Fixed-Lens Photo Challenge #334: Contrast/Contrasts

[OhLook]

Although I don't see it in the rules, I assume I am not allowed to vote for myself

No one has responded to this, so I'll give it a try. Just my opinion: It's not in the rules because including it hasn't been necessary. People generally avoid voting for their own photos. A vote for one's own work can easily be written off as biased, and it may well be biased. It comes off as something like bragging even if what you made really is the best one of the bunch. So we graciously choose among our competitors and leave judgments about our work to them.

None of this applies to candidates for public office.

 

[great grandma Rosalie]

Most of the time, I know my own photos are not as good as others posted. But occasionally I think that others have missed the point of the contest. There was one on another website where they asked for silhouettes and it was clear (to me anyway) from the wording that what was wanted was NOT sunsets. But almost everyone entered sunsets. Or when we are to enter photos of buildings and people default to old decrepit falling down buildings when that wasn't mentioned in the contest parameters. And I would rather see pictures of beautiful buildings. Fortunately in both cases it wasn't a case of where we were voting. The person who set the challenge did the picking.

 

[OhLook]

Most of the time, I know my own photos are not as good as others posted. But occasionally I think that others have missed the point of the contest. There was one on another website where they asked for silhouettes and it was clear (to me anyway) from the wording that what was wanted was NOT sunsets. But almost everyone entered sunsets. Or when we are to enter photos of buildings and people default to old decrepit falling down buildings when that wasn't mentioned in the contest parameters. And I would rather see pictures of beautiful buildings. Fortunately in both cases it wasn't a case of where we were voting. The person who set the challenge did the picking.

If the parameters didn't mention decrepit buildings, then they didn't exclude them, either. In the fixed-lens challenge, the rules make it explicit that deciding whether an entry fits the theme is up to the host. Presumably, then, every photo that remains when voting starts has qualified in the host's judgment, whether or not a particular voter agrees.

When voting, I often debate with myself about what criteria to use. One photo may be the most exact and most creative interpretation of the theme while another is superior on esthetic or technical grounds--but decisions about both kinds of "best" are subjective. I don't expect other voters to weight all the factors the same way I do. You're free to rank "fits the theme" above "good photo in a general sense" when you vote, but that doesn't mean your vote has a sounder basis than someone else's. And your understanding of the theme might vary from what the host meant and tried to express in the brief statement in Post #1.

 

[great grandma Rosalie]

In the case of the silhouette contest, the person who set the contest did the voting on the entries. They gave several examples of what they wanted and not one of them was a sunset. I didn't have a vote. I just felt that the entries were not what was required. I felt sorry for the person who set the challenge that they did not get what they wanted.

In the case of the buildings, the rules were that you could enter 4 photos and to be considered for a first, second or third place, you had to vote for at least 3 other photos. You could vote for as many as you wanted to except not for your own photos. When I saw what was being entered, I entered photos which I thought were better, and after that several of the other members entered what I thought were also nicer photos, and I voted for them instead of the ones that I didn't like. I considered first whether it was good photographically before I decide whether it fits the theme. And third I consider whether I like it or not. I think that can be included in what I vote for. I don't remember whether any of my photos had enough votes to win.

 

[Trumper]

People can post the entries they want ,it's up to the people voting to decide how they want to judge the content and criteria .Everyone has a different outlook , as the saying goes ,beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[RDWP]

For my part, I titled this one "Contrast/Contrasts" so that both light/dark and other kinds of juxtapositioning could fit the theme. That approach does invite chalk & cheese entries and may make judging unfairly difficult. Perhaps I should be more specific? But at least for this one it brought out some contrasting interpretations.

 

[OhLook]

And third I consider whether I like it or not. I think that can be included in what I vote for.

It certainly can be included! Liking or not liking counts a lot.

People can post the entries they want ,it's up to the people voting to decide how they want to judge the content and criteria .Everyone has a different outlook . . .

Agreed.

For my part, I titled this one "Contrast/Contrasts" so that both light/dark and other kinds of juxtapositioning could fit the theme. That approach does invite chalk & cheese entries and may make judging unfairly difficult. Perhaps I should be more specific?

More specific? Not in my view. Keeping the theme general encourages participation. People are more likely to have, or be able to get, images that qualify.

 

[RDWP]

. . . Keeping the theme general encourages participation. People are more likely to have, or be able to get, images that qualify.

That was my thought and aim.