[Parker]

The photographers of this board, along with those who just own cameras ( ), have stated that they would like to be challenged to go out and shoot. Kinda like a photo contest, on occasion I will be posting up a new contest with rules on what im looking for. People will go out and shoot according to the rules then either email the photos or upload them when they're ready. Once a determined number of photos has been reached, the contest will be over and i'll put up a poll for people to vote on which photo they think is the best. The winner gets bragging rights, for now...

FAQ
1. What are these "rules"?
--These "rules" are designed to be guides or limits to what im looking for. For example, one rule could be "no living beings" for an Emotion contest. This rule forces someone to think outside the box in order to capture emotion without taking a picture of someone smiling or crying.

2. How often will this happen?
--As of now, there isn't any predetermined schedule. I would rather play it by ear (or eye) and see how popular it is. As of right now, no new contest will start until the previous one has ended.

3. How long will we have to submit a photo?
--Right now, I think we will start the contest off without a time limit just to see how many people actually are committed to this. The idea is to limit the contest to 8 (or so) submissions and whenever I reach that point, the contest will be closed to new submissions and a poll setup to vote on.

4. What do you mean by "a poll to vote on"?
--When a contest is closed to submissions, I will put together a thread that will allow members to vote on which photo they feel is best. The poll can be open for about a week to give people plenty of time to vote. When the poll has ended, a winner will be crowned.

5. How will you keep the poll from introducing bias?
--The contests will have general rules to keep bias out of the voting process. For example, submissions with watermarks or any other distinguishing feature will be excluded or edited out. Also, before the photo is posted online, I will strip the EXIF data contained in it.

6. Any idea of what other general rules there will be?
--There will definitely be a size rule (no more than 800px wide or 600px tall) and a format rule (.jpg or .png only). Photos must be new...no posting of old photos you took before that fit the contest. Other rules can/will be determined as we go.

7. When should I expect to see the first contest?
--Soon...within a week or so you'll see a new sticky at the top of this forum that says "Photo Challenge #1 - xxx" with information inside on the challenge. Read the rules and submit your photo according to the submission rules.

Contests
1. Shadows
2. Water
3. Motion
4. Yellow
5. Rust
6. Three

[evilSTi7]

Awesome job, thanks for the write-up!

My question is, if more than 8 people want to participate will it be first come, first serve?

[Parker]

That is the idea...I can revise it as needed though. I guess if I get a lot of submissions right away and it exceeds 8, I won't throw them out.

[Bishop]

subscribed and waiting

[KillerBlackBird]

The rules are similar to other forums contest rules. I like it.

Parker; you may want to add a time frame for allowing when the shots have to be taken. Say if the contest topic is announced on the 1st and submissions are due the 16th at midnight, you should only allow photos taken within that time frame, no old shots from the month before or last year. That will keep everyone shooting and make it more fair.

[Parker]

Originally Posted by KillerBlackBird

The rules are similar to other forums contest rules. I like it.

Parker; you may want to add a time frame for allowing when the shots have to be taken. Say if the contest topic is announced on the 1st and submissions are due the 16th at midnight, you should only allow photos taken within that time frame, no old shots from the month before or last year. That will keep everyone shooting and make it more fair.

I stated this earlier, but i'll clarify it better.

When a new contest comes out, you can't just pick up a photo laying around on your computer and use it...it must be shot after the contest begins.

Originally Posted by Bishop

I agree w/ blackbird, but im curious about the limit. So your only going to be posting 8 pics? the 1st 8? or the best 8 in your opinion?

I will post the first 8 I receive but if I receive more than 8 before I begin the poll, i'll include them all. I'll probably just use 8 as my "challenge has ended" time frame.

[KillerBlackBird]

Originally Posted by Parker

I stated this earlier, but i'll clarify it better.

When a new contest comes out, you can't just pick up a photo laying around on your computer and use it...it must be shot after the contest begins.

Gotcha

[05_GD7]

Great idea, but may I make a few suggestions:

1) The s2000 forum (s2ki.com) has a similar thing going. However, there are two threads - the submission thread, and the discussion thread. The submission thread is just the photo, with exif data, and a short description of the significance of the photo - nothing else. The discussion thread is reserved for comments etc.

2) I also recommend that anyone may submit an entry into the submissions thread - that way everyone who wants to participate gets to display their work. To permit this, we should use hosting sites instead of emailing the photo to whoever, as long as you stick to the resolution rule.

3) The "winner" of each contest gets to choose the theme for the next round.

4) By using the hosting site, you can change your submission anytime before the deadline. You can only REPLACE your submission. You can't ADD submissions (ie: only 1 photo per round)

[Parker]

I like the suggestions...see below for my input

Originally Posted by 05_GD7

Great idea, but may I make a few suggestions:

1) The s2000 forum (s2ki.com) has a similar thing going. However, there are two threads - the submission thread, and the discussion thread. The submission thread is just the photo, with exif data, and a short description of the significance of the photo - nothing else. The discussion thread is reserved for comments etc.
--The submission thread shows who's photo is who's. I don't want that. I would like to keep it unbiased and by submitting them via email allows others to make a choice without knowing who is who. In the poll thread, people can discuss the photos all they want but they can't ask or inquire about who's photo is who.

2) I also recommend that anyone may submit an entry into the submissions thread - that way everyone who wants to participate gets to display their work. To permit this, we should use hosting sites instead of emailing the photo to whoever, as long as you stick to the resolution rule.
--People who want to submit their photo can email it to me and i'll host it on my own site. If there are any late submissions, they can add it to the poll thread but it wouldn't be voted on.

3) The "winner" of each contest gets to choose the theme for the next round.
--I really like this idea...but I also like the idea of letting the person in last pick the next one to keep them involved and not discourage them from participating in future challenges.

4) By using the hosting site, you can change your submission anytime before the deadline. You can only REPLACE your submission. You can't ADD submissions (ie: only 1 photo per round)
--I don't think we should allow people to replace their submission. Plus, not everyone uses a photo hosting site. By submitting it to me, I will host it on my site and no one has to worry about the quality decreasing like some sites do when photos are uploaded. If someone wants to replace their submission by emailing the new photo to me, i'll more than likely consider it.

[Parker]

How do you guys feel about making it a rule that no car shots are to take place unless specified in the rules?

I'll specify more after this contest is over...with the above, how do you feel?