Question about contest

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  • #714
    CaptainJim
    Participant

    Should the contest themes be about subjects that get more people to contribute or should they be more narrow in scope and thus force the photographer to actually use their brain.
    As an example An upcoming contest will be cute kids. Everyone in the past has always tried to put cute kids into a contest weather it was the theme or not. We will now get about 80% of the people just showing snapshots of their kids without thinking of what makes a good photo.
    On the other hand if there was a theme called forks one would have to think about how to light a fork. What the forks should be doing. Basically how to take a good picture of a fork. Now about 20% of the people will just open the silverware drawer and take a picture just to participate. That in my oppinion would be better because it would make people have to think and become better photographers.
    So back to my original question. Should we go for many contributors or should we go for themes that make people think instead of just posting something they think might fit the theme.

    #6261
    Elsinore
    Keymaster

    I’d personally rather go for stuff that makes me think–the style theme coming up has me intrigued probably the most of any of the upcoming themes, and I’m researching different photographers to see what I might come up with. I like the challenge, myself.

    #6262
    CaptainJim
    Participant

    the style theme coming up has me intrigued probably the most of any of the upcoming themes.

    I love David Lachapelle and am trying to find a large woman to let me wrap her in cling wrap and lay her down in a field and then take the picture with a wide angle lens. You would see the figure and be able to know that it was female but no details would be visible. Then the viewer would see the heavy Hay bales in the vicinity meant for feeding and wonder about the meaning.

    #6263
    CaptainJim
    Participant

    Apparently I don’t know how to quote on here

    #6264
    Klahanie
    Participant

    Why does it have to be an either/or question? There are 52 Wednesdays every year and I think there is room for both.

    I, personally, won’t have anything to contribute to the cute kid theme, but I’m looking forward to the thread. I’m sure I will be grinning from ear to ear. It should be a lot of fun!

    I do enjoy a challenge, but a theme like you described for forks sounds too much like school to me. I’m not saying it’s a bad idea, but I guess I come here for different reasons. *shrug* just my 02 cents.

    #6265
    mikemikeb
    Participant

    Apparently I don’t know how to quote on here

    Oh, it’s easy (if you want to quote from just one post): You click the “quote” button next to the post that you want to quote, then (when the post creation page loads) click just to the right of the “[/quote]” provided for you at the end, hit the enter key once, then put in your own statement.

    If you want to quote from more than one post it gets harder, but at least quoting from one post is easy.

    The “Preview” button is your friend, too.

    #6266
    Klahanie
    Participant

    😳 That last comment of mine sounds about a thousand times snottier than it is intended. I just think there is room for all of it. Variety is the spice and all of that.

    #6267
    CaptainJim
    Participant

    😳 That last comment of mine sounds about a thousand times snottier than it is intended. I just think there is room for all of it. Variety is the spice and all of that.

    Then you need 1000 whacks with a wet noodle. 😆 😆 😆

    #6268
    staplermofo
    Participant

    I think we’ve got enough people now to not have to worry about risking losing some, and I think the longer you’re at it the more you think on your own anyway. I mean, with all you darn talented folks running about us bums have to work harder. I think the main thing to worry about now is making it fun. Fark being fark, any non-serious thinking should be hilarious. So, in a way, I’m with you on the forks idea. I’m convinced that the staplers contest was the best contest we’ve ever had because so many people thought up the funniest stuff and the subject was loose enough to allow for all sorts of diversity. I’m not crazy about contests where people don’t feel like scrolling down to where the liters post because they’ve just seen 50 pictures of ________.

    This cute kids one is killing me. I had to cold call a cousin I haven’t spoken to in years and ask if she wouldn’t mind having her kids pose with staplers.
    How the heck are the the rest of you childless doing it?

    #6269

    This cute kids one is killing me. … How the heck are the the rest of you childless doing it?

    By hoping I find some juvenile goats to photograph. Kids are kids, right?

    #6270
    Elsinore
    Keymaster

    I think we’ve got enough people now to not have to worry about risking losing some, and I think the longer you’re at it the more you think on your own anyway. I mean, with all you darn talented folks running about us bums have to work harder. I think the main thing to worry about now is making it fun. Fark being fark, any non-serious thinking should be hilarious. So, in a way, I’m with you on the forks idea. I’m convinced that the staplers contest was the best contest we’ve ever had because so many people thought up the funniest stuff and the subject was loose enough to allow for all sorts of diversity. I’m not crazy about contests where people don’t feel like scrolling down to where the liters post because they’ve just seen 50 pictures of ________.

    See that’s why I liked the idea too. I’m sure I could come up with at least mildly amusing to do with forks in addition to something more serious. Ultimately, I like the mix of fun subjects, serious subjects, challenging subjects, etc. Like GalleyWench said, variety is the spice of life.

    #6271
    schnee
    Participant

    I’m convinced that the staplers contest was the best contest we’ve ever had because so many people thought up the funniest stuff

    I completely agree. I had the most fun both behind the lens and in front of the monitor with that one. More contrained themes really cause the inner photographer in me to come out.

    I’m not crazy about contests where people don’t feel like scrolling down to where the liters post because they’ve just seen 50 pictures of ________.

    Say it loud and say it proud brother! Since I’m normally a ‘liter, anything to convince people to keep looking is well worth it.

    This cute kids one is killing me. I had to cold call a cousin I haven’t spoken to in years and ask if she wouldn’t mind having her kids pose with staplers.
    How the heck are the the rest of you childless doing it?

    Heck, I have kids and I’m not sure I’ll do this one. Yeah, they’re so cute they’d walk away with the contest and yeah I have some good snapshots, but I’d rather do photographs. I’ll probably windup with snapshots.

    #6273
    Klahanie
    Participant

    😳 That last comment of mine sounds about a thousand times snottier than it is intended. I just think there is room for all of it. Variety is the spice and all of that.

    Then you need 1000 whacks with a wet noodle. 😆 😆 😆

    Thank you sir, may I have another?:shock:

    I think we’ve got enough people now to not have to worry about risking losing some, and I think the longer you’re at it the more you think on your own anyway. I mean, with all you darn talented folks running about us bums have to work harder. I think the main thing to worry about now is making it fun. Fark being fark, any non-serious thinking should be hilarious. So, in a way, I’m with you on the forks idea. I’m convinced that the staplers contest was the best contest we’ve ever had because so many people thought up the funniest stuff and the subject was loose enough to allow for all sorts of diversity. I’m not crazy about contests where people don’t feel like scrolling down to where the liters post because they’ve just seen 50 pictures of ________.

    This cute kids one is killing me. I had to cold call a cousin I haven’t spoken to in years and ask if she wouldn’t mind having her kids pose with staplers.
    How the heck are the the rest of you childless doing it?

    Good point. The stapler theme turned out much better than I thought it would. Kudos for that. Good luck with the kids with staplers. I don’t have kids either and the only photos of kids I have are of my niece, and they are a few years old. hmmm, goats…

    #6272
    idle_hands
    Participant

    i’ve no idea what you’re talking about captain jim. (insert pancake bunny)

    the contest themes are the ones suggested by farktographers

    how the themes are handled/interpreted/expressed is a very personal matter. none of us are judges here, we’re simply voters.

    you’re free to submit as many as you wish with full description for inclusion in the queue

    the original intention of farktography was to have fun and to share. that hasn’t changed. of course there is a variety of skill and committment level. you are one whose work i’ve always admired and respected. this is not sucking up (believe me!) just saying, don’t expect everyone to share your values

    some people may outgrow farktography and move on to professional contests, but it’s my hope that farktography will always be aboot teh fun, first and foremost

    #6274
    veruca
    Participant

    I just want you guys to know that I do put a bit of thought behind the themes I pick ? Cute Kids was a filler theme when I decided to push Autumn back a few weeks. Instead of throwing in an HDR theme in two weeks…HDR is a lot more complicated than Cute Kids (in my opinion). I can think of 3 photos on my hard drive right now for Cute Kids. For HDR I?ll be out with my camera taking shots in triplicate and then loading and playing with them in CS2. So if there?s one week where maybe we don?t have to furrow our brows and exert quite as much energy…well that?s okay, right?

    But in general when the time comes to pick new themes I don?t just grab and go; there?s a lot to consider. A) Have we done X theme before, recently, or something close to it. B) Have I picked too many themes from staplermofo recently? C) What?s the interest level? D) Is it too specialized? Have we just done something specialized? E) How long has the theme been sitting in the forum?

    I do like to space them out ? a fun all-inclusive theme here and there mixed with the specialized ones. The forks theme hasn?t come to pass yet but it will eventually (or was this a serious proposal?). There?s just a fine balance to maintain, and what I?ve learned from idle_hands and then now on my own is this: too many specialized themes and the less technical farktographers lose interest. Too many generalized themes and the serious farktographers can/may lose interest.

    We also tried polling for theme votes for a couple of months but the turnout was pretty paltry. I can start this again if more people will vote! 🙂

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 22 total)
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