Why Photo Of The Month?

Discussion in 'Photography, Art & Design' started by m0o0oeh, 3 Apr 2008.

  1. m0o0oeh

    m0o0oeh Minimodder

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    It may seem a stupid question to some, but there are those of us who really aren't that good at taking photos, but there are others who can tweak and twiddle photos to look like something completely different - for example - for this month's POTM theme - "The Golden Hour" I've got a decent sunset shot, decent sunrise shot, and a tidy shot of an hourglass, but none of them strong enough to submit by themselves.. Now my original idea was to photoshop the two photos into the two ends of the hourglass and submit that - but I've realised that wouldn't be accepted for POTM.

    More a mini-rant than anything, but I do feel that we're leaving out those of us who are more at home in front of Photoshop over those who are more comfortable with a camera around our necks.

    Mods, delete if you feel this is too whiney - I am more than a tad inebriated, and oftentimes my "great ideas" are in fact, utter cheesecake.

    Joe
     
  2. alastor

    alastor Minimodder

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    Perhaps a parallel Photoshop of the Month competition is needed as well?
     
  3. AlexB

    AlexB Web Nerd and WC Addict

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    It's a photography contest, not a photoshop contest.
     
  4. Da_Rude_Baboon

    Da_Rude_Baboon What the?

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    My interpretation of the rules is so long as your photo is taken the month of the contest you can photoshop it as much as you like.
     
  5. Whelan_999

    Whelan_999 What's a Dremel?

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    Agreed, if people are allowed to use curves and what not to tweek their pictures then someone should be allowed to take 50 pictures and put them into one if wanted.
    -aaron
     
  6. Smilodon

    Smilodon The Antagonist

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    As far as i have seen, photography and tweaking in Photoshop are two sides of the same thing. Many photos have to be tweaked a bit to make them look good.

    A contest will always require a certain level of skill. Besides, the POTM contest is more of a motivation to get creative rather than a "who's best?" contest. I had an entry on the last POTM although i knew very well when I started that i couldn't win. It is however a good opportunity to practice and get good feedback.
     
  7. Da Dego

    Da Dego Brett Thomas

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    As far as my interpretation of the rules goes (Bindi and Nath are the final arbiters, of course), there is absolutely no reason why you couldn't submit a highly photoshopped creation - as long as you took all the underlying pictures within the month.

    The idea for PotM was because Bit-tech has a huge digital photography crowd lurking around here - the amount that are very comfortable with more "creation"-based arts like graphic design and 3d modeling is considerably smaller. However, if there are enough people who really would want to regularly enter a monthly contest, we could look to do a second contest similar to PotM - it would start off small and probably self-governed by forumites, and if it expands enough then we can put some weight behind it with the main site like Bindi has done with POTM.

    Don't get me wrong - it's not that we don't think it's a worthy outlet. It's just trying to cater to what many of us do already, which is taking pictures. :) If you can get the interest and a little head start on creating a graphic arts competition (maybe contain large-scale Photoshop work, 3d modeling, etc...) we can look into it once you put the ground under it. :) Long-time forumite Nath was actually the creator of Photo of the Month (not us as staff), and once it got a little bit of traction with the forumites, Bindi stepped in to take it to the next level with awesome sponsorship and front-page news and such.

    In the meantime, if you really wanted to enter PotM with a work mostly composed in Photoshop, all that I'll ask is that you be true to the underlying rules - you explain what you did, you use only pictures taken within the month..etc. Otherwise, it becomes too slippery a slope, where people tweak an image from a year ago in PS and enter it under that guise - which ruins the purpose of the contest, which is going out and snapping some pics every month. As long as you're playing by the rules with the basic raw materials, I see absolutely nothing wrong with you entering a work that is clearly a photoshop masterpiece as opposed to a single frame.
     
  8. m0o0oeh

    m0o0oeh Minimodder

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    Cheers for that guys, in particular Da Dego.

    I've been reviewing the photos I've taken and I think I need to re-take a few shots of the hourglass. There's something about the angle just isn't right...

    I will of course make sure that everything I use is entirely POTM-friendly.

    Cheers guys,

    Joe
     
  9. supermonkey

    supermonkey Deal with it

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    I suppose I'll play the part of Devil's Advocate here. I'm not sure extensive manipulation is really in line with the idea of a Photo of the Month contest. Using curves to adjust exposure is a bit different than stacking different exposures of the same scene, but both are methods of digitally capturing the dynamic range in a given scene. I could do the same thing with old fashioned filters and multiple exposures on a single frame of film. Despite what purists and elitists say, some manipulation is necessary in the digital world. Even the most expensive DSLR with the best lens money can buy will need some sharpening. It's just an inherent part of digital photography.

    However, I think basic - and even some moderate - adjustment is different than creating montages. I should state that I have nothing against montages, and that I've seen some absolutely gorgeous montages that were created in the old fashioned darkroom. Check out Jerry Uelsmann for an example. While I appreciate a nice work of art, I'm not sure a montage really fits in a photo contest.

    -monkey
     
  10. FragileSocks

    FragileSocks What's a Dremel?

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    Not a terrible idea- Photoshop of the month?
     
  11. OleJ

    OleJ Me!

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    I see your point in the critique but I have to agree with supermonkey.
    Creating a montage from different shots and motifs is something else than post process tweaking. In my opinion HDR is acceptable since it's one frame and trying to catch the light through multiple exposures.
    Levels and other tweaking is also fine by me as it's only a question of giving it the final touch.

    Usually I think it's a shame to start photochopping a nice picture. I much prefer using Aperture (mac) as it isn't about all kinds of trickery but only about photography... much like LightRoom perhaps?

    Just as well I believe that the POTM winners that have been have been all about a good photo and not at all about post processing. In the end I think that's what picture of the month boils down to.

    If you feel that you've captured a great shot that may or may not make it then why not post it and hear what people might suggest to improve it?
    POTM has meant a butt-load of learning for me as no post-processing can ever save a shot that isn't working.

    And besides that go ahead and start up a PS of the month. I'd love to take part in it :) Or perhaps just a Graphic of the month? So it's also open to illustrator, corel draw, gimp, ms paint, etc :)
     
  12. m0o0oeh

    m0o0oeh Minimodder

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    All those in favour of starting a "Chop Of The Month" competition please put your names below

    1. m0o0oeh
    2. mvagusta
    3. will.
    4. NZmm
    5.
    6.
    7.
    8.
    9.
    10.

    :EDIT: Names added.
     
    Last edited: 4 Apr 2008
  13. mvagusta

    mvagusta Did a skid that went for two weeks.

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    add me to that list :rock:

    Not to take anything away from potm, but chop of the month would be great to have aswell! It definitly should be open to whatever photo editor anyone chooses.
    cotm or gotm both sound ok, unless someone has a better name?
     
  14. will.

    will. A motorbike of jealousy!

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    I'd be up for dat!
     
  15. NZ_mod_man

    NZ_mod_man What's a Dremel?

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    EDITED! ;) Need I say more?
     
  16. yodasarmpit

    yodasarmpit Modder

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    Excellent, I hereby declare that mvagusta will officially be referred to by the term GIMP of the month :D
     
  17. m0o0oeh

    m0o0oeh Minimodder

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    tbh chop of the month is the least ambiguous title. we could call it photoshop of the month, but has already been mentioned - some people don't have access to photoshop - also if we initialize it then it would be precisely the same as POTM. Also, I don't know about you, but I wouldn't fancy being called Gimp Of The Month

    So, unless there are any strenous objections, when POTM resets at the end of this month, I'll open a thread for Chop Of The Month with rules, and the month's theme to start us off, then the winner each month will pick the next month's theme.

    Joe
     
  18. Firehed

    Firehed Why not? I own a domain to match.

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    True, but that's also an unfair thing these days. Part of the photography workflow for photos earning money is Photoshop. Often using it quite heavily.

    I'd vote in favor of changing the rules accordingly.
     
  19. m0o0oeh

    m0o0oeh Minimodder

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    Mods, please close this thread as there is a poll and discussion already happening thanks to Da Dego - it's stickied at the top of the page

    Joe
     
    Last edited: 4 Apr 2008

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