Contest #1: Mother Nature Due 11.02.08

[Jeremy Ordan]

Contest #1
Subject: Mother Nature

Detail: Take a picture that shows mother nature, in however you choose to interpret the theme.

Due Date: November 2nd @ 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time

Post Processing: You may post process in any way, shape, or form but may not add text

Restrictions: This contest does not allow any text, words, or letters to appear

Submissions: You may submit up to 3 entries to this contest

Standing Rules: 1. Submissions must conform to DVXUser Terms and Conditions (no personal attacks, no politics, no pornography) 2. Submissions are exclusive copyright material of the photographer but please do not watermark your submissions 3. All submissions must be posted anonymously until voting has been completed 4. Please post feedback, comments, and constructive criticism if you participate 5. Spread the word… we have gotten this going again and would like a good turn out 6. All images must be shot between the announcement of the contest and the submission deadline




RESULTS:
#1 Double Rainbow by Beat Takeshi
http://www.dvxfest.com/host_mirror/photo_mothernature/tn_PCMother_nature.Double_Rainbow01.Beat_Takeshi.j pg
#2 River by Andrew Brinkhaus
http://www.dvxfest.com/host_mirror/photo_mothernature/tn_River-Andrew_Brinkhaus.jpg
#3 Road by zergtherobot
http://www.dvxfest.com/host_mirror/photo_mothernature/tn_PC1.road-1.zergtherobot.jpg

[TimurCivan]

cool....

[Moojangles]

sweet, i'm gonna try and get an entry in.

[ChipG]

Where do we send the pics to, you?

Is it ok if I send a still frame from video or does it have to be shot on a dslr?

Are there any prizes?

[dory_breaux]

^^ What he said.

[ilauzirika]

Great I was really waiting for this!!!

[Jeremy Ordan]

Where do we send the pics to, you?

Is it ok if I send a still frame from video or does it have to be shot on a dslr?

Are there any prizes?

An upload link will be posted prior to the deadline...

It can be shot on any camera, this includes a video camera.

Prizes are still to be determined but we will try to put something together... this is a weekly fest so....

[ConspiracyPenguin]

I like it. I hope the turn out it good. :)

[Derrick_SA]

nice, sounds like fun!

- Derrick

[Steve Laramie]

im down

[HorseFilms]

Let's make this thing huge. I was missing these contests. It forces me to get out and shoot stuff.

[Jarrod Homer]

Awesome, this makes me really, really happy! Now to go find my camera....

[Kyle Stebbins]

I'm definitely in on this one.
I've already got the image in mind. =)

[ChipG]

Don't all images have to be shot between your anouncment and Nov. 2nd?

I could pull some pretty impressive pics out of my library but whats the point of that? Right?

[RyanT]

I just pulled off the side of the road yesterday and shot some stuff. Crossing my fingers that they turn out as well as they seemed they would.

ChipG, I think he said they have to be shot between the announcement and due date. So, yes.

[clarkage]

I love DVXuser...

[polecat]

I'm on it!

[Adam J McKay]

I was tempted to dip into the library of photos I have. I may post them up after anyway.
I am going to try and take a different approach to the theme. We will see how it goes. I am really glad this is happening.

I too love Dvxuser, it is starting to feel like real community. We NEED more huge events.

[RyanT]

I was tempted to dip into the library of photos I have. I may post them up after anyway.
I am going to try and take a different approach to the theme. We will see how it goes. I am really glad this is happening.

I too love Dvxuser, it is starting to feel like real community. We NEED more huge events.

Don't forget to take a moment to read the rules! :Drogar-Happy(DBG):

"6. All images must be shot between the announcement of the contest and the submission deadline"

[Adam J McKay]

Don't forget to take a moment to read the rules! :Drogar-Happy(DBG):

"6. All images must be shot between the announcement of the contest and the submission deadline"

Ya I know, but it would be so easy to be deceptive....Regardless. I would prefer to keep my karma clean, therefore honesty is the best policy.:happy:

I have gotten a couple nice snaps for this fest in the last few days, planning a specific shoot for the weekend. Hopefully it goes better then twilight fest did for me.

:cry:

[ChipG]

Yep, gotta keep karma clean, we had to cancel a late season tornado chase last week because the weather didn't come together here in the midwest like we hoped. Now I have a few days left and no idea what I'm going to do for my Mother Nature topic.

But I do still want to participate.

[Beat Takeshi]

I have an image I want to put in but I posted it in the cafe'. Can I still enter it?

[muroshi]

I'm in. Any upload guidelines?

[ConspiracyPenguin]

Glad to see this here! I haven't commented yet because I wasn't sure if I would be able to get a photo or not. But it rained today and I think tomorrow morning will make for some nice pictures that may be worthy of submission.

[ChipG]

Glad to see this here! I haven't commented yet because I wasn't sure if I would be able to get a photo or not. But it rained today and I think tomorrow morning will make for some nice pictures that may be worthy of submission.

Duhhhh Ohhh,

I'm driving home tonight in fog so thick I couldn't see 10 feet in front of me...

Ok, it's 2:02am in KC my time and I'll be out front taking pics of Fog.

It does look pretty cool, kinda like the movies. Hope they turn out ok.

[Adam J McKay]

any more submission details??

[muroshi]

Yeah, my photos are really ready. Where shall I upload them?

[Jeremy Ordan]

Due to server issues yesterday voting and uploading will be slightly delayed.

Participants can upload photos HERE (http://www.dvxfest.com/upload/photo.shtml)

I will allow photos to be uploaded until tonight at midnight EST and then we'll start voting on round one.

Round two has been announced and is currently underway.

[HorseFilms]

Good. I'm glad it wasn't just me. I thought I'd missed out.

[RyanT]

Sweet, I submitted! Thought I missed out too.

[Andrew Brinkhaus]

Jeremy, submitting through the DVXFest page is acceptable as well? If so I'm good to go and will start pondering the next set.

[HorseFilms]

What do we know about file size restrictions?

[Adam J McKay]

Sweet, done and done.

[Jeremy Ordan]

What do we know about file size restrictions?

We don't

Maybe Larry will chime in with some elaboration

[HorseFilms]

We don't

Maybe Larry will chime in with some elaboration

Cool. It allowed me to upload, so I guess I'm within specs.

[Adam J McKay]

Is the voting going to be setup the same was as twilightfest?

[Beat Takeshi]

uploaded mine

[triplej96]

Dang I missed it :(. Good luck to everyone.

[Adam J McKay]

Anymore progress?

[USLatin]

when can we see them?

[Jeremy Ordan]

Sorry, meant to get viewing and voting up last night but with the coverage I was running a bit behind schedule.

Viewing and Voting is open and available!

Viewing is available at http://www.dvxfest.com/photofest

Under the image are the 10 stars like we use in dvxfest. Simply click on the number of stars that represents your vote, it is instantly recorded. Any member can vote, regardless of the number of posts they have on the site.

Let's get voting :)

[Adam J McKay]

Sweet... there were some really nice images. Let's keep it up.

[Jeremy Ordan]

Voting for this round will run through Friday whereas I have updated the rules section for Round 2 and future rounds to reflect that it will be a 3 day process in the future.

Once voting is closed and winners are announced you may disclose which entry is yours.

[USLatin]

I wish #11 had the tree leaning away from the buildings and I would have given it top score. Very nice picture nonetheless.

My favorite is #1, love the composition... it is nice to have so much detail to work with, but still...

I will be the first to admit that I am completely biased in all my ratings based on what I am used to seeing, shooting, etc... but I definitely try to add (or subtract) a good 1 to 3 stars to my subjective rating based on technical aspects including post. :)


Good job everyone!


P.S.: To whomever posted #3... good picture, but if you need a hug, let me know man. :)

[Adam J McKay]

I really enjoy number one as well, great capture indeed.

[USLatin]

The trick is that flowing water stuff with long shutters gives you motion which adds so much, plus moving water has so much symbolism behind it... it is unfair to a point... but hey, it was an excellent choice for the subject. He got my highest rating.

[muroshi]

Absolutely no content in it. :)

[USLatin]

Content? What do you mean muroshi?

[Andrew Brinkhaus]

Great work to everybody here. Casting my votes now.

[13th Judas]

darn, i found photography so difficult. i can't express a thousand words in a single frame. i can't deliver the composition that plays in my head. a single frame is not enough for me. i need a stablishing shot ... i need a cut away ...how i missed the crane and dolly. but upon seeing some submission in this contest, i think some film makers also share my dilemma :)

[muroshi]

Art consist of content and form. It looks like a calendar picture. Everyone could have shot it.

[HorseFilms]

Art consist of content and form. It looks like a calendar picture. Everyone could have shot it.

The theme was "Mother Nature," not "Who can be the biggest Art House weirdo?":)

Great shots, guys!:beer:

[muroshi]

The theme was "Mother Nature," not "Who can be the biggest Art House weirdo?":)

Every good picture tells a story.


a picture that shows mother nature, in however you choose to interpret the theme.

Read carefully.

[13th Judas]

i agree with muroshi. it's just a shame cause mother nature is such a great theme. well, maybe i was just expecting a lot from you guys based from what i've seen on the dvxfest. i was expecting drama ... i was expecting colors ... but what i've seen were just a snap shots.

[Adam J McKay]

Look closer.

[USLatin]

Art consist of content and form. It looks like a calendar picture. Everyone could have shot it.

I agree... but a better than average calendar picture at worst.
For me, and my interpretation, it fits best out of the bunch.
Which was your favorite?

[muroshi]

What is a bit annoying is that you guys scale images automatically down. I recommend clicking on the images.

Snapshot is a bit harsh, there are some though.

[Jeremy Ordan]

Just went through the votes before we end this voting period and it's interesting how some people automatically give themselves a 10 whereas others do not. Voting is very curious when you look at some of these items.

[USLatin]

Muroshi, which is your favorite?


Just went through the votes before we end this voting period and it's interesting how some people automatically give themselves a 10 whereas others do not. Voting is very curious when you look at some of these items.

I wish I could see the votes! :)

[muroshi]

You mean apart from my stuff? :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG) (Now this is a really evil Peter Majtan smilie!) :)

The b/w image of the three and the caravans is a bit metaphoric. And then the road with fog. This are my two favorites.

But I think this shouldn't be judged us shooters, but some pros.

Image sizes-restrictions would also be a great idea for future photofests, to avoid this scaling.

I don't have time for the next one. This is even harder. Innocence!

[USLatin]

BTW, I didn't realize you could open them wide, so I went back and revised my votes after looking at them again... not much changed but after looking at the B&W of the tree I noticed the river in between the tree and buildings. That added to the excellent quality made it pull ahead of #1 by one star in my book... if the tree was leaning away from the buildings and the image were flipped horizontally I'd give it a perfect score.

[USLatin]

Image sizes-restrictions would also be a great idea for future photofests, to avoid this scaling.

I agree... something about 1200 x 675 sized, vertical or horizontal obviously being a choice.

[Adam J McKay]

I as well did not realise you could open them larger. I am going to go review now.

[Adam J McKay]

I am drawn to #6. It looks like something out of No country. I like it.

For me and my voting I am finding it hard because I can't seem to distance myself from thinking about the things I would have done to suit my tastes, which doesn't necessarily make any image bad, just not what I would have done. It's interesting voting on photos and comparing them to your own without trying to be biased. I was one of the people who voted my image(s) 10 automatically. Not because I think they are better then everyone else but because individually I think they are worth a 10 because they are my babies. But to be fair I have dropped an image down from it's 10 spot to a 9 because I am not all that happy with it.
As far as rating goes. I am trying to base my ratings on each individual image I am not so much comparing one image to another.

long story short. I have a hard time rating photography.
Maybe we should have a ratings guide?

thoughts?

[Jeremy Ordan]

As far as rating goes. I am trying to base my ratings on each individual image I am not so much comparing one image to another.

long story short. I have a hard time rating photography.
Maybe we should have a ratings guide?

thoughts?

Rating systems are going to be individual and I will not endorse a rating guide. That being said, future contests will not allow you to vote for your own images :)

[USLatin]

Good idea Jeremy. And what about a standard size?

I was thinking something that will fit on most monitors while keeping it as big as possible. 1024 x 768 is certainly the minimum. How about pushing it just a bit higher. And how about making then a standard aspect ration too... widescreen 16:9 probably the most popular and many cameras shoot that or close to it now. That's how I came up with 1200 x 675...

Though maybe there could be a maximum with and maximum height also allowing you to make a 768 (or some other number) the vertical count but having to keep it 16:9.

[HorseFilms]

That being said, future contests will not allow you to vote for your own images :)

Good. I did not and will not rate my own stuff, even if it costs me an easy 10. :)

[Adam J McKay]

I third the idea. Great idea. I think I am going to make my own rating guide to keep my on track when rating a photo. So to be fair, can you not include my ratings for my own photo's for this one as well? I could go back and give them all 1 star but it be better if I didn't get any of my own cred.

Thanks a bunch

[USLatin]

Good. I did not and will not rate my own stuff, even if it costs me an easy 10. :)

Which was yours? So I can ruin your average. Muahahha... :beer:

[Larry Rutledge]

The original idea was to allow full res images to be provided, but to scale them down for easy viewing within the context of the page. For those who haven't discovered it yet, clicking the image on the page will pop up the full res version of the image. For those who are asking for predetermined size constraints, what is the reasoning behind it? Why not allow for the larger version to be accessible? It is certainly possible to make the initial display larger, but we have to make sure it is viewable by the majority of viewers who might come by to view/vote.

Regarding the voting ... the system we are using is the same one we use for the DVXFest Film Festival. Each image is rated on its own, not ranked amongst the other images. Take each image on its own ... view it and decide where that image falls, in your estimation, on a scale of 1 to 10. You represent your choice by selecting the equivalent number of stars. The moment you click the representative star it is instantly recorded, but until voting closes you are free to change the vote.

The idea is not to rank the photos, do not give one image 6 stars because it is slightly better than an image you gave 5 stars. Rate each film on its own. We then total the votes entered by all users and calculate the average vote and rank the photos based on that average.

The advantage of this system is it prevents people from swaying the results by giving 1s or 10s. There are people who will give their own, or their favorite, photo a 10 and give the others all a 1, thinking that they are pulling down the other images and boosting their own. But because it is an average it doesn't have significant impact. The average actually tells us what the overall consensus of the image is. You might only give it a 1, but if it really is a 6 then the bulk of votes will be between 4 and 7, thus giving an accurate representation of the voters.

The other advantage of this system is that as long as at least 5 people vote honestly for each entry it doesn't matter if everyone votes for every entry or not. One entry may get 50 votes and another only get 10, but because it is an average of the total votes for that entry the result comes out the same.

When we initially devised this system we ran a tremendous amount of theoretical numbers through the system and proved this to be the case. Then during the recent TimeFest Film Festival we watched the system in action and saw that this was truly how the system worked. There were people who tried to sway the outcome by giving 1s and 10s, yet they had no significant impact on the total average, and definitely didn't push the entry up or down a single position.

The only way to sway the system is to get all voters to agree to under vote, or over vote, but unless the majority go along with you it won't have an impact.

This means that even if you vote 10 for your own entry it doesn't really have an impact. Some people have argued that you should give yourself a 10 to counteract every one else giving themself a 10, but as I've explained it has no significant impact anyway.

There is also the argument that you should give yourself a 10 because if you were running for president wouldn't you vote for yourself? This argument doesn't work. That is a count of votes only, so of course you include yourself because you, as a competitor, definitely want to win. But in this case the entries are being ranked, not just providing a vote count in favor of one over another. We don't pick a single entry and ignore the rest. So there really is no reason to vote for your own entry and really isn't a realistic representation because most people can't be objective about their own entry ... and if you give your self a 10 then you aren't being honest (unless you are Ansel Adams :) )

So for those of you who voted for yourself but now wish you hadn't, don't worry it won't significantly impact the system. If you didn't vote for yourself, again it won't have a significant impact.

Going forward we will change the system so when you see your entry come up in the voting it won't have an option to vote for it, but the remaining entries will have the stars.

Hope this clears things up.

Larry

[Adam J McKay]

Sounds good to me.

[Andrew Brinkhaus]

Agreed.

[RyanT]

Please never enforce a standard aspect ratio!! Square crops are so nice, but so is everything else inbetween.

[gi-jones]

Yeah, aspect ratio should definately be decided by the photograpers!

But if I may make a humble suggestion, it would be to simply remove the flash applet that pops up, when you press the image. If the thumbnail is simply a direct link to the large JPEG, most browsers will actually bring it up, as close to fullscreen as possible, and with an option to zoom in. The problem with the flash is, that even very large pics gets shown 1:1 meaning that they go way beyond the screen area, even at very high resolutions.

[muroshi]

The best would actually doing it like flickr where the hi-res is 1280px in length x (whatever aspect ratio) or 1280px in heights x (whatever aspect ratio).

There isn't much sense in original sizes that cover the monitor 9 times or so IMO.

[USLatin]

I agree.

Thanks for the long post.

Also, I agree that photographers should pick the aspect. Gi-jone's idea fixes my concern. First you see the small re-sized version, then by clicking it you have it pull up full screen, but with the option to then click it once more for a 1:1 display. I've seen that often, like Jared's comic drawing of a Red robot beating up on Sony and Panavision monsters over at Reduser. I am sure it is a simple web feature to adopt.

Also if you would want to take it to a whole 'nother leve... how about making an other level yet, where you get thumbnails of about 20 pictures per page?

Then it would be:
small multiple thumbnails > current smaller re-sized version > full screen > 1:1 original file

[Jeremy Ordan]

Moving forward we will not have a standard aspect ratio or file size. As a viewer/voter you should click on each image to view the photographers original intent and interpret the original files as simply thumbnails.

What Larry said about voting is dead on and he has worked tirelessly to ensure that we have a quality first experience being back with these photo fests.

[HorseFilms]

Thanks for all the hard work you guys are putting into this. It's much appreciated.:beer:

[Adam J McKay]

For the record, I never thought the voting system was flawed. I was just having a hard time with the voting. It was strange for me. Maybe because my stuff was in it...but all my concerns have been addressed and resolved and I can't wait for the next one. Woooo. :beer:

[Adam J McKay]

Results?

[HorseFilms]

Results?

They're all going to be in a callendar entitled, "Shots anyone could have taken." :)

[Adam J McKay]

Well then let's get some more people in on this so we can get er done.

[RyanT]

Is there anyway we could have comments on the pictures? I feel like the current system lacks any good way to critique someone elses work and I remember when we did this last time there was someway to add comments...Maybe?

[Jeremy Ordan]

Is there anyway we could have comments on the pictures? I feel like the current system lacks any good way to critique someone elses work and I remember when we did this last time there was someway to add comments...Maybe?

Comment system is being implemented...

[Jeremy Ordan]

Results:


RESULTS:
#1 Double Rainbow by Beat Takeshi
http://www.dvxfest.com/host_mirror/photo_mothernature/tn_PCMother_nature.Double_Rainbow01.Beat_Takeshi.j pg
#2 River by Andrew Brinkhaus
http://www.dvxfest.com/host_mirror/photo_mothernature/tn_River-Andrew_Brinkhaus.jpg
#3 Road by zergtherobot
http://www.dvxfest.com/host_mirror/photo_mothernature/tn_PC1.road-1.zergtherobot.jpg

[Andrew Brinkhaus]

Congrats to everyone who submitted. Good work around the board.

[Adam J McKay]

Congrats indeed. What lens was used for that rainbow shot? Remember the focal length?

I had a great shoot planned for today for the innocence thing, I dont think I am going to make it in time. I might post them after just for the fun of it.

[USLatin]

Congrats to the winners!

[Beat Takeshi]

Wow, thanks for the votes. I shot that on my little canon point and shoot in Ireland driving down M71 for a shoot. It just popped up and I jumped out of the car and snapped away. I had to take 3 pics to get the whole thing in and stitch them together to show the whole thing. There is a little car on the very right of the pic on the road to show you how big the rainbow was. M71 was the most zigzaggedy, windey, hairpin turning road I have ever been on. I put the video camera up in the windshield and recorded the drive through there but I had to hand in the tapes when I got back to the US. I asked for a copy of the road and this rainbow but I doubt they will send it to me.
Anyway, thanks again for voting for this rare image (from what the locals told me) of a double rainbow.

[Adam J McKay]

thats amazing man.
great photo.

[ChipG]

Sweet pic Beat, congrats!

[Andrew Brinkhaus]

Thanks as well for the votes for mine, it was taken during a day hike in Colorado. When I heard the river running next to the trail I ran down and just happened to be in that spot with the rocks perfectly laid out. I had to shoot at Lo.1 ISO and f/22 just to get a 2 second shutter!

[HorseFilms]

Thanks as well for the votes for mine, it was taken during a day hike in Colorado. When I heard the river running next to the trail I ran down and just happened to be in that spot with the rocks perfectly laid out. I had to shoot at Lo.1 ISO and f/22 just to get a 2 second shutter!

For what it's worth, your shot was my favorite of the bunch.:beer: Well done.

[alex whitmer]

I feel like an idiot. Where are the photos?

[Larry Rutledge]

I haven't put up a way to view previous feet entries yet. I had some pressing work on TwilightFest.

But I do intend to make it so you can view past entries, just give me a little more time :)

[Beat Takeshi]

Thanks! I wish I had a real camera when I took it.

[Larry Rutledge]

Ok, added a drop down to the page that lets you select any photo contest and view the entries.

Later when I've had a chance to finish the redesign of the underlying system I'll be able to provide other options like the ability to clicka users name and see their portfolio of previous entries, etc.

[alveraz]

Hmm. Only seems to let you see one image from the first contest when you use the dropdown menu. Then, it just switches back to the second contest. Give it a shot, maybe I'm not doing it right?

[Larry Rutledge]

Very possible. I was trying to hurry and get something up so I didn't test it very thoroughly. Thanks for the heads up, I'll try to get it fixed this weekend

[Larry Rutledge]

Ok ... take 3 .... I think it works correctly now. :)

[alex whitmer]

Drop down?

Technically underachieved,

a

[Steffo]

would be nice to actually see some photos...