Reply To: 10-4-06 – Style

[mikemikeb]

I’d think I’d want to do some extra work on skies, etc. if I were trying to do his style than I would do for my own.

Then again, if I were shooting “in the style of a Washington Post photographer,” it’d be pretty much no Post-Processing, just about all of it camera angle.

You bring up a good point with this contest, as it may be quite difficult for an otherwise successful Farktographer to get in a high-vote entry because of the demands of the contest. When a person sees a photo, they’ll probably be trying to answer how it fits a style. But: What constitutes “style”? Is it supposed to emulate somebody? Anybody? If not, then how does it fit a cliche “style”, like “Trees”, “Birds”, or “Trains”? Are such things stylistic enough? It may be a technically good photo, but it doesn’t obviously fit a style, so why vote for it? Point is, photo selection may need to be very philosophical this week to get a good total.

Note that staplermofo said that the photo “should scream ____”, with my emphasis on “scream”. The winner of this contest will probably post a photo that when people come to judge it, they’ll take one look at it and immediately think, “OK, that’s supposed to be of ‘X'”. That’ll be easier done than said for staplermofo, as he’s the best in the business with photographing staplers (which is an obvious style), and all of his three submissions will no doubt be of them. I have the impression that it’ll be him versus chakalakasp going for no. 1, with chaka running away with it — if he chooses wisely. For other submitters? I don’t know. Just in case, I’ve selected three photos (actually I’m wavering between two candidates on the third one) that I hope will have people thinking, “[Intended style]” without a beat.

Because of this odd kind of mentality involved in this contest, I wouldn’t be surprised if the winner has an obscenely high total (say, around 80), and tenth place would have something like 15 votes. Nor would I be surprised if an unknown does very well (perhaps we could have a few one-hit wonders), or if a photo that would normally rank in the middle of the pack end up as a shockingly high vote-getter because it “screams” something in a way that wouldn’t deserve a vote otherwise (if this kind of situation could exist).

This should be one heck of a contest, and could become one of the all-time greats.

(Now that I think about it, the more I think about chakalakasp and what he may enter, the more me entering to win is pointless…)

But alas, they were all shot with a crappy 35mm point and shoot camera, and the resolution of the (almost certainly plastic) lens would make Adams spin in his grave

Nor will a technically brilliant but soulless photo win.

Oh, and speaking of wins, congratulations on your “Cute Kids” contest victory! No need for a recount, as you ran away with the title this time…