SMB Photography Competition Round 4 - Obsolete. Discussion thread

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WillD said:
I thank you, but if you ever travel to Rome its one of the places thats never mentioned as a tourist attraction, it might be a good idea for a valentines day trip.

I have lots of photos from the village we visited the other day, all around it the ground has sank, its only accessable by footbridge.

And a little town north of Rome is twinned with Easter Island and their natives came over abd carved a statue out of local rock.

I will post them if anyones interested.



:lol:
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Yeah get them up mate
 


Really fancy Rome for a long weekend break, definitely some brilliant photo opps there.
 
APB said:
Really fancy Rome for a long weekend break, definitely some brilliant photo opps there.
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We will have our flat free free for the month of July, then from September as we are off to Qatar for a year, our eldest two are staying here so there will be a double bedroom and a single spare.
 
WillD said:
Locked in Time, By WillD.

We strolled around Rome today and decided to lock our love in eternity by writing our names on locks and fixing them to the Ponte Milvio bridge accross the Tevere.

Its a tradition to do this, but the locks are then obsolete, the two keys are thrown into the river by the two people who have locked their love forever.

My most thoughtful effort so far.
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I saw a load of padlocks with writing on them on a fence in Huang Shan a few years back, they were all on a fence at the edge of a 1000 foot plus sheer drop - always wondered why they were there and I now know - as a celebration of eternal love......
 
I have an idea for this month's competition, but it's relevance to the theme would only be made clear with a short description.

Is that allowed?
 
not spavin said:
I have an idea for this month's competition, but it's relevance to the theme would only be made clear with a short description.

Is that allowed?
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Don't see why not.

There must still be a connection to the theme or you wouldn't be able to describe it in words.
 
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Mercia Blackcat said:
Don't see why not.

There must still be a connection to the theme or you wouldn't be able to describe it in words.
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It's a strong connection, but also personal to me. I could explain the relevance in 5 or 6 words - might even just be a case of thinking about a a good title.
 
not spavin said:
It's a strong connection, but also personal to me. I could explain the relevance in 5 or 6 words - might even just be a case of thinking about a a good title.
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I didn't understand the connection of Peachbum's entry for "Growth" to the theme until she explained it. If she hadn't explained it, I wouldn't have voted for it. I think you've just got to make the call yourself - the voters will decide whether or not to take account of how closely it meets the theme and if it doesn't, whether that is a factor they'll take into account when deciding how to vote.
 
janiep said:
I didn't understand the connection of Peachbum's entry for "Growth" to the theme until she explained it. If she hadn't explained it, I wouldn't have voted for it. I think you've just got to make the call yourself - the voters will decide whether or not to take account of how closely it meets the theme and if it doesn't, whether that is a factor they'll take into account when deciding how to vote.
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I voted based on the titles and images in the entries thread and just ignored the descriptions.

I reckon that the entries thread shouldn't contain descriptions but title and shot only.

IMO if you need to explain how your shot relates to the theme then you should take another shot that's more self explanatory.
 
keeps21 said:
I voted based on the titles and images in the entries thread and just ignored the descriptions.

I reckon that the entries thread shouldn't contain descriptions but title and shot only.

IMO if you need to explain how your shot relates to the theme then you should take another shot that's more self explanatory.
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But thats not how you assess an artists work without explanation of the theme or topic it relates to or its justification.
Theres tours here in Roma of the Colloseo and the Vaticano and the explanations of the paintings and statues are given, the artists were comissioned and given a theme but they all put thier ideas and spin into it, with justification.

I am not criticising, its just a thought.
 
keeps21 said:
I voted based on the titles and images in the entries thread and just ignored the descriptions.

I reckon that the entries thread shouldn't contain descriptions but title and shot only.

IMO if you need to explain how your shot relates to the theme then you should take another shot that's more self explanatory.
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I'm torn on this one. I think if you need a text explanation in order to know what you're looking at, then I agree with you. However, if the text adds important background flavour to the image and makes you reappraise what you're looking at (like with WillD's padlock shot), then I'm all for it.

I can explain mine fairly easily in a 3 or 4 word title, though it'll make the title very 'dry'. Maybe that's the best compromise.

Ta for the feedback all.
 
keeps21 said:
I voted based on the titles and images in the entries thread and just ignored the descriptions.

I reckon that the entries thread shouldn't contain descriptions but title and shot only.

IMO if you need to explain how your shot relates to the theme then you should take another shot that's more self explanatory.
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I agree in one way that the meaning is in the eye of the beholder. It's what an image means to us as individuals that matters the most but subtle or sometimes deeper meaning can only be explained by the photographer at times and it may not be so obvious.

There's an objective and subjective side to all images.

WillD said:
But thats not how you assess an artists work without explanation of the theme or topic it relates to or its justification.
Theres tours here in Roma of the Colloseo and the Vaticano and the explanations of the paintings and statues are given, the artists were comissioned and given a theme but they all put thier ideas and spin into it, with justification.

I am not criticising, its just a thought.
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Well we're not the Slade School of Art but they also insist on that for all works of art.

A title and an explanation.
 
not spavin said:
I'm torn on this one. I think if you need a text explanation in order to know what you're looking at, then I agree with you. However, if the text adds important background flavour to the image and makes you reappraise what you're looking at (like with WillD's padlock shot), then I'm all for it.

I can explain mine fairly easily in a 3 or 4 word title, though it'll make the title very 'dry'. Maybe that's the best compromise.

Ta for the feedback all.
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I'm not criticising WillD's shot, I like it, but if you think about it the story could have been told in a carefully arranged and composed photograph, e.g. with a couple in it.
 
Mercia Blackcat said:
I agree in one way that the meaning is in the eye of the beholder. It's what an image means to us as individuals that matters the most but subtle or sometimes deeper meaning can only be explained by the photographer at times and it may not be so obvious.

There's an objective and subjective side to all images.
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While that's definitely true, I approach all entries primarily with "what does this say about (theme)?" in my head. If it doesn't meet the theme then I'll disregard it. WillD's shot required the explanation in order to meet the theme imo, but having read the explanation I think it tells a really engaging story, and meets the theme in a very imaginative way.

I suppose the answer here is that it's up to the individual, both in terms of what you submit and what you vote on.
 
not spavin said:
While that's definitely true, I approach all entries primarily with "what does this say about (theme)?" in my head. If it doesn't meet the theme then I'll disregard it. WillD's shot required the explanation in order to meet the theme imo, but having read the explanation I think it tells a really engaging story, and meets the theme in a very imaginative way.

I suppose the answer here is that it's up to the individual, both in terms of what you submit and what you vote on.
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Totally agree, with the whole post.

janiep said:
I'm not criticising WillD's shot, I like it, but if you think about it the story could have been told in a carefully arranged and composed photograph, e.g. with a couple in it.
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It's from criticism not praise that we learn imo.

But janiep......

You've moved on from novice to pundit.....

And quite well too.
 
keeps21 said:
I voted based on the titles and images in the entries thread and just ignored the descriptions.

I reckon that the entries thread shouldn't contain descriptions but title and shot only.

IMO if you need to explain how your shot relates to the theme then you should take another shot that's more self explanatory.
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blue - Interesting!

Boys Toys? was a thought out title (Else the picture didn't work) (January).
Pop! Just came to me as I was posting, as I thought my entry met the growth theme anyway, didn't think about not getting anybody's vote on the strength of the title though.

So title, descriptions etc all have to be taken into account along with meeting the theme and taking the actual picture. :lol:

Red - I marked down the obvious self explanatory pictures, preferring to see a bit of thought (outside the box perhaps), so the votes will come from all sorts of viewpoints I suppose
 
peachbum said:
blue - Interesting!
So title, descriptions etc all have to be taken into account along with meeting the theme and taking the actual picture. :lol:

Red - I marked down the obvious self explanatory pictures, preferring to see a bit of thought (outside the box perhaps), so the votes will come from all sorts of viewpoints I suppose
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I'd say that the title could / should be used to help explain and link the shot to the theme but, to me, a full description is too much.

The title and the shot should be enough for the viewer to realise how the entry relates to the theme.

Just in my opinion anyway.

Thinking outside of the box is one thing but needing a descriptive paragraph or two to then relate the shot to the theme is a bit too wide of the mark.

The viewer should be able to work out the link from the shot and title.

Having said that I'm not saying I'm right and you're wrong, that's just how I think it should be done.

If people want to use descriptions, and viewers want to use those descriptions when voting then it's up to them, it's just not the way I'm deciding on who to vote for.
 
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As a thought; I see Hauser's Helmet has entered a picture and then says he may post a different one later. Is it a bit unfair to post your picture, here an old wheel, you are sort of taking over the photographing of a wheel ie stopping anyone else doing it but then having the option of posting something else later in the month? You are taking the early idea advantage and still saying that you might come in with a late idea. I personally feel it should be one entry only, with no changes (and I am not talking about an error in posting the image). Thoughts anybody?
 
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