Weekly Competition # 58 - Sweet Tooth

Ok but there is no C+C only descriptions of the photographs

That's because the judge didn't add any. But he still could........

G

I have some sympathy with the lack of C+C - the quality of the judging and comments has been progressively raised week on week for some time. I'd feel a bit reticent to offer critiques of such high quality work. I wouldn't object to the time it takes but would feel wary of the presumption that I could actually offer much in the way of positive input.

Hence the much sought after second place

Mike

I think it's terribly important that people don't feel this way.

One of the most marvellous things about photography, is that the impact of a picture is largely subjective. If you like or dislike something about a picture, for whatever reason, then you have every right to your view.

There are things that are objectively true or untrue about a picture, and there's lots to discuss, agree and disagree about, but that has nothing to do with whether someone's entitled to like it, and say so, and why.

If you're the judge, you've earned your right to set the criteria by which the competition is judged, and it's perfectly fine for those criteria to be your own. The only thing I would expect from a competition judge is the ability and willingness to articulate why they like or dislike the pictures in question.

And this has absolutely nothing at all to do with whether those reasons fit some imagined level of photographic level of 'educatedness', whatever that might be.

The day we get to the point that we're so collectively up ourselves here that only the so-called experts feel able to offer an opinion, is the day I'll be out of here.

I wholeheartedly agree with Chris' post!

Hear, hear! C&C is the whole point of this competiton and without it, it is valueless IMHO.

It is challenging I agree when you are first faced with the task, but the prize (not just being FIRST!) is the amount of knowledge you gain from pulling folks pics to pieces! and of course acknowledging the good ones! I love it!

What I am trying to say is HAVE A GO and here on this forum everyone is so very amiable and helpful that it should not be seen as an intimidating task.

I second that. We all know,there are virtually no rules in this competitions. One unwritten rule is known by everybody, and that is; The judge sets the new parameters for the new round and its judgment is final and not to be discussed or questioned afterwards.

IMO there should be one rule extra. Everyone that enters a competition accepts the fact that he or she can win.( how small the chance might be)
And by entering you therefore will take the trouble to judge every entrie. Everyone who enters deserves a few words at least.
And no inexperience or language barrier should be used as an excuse. Put simple: Don't want to judge, don't enter. Judging other peoples photos is learning. And therefore of great value.
This is the only way to keep our competitions worth while entering and of the high standards we are used to.
Just my 2 cnts.

Martin.

Me too!

I don't want to gang up on Stephen but I have to agree as well. But I would not go so far as tell someone not to enter if they're not willing or able to add more.

Stephen, perhaps you could fill in some blanks with your C&Cs?

It can be hard to start if you haven't done so before. I'm not great at C&C either, but it is a great way to learn about your own photography as well.
Just in case you don't know where to begin, take mine...

"Kid in a Gelato store;
Love the colors! The lone child staring at the window, you can just imagine his mouth wide open awaiting the delights inside.
Although I feel the entire scene is a bit busy and cluttered which distracts a bit from the central idea. Perhaps cropping in to remove some of the clutter, or a different angle might help."

[quote="I"]The only thing I would expect from a competition judge is the ability and willingness to articulate why they like or dislike the pictures in question.[/quote]I was quite careful with my wording in this comment above.

I would draw a slight distinction between, as a judge, giving a reason for why I might like or dislike a picture, and offering suggestions for how to improve it.

How to improve it might be obvious, of course. If I didn't like a picture because of a distracting element on one edge, I might suggest cropping.

But even if I can explain why a picture doesn't quite appeal, it might not be at all obvious (to me) how to improve it. In this situation, I would quite understand if someone didn't feel able to suggest such improvements.

An example would be portrait lighting. I can usually see effects of light that I don't like, and I'm capable of describing what I see, and why I don't like it. But I have virtually no experience of studio work, and I'm completely unqualified to suggest how to go about setting up the lights to eliminate the aspect that I don't like.

So if I was judging such a picture, I might comment on the element that detracted from the picture for me, but I wouldn't try to say how to fix it, because it would be beyond my competence to do so.

What I don't like, is when the judge doesn't go to the trouble of saying why.

"It doesn't quite work for me" doesn't work for me.

Who's ganging up on Stephen? It was Martin who voiced the opinion that we might consider INTRODUCING (i.e. in future) an extra rule that the winner/judge has to write critiques for each entry. I think even that does not constitute an explicit criticism of Stephen.

Chris' and Lilly were trying to encourage critique from people who might think they are not expert enough to voice an opinion (at least that's how I read it). (BTW: If critics were experts they wouldn't need to make a living out of criticising other peoples work...)

As for Martin's suggestion of the "extra rule": I'm not sure we need to introduce new rules. So far it has worked fine and this thread will be a "warning" to future judges that a lot of fuss is created by not doing your homework. So I'm sure it will continue to work fine in general and an exception here or there doesn't hurt.

Prieni

Just to be clear, I meant it in the context of unwritten rules.

Martin.

And where is it written that we didn't have that unwritten rule : Maybe we have to write them all down
Prieni

Maybe John can shed some light on this. I am afraid my writing is effected by one of the two types quoted.

Martin.

Just a small question: Why would anyone kill the beauty of a rainbow by making a monochrome picture of it? I believe most people, including Lilly, must admit that sometimes colour is justified.