January Photo Challenge

[Iambjm]

Is there one?

[Steve Foss]

Hmmm, Dan and I will coordinate.

Do people want to see the monthly challenges continue?

[dockothebay]

this came up while I was typing in the same question!

[Dbl]

I was kind of thinking it should die off. The participation has really not been all that great the last 6 months. Plenty of folks are just sharing photos which is the whole point of this board.

[Iambjm]

Yes, I haven't been able to post any, but love seeing them. I do think January should be snow shots or should I say slush on the ice shots

[croixflats]

Snow shots would be great but I would take it one step further and add a pose to it. What I mean by a pose would be like a sled half burried in a snow bank with a guys rear end sticking out of the snow bank while sitting on the sled.

Like an action shot with a flare of wimsical or unexpected.

Something to create and have fun doing it. January can be long a project like this can get us through with entertainment and the whole family could be involved.

[Steve Foss]

If we continue the challenges, snow shots might eliminate some of our more southern members from participating.

[dockothebay]

How about simply "finding the unexpected" then it can be accomplished in any climate -

[Royce Aardahl]

Continue I say unless it's a hassle and you are paying out tooooo much loot for the winner each month. Fun seeing the ideas that pop up.

[croixflats]

Very good point. Though it would be interesting to have the climate as part of the focus to see and proudly display ones region during the winter.

[LeeKen]

I stopped being just a watcher and became an occasional contributor (maybe a good reason to end it - ) because of the Challenge.

It has been interesting at times. Participation is obviously is down.

I can certainly understand the Dan and Steve's frustration caused by lack of understanding or cooperation with the simple rules.

I like the Challenge and will continue to participate if it stays.

[DeeDee]

If we continue the challenges, snow shots might eliminate some of our more southern members from participating.

I have been on the side lines here for the last couple months but it didnt stop me from really enjoying everyone elses shots. I was going to join back in when your snow melted.

[dockothebay]

Good Grief DeeDee - don't wait for the snow to melt - now is when we need images of warm weather and soft water!

[Nymph]

I would be interested, if you decide to keep it going.

[DeeDee]

ha ha ok I will post you some warm pictures

[Nymph]

Would we be able to get a point system or something like that and write comments when we judge?

Then we could give out handicaps and have an overall winner for the monthly challenge. I think that would encourage people to be really creative and get more involved in the shot they submit to the challenge. I wouldn’t want to take away the fun of it, but would really bring out some creativity to the shots and a lot of different ideas as we go.

The way it is now, people post and comments are made and that’s about it… same as posting in the regular form. I am just trying to bring the challenge part up a notch to get people involved.

If anyone has other ideas please comment. I would like to see this monthly challenge continue and get more people to post in the challenge.

Let’s have fun with this and keep it going.

[mrfish1991]

i liked the "find the unexpected" challenge

and what about a bi-monthly challenge...that would give people more time to participate and a new topic wouldnt have to be come up with each month

[MN Shutterbug]

Judge? Point system? That could cause problems and hurt feelings and possibly even loss of members. Some people really can't handle criticism.

[dockothebay]

I think using points/judging and declaring winners each month would put more work on the moderators of this forum and that's really not fair to them - I would like to see the challenge continue in a very informal manner. We should remember that the challenge has really only been in operation for what - 9 months? - seems like it takes almost a year for these kind of things to get established. I appreciate having a topic, working at stretching my skills, looking for an original interpretation of the topic and being able to get C & C from so many knowledgeable photographers.

Anyway - I love this place whether I'm reading or posting! Thanks to the moderators for keeping it fun and interesting and for posting their awesome work!!

[DeeDee]

I think using points/judging and declaring winners each month would put more work on the moderators of this forum and that's really not fair to them - I would like to see the challenge continue in a very informal manner. We should remember that the challenge has really only been in operation for what - 9 months? - seems like it takes almost a year for these kind of things to get established. I appreciate having a topic, working at stretching my skills, looking for an original interpretation of the topic and being able to get C & C from so many knowledgeable photographers.

Anyway - I love this place whether I'm reading or posting! Thanks to the moderators for keeping it fun and interesting and for posting their awesome work!!

Ditto, I would like to see it continue just the way it was.

[Nymph]

That’s fine with me …lets just keep it going.

[Steve Foss]

I'm with X-T. Not only will some be hurt by criticism, but judging photographs is a task of balance and diplomacy, and not everyone is good at that, either.

We've encouraged people to ask for C&C when posting their photographs if they really want honest feedback, and some people do that now and then. But what the "photo sharing" part of this board mostly has been about is encouraging people to just go out and take pictures of whatever they like and post them in here for sharing, not for critiquing.

And, because of that ongoing effort to be encouraging and open, we felt the monthly challenge should reflect those values.

Just some perspective from our end of things.

[machohorn]

How about rather then a challenge, just make it a monthly topic, January =snow. people post their pics and just that no critiqueing. If you want some C&C start a new post and ask for C$C like we already have in place.

[Steve Foss]

machohorn, that's exactly how it works already. We called it a "challenge" because it's a way for people to challenge themselves to get out with their cameras and explore new ways of looking at things.

[Royce Aardahl]

machohorn, that's exactly how it works already. We called it a "challenge" because it's a way for people to challenge themselves to get out with their cameras and explore new ways of looking at things.

That's the nice thing about it. It's not a cometition but a way to grow in our photo taking addiction.