Just thought I'd pose this question.  Is it more about SHARING, snapping a pic or learning something about photography?   I was browsing the Portraits page and many of the entries are from months or  years ago (base on exif info I viewed on some)

We used to have guidelines that entries were taken in the actual month of the challenge.  Where's the challenge in pulling something from your archive to match the theme? 

I remember there used to be alot of discussion around the challenges too, just seem like that has faded away.  

What do you all think?

Joe

Hi Joe..

just wait till I get my magazine out in July..

In the photography section.. it will be a challenge.

Good question Joe..

It is prefered that you go out and shoot something for the challenge..
The difficulty becomes, do we only allow images shot during that month?
Do we set a specific time frame?

On one hand, I'd like to see folks get out and shoot something for the challenges.

On the other..it's not always possible, and I do want people to participate.

I guess the question becomes, why do "you" particiapte in the challenge??
To learn and have fun, or to "show off" ??

I started the genre challenge for a couple of reasons..

One, to give a challenge in a more "formal" setting.(perviously challenges were posted in the forum)
Secondly and more importantly, to get the participants the opportunity to work outside of their individual comfort zone. In other words..if you like to shoot landscapes, take a chance and try shooting animals.

The forum challenge is less formal, more aimed at having fun and sharing..

If the community feels these would be better served by placing some restrictions on when images were shot..I'm OK with that..

I think we have the balance of the challenges about right.  We have so many levels of skill on here from the professionals with top DLSR's to the complete amateurs with basic point and shoot cameras.  We want all to join in and learn from each other.  If we start placing some restrictions on when images were shot, I think many would be put off entering.  It's hard enough keeping the interest as it it.

Just to clarify Joe, the Forum Challenge is in the Forum. This month it is Unusual Perspectives. The Genre Challenge is in the Challenge Area (Portraits). That one IS meant to be more of a challenge, as it is more of a contest. Still, you get all kinds of entries, and I daresay the ones that took little effort probably won't get many votes. The Forum challenge is meant to be more fun and sharing, but it is up to the individual to determine how much they want to challenge themselves.

Yeah, I was actually referring to the Genre challenge here...sorry I lumped'em together.  I understand the Forum challenge is more for fun and theres nothing wrong with that. 

As for the Genre challenge, I think a bit more guidelines would work.  I also think its kind of disconnected from the forum  and theres no real interaction or discussion around the theme. 
I know the idea is to make it accessible to ALL, but as long as expectations are set up front and clearly stated, I think most members would understand and hopefully want to participate, so they could truly  learn and grow.

Again just my thoughts.

Joe

As one of the contest managers I see many where people do not read the basic rules we have at the moment. So adding more rules would make life even more difficult.

Joe wrote:  " I also think its kind of disconnected from the forum  and theres no real interaction or discussion around the theme."

It's kinda designed that way Joe..The winner gets to choose the next "genre" from the list that we all use in the gallery. (and we are close to going thru the list  ! ! )
We have a thread every month about it....but there is almost never any discussion..I'm not quite sure why..

Usually if questions or discussions arise, it more general in nature, like "can I include this ?"

In the past we used to discuss ideas for the forum challenge. Unfortunatly, often there wasn't a clear decision about the topic or by the time there was one, it was the middle of the month.

I'm open to any ideas of how to improve it..

I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of adding (for the genre challenge) something like a time frame..
I'm not sure if during that specific month is the right choice...but several years does seem a bit out of the realm of challenging your self..

Perhaps a month before would be a good compromise? I don't know..
David does have a valid point..It's amazing how many entries each month either, are too large of a file, too big of an image, are signed, are already in the gallery, or don't even belong to the member who posted it.

The only possible way to validate time frame would be to require EXIF data.

My most sincere hope is that the folks who enter do so, to try to challenge their skills..Try to work outside of their comfort zone..I can honestly say, I enjoy photographing people as a result of these challenges...

I think some great points and ideas have been introduced here...let's keep talking about this..

Hey I know what its was like to mod/coordinate the forum, so understand that  you guys have alot going on behind the scenes.  Policing the challenge is a royal pain in the a$$. Adding new guidelines would probably invite a flood of questions and dealing with that kind of stuff is not worth the hassle in my mind.

For me, its not  about winning a challenge. I'm thinking something more on the lines of a monthly/bi-monthly photo assignment type deal.  Topics/themes that members can  "sink their photographic teeth" into.  Real world scenarios that force us to think "out of the box", interact and generate more discussion.

Hey,  I'm all for sharing and whatnot....but WHY can't we turn it up a notch or 2 around here and see what DEVELOPS.

I know you used do do this job Joe, so I do greatly value your wisdon and advice

I agree 100%...it's not about winning..it's learning

The idea was to have a little of each..one for fun (the forum challenge) and one for skill (genre)

We need critique in the challenges. When we learn - we all win...

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/browse.php?section_id=47

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showforum.php?forum_id=12474

We did the "constructive critique" thing for a while..remember? It seemed to fade in a short period of time..

Attached Link: http://photoassignment.net/

I found this site, that is a prime example of the idea I was *trying* to get across for challenges.  While some do in fact match the genres here, there are also topics that go a bit further or tackle a specific technique in Photography.    I think this kind of thing would definitely work better in the forum though, again to interact and provide feedback.

Great stuff joe..that's ws my "vision" of what the forum challenge should be..

The desired anonymous nature of the genre challenge would seem to eliminate much older images...and, I have tried to stick to "do it that month" and in that found the real challenge.
Sure, some months I simply could not get it together to get an entry and on others did do that and made a real effort to get a shot.

I like staying with time limits, perhaps announce the challenge genre a couple of weeks earlier but don't open the entry page until the month arrives...who knows.  But, time limits are part of the challenge and not only the subject of the genre.