GT4 PhotoMode Competition: Week 16 Poll

[somebody]

I don't critize your judgement on this one! The selections are fine with me!

I think this week as pook as far as the quality is concerned but what I critize is the choice of the voters, I mean we should base our vote on quality like somebody else said, not the "funny" factor.

I mean the two way traffic is a funny photo, but what about quality?

No reflections, lame colors, no quality blurr, lack of details and so on.

Your pic is good, just not from a quality point of view.

Originality it's good.

I have been entering the photo comp for some time now and have never said a word of complaint, despite feeling that some of my photos should have been finalists when they weren't, something that is true of most of us.
I know that the comments on my two-way traffic are not aimed at me personally and are not meant to be insulting to my entries. However, I am tired of people complaining about certain pics (not just my own) and their "quality". Photos and other forms of visual art express different qualities, depending on what the artist may be trying to depict.

The two-way traffic picture was meant to show a feeling of humour and a certain 'what-if?' quality. I did not want to detract from this message so I actually took time to position the camera to cut out most reflections, chose fairly neutral lighting so the emphasis was left with the sign and the theme car, and generally kept things simple.

Excessive blurring would have been inappropriate as the theme was not speed. Also, there are plenty of details in the pic but they are subtle. I tried to make the forest seem taller so I aimed the camera down so the trees would seem to wrap up and around the viewers vision. I left plenty of roadway in the pic to try and get acros the feeling of the 'open road'.

But all of that doesn't matter one little bit. Art is subjective and what one person finds brilliant will undoubtably be hated with a passion by another person. Try walking through an art gallery and enjoying every last painting and sculpture. If people like something, they like it. A lot of the time there is no reason behind their decision either.

For the competition I took a pic that I liked. If others happen to like it too then I am glad that I could give a little entertainment to them. If people don't like it, then move on and don't look back - it doesn't bother me one way or the other. But one thing people should not do is vote purely on the technical merits of any photo. Vote for what you like - that's the whole point.

 

[slo-car]

Amen.

 

[Div is back]

I think in the future we should write in the theme what are the objectives to obtain as far as quality and style is concern.

Just a thought

 

[somebody]

I think in the future we should write in the theme what are the objectives to obtain as far as quality and style is concern.

Just a thought

Doesn't this defeat the purpose of having an artistic competition? And how would you define "quality" anyway? I'm presuming everyone is submitting their best quality work already.

 

[Div is back]

That is what I mean, the guy that chooses the theme defines for him Quality, it would limit creativity thought, maybe not such a good idear.

 

[somebody]

It's like I said before, art is subjective.

Having a look back at the Hall of Fame you will find a mixture of styles have won the weekly comp. Shots with great composition like Weeks 1 and 5, neutral coloured shots with great lighting angles (Week 3), very simple but effective shots (Week 4), and stunningly bright shots (Week 2).

None of us are right or wrong, we just have different tastes.

 

[fermbizz]

I think in the future we should write in the theme what are the objectives to obtain as far as quality and style is concern.

Just a thought

I strongly agree with you Div

I'd also like to suggest:

1. Winner selects theme only.

2. Top 20: Judgement Day - the poll should have a slideshow containing all final entries. Each slide has a 1 to 10 scale (like the one seen in the actual picture after clicking its thumbnail). After rating each entry, it advances to the next slide. Once all entries has been rated, it will calculate and display the top 20 (with its picture and average rating) and/or all entries (with smaller picture layout).

3. Each entry should be rated on main categories for photography: composition, creativity, contrast (b/w), originality etc..

With this system, every entry knows what kind of rating they received from the members along with any opinions posted.

This may help produce better results. We have competitors who are novice or professional photograhpers and can learn more when members post their advice/opinions and improve on their next entry.

These are my thoughts.

 

[Drift-Kid]

you know whats funny i cant remember who i voted for..................

 

[440 CHARGER]

I have been entering the photo comp for some time now and have never said a word of complaint, despite feeling that some of my photos should have been finalists when they weren't, something that is true of most of us.
I know that the comments on my two-way traffic are not aimed at me personally and are not meant to be insulting to my entries. However, I am tired of people complaining about certain pics (not just my own) and their "quality". Photos and other forms of visual art express different qualities, depending on what the artist may be trying to depict.

The two-way traffic picture was meant to show a feeling of humour and a certain 'what-if?' quality. I did not want to detract from this message so I actually took time to position the camera to cut out most reflections, chose fairly neutral lighting so the emphasis was left with the sign and the theme car, and generally kept things simple.

Excessive blurring would have been inappropriate as the theme was not speed. Also, there are plenty of details in the pic but they are subtle. I tried to make the forest seem taller so I aimed the camera down so the trees would seem to wrap up and around the viewers vision. I left plenty of roadway in the pic to try and get acros the feeling of the 'open road'.

But all of that doesn't matter one little bit. Art is subjective and what one person finds brilliant will undoubtably be hated with a passion by another person. Try walking through an art gallery and enjoying every last painting and sculpture. If people like something, they like it. A lot of the time there is no reason behind their decision either.

For the competition I took a pic that I liked. If others happen to like it too then I am glad that I could give a little entertainment to them. If people don't like it, then move on and don't look back - it doesn't bother me one way or the other. But one thing people should not do is vote purely on the technical merits of any photo. Vote for what you like - that's the whole point.

I don't really beleive all of that. All of that talk of how you did your camera angles and such. It does'nt make much sense to me when I look at the picture. But none-the-less, the picture was well executed.

And I totaly agree about having a quality picture over humor or cleverness! I always try to take the most colorful, and best angled pictures I can, and getting blurrs right! And than try to make it look as realistic as possible when adjusting the brightness and contrast. If I ever win one of these comps, my top 20 will be quality pictures!

And I voted for the Black McLaren! Looks Good! The blurr is about perfect! Nice Job!

 

[animal]

Art is subjective.

I think the problem is that one person decides who makes the cut and who doesnt. That means that his perspective of whats good and whats not is imposed on the voters. But in the end we have way to many people participating (good thing) to let everyone get on the final 20. It would be cool if people could rate every pick as they come in and the 20 top scores make the final cut. Then people vote for their favorite as we are doing now from there.

I don't think that my suggestion is the best but its the best i can think of right now.
There definitly needs to be a more democratic (lets say) approach on how people make the top 20.

 

[mintee]

There definitly needs to be a more democratic (lets say) approach on how people make the top 20.

I agree completely with that statement. Right now it's up to a different person every week. I think everyone here is a pretty cool person and we all get a long fairly well but some people just don't have the skills that it takes to truly judge a competition fairly.

And as far as the quality over content goes, I think that part of the judging should be based on how well the person can capture a nice, clean pic because I'm sure all of you know that's not always an easy task.

But no matter what...I'll keep entering and trying cause it's really all about having fun and showing off anyway right?

 

[Slick6]

Well, if anyone can suggest an easy process please due suggest it. I myself have been trying to think of a way to rework it. Hopefully one will be in effect by Week 21. No guarantee on that though for sure.

 

[hispeed]

That b/w M3 is a piece of art!

 

[cal33]

How about a sorta preliminary poll? All the entries get a poll. Then the top 20 get another to determine the winner. Winner only gets to pick the themes not the top 20.

 

[Div is back]

2 polls? That's a lot of time waisted.

 

[Nasadus]

A preliminary poll could work. It doesn't have to last for a week,about 2 days is long enough. After the 2 days the Competition Host/Manager will select the photos with the most votes. If it turns out that there are only 15 photos that have gotten votes than he will pick an additional 5 photos from the entries wich he like the most.

So it would look something like this:
Competition runs for 5 days
The last 2 days a preliminary poll will decide the Top 20
The next week there will be a Top 20 poll to decide the winner.

This would require more work from the Competition Host to get it done. I for one think that this could work. The only problems i can see happening are a lack of voters in the preliminarly poll and the amount op photos that can be put in a poll. What's the maximum amount of Poll options? Is it 30?

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I voted for the Two-way Traffic. I found it very original and quite funny.

 

[animal]

The problem with that is that we have how many entries again every week???
Thats gonna be one long poll and i doubt people will take a fair look at every single one.

 

[atlop]

Other problem is that people are likely to wote the same picture the second round. So the second round could just be repeating the same thing. I think the results of the first poll should be hidden to all but organizers. Don't know if this is technicly possible.

But ImageShack has a picture rating functionality. What if we use that? I mean we give votes to each picture, and after the week the organizers check the scores and picks the top 20 scored pictures (not more than one from each person of course). This way we all would get valuable feedback from each foto. The way it is now only top 20 get feedback.

Of course there is the problem of people giving their own pictures high scores... Hmmm. I don't know. Would it be possible to have something like this in this forum where it could be controlled??

 

[vr6gti72]

I think some are blowing this way out of proportion. This all in good fun. I think it should stay the way it is. If there was money involved, then being a stickler wouldnt seem so petty. Just have fun with it, and not take it too seriously....there is always next week

 

[slo-car]

Wow. I can't believe how far people are taking this...

I will however be sure to come back and ***** at the person that gets to pick this next week whether I make it in or not.

 

[animal]

slo-car...nobody is pointing the fingure at you and this actually has nothing to do with you. It just so happens that this week is the week someone brought it up...sucks for you but it aint that bad. So instead of getting all fired up how about you help us figure the problem out.

 

[somebody]

I think some are blowing this way out of proportion. This all in good fun. I think it should stay the way it is. If there was money involved, then being a stickler wouldnt seem so petty. Just have fun with it, and not take it too seriously....there is always next week

I agree. 👍

Wow. I can't believe how far people are taking this...

I will however be sure to come back and ***** at the person that gets to pick this next week whether I make it in or not.

I am sorry for being a part of this controversy. I was having a fair debate with Div about the pics submitted and chosen but I accept that this was not the best place for it to happen.

 

[Div is back]

Slo-car, it really isn't about you. It all started last week, it continues and more and more people are becoming aware of the unobjective choices.

Anyway, Slick says he's trying to find a solution.

 

[35mm]

Slo-car, it really isn't about you. It all started last week.

Please...

These kind of discussions have happened pretty much ever since these competitions began.

What's more, they will never stop, no matter what kind of changes are made.

 

[tabs]

Wow. I can't believe how far people are taking this...

F'ing ridiculous, isn't it? Hahahaha.

I think the current system works fine. 👍

 

[725]

I think its fine the way it is, this competition is just for fun, and this talk of voting and polls just means Slick6 is gonna have to put a lot more work in, and considerig there are no prizes it just not worth putting that much effort in, unless there is a simple solution there's no point discussing it, I've tried to think of a different idea but haven't had much luck I'll keep you guys updated if I think of anything...

 

[Swissbear]

All this hub-bub over some pictures that nobody has any control over the pixelation, limited camera angle capabilities, some white balance adjustments, etc. It's not like GT4 has an authetic photo lab built into it. These are pictures that are taken of a racing game/simulator. If GT4 had Photoshop or something like that built into it I could understand all this "quality" chit-chat. But face it folks, it's a game/simulator with a little bit of photography capabilities and not a camera with a little bit of a built in game. And besides, as has been stated before, one person's perception of quality is another person's perception of dog-do. About 90% of us aren't photographers anyway and even less are graphics wizards. We take pictures that we think look good and most are probably based on ones we've seen in books or magazines before. And, not everyone has Photoshop or similar software to "enhance" (figure of speech there) the pictures that they have chosen as their entry. The pictures I take are ones that I like and if someone else likes them too, then like someone else said, I'm glad I was able to bring a little bit of entertainment into what might have been an otherwise crappy day. And the key word here is entertainment. If this competition were sponsored, run and organized by PD I could understand the riff about "quality" and such but (here's something you haven't heard before) this is supposed to be FUN. But as with anything that's supposed to be fun, there are always those that go overboard with it and stress themselves out about somethnig trivial like why a red car made it into the Top 20 when, in their opinion, all the white ones looked so much better. It's a matter of taste.

The Rally Photomode Competition is "run" the same way as this one with the exception that it's totally anonymous. And so far, everyone that's sent in a valid entry has made it. Nobody has "complained" (for lack of a better word) about any of the pictures over there. If the voter doesn't like a particular picture then the voter shouldn't vote for it. If everyone had the same taste in the photos that are submitted for one competition or the other, we wouldn't need a poll at all. But look at the votes. This picture has 20 votes and that picture only has 1. It's ALL about what YOU the voter likes. IF you post a picture that the one picking the Top 20 likes then pat yourself on the back. Your picture that YOU posted is also liked by someone else. IF you get enough votes to beat out everyone else, then give yourself two pats on the back. If you don't like the pictures that were picked then don't vote. But, don't insult the person's taste that picked the pictures in the first place. Because you can say "Hey man, it's not about what you picked, it's about the system" all you want the bottom line is that the person who picked the Top 20 is gonna feel insulted because he didn't pick pictures that YOU liked. Put yourself in his shoes. YOU pick a Top 20 and then you get post after post stating that the quality of the pictures this week really sucks. You're gonna tell me that YOU aren't gonna take it personally? If you tell me no, you're only tryng to fool yourself. EVERYONE takes at least a little bit of pride in what they do or show to others and if the others say more negative things than positive....well you know the outcome. Before you go "knocking" what someone else's taste in "art" is, put yourself in their shoes and realize what you would do if someone were to give you the same feedback. As for me, I look at what the person has picked as the Top 20 and vote for the one that I think is best no matter what anyone else says. It's MY choice and mine alone. And my opinion is not always the same as anyone elses. That's why YOU vote for the one that YOU think is best and I vote for the one that I think is best. I don't have to agree that the ones that were chosen are the "best" but, that's how this competition is set up. And it's supposed to be about fun. If you can come up with a competition that would include nothing but "quality" pictures then go for it, start your own competition. For other reasons, I did.

 

[Div is back]

Your system is good...for your competition.

We have way more entries, we can't allow everybody to be in the poll, otherwise the winner would end up with 3 votes.

 

[Slick6]

Wow. If only there were more people with your attitude Swissbear. 👍 The more I think about, I think things are running ok the way they are. I think right now is the most efficient and easiest way to do this thing. Two polls will definately not be considered because that's basically just like having one. I also think that this is being taken a little too far. I wish I had a little more power to keep everyone in line. But until then, if I see anyone make any rude or uncalled for comments, I will take appropiate action. The first time may be a warning from me, but the second will be from a super moderator.