Congratulations Daniel...have a wonderful holiday. Christakis, looking forward to this challenge, also great pic. Rod well what do I say...waiting in anticipation :-)

In my opinion, C28 topic was not an easy one, so I´m happy for wining it!. So thanks people for voting it!. People I am on vacations in the beachside and the house I rented has no internet connection. So I have to go to the town looking for a telephony office to rent a computer if I want to get internet, and this office is always very busy. Best hour to get a vacant computer in the telephony office is during the morning, when people is enjoying the beach. But, as you can figure, my family is going to kill me if I spend the morning in internet instead of being with them…so this is the reason I asked Rod to host for me...but I'm happy that Christakis has accepted this responsability, so good luck for him and I will try to join C29!.

Thank you all for your good words :) The new challenge is up and running. I hope you find it interesting and have fun. It's a bit different than the previous ones...

Congratulations to Daniel and thanks to Christakis for hosting! (Sorry, Rod, it would have been fun to have you host as well!) I'll be at my office in Istanbul for a week out of the challenge, so please pick something I can find in Turkey ;-). Come to think of it, I won't have any free time and can't bring my D700 :-(

Since this might be the last time I can say it... Well done. Nice picture. It was a deserving win for Daniel and an excellent first runner up to Chris. Best of all there's nothing like a new challenge to put an end to a sour topic discussion.

Oh noooooooo, Did Christakis say he was going to bed without giving us a topic!!!! I wonder how long he sleeps for, I wonder if he will wait until he gets home from work. He's obviously very new here:-)

Aham... :) I just got upto date with the events. I am more than happy to host the next challenge, I hope everyone is cool with this. Now, because I was not prepared for this, you will need to give me sometime to come up with a topic. Don't worry I shouldn't be late, the clock just struck 00:00 and I need to go to work tomorrow.

ok guys, Chris has the host acct., hopefully he'll see this and get things rolling soon enough... and no pansy pseudo-manly flowers please ehhh or I'll off myself ;)

Penny, I think Daniel will also enjoy reading all the lame comments plus my critques of course:-)

This is definately a job for Christakis, coming in second & acheaving his highest ever placing in a world wide photo contest is no mean feat. I think having to host will be a good lesson for our Chris & he will refrain from taking such good picys in the future denying us real ahrtiiiiiists our rightful place at the top of the pile:-)
So Christakis you deserve the honour mate & wot's the topic????? Come on hurry up:-)

Please please pretty pretty please pick a topic that will allow me to take pictures outdoors and still be on topic - pretty pretty please please ......
it's supposed to snow here for the next couple of days so I don't how that will go but I just can't stay inside for a whole 'nother weekend.

Oh, and Daniel is going to be sooooo happy when he returns and sees all the wonderful picys that we posted in his honor!!!!

Congrats Daniel, you're on a roll here! ;)
OK, so.... Rod, if you're around, I'm supposed to let you know that Daniel requested that you pick a topic and host the next challenge in his place because he's on holidays and does not have access to the internet. I've got you set up to launch whenever you're ready. Can't wait for your many flowers topic! :)

Before you go ahead though, may I suggest offering hosting duties to the #2 finisher, christakis? I'll check back in 1-2 hours to see what the decision is, right now you (Rod) are marked as host, if you choose to give Chris the honors I'll need to first give Chris access to the hosting setup. If not, then just fire away (and keep in mind if you attach a sample image in the setup screen, keep it at 120px width or height max, it's just supposed to be a thumbnail eh ;)).

Congratulations Daniel :) Your picture is a fine example that street photography is alive and kicking! Worthy winner indeed!
I would also like to thank everyone who casted a vote for my "girly" pic. I believe this is a personal record for me, the 7D wasn't a bad investment after all ;)
Continuing Rods comment; If Debi continues to take pictures like that we are all in trouble...

Daniel rulezzzzz!!!! Again a great win with a great shot! Congrats, dude!

Well how about that, we have three street picys in the top five & two girly picys. So there's room for both sexes here a. Well done Daniel on a great picy for another win, the picy is a joy to look at, much like the ones I post a.
The discussion was a great way to get through the boring voting phase & discussions like this about photography & other matters is a learning tool too.
Knowing Daniel he will give us the topic right this minute so we can get out shooting our street picys:-)
Debi if you post picys like that us blokes will have you in the winners circle quick smart, the statue one is a bit duff though a:-)

Congrats Daniel, an excellent pic & a worthy winner. Thats 3 wins out of 4 now I think - well done. Looking forward to hearing what ideas you have for the next challenge.

I dont want to seem to girly here (Rod!) but i completely agree with Penny and Jill. Let me highlight some phrases and words from there posts that exemplify my feelings toward photography and this site as well: "diversity, style, education, nationalities, wit (Rod), expertise, improvement, progress, enjoyment, satisfaction, escapism, pleasurable...... So let me say as the new guy in town who is looking for competition, education, improvement and a whole host of other desciptive words that eventually and hopefully will lead to self-satisfaction, I also say lets move forward, count the losses and enjoy the advantage that this place has to offer.

I have read these comments, and am also saddened that every so often there seems to be some dissention in the ranks. I too want to improve my skills, and also feel that the biggest learning curve has been in viewing other peoples pic’s, also what people say about the each others entries, this all helps one to progress. I want enjoyment and satisfaction, this is my escapism and I want it to be a pleasurable experience.

I was really so encouraged when the people from the Canon forum joined; they added a new dimension and were enthusiastic with their commenting. I do think there is nothing worse than a ‘no comment’ on one’s pic. I actually paid them a couple of accolades as I really felt they deserved it. I too like to banter a bit with Rod, that all adds to the general spirit of the forum.

I honestly think that I am not equipped to criticize someone else’s pic, but do feel that positive encouragement, spurs one on to greater heights. I too would like to move forward and am sorry that we have had casualties along the way; maybe they will reconsider and rejoin this group.

I like this site. I like posting here. I like the people. I love the diversity of styles, education, nationalities, wit, background, photographic expertise, etc. of the people who frequent. I am not bored with photography - yet - and I want to have a place to share my ideas. It sounds as if we have made a decision to include a *box for people to check if they would be open to receive helpful comments on a particular submission. I actually don't think this will change, much, the comments I make though because I don't always feel qualified to do more than say I like it or I don't (and I would never just say I don't like something without saying why). But, I will try. That is what I think is key here. We all need to understand that we are all trying - every one of us in our own way - trying to take interesting pictures, trying to process them with the best of intent, trying to comment with respect, etc.
I will click the *box because I am trying to be a better photographer and trying to understand what other's see. I do think, however, that I learn a lot by just looking at the other submissions. Right now I am looking forward to moving on. What's done is done, people come and go, and things happen. I would like, most of all, when we move on to the next challenge to put this all behind us and try to concentrate on taking pictures.
I'm ready for the next topic now!!! and I'm looking forward to it.

Woman, you've got talent... :) I really like your PPing on the picture with the women. I wouldn't mind if you shared your expertise with me ;)

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Martin - My intentions were that everyone get a comment but only the * get the helpful critique. NOT that only * get a comment at all.

One more

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And yes the pics were taken by me

BTW, Rod, the "tasteful nude content" to which I referred (and the street photography) on jp's Flickr photostream are farther down the page to which the link takes you. The pop-up window is not large enough to show the full page, so you need to use the scroll bar on the right to see the rest of the page(s).

And I agree with Debi... your wit is one of the things that make this forum so interesting. I hope you never get miffed and "take your toys and go home". ;-)

One of the things that's difficult to do sometimes, is separate "opinion" and "fact". When it comes to any art form - and critiques of same, there really are no"facts"... all we really have are "opinions" - which we are all free to either dismiss or consider. And the same with dispensing comments... they're really just our opinions - even it it's something like "the horizon isn't level". I may always be carful to level my horizons (a bit of OCD here), but that's just my preference, and if someone else likes cockeyed horizions, who am I to suggest it's wrong. I only mention these kinds of things in case the photographer didn't notice that "anomoly", and, had he/she noticed it, it wouldn't have been left that way - not to suggest that horizons should always be level, or else the image is somehow bad or wrong.

Rod - one of the reasons I come to this forum is because of the comments you make. If you stop being obnoxious I have to stop frequenting this forum. I would be super bored. :)

Having said that I do think people are being super sensitive about commenting. I am very bad at it and can never explain why I like or dislike a picture. Or even why I am indifferent to it. But its good to learn and we should all try to understand that it is not a personal attack. When comments are not relevant we can just ignore them. After all if we just want kudos we should post the pics on FB ( or similar). There will be plenty of people on your friend list to say "Wah Wah" ( Hindi for super super) :D.

Rod, of course some 'as-is' images are 'complete' too, I get that. What I'm saying is if you take the image in relation to the topic, you can sometimes deduce that the image could be improved. In the case of Danile's "Wish", I sensed hesitation in his explanation of why he processed the image the way he did (the explanation itself to me automatically suggests that the artist isn't sure if the image can stand on its own), and after noticing he'd submitted a few variations, I thought offering critique would be ok.

By 'finished', I mean images where it's pretty clear that an effort was made in post to get a certain result, and especially if the artist makes no excuses for doing what he did or asks in a roundabout way for validation; an image like that is what it is and as a viewer, I can only either like it or not like it. One example could be an HDR image... personally I don't like HDR and if the finished work is HDR, most of the time I will not comment on it (unless the author asks something like "do you think this shot needs HDR?"). Sometimes an HDR piece works fabulously and I'll state that.

I don't know, maybe it's just me but I think most of the time I'm able to separate a "here's what I have... any suggestions?" pic from a "here's my tour de force of a masterpiece, take it or leave it" pic, without anyone actually telling me in so many words ;)

Rod, I will add a "lame comments & false praise" tickbox just for you ;)

That's fine, I too gravitate to the types of images that I like to take but I can also appreciate a well-executed landscape; on the other hand, it seems to me too often that those who are all about the 'postcards' tolerate street images only to the point where they'll mutter, "street photographers should be banned/in jail". A dangerous frame of mind imo, a few generations down the line and these types of photos will all but disappear, and if you ask me it's happening with all kinds of artforms, even music... every few years there seems to be an increase of people who absolutely refuse to hear/watch anything that's outside the bounds of some basic formula and heaven forbid might provoke a person into actually thinking.

The huge box office success of the movie "Avatar" is a perfect example of society's gradual plunge into mental sterility. Give 'em oohs and ahhs but don't worry about including a good "story", the market's not big enough to accommodate that anymore ;)

Jerry, I understand re: other genres of photography, I really don't discount any of them. I think though that you have to step into the shoes of, say, a 'street photographer', to perhaps see that they're the ones really dealing with public perception that taking a shot of a public moment in the city is wrong/unethical/illegal/blahblah while stuff like landscapes, macros, sterile (to me) studio snaps is marvelous, no matter how many slightly different versions of the same old scene exist already. So when you see another challenge with a winning 'postcard' entry, you have to pause and wonder if you'd be better off painting because the average viewer of a photo seems to be all about the technical side and/or praising whatever's in line with their own photographic comfort zone, usually landscapes, macros, etc.

cont...