***MARCH PHOTO CONTEST POLLS***

[Schema Thing]

are up in GD


Poll #1: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7986027

Poll #2: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7986185

Poll #3: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7986271



vote early vote often and help keep them kicked, please. :)

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. links don't work for me

?

[Schema Thing]

2. gaah! thanks, I'll fix them.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

3. now they do

thanks

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Hard to keep them kicked! (The little man isn't doing well this time, but

he did get at least one non-family member vote. That's cool. :))

[alfredo]

7. GD is quite fickle. Ones I thought would do well, languished.

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. Yes, indeed. I really thought those lobster traps were more interesting than

a single vote, but then again as I said in another thread they are really about nostalgia for me so I am probably seeing things there that others aren't. :)

[alfredo]

9. An accountant from Topeka, may not get it, but an old

lobsterman will nod his head knowingly. I understood it on several levels because I worked with my hands, and spent many days on the river, and see the beauty in floats, the weathered wood, the labor associated with those object.

[GreenPartyVoter]

10. It's a lost time, like seeing an old horse-drawn plow in someone's field doing nothing

but falling apart. To me those traps are all about the way things were, and really pull at every nostalgia string I have in me. :)

But beyond that I thought it was graphically interesting how the laths had fallen into the positions they were in.

[alfredo]

11. There's a lot to explore, and I like the texture of the wood.

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. This was the other one he took, which I also like very much. Of course, as his mom I like them all!

[alfredo]

13. I like the planks and the way the three main elements work together.

I like the plants coming through the planks

[JeffR]

17. I like this one a lot.

Lots of stuff in there, but it's framed so that the eye travels easily through the frame in a backward Z. It's great to see his work and I look forward to much more.

[GreenPartyVoter]

20. He got a new camera this Christmas to replace the one that takes pink pictures. We're looking

forward to some warmer, drier weather for a picture-taking excursion.

I have an idea in mind that I want to take my video camera with me and record him doing his crazy running around snapping pictures thing, then stitch that footage together with the pics he's taken. I think it will be very interesting to watch his vroom-click style and then see the resulting photos. "How did someone running around like that take a picture like this?" :D

[Cassandra]

14. Since mine seems to be doing well this time...

I will say that I got thoroughly run over last time (was it last time?). And I thought my dinner shot was superior to this one (and certainly took more effort). Go figure. :shrug:

[Mira]

15. Your dinner shot was so good, as well as clever, it was a travesty it was so overlooked.

You seem to be making up for it in appreciative attention with your "Shall we Dance" photo, which I like almost as much

[Cassandra]

16. Thanks! I don't expect to win in any particular contest...

given the quality around here, but it is always nice to at least get to the finals.
Those are your leaves, yes?, that are so delicate and beautiful?

[HappyCynic]

18. If you got run over...

Then the last few times, I've been run over and steamrolled. And it looks like this time is no different...

[GreenPartyVoter]

21. LOL These contests never go the way I expect. It's the same thing with the contests

the hubby has entered at the photo shop. I look at the winners vs the also-rans and half time time I am left wondering what the voters saw that I missed.

[Mz Pip]

31. that's the truth!

I always have a favorite or two in each contest that I am sure will end up in the final 3. More often then not I am completely wrong. I guess everyone's sense of aesthetics is different.

I think the quality of work just gets better and better here.

[Cassandra]

25. The color in yours is lovely...

all in the embrace of the dried leaves.

[Celebration]

24. yeah that dinner shot

was awesome. FWIW, I really laughed and appreciated that--both artistically and just being so darn clever. There were a ton of good ones in the still life category, so I can't say for sure that I voted for yours (frankly, I don't remember), but it is one of the most memorable photos EVER entered in a contest. I will always remember it.

I was a bit surprised mine got in the finals last month. :shrug:

Mine is not doing so well this month, and I pretty much knew it wouldn't. For some reason I felt the real need to enter it anyway. I think it represented some sort of personal metaphor for me--perfection and imperfection can exist within the same organism. But from a photography point of view? Eh, not so much.

BTW I love your whimsical type botanical pictures that you enter, like this month. My hubby is a big fan of your photos. He loves every one of them that I show him.

[Cassandra]

27. Nice, bright diagonal of the berries and leaves...

and the decaying leaves with the berries (crabapples?) still plump. When I entered my dog shot, I knew it wasn't going to win but thought it would brighten the day of the dog lovers (which it did). Other than that, it was too snapshotty.
I'm glad you liked the dinner shot. It ended up in the prelim with finalists 1 and 2 and didn't have the visual punch of either of those so the message was overlooked, I think.
I think people like anthropomorphic shots and when I capture one, I like to name it after a song, so people have both the image and the tune in mind. Thank your hubby for me. :-)

[HappyCynic]

19. Definitely fickle

Although this time, I did better at guessing which ones would be finalists. Once all submissions are in, I usually try to make a guess as to which ones will make it to the final round. The last few contests, I've struggled with the guessing (the act of guessing itself). This time around, I think 5 or 6 of the 9 I guessed will be finalists, unless something drastic happens. (I couldn't settle on a 10th and I was sure mine wouldn't make it in.) The 3 or 4 that won't make it really puzzle me because they're so good. But, like you say, GD is fickle.

[CC]

22. One of the best uses of the contest

for me is being able to see what the general public likes. And whether in the lounge or Gd or completely non-DU general public judged contest what they like is pretty consistent. Now contest judged by pros can be a whole different can of worms.

Second reason but bestest reason for me liking our contest is watching new people enter and then watching them grow in their art and skills.





A fun way to kick.

[Mira]

23. I do the same thing - try to guess the final 10.

This time I am way off. Almost all my favorites are lagging, and I am surprised. Really surprised. My votes went to people who will not be in the finals.

About being steamrolled, it's weird sometimes when you think you have a good entry, and almost nobody likes it. That happened to me with my Russian eggs in the birds nest last time. I had really worked that entry. I let my ego get in the way with that one because all the elements in that photo were extremely personal with history.

And this time with my hanging leaf, I'm surprised how well it is doing, because I cropped it in a strange way, that I think is a bit startling, and not in a positive way. I was clueless about how it would be received, especially surrounded by photos I thought were better. And I took no time with it at all.

Go figure!

[Celebration]

26. it's a bit of a "lesson" for all of us

Sometimes it pays just to go with the gut, and not do a lot of planning.

I have similar stories with my entries.

[Cassandra]

28. I liked your eggs as objects in an arrangement...

but I thought the focus was too diffuse. I'd like to see you do that one again and pick a focal point and get it really sharp (while taking note that it polled better than my dinner shot). Your hanging leaf has great focus and a strong diagonal, which is very appealing.
The "took no time with it at all" but it's doing well? Happens often.

[Mira]

29. Thanks, great feedback. I have trouble with getting a sharp focus many times

I got new glasses now, I see maggots (in the photo that I took of the dead squirrel and that was so gross)
and maybe things will start to get crisp for real.
Thanks for all the comments!

[Cassandra]

30. The nice thing about auto-focus is...

that it works even if you forget your glasses. ;-) Pick several different focal points and see which one you like best. One thing I like about your work is the slice of life it shows.
Hanging leaf has fabulous color, as well.

[Mira]

5. Question to the host:

I just noticed you said you would chose the top three in each thread. I suspect it may be the host's prerogative to change our rules, but usually we choose the top 2 in each thread, and then the 4 highest vote getters after that.'
That's how we end up with 10 finalists.

With your way, out of our 30 entries we would only have 9 finalists.

Is this what you purposely chose to do, or did you overlook our usual routine?

[alfredo]

6. The votes so far show that we have a strong field.