Changes to "Assignment" Threads??

[HDNitehawk]

Maybe a prize like a birding adventure with Joel or a landscape trip with Jonathan would motivate people to participate.

[Raid]

just a wild thought! C&C welcome

When I look at the Photos on this site I tend to think about the style that the photographer has. There are so many different types of photography to today that it's difficult to define. As I have said before, I'm very impressed by Photojournalism "Capturing the Moment".

When I look at Sean's work I think of Gregory Crewdson (hope you are not offended Sean) "Creating that Single Perfect Moment" with the highly staged images. For me, while I like some of this style, it doesn't have the power of Capturing the Moment.

When I look at the bird images from Joel and Bob, I'm most impressed by the real life images with their imperfections, I don't understand why they search for perfect symmetry. Also the image from Denise with the guy searching through the trash, while technically poor, it was incredibly powerful.

I was looking at some of the work by Hiroshi Sugimoto who made a huge amount of money from an image that I was told you should never do.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...ectedIndex=191

My purpose for adding more confusion to this subject is that how do you critic images?

[Joel Eade]

Maybe a prize like a birding adventure with Joel or a landscape trip with Jonathan would motivate people to participate.

Of course I would be happy to share my little set up but it's not exactly what I would consider an adventure

[Kayaker72]

Agreed there is some great discussion. I started the next assignment, but that does not change our ability to change something during the assignment or in the near future.

Some would say that the competition on this site (by those with talent) is intimidating, preventing others from posting, well that's always going to happen.
What I like most about Assignments and keeps me coming back, is that gem of a shot that's makes me think "Maybe one day I could do that".

There is excellent work posted here. It still inspires me to try to be better. I would point out that several newer members have had their photos selected for image of the week.

And Raid, I've seen some great shots from you over the years...and some great advice. If I recall correctly, half my computer system was bought based on your recommendations.

When there are only two left submitting photos it should be easy to win every other assignment.

The problem is not just with the assignments, it is with the number of visitors coming to the forums.

Just looking at the stats there are a lot of visitors (GMT +11. 08:52 AM) even when most users in the US should be asleep. As I see it, the problem is not a lack of visitors but a lack of participants.

Currently Active Users
There are currently 178 users online. 7 members and 171 guests
Most users ever online was 370, 11-16-2012 at 06:22 PM.

The-Digital-Picture.com Community Statistics
Threads 6,835 Posts 86,968 Members 3,558 Active Members 80

I think both of these are great points. There is no doubt active members are down and I would love to figure out a way to increase that. It also seems a number of the members that originally inspired me are still checking in on the site and I would also love to see them more actively participating. I imagine what they are shooting is still inspirational.

This is a good discussion. I'm wondering if we should try eliminating the voting part of the assignments altogether. Instead, everyone would be encouraged to comment on the images, either during the assigment or perhaps more productively, at the end. I'm wondering if that would help encourage people to submit their shots, whether or not they think they are 'winners'. Since this is such a polite and friendly forum, there are going to be lots of people ready to offer praise and constructive criticism on the photos, which I think is always helpful. At the end of the assignment topic, the moderator could perhaps choose a half-dozen images for critique by the group. We'd all be welcome to comment on them and offer suggestions for improvement. I'm sure there is a better way of doing this than I'm describing right now, but you get the drift. Anyhow, just a wild thought! C&C welcome

Raid made the point that perhaps critiquing may not be the best, although I do think this group would do a good job of respectful critiquing. But I find this interesting. Are people put off by the voting at the end? Would more people be interested in participating in the assignments without the voting? Or, would assignments be better if it was more question and help based. For example, I still can't get PS to produce a HDR image I am happy with. Instead of posting about my issues, I simply didn't submit. Would assignments be better if it was about the process rather than the end result?

This could also be accomplished by a second related "how to" thread associated with each assignment thread.

Maybe a prize like a birding adventure with Joel or a landscape trip with Jonathan would motivate people to participate.

Ummm....yes.

[DavidEccleston]

To a certain extent, there are too many places to post new pictures. The image of the week, the assignment, the current shots thread. Perhaps if people feel their image isn't going to be in the top X places, they'll just post it as a current shot instead, or as a Macro, or any of the other "Post your best" threads.

Perhaps people don't feel comfortable posting their macro spider, or their butterfly as a Portrait. I know when it comes to voting and there's a great people shot and a great animal shot, I have a hard time. Traditionally portrait shots are of people. Should I choose the traditional shot because it's a portrait category? Perhaps it should just be a free for all, rather than the two categories, since the category names themselves have pre-defined meanings. Just the names can influence if you would vote for, or even enter, an image that doesn't fit the traditional definition of the category.

[Kayaker72]

Any other thoughts?

[conropl]

I think David (DavidEccleston) has some valid points.

We do not get enough submissions to break them down into categories, and if you do not have enough categories, someone is going to feel there best shot for the week does not fit in one of the categories. I would suggest the weekly assignments just be "Photo of the Week" assignment. This opens it up to everyone without judgement of its appropriateness for a particular grouping of shots. That should open up the weekly assignments more. I do like the monthly , quarterly, and yearly accumulation of the weekly winners.

People also feel they should not comment or editorialize on how the shot was taken. This makes the weekly assignments very stale and mater of fact... not personable and inviting. The weekly assignments should be more interactive, fun, and perhaps a learning oppertunity.

Maybe that separation between the weekly and the monthly assignments (or bi-monthly) is the seriousness of them, and that is OK. The monthly assignments are far more rigid and focused. I like that also, because it forces me to try different techniques, hardware, or thought processes. The problem for me is: Who has time to put into doing this right twice a month? I get to shoot 4 times a month at best (weekends basically). Trying to to do an assignment right will take me a month if I can get around to it. The bi-monthly is tough to do. I do like these focused assignments, and would like to see them continue; but the participation is low. I am not sure participation will increase if it is lengthened out... mostly because it will not be on the front page of the forum among other reasons. Perhaps the two assignments should be separated out on the front forum page to keep the reminder in front of people.

Pat

[jamsus]

The "Portrait - Landscape" distinction is really good in my opinion.

But you can do:

Image of the week:

Portrait
Landscape
Freekind

Or

Image of the Week - Freekind

1st classified
2nd classified
3rd classified
honorable mention

Simple, all in one thread, no confusion - max 1 image per category per person, or max 2\3 image if you choose the "freekind 1-2-3-h" way.

Because, the contest is nice, but is really better to post some images in "show images" section with some talks \ tips about them!

[HDNitehawk]

More than once I have found the right subject a day late for an assignment. "Prime Time" started on the 7th and ends on the 26th. While 19 days sounds like a long time it only gives us two weekends to look for subjects.

We ended up with two assignment threads running. Barley one is supported. I would suggest a longer submittal time and only one at a time.

Often I see what the subject of the assignments, get interested and then loose interest in taking an actual photo because others are just pulling from their library. Maybe the assignment should be go take a picture of...Not look up your best picture of...

Just my thoughts.

[Jayson]

I like the way the assignments are set up. Specific and to the point. I do agree that maybe they need to be a little longer. I have had a couple times where I had an assignment topic in mind for a weekend out, but it will be past the submission period. I have noticed that people sometimes pull their archives for photos during these times, I am guilty of this also. I think the assignments should be a month and then set in the rules that the photo has to be taken during that month period. I think that was the purpose of the assignments when they started but they have morphed since then. I think the point was made earlier that maybe the monthly assignments have their own section on the front page so they don't get lost in all of the other posts. I really enjoy the challenges put forth in the assignments and hope they stay.

Regarding the weekly assignments, I like the free for all aspect that was suggested, maybe limit the photos to 5 per person. There have been a couple times when there were two or three outstanding landscapes and some not so outstanding portrait shots (or vice versa). You would really like to pick the two best photos from the week, but you have to leave one out for a shot you really didn't want to pick. I like the fact that people get to judge the photos because it keeps everyone involved. I would suggest having them taken during the week rule also. I believe this would maybe get people out to shoot and post what they want. Explaining the photo and its meaning also would be something that wouldn't be discouraged. I think the mindset behind a photo is about as important as the photo itself. I was going to suggest having a pole at the end of the week instead of the judging because I know sometimes it is hard to find the people to judge or they may be away for a while during their week. However, if it is a free for all, making a pole for the amount of photos that you may get during the week might be exhausting.

I think making them into different categories like monthly, quarterly, and photo of the year is a good way to keep people looking at the site.

I have notice quite a few shots posted to the current shots thread that I think would have worked great in the photo of the week category. I wondered if the problem with posting them there was getting it to fit into the guidelines. By that I mean most people think as portraits as people and when you have a person vs something else, most of the time people pick the person. I think the elimination of categories will make it more popular to post, and a possible pole easier to select winners.

As with changes, you could always try something and see if it works. If it doesn't try something else. Right now there are only about 6 people a week posting regularly to the weekly threads and the monthly even less. Might not hurt to try something new to see if we can get some of the lurkers and visiting guests to maybe post a shot or two.

Sorry if the post was patchy and rambling.