Discussion for fortnightly competition 94: "Tree"

A place for discussion. By tradition I won't look in here again after the first entry is in.

Barrie mentioned usual rules apply, but these seem to get overlooked.

Clarification on rule 1 please.
Does that mean the photograph should have been taken within 28 days of the closing date or 14 days of the closing date? Within 14 days of the current theme being set would imply that the photograph could have been taken within the two weeks prior to the competition being announced but I don't think people have been reading that way! Reading it the way I do now means a different entry may have been placed in the competition I judged recently for example, as the entrant himself reckoned it wasn't eligible.

This isn't to say I have a suitable tree photo I took a fortnight ago 'cause I haven't but clarification of the ambiguity of this point may help all future entrants.

John

I'd say after the announcement as its then a level playing field, everybody starts off at the same point. It's about going out and producing an image, not select and edit.

Otherwise its more like the weekly where you try to crowbar your best shot into the subject.

It means, though it isn't clear, that the photo must be taken during the two weeks the competition runs. You are to make a photo for the competition, not look through your portfolio for one which meets the theme, as you can for the weekly comp.

May I therefore suggest that the rule is rewritten to clarify it:

1. All entries must be images taken after the current theme is set.

The current wording 'within 14 days' implies (to me) its either side of the date the competition is set, but I suspect that isn't what was intended.

John

tv on the blink John ???

Tony

Not at all, "within 14 days of the current theme being set" counts 14 days backwards as well as 14 days forwards! To top it off, the competition will have already ended and possibly judged before the point in time that the 14 days afterwards has been reached!

That requirement has been really poorly worded.

John

pedantic

formed in English c.1600, from pedant (q.v.) + -ic. The Fr. equivalent is pédantesque. Perhaps first attested in John Donne's "Sunne Rising," where he bids the morning sun let his love and him linger in bed, telling it, "Sawcy pedantique wretch, goe chide Late schooleboyes."

ped·ant
   [ped-nt]

noun
1.
a person who makes an excessive or inappropriate display of learning.

2.
a person who overemphasizes rules or minor details.

3.
a person who adheres rigidly to book knowledge without regard to common sense.

The requirement to take the image during the 2 weeks of the competition is the only reason I rarely enter.

I tend to be very busy photography-wise and there's not always the opportunity to divert into something else. I think I should try harder.

Do I therefore take it you proposing that the competition rules should be abolished completely as you do not consider them relevant? Minor details can often be extremely important, perhaps not with our fortnightly comp but millions have been won and lost over officialdom not bothering to make sure 'rules' and instructions are written and implemented correctly. Our local Council is a case in point who thought they knew better than the Department of Transport when they introduced a parking scheme that failed to comply with Government regulations - and who pays to clear up the mess?

John

Ooooops - I`ll get me `at John - I was only trying to point out that we all knew it was the following fortnight not the previous ( or so I thought )and that it was labouring the point somewhat - something that seems to be creeping into comps more and more these days

Time to keep my shots to myself methinks !

Respectfully

Tony

Yep. It's so obviously not what was intended, that no further clarification is really needed IMHO.

It wouldn't hurt to make it slightly clearer, but AFAIK no-one has actually misconstrued the rules...

Some folks don't read the rules. Some are overlooked, like resizing 800px. others are not like the time frame. Still if we were too pedantic there would be a even fewer pics allowed than already enter.

I'd prefer a gentle nudging than a big stick.... pop the link to the rules and perhaps nudge people after each comp, if needed.

Agreed, after all it is meant to be fun.

The first, and I think the only time I entered the fortnightly comp I submitted a photo I had taken in the week prior to the comp being set and I thought, at the time, that it met the criteria as laid down. So I agree with JAK that the wording should be clarified.