JUNE PHOTO CONTEST---post your photo comments HERE

[GOPFighter]

So that we can more easily monitor the number of entries for the June Photo Contest, please use this thread for your comments and questions about the photos.

Thank You....

[Mutley]

1. Its too bad I didn't pick the tree picture, eh?

:eyes:

[superconnected]

32. the purple daisys are awesome.

[Mutley]

46. yeah i like em

I had to flip a coin to choose between the daisys and that red and yellow flower...

[GOPFighter]

2. I can tell this month's contest is going to be wild!

Four great pictures already!

[ralps]

3. I just added mine. It was really difficult to decide which one to

choose. :hi: :loveya: :hug: :pals: :woohoo:

[Princess Turandot]

4. Are those a type of orchid?..

they are very pretty!

[ralps]

6. They are called Lamiums. Here is a website about them

http://pss.uvm.edu/pss123/perlam.html
:hi: :loveya: :hug: :pals: :woohoo:

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

5. Wow. White. Cool.

I like it.

[intheflow]

8. I like your little flowers, WJMS.

The photo reminds me of my own girlhood in the early '70's. Good memories in Upstate NY! :hi:

[intheflow]

7. We have quite a garden growing!

Looking good, Photo Buddies! :thumbsup:

[Mutley]

9. These pics are really excellent!

I'm excited for the contest to begin!

[F.Gordon]

10. "Daisy Falls" " Daisy River" "Daisy Creek" ?????

You asked for a name. Your photograph has the flowers looking like they are floating down a river, creek, falls.... The progression of the flowers.

[Mutley]

14. See, theres a man who can come up with titles

So It's too late for me to edit my post. GOPFigther! I like one of those for my title! I think I like Daisy Creek.

Thanks F.Gordon! :hi:

[F.Gordon]

19. Like I've said before.....

It's my favorite part. Coming up with names. :D I like Daisy Creek too.

:hi:

[intheflow]

26. You can petition the contest organizer to change your title.

I'm sure GOPFighter would allow you to do so. Ask him on this thread. As far as I can tell, that's one of the purposes of having a comment thread.

[Mutley]

31. GOPFighter!!! READ THIS

I'd like to change the title of my contest entry to "Daisy Creek". Is that okay? It makes more sense for my pic, and plus, it won't get confused with MissHoneychurch's entry! What do you think?

[GOPFighter]

40. Consider it done

Daisy Creek it shall be.

[Mutley]

47. Thanks!

:hi:

[TahitiNut]

36. I'd call it "HAL's Swan Song"

:evilgrin:

[Mutley]

48. As in HAL9000?

How does that song go?

Daisy Daisy ... something something ... la de da de da

[TahitiNut]

50. Yep. You got it.

:silly:

[Mutley]

51. That part made me want to cry.

I felt so bad for HAL, even though he killed all those people.

[Blue_In_AK]

56. I thought it was kind of sad, too.

We really ARE bleeding hearts, aren't we?

[Mutley]

58. lol

You got your pic right!

Yes, that we would cry for a fictional murderous computer makes us bleeding hearts for sure. :rofl:

[F.Gordon]

11. Every entry looks like a winner

Could be a 30-way tie. ... this looks like it will be the most beautiful contest to date.

:toast: :applause:

[Blue_In_AK]

12. DAMN, we're good......................

:D

[MissHoneychurch]

13. I just put my entry in

but damn, this going to be tough. All the entries so far are fantastic. I think we will get to the 30 entries fast.

[Mutley]

15. I'm glad you picked the Daisy with the black background.

Thats really cool how that turned out.

[MissHoneychurch]

16. Thanks

we are both having daisies :)

I am still surprising myself almost every time I take pictures and something nice comes out :)

[Robb]

17. I like that one a lot too

Man, there's some good shots in that thread! :D

[Mutley]

18. I know!

But no picture I've taken compares to some of the pictures I've seen in here.

[MissHoneychurch]

54. Don't worry

it is only my thrid time I am doing tis (so I am a newbie too). And both my other entires had no chance either whatsoever. One day there comes an contest where you will blow us away with your picture.

[F.Gordon]

20. Where are all the Contest Virgins?

I know you're out there lurking.... ya' best get something posted before the rest of the regulars show up. Keep in mind... 1/2 of the finalists last month were contest newbies.

If you don't know how to post a photo... just ask. And if you have a photo on a personal site and don't want to compromise your privacy... then PM me. I'll try to help you out.

Tick Tock. Tick Tock.

[Mutley]

23. I'm a contest newbie!

:P

[intheflow]

25. And we're glad to have you!

Always nice to get another enthusiastic soul to play with! :hi:

[Mutley]

70. Thanks!

This month's contest has also inspired me to take up gardening. I saw so many flowers that I decided I wanted some of my own. Lol. If I spend too much more time around DU, I'll soon have too many hobbies to keep track of!

Here's a Daylily I just bought last week! Only one little lonely flower on it so far.

[F.Gordon]

55. You're not a newbie

I seem to recall that you were instrumental in getting the Contest Theme for July going.

BTW; I really like Daisy Creek, and the Daisy seems to be a popular flower for some reason.

:thumbsup:

[Mutley]

65. Well

I thought it would be fun to have an idea of what July might be so I can get started. I have to take 5000 pictures to get a few decent ones. :blush: Thanks BTW. I had to flip a coin to choose between Daisy Creek and the Lantana. June Bride is beautiful. What kind of flower is that?

[intheflow]

68. It's an iris.

OK, just a guess, but have I guessed right, F.Gordon?

[F.Gordon]

69. I have to know the names of the Flowers?

I didn't see that in the contest rules.
:silly:

Yes. An Iris.

[kliljedahl]

103. I was a virgin last month

Trying again this month.


Keith’s Barbeque Central

[alfredo]

21. Some very prefessional entries here.

I am impressed with the high quality of the artists at DU

[GOPFighter]

22. Daddy's Little Flowers

What a delightful picture!

Kudo's for thinking outside the box, WannaJumpMyScooter. :applause:

[RagingInMiami]

24. The one thing I learned about preparing for this contest

Is that flowers don't bloom in Miami until November. The best time to take flower shots down here is from November to about March, I was told. So these red and yellow flowers became a frequent visiting spot for me.

I went there yesterday and saw that those flowers are already dying off. Another week or so they'll be gone.

I had a touch time deciding which entry to go with. My second choice was this shot here.

[intheflow]

27. Nice series of shots.

Good to see you made it in time to submit. I think this contest is going to be particularly hard to choose even 10 finalists.

[RagingInMiami]

29. I agree that the contest is going to be very competitive

And we haven't even seen the entire 30 entries.

[alfredo]

30. I think that is a carpet flower.

I decided to buck tradition again. By the time I got through looking at all the flower pictures, and working on mine, I had "pretty overdose."

Mine won't win, the competition is just too good, but I wanted something in there to throw some sand in the gears. The surreal continually overrides the romantic. It's a character flaw, or a flashback to some four way brown mescaline I took at the Goose Lake music festival.

Anyway, your eye is finely tuned, you see the beauty, and can translate it for all tastes. In other words, you have talent.

[RagingInMiami]

34. Thanks Alfredo

I must have taken well over a thousand shots over a two-week period in my attempt to get something unique. And this is what I've learned. Bees love to come out when the sun is the harshest, which sucks for photos.

But once the sun sinks behind trees and the light is perfect for photos, the bees all disappear.

This contest got me back to nature which is always good. Mescaline is great. I've had some laughs on it.

[alfredo]

38. I am on my way out to take some more images.

I won a weekly image contest by our ABC affiliate. I hated the picture, but it had some good technical aspects. I figured that there may be someone there that knows what it takes to make a high contrast image work. It worked. They understood and I won a big umbrella.

It was a picture through the trunk of a fallen, hollowed-out tree. I was able to make the interior visible without washing out the sky. That's what did it I believe.

[RagingInMiami]

43. Congratulations

I would love to see the photo. Have you posted it yet?

[alfredo]

52. Here's the entry.

I went out there last night to get some late afternoon photos. They turned out well. There were at least 3 pro photographers there. One was doing a publicity shot for the bluegrass group, Reel World String Band.



I noticed that I should have blurred the line between the clouds and the sky. But hey, it got me an umbrella.


Here's one I am working one.

[F.Gordon]

57. Another famous - published photographer?

Congrats alfredo. Very Nice. Well Done.

:applause:

[alfredo]

59. Thanks. No big thing.

shear volume is the key to getting published. You keep submitting until they publish you just to get you to shut the fuck up.

[RagingInMiami]

60. Very nice!

[Blue_In_AK]

62. Alfredo, I really like that shot through the tree...

I like to take tunnel-like pictures, too, but mine don't turn out as good as yours.

[alfredo]

66. Photoshop does wonders.

[intheflow]

28. Hey GOPFighter!

What photo would you have submitted if you weren't hosting? Do you have one to share with us?

[GOPFighter]

41. GOPFighter doesn't do flowers!

After hundreds, possibly thousands, of crappy flower pictures - blurry bluets, lousy lilys, rotten roses, vapid violets, and awful anemones - I've sworn off flowers...

except this one


It looks even better after three glasses of wine

[intheflow]

42. Yeah, right.

That is a funkalicious flower shot. Very beautiful indeed. But thank God you're out of the running. Competition like that I don't need! :crazy:

[Blue_In_AK]

44. How did you do that? n/t

[regnaD kciN]

45. It looks like some sort...

...of infared film to me.

[GOPFighter]

49. False color

I took a typical GOPFighter blah flower picture (yellow flower), inverted it, swapped the red and blue channels, cropped out the "noise", tweaked the gamma and contrast, and voila: a totally fake flower picture.

This is what I do on rainy days. I've got a whole folder of really freaky pictures. Here's another:

[Blue_In_AK]

53. I like that a lot...

I can see I'm going to need to become familiar with my Paint Shop program beyond just adjusting color and contrast. :)

[alfredo]

61. That is terrific. It looks like a fine water color.

[superconnected]

33. I put my pic up and it's number 23

Unfortunately I didn't find time to take the pics I really wanted.
I was going to take my pics in the rain but the deadline caught me at a busy time. Now I'm going to take them anyway, without the contest.

Striking pictures all!

[Blue_In_AK]

35. Question for Robb...

Where are you? That's a beautiful shot of lupines. We had a discussion about them a couple nights ago here. We you in on that one?

[Robb]

37. Colorado

I took that shot Sunday on a hike near Mt. Hayden. :)

Funny thing, I laid myself down in a big ol' pile of elk poop to take the snap. :P

[Blue_In_AK]

39. Up here we have to dodge moose nuggets. :-) n/t

[F.Gordon]

63. No newbies? k'... where are all the "regulars"?????

I recall that someone was going to kick ass or sumtin' but I don't see their entry yet. And where are the rest of the regulars??? Are "Flowers" beneath your talent? Are you too good to waste your time with "Flowers"???
:shrug:

[intheflow]

64. Maybe the legalese scared some people away?

It seems really weird all the slots havent filled up yet.

[F.Gordon]

67. I hope not

But I've thought the same thing. Then I feel guilty that maybe I've caused this by wanting to have the Galleries back up again. But then I think.... maybe this is a good thing. If it keeps out a few pros and others than only wonder into this part of the DU catacombs just for the contest.....

FYI for you hesitant "regulars". The New Galleries (which I've completed) will be a GROUP site only and will have some added privacy features and has been designed specifically for this GROUP only. It will also have a GROUP participation feature which will allow you to control how your photograph is displayed, titled, etc, etc,........

[F.Gordon]

71. Or.... just Opt Out

Just put this in your entry post...

“I disclaim the Contest License, and reserve all rights to my photograph”.

Your photograph WILL NOT be moved to Demopedia and/or any Gallery.

Edit: in post above....it's WANDER... not wonder. I suck at multi-tasking.

[GOPFighter]

72. Where are all those flower pictures?

We've had exactly ONE entry in the last 40 hours!!

To those of you who haven't entered yet: don't tell me you're intimidated by the entries so far?! Don't be weenies. Who knows which picture the voters will choose? After all look at how many voters picked Bush in the last election.

(Oh Damn! That was a bad example, wasn't it?) :banghead:

[Mutley]

73. And here I thought I had to be ready at the exact moment you posted

this so I would get in on time...

[Ms. Toad]

77. Nah ...

You were just trying to make sense out of why my absolutely gorgeous shot of the sunlight in the Australian rain forest lost to your pitiful hoarfrost picture...:shrug:

(Just kidding - your hoarfrost photo was absolutely striking, and deserved to win)

[Blue_In_AK]

74. Comment to Algomas....

That is an AWESOME photo. I love it!

[Algomas]

105. Thanks Blue! Check out my photobucket slide show...

http://photobucket.com/albums/v483/Algomas/

[intheflow]

75. What kind of flower is Desert Starfish?

It honestly looks like a starfish washed up onto a cactus! Weird!

Where was that taken?

Welcome to DU, Bryan Buchan! :hi:

[Mr. McD]

79. They are of the genus Stapelia

They are carrion flowers. They smell like rotting flesh and are pollinated by flies.

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ww0602.htm

[intheflow]

80. Thanks.

The scent must detract from the beauty up close. Just the description makes me feel sick.

Where was that taken?

[Bryan Buchan]

81. Picture Taken

This picture was taken in the Sonoran Desert near Phoenix Arizona.

Bryan Buchan

[ConsAreLiars]

84. OK, so what kind of flower is this?

[intheflow]

85. I don't know what kind of flower that is.

But it's certainly worthy of entry into the contest.

Where is your entry, anyway, ConsAreLiars? :shrug:

[ConsAreLiars]

86. I may enter if the contest does not fill up.

Scanner died and anyway I still haven't come across the slide I thought of entering - different from all the others and a bit of political content. I'll post it if-when. My first reason not to enter was fear of winning, but that fear has long since been invalidated. I have a few flower pics scanned that I haven't posted here yet, and may stick one up as a filler for the contest later, if needed.

[F.Gordon]

90. You fear that you might have to host the contest again?

That's still an issue that bugs me, but I've decided to let the matter die. Not bring it up again. I've stirred things up here enough...

Please tell me that you've taken a few bad photographs. I'm always blown away by the photographs that you've shared. Gives me a level of quality to shoot for in my own snapshots.... one I'll probably never acheive... but I'll keep trying and learning things from you and the others in the group here.

I hope you did enter the contest. Especially if you have something different than the submissions so far. Or, at the very least... enter something in the Exhibition thread that I plan on starting.

I'm probably totally wrong here... but I think the voting in this contest will be all over the place. No clear "winner" that will emerge. I think GOPFighter is going to have a few tie-breaker issues to deal with. Each submission has been unique and has its own eye-candy appeal. But like I said... "I'm probably totally wrong here". No way to know how the Lounge will vote.

[ConsAreLiars]

94. I think the hosting process will continue to evolve.

Hosting is s a bit labor intensive at this point, for me anyway, counting to 30 and all that. Using a web-based contest site with a more flexible structure is probably the next stage, but we're still working out some of the basics now.



As for my photos, I've just begun scanning a very few of many slides that had been picked out of a very large and generally undistinguished pack for one reason or another, usually sentimental or aesthetic. I've enjoyed photography as a process for a long time, and occasionally the result as well.

I'll put up the photo I was thinking about after the scanner gets back and if I can find it. May be a while.

[intheflow]

76. Another comment to Algomas.

I think your flower is the bloom of Cucurbita foetidissima Calabazilla, commonly known as the Coyote Melon. I saw them all over the place when I went camping in Texas. It amazed me that they bloomed right out of the cracks in the desert. Don't hang out by them too long, though, because they really smell bad.

[Algomas]

106. Thanks intheflow. Coyote Melon sounds appropriate.

[F.Gordon]

78. Welcome Bryan Buchan!!!

A Contest AND DU Newcomer.
:hi:

Hope you'll stick around awhile and share a few more photographs.

[Bryan Buchan]

82. You bet I am sticking arournd :)

Visit my Caucus at http://www.azprogressive.us

Visit my Blog at http://www.bryanbuchan.com

Visit my friends at http://www.pdamerica.org

[Mutley]

88. Welcome Bryan!

:hi:

[ConsAreLiars]

83. Impressive work by everyone

The separate comment and entry threads works well, I think. Makes it easier to scan through the pics, and although since the comments aren't immediately linked to the pics it's a a bit harder to put them in context, taking an additional look at the photos is always worth doing.

Nice collection we've put together this month. Congrats to all.

[Mutley]

87. Mrs.Toad

Those flowers are beautiful! What are they?

[Ms. Toad]

92. Digitalis. (or Foxglove)

Good thing I snapped the pictures when I did - a day later a thunderstorm came through and knocked them all down :(

(They are about 3-5 feet tall, and don't stand up to wind well.)

http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=C530

[Mutley]

104. Well they are beautiful!

Thanks for letting me know what they are!

[superconnected]

89. what's kliljedahl' flower

my first guess turned out to be wrong, as I checked it on the web.

[Mr. McD]

91. It looks like Queen Anne's Lace

[intheflow]

93. It looks like Queen Anne's Lace, but I don't think it is.

I think QAL has different leaves. Kliljedahl's flower looks like it has variegated leaves. I think I have the same thing in my yard. I'll ask my landlord if he remembers what it's called. (That'll be a 50/50 shot. He's getting on in years.)

[intheflow]

96. My landlord says it's called Snow on the Mountain.

Here's a picture from my garden:



Is this the same plant, kliljedahl?

[GOPFighter]

95. The contest is closed

Now the fun begins. I will begin setting up the three poll files in the next few days.

I think I'm going to split up the entries like this, entry #1 goes in poll number 1, entry #2 goes in poll number 2, entry #3 goes in poll 3, entry #4 goes in poll 1, entry #5 goes in poll 2, etc., etc. I've wondered in the past if the first wave of entries are from the more serious photographers and some of the latter entries come from those who say, "Oh, why not?". I would prefer to assign the entries to the three polls randomly, but I can't think of a way to do it public ally, so this is the next best way IMO.

I'll keep everyone here in the loop as to dates and times when the polls will be posted.

Thank you ALL for your entries and encouragement. There are a bunch of DYNAMITE flower pictures this month (and even more that were posted outside of the contest).

I don't know about the rest of you, but this topic really made me stop and look at flowers differently than ever before. Who knows, maybe someday I'll even learn to take good flower pictures!

[intheflow]

97. I can't believe we didn't get 30 entries.

On a theme like flowers, no less! Well, it's one less photo for you to keep track of, GOPFighter.

I like the idea of breaking up the submissions as you've described. You have done a wonderful job organiing this contest. Big kudos for you! :applause: :woohoo: :toast:

[regnaD kciN]

101. Look, if ConsAreLiars had submitted the tulip shot first...

...we might have only gotten one entry!

;-)

[intheflow]

98. ConsAreLiars, is that THE photo you were hoping to submit?

It's absolutely beautiful--as your work always is.

[ConsAreLiars]

99. No, The photo I was thinking of would have been called "Braceros"

A landscape of the Skagit Valley tulip fields with a row of migrant workers picking the tulips in the distance.

[intheflow]

100. Wow! That sounds beautiful!

In a tragic, exploited worker kind of way. :) / :cry:


I'll look forward to seeing it when you find it.

[ConsAreLiars]

102. "Bracero" by Phil Ochs

Phil Ochs told the truth in this song (lyrics from http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~trent/ochs/lyrics.html )

Bracero
By Phil Ochs

Wade into the river, through the rippling shallow water
Steal across the thirsty border, bracero
Come bring your hungry bodies to the golden fields of plenty
From a peso to a penny, bracero
Oh, Welcome to California
Where the friendly farmer will take care of you

Come labor for your mother, your father and your brother
For your sister and your lover, bracero
Come pick the fruit of yellow, break the flower from the berry
Purple grapes will fill your belly, bracero
Oh, Welcome to California
Where the friendly farmer will take care of you

And the sun will bite your body, as the dust will draw you thristy
While your muscles beg for mercy, bracero
In the shade of your sombrero, drop your sweat upon the soil
Like the fruit your youth can spoil, bracero
Oh, Welcome to California
Where the friendly farmer will take care of you

When the weary night embraces, sleep in shacks that could be cages
They will take it from your wages, bracero
Come sing about tomorrow with a jingle of the dollar
And forget your crooked collar, bracero
Oh, Welcome to California
Where the friendly farmer will take care of you

And the local men are lazy, and they make too much of trouble
Besides we'd have to pay the double, bracero
But if you feel you're fallin', if you find the pace is killing
There are others who are willing, bracero
Oh, Welcome to California
Where the friendly farmer will take care of you