Mini Contest for weekly Assignments

[NaturesPixel]

ok we admin have come up with a new mini contest for the weekly assignments, and can opt out each week if that's what you want..

ok here is how it will work.. i will List the new assignment for the following week (2 weeks to get the shot/photo you want)

The Assignments will run the same Wed to Tue, and at the end of the week (wed) the Mods and I will choose the best Photo of the assignment .. and place it on the Blog on Sunday, there will also be 2 Honourable mentions..

We are NOT after the technically best we are after creativity and composition, so if it has blown out parts thats ok.. sometimes this cant be helped. But we do want you to think about the subject you are photographing .. think about the background (is it distracting) the DOF, use the rules of third if possible, and above all try and match it as close as possible to the assignments topic

soo In order to opt-in each week you must place with in your post
"Assignment: X" (X being the assignment topic) this makes it easier for us Mods to search the thread via the search tool as some assignments get over 6 pages with in a week if your image doesn't come up on the search its cause you didn't place the correct search words..

Only one entry for the mini contest is allowed tho you are allowed to post more than one image to the assignments... just do it in a separate post

Remember if you want to OPT-OUT don't place the search term within your post.

these mini contests wont start till next week .... Any questions you have please post in this thread so i can answer you as quick as possible ^.^

And to get you started Next weeks assignment will be
BEACH : beach life, things found on the beach,Summertime fun


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PS: from Darren.

If you participate in our assignments and want to pass on word about them to others, a simple way to do so is to link to Digital Photography School's Assignment section of these forums on the page on Flickr (or other photo sharing) where you're hosting your shot.

For example, on Flickr where you can add a description to a shot you could paste this html:

My Latest Submission for a Digital Photography School Assignment

Alternatively you could change the URL in that code to be the actual assignment you're entering.

No pressure to do this - but it'd help spread the word about DPS.

[Teewinot]

Cool idea!

That said, here's a quick question: Since the assignment submissions tend to be a mix of "I dug this one up from my library" shots and "I shot this one new with this assignment in mind" shots, are you requiring any one of the two (or either) for the competition? In other words, are there any regulations about the age of the shot specifically for the competition? Probably tough to regulate I realize, but just wondering so I know what I can or cannot submit.

I try to treat assignments as ways to get out and try new things (hence, take new photos specifically with the assignment in mind), but of course not everyone always has the time or means in any given week to submit something new.

Once again, nice idea...looking forward to it!

[ELAY]

Two things.

First, just to get the identifying conventions right, if members wanted to post to this assignment, would they include "BEACH:beach life, things found on the beach,Summertime fun" as the magic words, or would it be "Assignment: BEACH"? Assume the latter, but it never hurts to confirm.

Second, about the new pic/old pic issue.

Cool idea!

That said, here's a quick question: Since the assignment submissions tend to be a mix of "I dug this one up from my library" shots and "I shot this one new with this assignment in mind" shots, are you requiring any one of the two (or either) for the competition? In other words, are there any regulations about the age of the shot specifically for the competition? Probably tough to regulate I realize, but just wondering so I know what I can or cannot submit.

For what it's worth, I lean toward the "something new for the competition" side of things. I tend to thing that these contests can have two goals -- recognizing excellence, or encouraging us to go shoot photos. If the first is paramount, then it makes sense to include old photos; if it's the second, then requiring new photos gets us off our butts (while still nodding toward excellence with the judging).

Regulating is always hard, and the determined can always find a way to game these things, but I have seen other sites require that submissions be accompanied by EXIF info confirming when the shot was taken.

EL

[wulf]

Good point. I think (although Leisa can confirm) that we are going for images shot specifically for the assignment, because that shows more evidence of responding and learning (and benefiting) from the topic than just dragging a shot out of your personal library.

That will be harder on some topics than others - for example, we can all take self-portraits but don't all have a beach to hand. However, there is room to be ingenious - how about a handful of shells or smooth stones, evoking thoughts of beaches without actually having to travel to one?

Also, moderators who are involved in "judging" won't be including themselves in the running (although they might get a free honourable mention) in order to keep it fair.

Wulf

[NaturesPixel]

hmm yes i think the whole point of this is to learn so i think we will REQUIRE it to be a NEW photo .. since you do have a week to think about it and a week to get your submissions in.. and yes I think People should leave the EXIF intact..That way we can check the dates...


and the Opt in words foir next week will be "Assignment: BEACH""

[Teewinot]

Sounds great, Leisa.

Could you explain how to 'leave the exif data intact' for those people (including me) who know how to access such data, but not how to allow people on the forum to see it too.

[NaturesPixel]

ok just don't touch the data...

if you are using an image in Photoshop and you copy the image to a new image you loose your EXIF data ,But if you duplicate the Image to a new image you retain the EXIF data,,

so just don't touch the data and it will be good, short of people posting their images on Flickr and allowing others to see the Exif, the only other way for us to see the exif is if we download the image and view the exif from our computer

[wulf]

I believe there is a Firefox add-on that lets you view the EXIF data for any picture you see online (where available). I haven't installed it yet but I may do so. It does of course also mean that it will help to check your camera date and time.

Also, don't panic if you post a picture and then realise you forgot to opt-in. As long as you get there before the end of Tuesday (what time zone are we working on, Leisa?) you can edit your post and insert the magic words.

Wulf

[xhan]

hmm yes i think the whole point of this is to learn so i think we will REQUIRE it to be a NEW photo .. since you do have a week to think about it and a week to get your submissions in.. and yes I think People should leave the EXIF intact..That way we can check the dates...


and the Opt in words foir next week will be "Assignment: BEACH""

Thats fair enough but not everyone has access to a beach who wants to enter! Surely a mix of old and new is good! It give exposure to someone's older work!

[Teewinot]

ok just don't touch the data...

if you are using an image in Photoshop and you copy the image to a new image you loose your EXIF data ,But if you duplicate the Image to a new image you retain the EXIF data,,

so just don't touch the data and it will be good, short of people posting their images on Flickr and allowing others to see the Exif, the only other way for us to see the exif is if we download the image and view the exif from our computer

So if I leave my photos 'private' on Flickr (like I usually do), will you still be able to get at the EXIF data? Or will I have to mark them 'public' for the assignments? As an experiment, I tried downloading one of my posted shots on DPS (one that I have marked 'private' on Flickr) and couldn't find the EXIF data in the properties menu... Sorry, I'm not too keen on this stuff I guess...

Edit: I just discussed this with my husband and he wondered if Flickr strips EXIF info from photos...I ended up trying to find EXIF on a public photo too and I got the same result...it said I shot the photo today and it provided no other info other than resolution...any thoughts? (to be clear, I download the image by right-clicking and choosing 'save image as' and then check the properties menu on the downloaded image)

Also, he pointed out that people apparently can easily modify EXIF info if they know what they are doing...

Sorry I realize my questions are getting complicated...just trying to do things right...