Contest 28: Discussion and related pics

[CoronaCactus]

lol...no worries, i'm not made of glass

Thanks for the setup Daiv...hopefully the new format will knock em down!

[lancer99]

- post your 2nd, 3rd, ... choices

I am a little confused (as usual!) Can we submit multiple pics, or is it one pic per person?

-R

[hob]

Sorry Dude, Just pokin fun.

yeah only kidding, i get behind with C o t h month too sometimes.

- post your 2nd, 3rd, ... choices

I am a little confused (as usual!) Can we submit multiple pics, or is it one pic per person?

-R

as i understand it only one pic in the official contest but you can post other non entries in this thread if you have more than one that you want to show people

[lancer99]

This is not my official entry, but I had fun with this one...."Grusonii chair."




Cheers,
-R

[Tony]

Oh man Robert, thats a good one. Should save it for the next creative contest.

[lancer99]

save it for the next creative contest.

Here's another one from the same series:

Just to clear up any potential misunderstanding, the pic within a pic is from UFC's "Ultimate Grappling" magazine

Cheers,
-R

[Travis]

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What are the rules regarding "photo-shopping" your pictures? Some of the entries are clearly altered...

Not wanting to sound sour or anything, but is that legal. If so I am ready!

Travis

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[masscactus]

Clearly altered?

I assumed it was OK but if not I will gladly withdraw. No one had said anything.

[daiv]

Well we haven't got any rules on that as yet. Please share your ideas if you think we should. I guess the voters will have to decide if they like the altered images better than the non-altered images. The contest is just for fun, but it does need some rules for fairness. Any thoughts?

[CoronaCactus]

Well, i guess it comes down to how altered they are... I'm sure everybody plays with a little re-work (colors, brightness, etc) and thats perfectly fine. But actually creating new aspects of the photo would be a no-no. (ie. as in the creative cacti contests)

But i don't think a color photo altered to B&W would be out of line. As long as the photo stays within the realm of reality. (ie. no parts added or removed) It will be accepted.

Then again, this brings up another issue...those that are more familiar with photoshop (or other programs) may have an advantage over those that just post whatever came out of the camera...not sure how to deal with this one

I suppose a detailed re-write of the rules will be in order for the upcoming contests so no further confusion arises.

[masscactus]

Interesting debate. I hate to think my image started this but apparently it did?

I'm not really sure how "photoshopping" provides any advantage in this context. I could take any picture and alter it to what I think is the "best pic in the world!" - but that doesn't mean anyone else would like it nor does it make it a better picture, it just means it was altered. Subjective is the key word here and I think CC said the rest right.

For my submission I simply converted to black and white and adjusted bright/contrast. For the record all the photos I post, outside of this one, are "out of the camera" with simple resizing.

That aside - Loph's picture is awesome and has my vote so far!

Bryan

[hob]

i always crop if needed and adjust the contrast\brightness and resize\sharpen my images before posting, otherwise they would not meet the upload size limit or fit the page correctly...........i have the feeling there is not going to be an easy answer to this.

i would however like to point out that these contests are just for fun, there are no prizes for the winners, and no shame for the losers, just the opportunity to show off our plants and photography skills, while fancy editing can do a lot to alter an image unless it is called for in the particular competition, IE creative competitions i see no reason to use it. however policing it would cause all sorts of problems for CoronaCactus, as i said i have the feeling there is not going to be an easy answer to this.

[CoronaCactus]

I agree there is no easy answer, but you'll see why there needs to be one when ya see the next contest posting

[lancer99]

Given that some high-end cameras can basically do the equivalent of a lot of Photoshop functionality in-camera, isn't it wrong to penalize those of us who have cheapo cameras?

And rely on the shareware equivalents of Photoshop?

My point is that we should only judge the final result, not the camera or editing software.

-R

[Travis]

I really did not mean to be at all hostile with my post. I was just trying to figure out what all was fair game.

The actual picture I was talking about was Lophaphora's pic. With out the fancy editing that was probably only 1/3 as cool as it now looks. I very much enjoy the picture, but I don't think it can be judged on the same level as the non enhanced pictures.

All I know is that nearly anything is possible with a little tinkering in photoshop. This includes selective foreground / background darkening... re-shading... fixing a little corking... taking out that little scar on the top of a plant... ect ect...

Travis