It's time for the 2007 DG Photo Contest!

Nothing can replace the eye of a good photographer, Dinu. I'm sure you'd agree.

Someone once commented on a photo I took and said, "Well, you have a good camera" so I told them if they cooked a good meal they must have good pots.

If someone praises me saying I have a good camera, I'd not be more proud. For I know he or she is really and actually praising me. Anyone who has learnt the Metonymy will not differ with me.
Jianhua

My point may have been mistaken: The best camera in the hands of someone who isn't a good photographer does not guarantee a good photo any more than good pots guarantee a good meal.

As I've mentioned above, two of my selected photos were sent in. It's indifferent for me to win or not to win; the most important is that I join in and get joy from it.
I am just thinking if the winners will give each of the photos something behind it, that would be more fun. Looking forward to enjoying the winning photos.
Jianhua

I've entered half a dozen photos that mean a lot to me and I want to share them. But I know my skills are wanting and a sharp pic is often more accident than intent. lol Some of last year's pics are just awesome!

pirl,
I understand the point clearly. And I am with Jianhua and my reaction would be exactly the same as his. I gleefully accept appreciation as I know the other person will view it in his/her perspective, but will be proud and satisfied with shots that pleases me more. These contests are and should be more about sharing the best and not the intention of winning, in my opinion. Participation is the key. It's so enjoyable to view the best from the best others share. What we think as a very good shot may not be viewed that way by others, whereas other lesser rated [by ourselves] will find appreciation from others.... it happens to everybody for that same reason. Same holds good with painters and cartoonists, even writers. So it is the fun of participating here. I look forward to seeing others' bests.

Dinu

I've entered a bunch of pics. Some of them, I know, are not super quality. But I find that my photography has improved with my digital cameras because of the instant feedback. And I also know that depth of field and quality of sharpness often do vary with the camera. Most of my close-ups are taken with a Fuji E510. Nice little camera, but I've never been happy with the depth of field. Our larger Canon A610, I think, does a better job. And we recently bought a cheap little HP camera, basically to keep in my suitcase so that we don't go on vacation again w/o any camera, but so far I'm not impressed with the quality. At least it's no worse than the disposable film camera we bought for the occasion. But I think you probably get, to a certain degree, what you pay for. The rest is composing the pictures and lighting and all the things that make really good pics really good.
Ann

I hope the winners do get some prizes. They should at least get a couple of calendars for free. Maybe you could ask the advertisers/forum sponsors for gift certificates or a donation of products. If not this year, maybe something to keep in mind for next year.

When can we order the calendar and how much will it be? What size is it going to be?

My photos are all 2016x1134 pixels. I realize that's a bit large. What size would you prefer the uploaded pics to be?

I think they'll automatically be resized down when you upload them. Only reason to shrink them first is if you're on dialup and want to speed up the time it take to upload them.

THANKS! =)

Eggs, 640 X 480 is the perfect size for quick downloads and viewing. (That's also the perfect size for sending pics via emails.)

On another note, I wonder what size Dave would need the pics to be for a "high resolution" pic that would be usable for the winning pictures for the calendar. Any idea, folks? (Does that mean keep a copy that is quite a bit bigger?)

Shoe

This is my understanding of the photos we post on DG.
Photos are resized and recompressed as they are uploaded, so it’s always best to start with a high-quality image.
It's best for the quality of the photo used for the calendar to be 1600X1200 or larger.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.

You're correct, they're downsized automatically when they're uploaded. I'm sure Dave will let people know what the best size is to send for the calendar if you win--bigger would be better in that case.

Yes, the original image that came off your digital camera would be the "high resolution" image.

Each winner will get a calendar for free! And the idea of partnering with some of our sponsors to get gift certificates or some-such is a great idea but we don't have enough time to do it this year. Let's see about doing it next year indeed! We even have a staff at HQ that can work to talk the vendors into the idea. :-)

dave

That would be great to have prizes. It is just fun for me but some members on here have a very high level of expertize. It would be nice to see them win something.
Teresa in KY

Please clarify for this beginner.....

Is using "Fill Light", "Highlights", "Shadows" and "Color Temp" to edit a photo considered photo enhancement?

greesfolly, this is about as clear (if general) as we can make it and keep things fair for all: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4048447

I'm afraid I don't have the camera expertise to start going down an exhaustive list of advanced photo enhancement techniques and making a judgment call on each of them ;o)

Thanks, Terry.

greersfolly,
I'll try to explain a bit for you about those enhancement techs.

Fill light - it will brighten your photo in all areas - useful in under-exposed shots.

Highlights - it will brighten the lighter areas of the picture.

Shadows - it will darken the darker areas of the picture - useful in over-exposed shots to some extent.

Colour Temp. - Useful if you want to slightly alter the depth of certain colours to make the subject's colours look as natural as possible. [Not sure this explanation is right or not].

Wow! Just wanted to let you know how excited I am to have entered a few lovely photos in the contest. Although not a professional photographer, I love to take these great snapshots of the wildflowers & ferns. Great to have found daves this year and others enjoy what I see each and every day.

I just went to double check my entries and it seems that one is duplicated. Did I do something wrong?

Delete one.

Just did so. I entered others this a.m. and they are all duplicating. I just simply went ahead and deleted one of each.

Dinu, thank you. I understand the function of those features. What I would like to know, is whether the use of those features is considered "enhancement" of photos for the DG photo contest.

I sometimes use the "unsharp" tool in Photoshop - it can make things a bit more clear (i.e. feathers on a bird). And I wonder if that is too much altering to make it acceptable.

Murmur, there seems to be a lot of ambiguity in "don't add an elephant beside the elephant ears". I guess I will let my entries stand as is. It is highly unlikely that any of them will be chosen as I am such an amateur photographer.

Greers, that's me as well - don't exactly know why I'm even worried about it - lol!!! Thanks.

this may be crazy on my part but when i go to look at pictures from other I do not find anyone but mine ???
& it says 109 entries . anyone tell me what I might be doing wrong ??
I'd love to view other pictures being sent in .

susie

You can't see the other pics yet--once the submission period is over, then things will be opened up for voting. But until then all you can see is your own pics.

We have to wait anxiously for the deadline for them to appear for our voting

Ok ty for the info just thought i was having a blond moment :)
susie rd

Can anything go into Miscellaneous or just what's not categoried?

I Think it means anything, At least I hope so.

Many shots we take are oftentimes unplanned and there will be no time to change the required setting on the camera. Esp. when an insect or a bird has to be shot. You are not sure how long it stays there for your shot. For flowers we have time to make any adjustments. So we have to get satisfied with whatever shot of an insect or a bird or a butterfly ends up. It's my experience, though very short. We are taking flower shots and suddenly an insect or a bird is spotted and we have no mood to miss them! Hope it is the same with everybody else, unless one has 'seen it all before'!

Dinu

It's those rare moments when we're focused on a flower and a butterfly or bee stops to check it out that we can snap and capture nature at work that makes photography so rewarding.

what is “cropping”?
I think of something else that is not photo related :o)))

Cropping is removing extraneous matter from an image.

Obviously, not what you're thinking!

Exactly, that s why I asked
Thanks

Hey Dave,

Where do you want water plants to go? This is my second request for a response.

Another idea for next year's calendar is to have the sponsors underwrite the printing of the calendar in exchange for credit on the calendar page they sponsor (just a thought.)

Maybe you could even have a national invite to all Dave's members to a national gardening convention where you unveil the calendar in the future.