Photo Comp

Andy P said:

So when is someone going to organise a ukrw photo competition where we can all vote for our
fave pics?

I like the idea of this, and might offer to host it myself, but we'd need to work out some rules and
details of how best to do it.

At the moment though I'm rather busy with my October project and some other stuff, so let's wait
until next month at least.

By the way, did anyone see the Countryfile photographic competition entries today? I reckon the
winner will be either the tree sunset shot or the misty shot, probably the sunset, that sky was
quite incredible.

Paul
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"Andy P" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So when is someone going to organise a ukrw photo competition where we can all vote for our
fave pics?

May I (jokingly) suggest the category of "Botched Panoramas."

And may I put forward: sm9.co.ukliver building.jpgOpen ↗

...so what do I win? ;o)

Ste

Paul Saunders said:

By the way, did anyone see the Countryfile photographic competition entries today? I reckon the
winner will be either the tree sunset shot or the misty shot, probably the sunset, that sky was
quite incredible.

bbc.co.ukphotocomp.shtmlOpen ↗

Matt

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Andy P said:

So when is someone going to organise a ukrw photo competition where we can all vote for our
fave pics?

I like the idea of this, and might offer to host it myself, but we'd need to work out some rules
and details of how best to do it.

At the moment though I'm rather busy with my October project and some other stuff, so let's wait
until next month at least.

By the way, did anyone see the Countryfile photographic competition entries today? I reckon the
winner will be either the tree sunset shot or the misty shot, probably the sunset, that sky was
quite incredible.

Paul

I noticed that people were nervously avoiding this thread for a few days - nobody wanted to reply
first as they all want to look modest! ;o) I'll look forward to seeing what's required when
something gets sorted.

I missed Countryfile - I always seem to miss it when there's something about photography on it. :-(

Regards,

Stephen

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Andy P said:

So when is someone going to organise a ukrw photo competition where we can all vote for our
fave pics?

I like the idea of this, and might offer to host it myself, but we'd need to work out some rules
and details of how best to do it.

At the moment though I'm rather busy with my October project and some other stuff, so let's wait
until next month at least.

By the way, did anyone see the Countryfile photographic competition entries today? I reckon the
winner will be either the tree sunset shot or the misty shot, probably the sunset, that sky was
quite incredible.

Paul

Yes, I'd also go for the 'Morning Mist' shot. Six of these shots are really excellent, but six of
the others look quite ordinary to me, and not what I'd expect to be in the final of a national
competition. I guess it's just personal preference though! (and will spur me on to enter some of my
snapshots in competitions and magazines some day!)

Regards,

Stephen

ste © said:

May I (jokingly) suggest the category of "Botched Panoramas."

I was thinking along the lines of having different categories and each person would be allowed to
enter one photo in each category, so for example;

Mountains Waterfalls Sunsets Coastal Woodland

And so on. It would be easy to end up with too many different categories though. And probably a lot
of hassle for the person putting them on a website, so I'm having second thoughts about my offer. It
wouldn't be a problem if only a few people submitted photos, but what if a lot did?

Then there's the voting. It's easy enough to add polls to a web page. I though that the pics could
be collected first (maybe a deadline for entry), then a poll created for each grouping and people
could then vote, but of course there could be cheating.

Or maybe people could just post links to pics and voting could be done on the ng, but that's very
haphazard and awkward to keep track of.

Any better ideas?

Quoted message said:

And may I put forward: sm9.co.ukliver building.jpgOpen ↗

...so what do I win? ;o)

1st prize for taking the [censored]?

Paul
--
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ste © said:

"Andy P" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So when is someone going to organise a ukrw photo competition where we can all vote for our
fave pics?

May I (jokingly) suggest the category of "Botched Panoramas."

And may I put forward: sm9.co.ukliver building.jpgOpen ↗

...so what do I win? ;o)

A job on Blue Peter ?

--
John Mail john rather than nospam...

"Matt Schofield" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Paul Saunders said:

By the way, did anyone see the Countryfile photographic competition entries today? I reckon the
winner will be either the tree sunset shot or the misty shot, probably the sunset, that sky was
quite incredible.

bbc.co.ukphotocomp.shtmlOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

Matt

Thanks for posting the link Matt, I went on the Countryfile website and didn't see it!

Thanks,

Stephen

ste © said:

Yes, I'd also go for the 'Morning Mist' shot.

Yes, I think that's probably the best.

Quoted message said:

Six of these shots are really excellent, but six of the others look quite ordinary to me, and not
what I'd expect to be in the final of a national competition.

No, too many close ups and flowers for my liking, not many landscapes.

Paul
--
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Matt Schofield said:

bbc.co.ukphotocompOpen ↗ .shtml

Thanks.

Paul
--
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"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I was thinking along the lines of having different categories and each person would be allowed to
enter one photo in each category, so for example;

Mountains Waterfalls Sunsets Coastal Woodland

And so on. It would be easy to end up with too many different categories though. And probably a
lot of hassle for the person putting them on a website, so I'm having second thoughts about my
offer. It wouldn't be a problem if only a few people submitted photos, but what if a lot did?

Then there's the voting. It's easy enough to add polls to a web page. I though that the pics could
be collected first (maybe a deadline for entry), then a poll created for each grouping and people
could then vote, but of course there could be cheating.

Or maybe people could just post links to pics and voting could be done on the ng, but that's very
haphazard and awkward to keep track of.

Any better ideas?

Just thought I ought to point out that even though I started the thread I know next to nothing
about photography myself and don't have a web page suitable for hosting any kind of competition
either I'm afraid.

Quoted message said:

I was thinking along the lines of having different categories and each person would be allowed to
enter one photo in each category, so for example;

Mountains Waterfalls Sunsets Coastal Woodland

And so on. It would be easy to end up with too many different categories though. And probably a
lot of hassle for the person putting them on a website, so I'm having second thoughts about my
offer. It wouldn't be a problem if only a few people submitted photos, but what if a lot did?

I had considered a perl ascript to allow uploading by a user, however to prevent abuse this would
require authentication and providing credential to all those who wish to submit could be difficult.
This leaves two options:

1) Submission by email - sent by the user
2) Submission by email - using a web interface

I would have thought that by defining the structure of the image filename it would be relatively
simple to administer - for example:

start with a code for the category (M=mountain, W=waterfall etc) put in the initials of the person
submitting the image append a number (if submission is being done via a web based script)

Hence my mountain entry would be given filename mah0001.jpg

By defining the accepted size of all images (both dimensions and filesize) the process of creating
the page could be simplified even more.

Quoted message said:

Then there's the voting. It's easy enough to add polls to a web page. I though that the pics could
be collected first (maybe a deadline for entry), then a poll created for each grouping and people
could then vote,

Sounds like a sensible idea.

but of course there could be cheating.

Quite right. One way on minimizing this would be to ask for an email address to be supplied by the
person voting, but it would not be difficult to write a script that keeps hitting the site with
different email addresses. TO prevent this you need to generate a random security code and ask the
user to enter it in a box - probably going a bit far for a photo competition ;-)

Quoted message said:

Or maybe people could just post links to pics and voting could be done on the ng, but that's
very haphazard and awkward to keep track of.

I would say the on-line voting is a better idea, and you would hope that with something just for fun
that nobody would cheat!

Quoted message said:

Any better ideas?

The last "voting" script I used can be seen at 193.109.50.21renvote.cgiOpen ↗ From this
you can tell that there was quite a bit of cheating, but you just have to rely on honesty!

Looking at the Kendal Film Festival voting at
mountainfilm.co.ukindex.htmlOpen ↗ I would suggest the best thing to do is
ask for an email address with each submission and keep track of it.

--
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Why not create an account on fotopic. If some-one sets it up, the username and password can be
eMailed to those interested in uploading a photo. Fotopic's free and'll take care of all the voting
etc for you..

Just a thought..

M

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

ste © said:

May I (jokingly) suggest the category of "Botched Panoramas."

I was thinking along the lines of having different categories and each person would be allowed to
enter one photo in each category, so for example;

Mountains Waterfalls Sunsets Coastal Woodland

And so on. It would be easy to end up with too many different categories though. And probably a
lot of hassle for the person putting them on a website, so I'm having second thoughts about my
offer. It wouldn't be a problem if only a few people submitted photos, but what if a lot did?

Then there's the voting. It's easy enough to add polls to a web page. I though that the pics could
be collected first (maybe a deadline for entry), then a poll created for each grouping and people
could then vote, but of course there could be cheating.

Or maybe people could just post links to pics and voting could be done on the ng, but that's very
haphazard and awkward to keep track of.

Any better ideas?

Quoted message said:

And may I put forward: sm9.co.ukliver building.jpgOpen ↗

...so what do I win? ;o)

1st prize for taking the [censored]?

Paul
--
The October Project 2003 wildwales.fsnet.co.ukoctober.htmlOpen ↗ wilderness-wilderness-Open ↗
wales.co.uk photosig.comuserphotosOpen ↗

"John Laird" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
| On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 12:02:13 GMT, "ste ©" <[email hidden]> wrote:
|
| >"Andy P" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
| >> So when is someone going to organise a ukrw photo competition where we
can
| >> all vote for our fave pics?
| >
| >
| >May I (jokingly) suggest the category of "Botched Panoramas."
| >
| >And may I put forward: sm9.co.ukliver building.jpgOpen ↗
| >
| >...so what do I win? ;o)
|
| A job on Blue Peter ?
|
| --
| John
|

No, because the work on Blue Peter normally comes out better than that!

Ste

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
| ste © wrote:
|
| > May I (jokingly) suggest the category of "Botched Panoramas."
|
| I was thinking along the lines of having different categories and each person would be allowed to
| enter one photo in each category, so for example;
|
| Mountains Waterfalls Sunsets Coastal Woodland
|
| And so on. It would be easy to end up with too many different categories though. And probably a
| lot of hassle for the person putting them on a website, so I'm having second thoughts about my
| offer. It wouldn't be a problem if only a few people submitted photos, but what if a lot did?

Don't forget the macros, florals, people shots, etc. We can't have a competition where your
favourite category (Landscapes) is subdivided into 5 or more sub categories! ...nice try though! ;o)

| Then there's the voting. It's easy enough to add polls to a web page. I though that the pics could
| be collected first (maybe a deadline for entry), then a poll created for each grouping and people
| could then vote, but of course there could be cheating.

Yes, those voting systems are just asking for multiple clicks on certain photos. I wouldn't bother
with such a system, unless there is a more secure version somewhere?

| Or maybe people could just post links to pics and voting could be done on the ng, but that's very
| haphazard and awkward to keep track of.

| Any better ideas?
|
| > And may I put forward: sm9.co.ukliver building.jpgOpen ↗
| >
| > ...so what do I win? ;o)
|
| 1st prize for taking the [censored]?

Or 1st prize for 'taking whilst [censored],' even? ...Nahhh, I hardly ever drink, so I've got nothing to
blame I'm afraid, except for *THAT* crappy tripod! <grrr!>

| Paul

Ste

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
| ste © wrote:
|
| Or maybe people could just post links to pics and voting could be done on the ng, but that's very
| haphazard and awkward to keep track of.

It could be awkward, but it would also be the simplest, and it would keep any competitions within
the group, rather than to external websites.

| Any better ideas?

Not really, but I've got about 70mb of spare webspace if anyone ever wanted to email me a photo to
put online. No bells or whistles though, and it would just be a straight link to the jpeg image. But
it would mean that anyone could enter (without the need for owning webspace of their own). I guess
this method links in with your idea of posting links to images in the group - perhaps as a thread
named: 'Photo Competition 1: Waterfalls.' Then people could post links to their images in this
thread, and people could then reply in ths thread to say which image they preferred. Simple, but
could be fiddly, as you say.

| Paul

Ste

ste © said:

"John Laird" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
| On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 12:02:13 GMT, "ste ©" <[email hidden]> wrote:
|
| >...so what do I win? ;o)
|
| A job on Blue Peter ?

No, because the work on Blue Peter normally comes out better than that!

Only the one they made earlier...

--
John Mail john rather than nospam...

ste © said:

Quoted message said:

for example;

Mountains Waterfalls Sunsets Coastal Woodland

Quoted message said:

Don't forget the macros, florals, people shots, etc. We can't have a competition where your
favourite category (Landscapes) is subdivided into 5 or more sub categories! ...nice try
though! ;o)

What do you mean "my" favourite category? This is uk.rec.walking remember! Surely landscapes are
everyone's favourite category in this newsgroup? This is a landscape group! I don't think florals
and people shots are really appropriate, do you?

Quoted message said:

*THAT* crappy tripod! <grrr!>

Oh by the way, now that you have the hot-shoe spirit level, do you realise the best way to use it?

You *don't* have to spend ages aligning the tripod anymore, you only need to get that set up
*roughly* correct. As you move through each shot of the panorama, you can use the adjustments in the
tripod head to level the camera for each individual shot. That may mean a moment or two spent
fiddling for every shot in the pano, but it's much easier than getting the tripod set up for a
perfect pan.

Provided each individual shot is correctly leveled (in both directions), the shots will stitch up
correctly.

Paul
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ste © said:

Not really, but I've got about 70mb of spare webspace if anyone ever wanted to email me a photo to
put online. No bells or whistles though, and it would just be a straight link to the jpeg image.

That would be fine if you are prepared to do it.

Quoted message said:

I guess this method links in with your idea of posting links to images in the group - perhaps as a
thread named: 'Photo Competition 1: Waterfalls.'

That might be the best way to do it, one photo at a time. How about this for a structure?

1. Announce the competition, allow two weeks for photo submissions, with a *DEADLINE*. No voting
until all the photos are in.

2. Two weeks for voting, with another deadline. All votes counted during this time. Winner
announced at end of deadline.

In fact, this could be a monthly thing, the first two weeks of each month would be photo submission
time (from the 1st to the 15th). The last two weeks of each month would be voting time (16th to
30th/31st).

So November would be the first competition.

Quoted message said:

Then people could post links to their images in this thread, and people could then reply in ths
thread to say which image they preferred.

I think there are a few possible ways of voting;

3. Each person votes for their favourite photo, 1 vote per person.

4. Each person votes for their favourite three photos, giving three points for their first choice,
two points for their second choice and 1 point for their third. (Or even five photos.)

5. Each person gives marks out of ten for *every* photo.

Any other suggestions?

One more thing. Anyone with a vast photo library might have a bit of an advantage (no names
mentioned), so how about a time based competition? For example, all entries must have been taken
within the previous month. This would level the playing field somewhat.

So the November competition could be "Best October Photograph". :-) ;-) ;-) :-)

;-)

;-)

;-)

Paul
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