Street Competition - We want your vote!!

digitalbeginner

The quality of the entries into the Digital Beginners/Spectra Photo Street Competition is so high that we've decided to open the judging to the wider public.

Better again, if your chosen photo turns out to be one of the winners then you'll be placed into a draw for a Compact Digital Camera.

All you have to do is click on the link below your chosen photo and send the name of the shot along with your name and address. Only one vote per person is allowed and multiple votes will disqualify that person.

More details available be found here: http://www.digitalbeginners.ie/streetcompetition.htm

Dave

Thirdfox

Hey Dave,

maybe you can pre-judge some and let the public pick from a final 10 or something similar? This way photos will be judged on artistic/photographic merit rather than who can get the most votes out?

digitalbeginner

Good point Thirdfox, thanks for that.

The votes won't be the only decider. The artistic/quality merit will be applied by me. I was directing people to have a look at Cartier-Bresson's work and also asked them to look at my own street photography. Some clearly didn't do this or decided to enter stuff that just isn't in the ball park. I won't let any sub quality shots win.

I'm mindful of the controversy surrounding the Halifax Calendar Competition (much of it warranted IMHO) and I will make sure that only quality shots win,

Dave

Chunky Monkey

I only really liked the last photo in that calendar.

Thirdfox

I like the dolphin one - quite a special/unique moment captured there...not near a Spectra store though I'd guess

Great to hear Dave - I doubt any one on this board would go for the sub par photos anyway.

Chunky Monkey

Oh ye forgot about the dolphin one, that was nice too Well I've just casted my vote there.

digitalbeginner

Thirdfox wrote: »

I doubt any one on this board would go for the sub par photos anyway.

Absolutely!!

Some of the sub-par ones have already received votes, I guess there's no accounting for taste:)

Dave

Rojo

http://www.digitalbeginners.ie/homework/streetcompetition07/Street-Competition/pages/image129.html


Voted for this one!

digitalbeginner

Chunky Monkey wrote: »

Oh ye forgot about the dolphin one, that was nice too Well I've just casted my vote there.

Ooops :eek:Sorry Chunky Monkey my last post could easily have cast aspertions on the quality of your vote Apologies if it did

Dave

Thirdfox

digitalbeginner wrote: »

Absolutely!!

Some of the sub-par ones have already received votes, I guess there's no accounting for taste:)

Dave

And I hope my shots weren't the ones that were sub-par mutters I'd rate them at par at least

Sebzy

Hi Dave

I am a bit concerned about having to give my postal address in order to vote. Can we be assured that this will not be used for marketing by yourself nor third parties ???

Paulw

I'm voting for http://www.digitalbeginners.ie/homework/streetcompetition07/Street-Competition/pages/image130.html

digitalbeginner

Sebzy wrote: »

Hi Dave
I am a bit concerned about having to give my postal address in order to vote. Can we be assured that this will not be used for marketing by yourself nor third parties ???

Sebzy, I can guarantee 100% that addresses will not be used. I'm the only one who'll see them, it's just a way of cutting down on multiple votes

Thirdfox wrote:

Hi Dave
And I hope my shots weren't the ones that were sub-par

Perish the thought Above par at the very least

sheesh

Should the one where the security guard is bringing in the money be removed? not that its any of my business.

digitalbeginner

sheesh wrote: »

Should the one where the security guard is bringing in the money be removed? not that its any of my business.

Digital Rights Ireland clearly states the law as regards photography in Ireland:

In general, you are entitled to take pictures of anything you wish, when in a public place. You may take pictures of private property, people, or anything else you fancy......

Taking photographs of people in public is generally allowed - however, an exception is made where the subject would have a reasonable expectation of privacy. You’re perfectly entitled to take a photograph of someone walking down the street....

Your subject can object to the publication of photos of them if: The photographs are untrue - they’ve been altered in some way, to show something that isn’t the case; The photographs are interfering with the subject’s commercial endorsement business; The photographs are tortuously violating the subject’s privacy.

The full text can be seen here: http://www.digitalrights.ie/2006/05/09/photographers-rights/

Dave

sheesh

Sorry wasn't trying to be a gobsh*te or anything.:o

digitalbeginner

sheesh wrote: »

Sorry wasn't trying to be a gobsh*te or anything.:o

Didn't think you were sheesh Thanks for the opportunity to clear this up as I've heard some crackers around the whole area of street photography. I was even told recently that the Irish Constitution specifically banned the photographing of children in public :rolleyes:

Dave

Ricky91t

digitalbeginner wrote: »

Didn't think you were sheesh Thanks for the opportunity to clear this up as I've heard some crackers around the whole area of street photography. I was even told recently that the Irish Constitution specifically banned the photographing of children in public :rolleyes:

Dave

In co.Kerry now you're not aload to photograph children unless you are their parents or a family member.I cant remeber where i heard this but it will probably start coming in as a law in other counties too :eek:

digitalbeginner

Hi Ricky, none of us really want to piss people off when taking shots, but the bottom line is that the law allows us to take photos of anyone in a public place as there is no 'expectation of privacy'.

A private place such as a shopping centre is a different matter, but out in public no one has the right to make you stop taking pictures (other than a Guard, and even then it can really only be because you're causing an obstruction). I believe this is the general law in Europe as well as the States, but I'm open to correction on that,

Dave

Paulw

ricky91t wrote: »

In co.Kerry now you're not aload to photograph children unless you are their parents or a family member.I cant remeber where i heard this but it will probably start coming in as a law in other counties too :eek:

Again, not fully true. They have passed a by-law, but it only effects public playgrounds. Anywhere else, it's still totally legal.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/lone-adults-no-longer-let-into-child-play-areas-1250212.html

Chunky Monkey

I was wondering about this. I gave money to the street performers that I took photos of. Seemed only fair. No worries Dave, didn't think you were I voted for the one of the guy sitting on the bench in Stephens Green park, doesn't look sub-par to me

Thirdfox

I gave money to the homeless person that I took a picture of - but decided not to enter it in the end.

Hrududu

The votes won't be the only decider. The artistic/quality merit will be applied by me.

Don't mean to be pedantic but whats the point in voting if the votes arent going to be the decider?

digitalbeginner

Hrududu wrote: »

Don't mean to be pedantic but whats the point in voting if the votes arent going to be the decider?

Hi Hruddu, the key phrase is "won't be the ONLY decider". Just like in any assessment, a number of factors are taken on board. I think there are 3 strong contenders for the 1st prize and I'm finding it difficult to separate them. I expect that the voting will help in that regard,

Dave

Dades

I'm a bit confused... the brief I recall for the entries read:

"...the essecene of street life on the streets immediately in front of any Spectra Store around Ireland"

Only a fraction of those are anywhere near a Spectra Store. Those shots are from everywhere.
If I'd thought it was as wide open as it seems I'd have thrown a few in!

Have voted anyhow to show I'm not bitter!

digitalbeginner

Sorry about the confusion Dades

The good news is that we're so overwhelmed by the response that we will be running more competitions in the very near future. Our plan is to run regular competitions that cover the main disciplines in photography such as Landscapes, Wildlife, Documentary, Portraits etc.

The next one will be Landscape but you won't have to have a Spectra Store in it So get shooting!

Dave

Paulw

Any sports competition???

Dades

digitalbeginner wrote: »

Sorry about the confusion Dades

No bother! Thanks for the response.

digitalbeginner wrote: »

The next one will be Landscape but you won't have to have a Spectra Store in it So get shooting!

Lookin' forward to it already!

Covey

Landscapes, great.

My new years resolution was to experiment outside my comfort zone and this is waaaay waay outside of it.

Need tips or lessons though??

digitalbeginner

Paulw wrote: »

Any sports competition???

Puts on deep American accent "You want it? You got it!"

Covey wrote:

Need tips or lessons though??

Good idea! We're going to be extending our range of Free Field Trips this year anyway. The plan is to hire a hotel room for an hour and offer instruction at the start. So we could meet in the hotel in Glendalough for example, give the instruction and then everyone can head off to take great shots

How much do you charge for your ideas

Dave

sheesh

digitalbeginner wrote: »

Didn't think you were sheesh Thanks for the opportunity to clear this up as I've heard some crackers around the whole area of street photography. I was even told recently that the Irish Constitution specifically banned the photographing of children in public :rolleyes:

Dave

LOL
Dev just stuck that in at the end for a laugh I suppose

they could be dancing at the crossroads just don't photograph them

magnumlady

digitalbeginner wrote: »

Absolutely!!

Some of the sub-par ones have already received votes, I guess there's no accounting for taste:)

Dave

I think its a shame you are talking about sub-par photos I thought it was a competition for beginners?

digitalbeginner

magnumlady wrote: »

I think its a shame you are talking about sub-par photos I thought it was a competition for beginners?

Hi magnumlady, the competition was always open to everyone, we never limited it to any experience level.

I'm afraid though that you have to call a spade a spade. A shot which is blurred through camera shake or being out of focus is not a quality shot. This is coming from a person who can accept creative blur in a shot.

A shot entered into a competition called "Street Photography", (where you are shown links to explore the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson) that has nothing to do with Street Photography is not a quality shot under the terms of the competition.

Dave

magnumlady

I do see what you mean so the entries have been 'whittled' down first then before opening it to a public vote?
I thought because the website is called digital beginners then the competiton was for beginners, my mistake.

digitalbeginner

magnumlady wrote: »

so the entries have been 'whittled' down first then before opening it to a public vote?

Everything that's up on the gallery is as it was entered. We're hoping the public vote will do the whittling down for us. So far the concentration has been on about 10 shots so this is a great help.

magnumlady wrote: »

I thought because the website is called digital beginners then the competiton was for beginners, my mistake.

You make a good point as this is a common misconception about our courses. We have toyed with the idea of changing the name of the school to more accurately reflect the wide range of Photography Courses that we offer including a planned FETAC course later in the year,

Dave

Dades

magnumlady wrote: »

I thought because the website is called digital beginners then the competiton was for beginners, my mistake.

Just because the word "beginners" is included doesn't mean a complete lack of any standards.
It's a competition for pete's sake! You enter a photograph to be judged.

Arciphel

Since it's gone all quiet, can I ask when is the cut-off for the voting & when are the results going to be announced?

Cheers!

Chunky Monkey

How about a competition where you enter pictures using the exact same gear as everyone else eg Nikon D40 with kit lens. On flickr you can tell what settings were used, says something about the type of file that's uploaded with your picture, forget the name. So you could tell, if the settings were outside the range of the lens, whether someone cheated or not. That way it's a competition for everyone who's on the same par gear wise, so you have to work those creative skills.

digitalbeginner

Arciphel wrote: »

Since it's gone all quiet, can I ask when is the cut-off for the voting & when are the results going to be announced?

We're finalising things this week. Should have a response next week.

There was some "X-Factor" type voting were certain entrants obviously sent out plea's to large email databases, so we have to figure out what to do there.

Chunky Monkey wrote:

How about a competition where you enter pictures using the exact same gear as everyone else eg Nikon D40 with kit lens. On flickr you can tell what settings were used, says something about the type of file that's uploaded with your picture, forget the name. So you could tell, if the settings were outside the range of the lens, whether someone cheated or not. That way it's a competition for everyone who's on the same par gear wise, so you have to work those creative skills.?

Nice idea! I'll give that some thought,

Dave

Arciphel

digitalbeginner wrote: »

There was some "X-Factor" type voting were certain entrants obviously sent out plea's to large email databases, so we have to figure out what to do there.

Dave

So does that mean this guy is going to win?

digitalbeginner

Arciphel wrote: »

So does that mean this guy is going to win?

Thanks for that, needed a laugh today,

Dave

Arciphel

Chunky Monkey wrote: »

On flickr you can tell what settings were used, says something about the type of file that's uploaded with your picture, forget the name.

Hey Chunky Monkey, you mean the EXIF data? I believe there is ways around that too if you try hard enough ... but do you think that, for instance, the winner of the street photo comp achieved that by having superior gear? I'd be interested to see what the winning shot was taken with, my hunch would be it was nothing more fancy that a dSLR with kit lens or a bridge camera. if it was sports or something like that then i agree, you need pro gear, but for street photography i think most people would be using basic kit?

Covey

digitalbeginner wrote: »

There was some "X-Factor" type voting were certain entrants obviously sent out plea's to large email databases, so we have to figure out what to do there.


Dave

Always likely to happen.

Which is why imo you should have stuck to/ revert to the original basis for judging.

Also, I think if you're having further comps the entrants names shouldn't be in the title.

Arciphel

Covey wrote: »

Which is why imo you should have stuck to/ revert to the original basis for judging.

In fairness I can understand the voting, from the point of view of raising awareness in the competition, and getting the name of the website out there.

The wording on the website says that the votes will "help" to pick the winner, not directly decide the winner. So, as far as i can see, what the voting people are really doing is not deciding the winner, but taking part in a competition also; one where, if they are correct in choosing one of the top three images, they can win a digital camera also.

Dave, am I right or wrong here?

==========================================================

"THE COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED BUT WE'RE IN A REAL BIND. THE QUALITY OF PHOTOS ENTERED IS SO HIGH THAT WE NEED YOUR HELP IN CHOOSING THE WINNERS.

Here's all you have to do.

- Click on the email link at the bottom of your chosen photo in the Gallery

- Type in the name of the photo you think is the best

- Type in your name and address

- Send off the email

If you choose one of the 3 winning photos your name will be put into a draw for a Compact Digital Camera. Entries must include your name and address. Only one vote per person is allowed. Multiple entries will disqualify all the votes from that person. "

duffarama

Chunky Monkey wrote: »

How about a competition where you enter pictures using the exact same gear as everyone else eg Nikon D40 with kit lens. On flickr you can tell what settings were used, says something about the type of file that's uploaded with your picture, forget the name. So you could tell, if the settings were outside the range of the lens, whether someone cheated or not. That way it's a competition for everyone who's on the same par gear wise, so you have to work those creative skills.

Surely you mean using "similar" gear rather than exactly the same, you could have a competition with DSLR's and their respective kit lenses so that more people could enter and it would be a relatively equal playing field.

Apart from my camera having a superior kit lens to you Canon and Nikon folks

Covey

Best way to have equality of gear (not that I think thats neccessary) is get everyone to use a disposable camera. Pre-define a few basic PS amendments allowed (non photo altering stuff) and off you go.

Not a bad idea actually:cool:

Thirdfox

By the way Dave can people who have entered the competition vote for others? I haven't voted yet just in case...

Paulw

Like the kit lens on the 5D being the 24-105mm f/4 IS L lens?
Or the 40D with the 17-85mm IS lens?

I wouldn't mind using a kit lenses like that.

Of course, some camera bodies don't have a kit lens - (eg 1D MkIII, 1Ds MkIII)

Thirdfox

Arciphel wrote: »

Hey Chunky Monkey, you mean the EXIF data? I believe there is ways around that too if you try hard enough ... but do you think that, for instance, the winner of the street photo comp achieved that by having superior gear? I'd be interested to see what the winning shot was taken with, my hunch would be it was nothing more fancy that a dSLR with kit lens or a bridge camera. if it was sports or something like that then i agree, you need pro gear, but for street photography i think most people would be using basic kit?

A Leica M8 rangefinder might give you a better candid shot... or a 400mm f2.8 for far away candids. Similarly fisheye lenses will give a pretty unique perspective too.

Of course the basic kit lens should do fine for street photography. But the noise levels of a 5D or D3 would make it much more visually appealing than say a Panasonic FZ18 at iso1600

But at this level I'm sure the equipment shouldn't be too limiting for people

Covey

Thirdfox wrote: »

By the way Dave can people who have entered the competition vote for others? I haven't voted yet just in case...

Well I voted & not for myself I hasten to add:D. Why not?

Thirdfox

Paulw wrote: »

Like the kit lens on the 5D being the 24-105mm f/4 IS L lens?
Or the 40D with the 17-85mm IS lens?

I wouldn't mind using a kit lenses like that.

Of course, some camera bodies don't have a kit lens - (eg 1D MkIII, 1Ds MkIII)

You'd have to build your own in that case...

http://www.debevec.org/Pinhole/