 2nd choice wouldn't receive a single vote - which we thought might be discouraging.

Also, system only allows 1 vote or ad many as you like - no way to limit it to only "x" number.

[gerryquiff]

I do agree that only one version of an image should be entered (as I see it, the competitions are supposed to
showcase your best work, so pick either the B/W or colour version, but well...). I tend to exclude those that post
multiple versions from my votes for one thing, it allows me to give more time to the others)...

What I find worse though, is seeing the exact same image appearing several times (which is against the
competition rules, btw). In this case, it was first in two consecutive competitions as well (thought it might have been
an accident), now I have seen it a 3rd time...
Would that be worth an official warning (and for repeat 'offenders' perhaps a ban from the competition in which it occurred)?
This would go against the friendly, casual atmosphere here, but if this gets a regular practice, we might have more problems.

I was actually guilty of posting the same image in 2 different mini competitions, which I now know was against the rules. Better late than never.
I agree with the reasoning that they should be used once only.

With different edits of the same image, I'm not too sure, although I do several edits on some images, I generally single one out to put on my pages, on the web.

[Rahul]

Hi Sachin.

Your observation is right, there are some photos which are again and again coming with little changes, but in competition only.

I also request all cambridge member that if you really want to test your photo with little changes only by editing software then post it in "General Photography Discussion" forums where all our experts give there advice and suggestion also.

Sachin I like your post because you observed these repeated photos it means you really go through all post, thread, competitions, and read all discussions.

All the best and keep it up....

Happy Photography

[Andrew1]

I do hit as many comps as possible and do try to limit my vote to a single choice. Usually that doesn't work though and two get chosen most times. I feel any more would just dilute the efforts of both the photog and the viewer.

[Arlen]

As a newcomer to the site, I find this kind of discussion useful. Every web forum has its own culture, with norms and customs beyond the written rules. It can take a while for a new member to figure them out.

For instance, in wandering about the site, a newcomer may wonder, what's up with all these competitions? What is their purpose, and how do they work? Is winning the object for most people, or is it more to get some quick feedback on your progress as a photographer? (I can see how someone new to photography might want to ascertain whether, over time, their entries were climbing up the "public approval scale", even if they didn't win. That could be taken as a measure of progress.) What criteria do most people here use when deciding which entries should get their vote? Since you can vote multiple times in the Mini Comps, how many votes does the typical voter make? (My quick calculation looking at a handful of them: about 1.6 votes per voter.)

While I agree with those who expressed no interest in entering the same image in multiple contests, the rules or accepted practices may not be clear to newcomers. For example, I see that the instructions at the beginning of every Mini Comp explicitly exclude images that have been entered in other competitions; but I don't see that instruction at the beginning of the monthly contests.

I must say that I was a bit surprised to see Donald saying that he and many others (longer-term members, I'm guessing) no longer look at the Mini Comps at all. If that's the case, wouldn't some improvement be called for?

Personally, now that I'm getting a little better feel for how they work, I kind of like the idea behind the Mini Comps--even though I can see that as fast as they go by, it could quickly become a chore to keep up with them. But it seems like a good way for someone to get a quick, anonymous (and therefore hopefully, completely candid) sampling of opinions to determine whether an image has appeal beyond the person who generated it. You can ask your friends and family, but will they risk hurting your feelings? If all you want to know is "do very many people besides me like this picture?", then this seems like good quick way to get some notion of that. Being able to see the entire results of the poll let's you know whether there was some interest, even if your entry didn't take first place.

Of course if you want specific comments and opinions and the reasons behind them, as well as suggestions for improvement, then these competitions won't provide it. That's when you would head over to the sub-forums where that kind of thing takes place.

If there have been other similar discussions about forum culture and norms that would be useful for newcomers to read, would it be worthwhile to make a Sticky with links to those threads? (If such a thing already exists, I apologize for missing it.)

From what I've seen thus far, you folks have built quite a nice community here. I hope my comments are taken in the constructive way they're intended.

Respectfully submitted,

Arlen

[Donald]

Arlen

I think your post indeed a very useful and thoughtful contribution to the discussion.

My own comment about not visiting the Mini comps was not to do with disrespect fro them but merely, because of other things I do associated with the forum , not having the time to keep up. I dipped into one Mini Comp yesterday for a look (prompted by a message that had been posted) and was in awe at the quality of the work. There were 10 superb images.

I have to say that I do feel a bit of regret that, because of the high turnover rate, people are, I suspect, not getting the chance to properly appreciate many of these images. And they deserve to be appreciated.

But the Mini Comps are what the Mini Comps are. They are hugely popular, which is great. But I think we have to accept that they are not the section of the site where in-depth analysis and comment is going to be made. It would be great if the turnover rate was such that people did, after voting closed, take time to make constructive comments about images. But I don't think that's going to happen.

[wlou]

I have a hard time keeping up with "all the minicomps". There seem to be so many of them. It means that your site is extremely popular, and that I do not have enough time in a day to see everything. I feel the same when I go to the library, so many books so little time.
Taking pictures is an activity growing very fast in popularity, every one seem to have some kind of camera and access to the internet to show them to the world.
I, for one, stay pose to see what is in store for our future. So many ways now to alter an already good photo. So many way to "trick" a picture and make it something else. The future will tell...

[wlou]

If the goal of the minicomp is to improve on you ability as a photographer, it would make sense to present a variety of subject.

[Colin Southern]

Even worst, using the same PS FX on all the pic presented. One cannot say if the photo has any merit, just that it makes you sea sick.If the goal of the minicomp is to improve on you ability as a photographer, it would make sense to present a see-able subject.

Hi Louise,

I carefully designed the mini-comps to be "all things to all people"

Seriously, I started them a few years ago simply as a way to encourage folks to get involved - albeit with photography - post processing - or just this site. We've had quite a few suggestions from folks in the past; we consider all of them (and impliment some of them) - but one of the basic phiolosophies that I really want to stay true to is "limiting the number of rules" ... because as soon as we intruduce a rule that suits one person ... it upsets someone else ... and next we end up with even more rules ... and then folks want those rules policed ... and if we don't then they start attacking each other in public then we have to police that.

So in reality we've setup something that doesn't take much of our limited time - seems to work well for those who enter them (judging by their popularity) - and we pretty much just let folks "do their own thing", whilst appreciating that they may not be "for everyone" (we won't be offended if some folks don't like them and choose not to participate).

[Dave Humphries]

I do still visit as many of the Mini Comps for voting as possible, but I bet I miss at least a 1/3 of them.

I, like Geoff F, do limit myself usually to 5, I vote for more than one as, like Arlen, I see them as encouragement (and I've been here so long I remember Colin setting them up and that was the original aim).

I find they tend to contain either 5 or more very high quality images or sometimes very few - or maybe it is just the mood I am in when I view and vote

As Andrew says, the duplicate posings of same image don't bother me, it probably doesn't help the poster, but might be as Andrew says; they put one in they were very proud of, only to have something breath-taking added after theirs and attract all the votes.

For me, the instant feedback of seeing how the images are doing and comparing my voting preferences with the members at large is helpful to me too, I may go back and see if I missed something in my assessment, so given I don't have time to go back and see who won, I won't be a fan of making them secret until voting closes.

They must be serving a purpose or they wouldn't be so popular and turn over so fast.

Well, that's my take on them, for what it's worth