It's time to vote for the winners of the 2008 photo contest

Had a over load, all better now I hope.
Hey Red, It is funny to see pic out of place, but have to admit I did it last year with a mushroom, didn't know where it belonged. LOL
Have fun.

OMG have you seen the roses!!!! I may need to apply for a voting extension. I've decided to give points for caption and/or story because it adds to the essence and ambiance of the photo. And I'm giving points for love. There's some pics that aren't fancydancy but you can see there was alot of love put into the arrangement or choosing the scene. I think that's important.

Victor, I totally agree I have been in all, saved it for last. O MY It does need 2 diff. cats. This is going to be the hardest. LOL
And I thought insects where hard. I am picking pics that I would like to look at for a month and also to think about the month that they might fit in.
There are sooo soooo many great photos, and some I can't wait to find out who the owner is of some of them. cause I want that plant LOL
Cheerio off again. Ha Ha

I'm doomed. I'll never whittle it down to 3 let alone 10 in some catagories. I'm beginning to hate the 'skip' button. Also I feel really bad when there is a photo that doesn't belong in the catagory its in. I don't feel it's fair to vote for it because its mis-entered but sometimes its a fabby photo for another catagory. I just got all misty over the Pet catagory, how can you 'skip' there? Note to self: 'stick to rocket science, judging is not your forte'.

Sorry DN but don't vote for a miss entered photo, stay focus on the titled.
This is my 2nd year learn alot last year.

Oh Dave Please do, would be so helpful.
Thank you.

Stiff competition this year for sure!

Yes it is tough LOL but I like a challenge. LOL

One of the hardest issues i'm having in trying to determine how much editing in a picture is too much editing, If that makes any sense. There are some really striking photos that aren't necessarily unreal by most descriptions, just something like the colors are for more saturated than they actually are in nature, in any light conditions. To compare an absolutely wonderful shot where the colors have been intensified with a really nice shot, but not quite as bright but very real, has become a bit of an issue for me.

Sometimes that's not editing, sometimes it's the camera. If I do AutoMode on my SLR camera, they all come out darker. I use Picasa to pop up the brightness just enough to make it natural looking as close as possible. I see many images that are too dark and could use this simple yet effective editing. I have seen some images where they clearly have been enhanced with color but if you look at the foliage, you can usually tell, it becomes an unnatural looking blue green usually. For some colors like purples, reds and oranges, some cameras really have a hard time with correcting reflecting the colors so there again, it may not be something that's done with editing.

This message was edited Nov 3, 2008 7:21 PM

How do you mean? if its over intensified or not a clear shot, then its not what we want to see on a calendar, you need to think of it will look like on one.

I have to say that the quality is way up this year, and makes the voting part all the more difficult... but fun! Gonna take me a while though... only able to manage three categories for the night. I have only seen one obviously enhanced photo so far. Hats off to everyone!

Sue, it sounds to me as if you've seen the ones then that have some odd colors going on. There's not very many of them really and the pictures are pretty that way.

Tilly, if I have time later tonight, I'll dmail you examples. It will be quite late though, but still not after your bedtime :-p

This message was edited Nov 3, 2008 7:31 PM

This year I would like to ask respectfully that no comments be made about photo entries that can be identified in your discussion before the judging ends. Each of us must use our own ways of judging the photos and sometimes, unintentionally I am sure, comments can be interpreted as swaying votes. Last year this tended to be an issue that perplexed some of us. Some plants end up in the Miscellaneous Category because they can be an annual in one geographic area and a perennial in a different location. Sometimes the PlantFiles does not note that the plant may be both an annual and a perennial. Some plants I have found are identified as an annual by some sources and a perennial by others. Perhaps that is why some are in the Miscellaneous Category. I noticed that some photos have date stamps. Please remember that these might be able to be removed if the photo wins 1st Place using a graphics program if they can not be cropped.

Please do not assume that a photo has been enhanced if the reds, blues or purples are true or if they are not right on.. My newer camera captures these colors perfectly if set correctly; however, my previous cameras did not do so well with them. It depends upon the camera's CCD. Some photos have a bluish-green to the foliage because the plant was in the shade when the photo was taken, because of the camera settings (some have "Vivid" color setting as well) and/or because of the time of day. Please do not assume that a photo has been enhanced because it is unique or somewhat off color. Some of my best photos may appear to be enhanced and they aren't. I just get "lucky" sometimes. I am sure that is the case with many people who entered photos. Also, please do not start a discussion about professional photographers' and nonprofessional photographers' entries or its not fair that some people have expensive cameras and others don't. How does one know which photo was taken by a professional photographer or a nonprofessional photographer or with an cheapy camera or an expensive camera - besides what does it matter anyway? I am hoping that you guys are not referring to any of my photos not that they are all that great. Let's not begin this type of discussion this year as was done last year because it is just not fair to everyone.

This message was edited Nov 3, 2008 10:09 PM

This is my day off, I never know what time I give up and go to bed LOL

Au't O

Yikes!

I want them all to win. Great job everyone!

Htop, that is not really what we met. I known the rules this is my 2nd year. LOL
Have fun.

This is my first year participating in the contest. While I did not want to submit any photos for this year's contest, I did go through and choose my picks for winners. Sob! My eyes hurt from beholding so much beauty! : )
I think that Dave has done a great job of making it easy for fumble fingered people like myself to navigate through the contest judging. It's not his fault that there are so many wonderful photographers out there who like to share their photos. Even better is, that Dave made it so if we change our minds, we can change our picks. He has been very nice about suggestions (i.e. thumbnails), and has worked very hard to make this contest fair to everyone.
Judging is really a subjective thing. Everyone must decide for themselves what touches them about a photo. For some it may be a great professional shot, for some it make evoke a memory of a time and place even if it is out of focus. I know that there are things I don't like about some photos, and other things that I do. I think what I am learning is what I like about photos that others take, and what I don't, which will help me in the future while taking my photos.
What I do see, is people who find beauty everywhere. As noted above, not everyone has the same camera, and even if they did, I doubt any two people would come up with exactly the same picture of the same subject. It depends on so many factors, some of which the photographer can control, some they can not. The idea is to have a good time, and choose the pictures that speak to you.
Dave, I wanted to thank you again for providing this wonderful forum for avid gardeners around the world, and the time and the technological expertise you have put in to keep up and maintain this site. You are truly wonderful.
Walk In Beauty!
SingingWolf

tillysrat, thanks. I am having a great time. I will probably go through them all a few more times before I make my final selections. I posted the comments above only because for 2 years the discussions about the photos entered became a little heated at times before the judging closed and I hope that everyone will just enjoy the beauty of all of the entries and not attempt to decipher whether a photo has been obviously enhanced. I came to a totally wrong conclusion one year and regretted it immensely. Dave, I am sure, intends the contest to be a pleasurable experience for everyone.

I'm so much enjoying all the great photos! I agree with htop that it is sometimes very difficult to tell for certain whether a photo has been enhanced. One of my all-time favorite photos that my husband took years ago looks very much enhanced but there was not one bit of alteration to it. Sometimes cameras just capture light and color in unexpected ways.

Wow! This is really tough! I'm having to get in Simon Cowell mode to narrow my favs down to 10! There's usually something in every pic I love, so I've had to set up strict requirements to be favorites.

wow that was really hard.... great job everyone!

I truly don't know how I will ever decide!!! So many wonderful photos to choose from. I think the more I look the more confused I become. LOL
I THOUGHT my pictures were half way decent..... they don't stand a chance. Maybe next year.....
Love seeing all the beautiful images.

Singing Wolf, I agree with you! This is a great way to see what other photography people are doing and to learn more about what makes a good picture. It can be very personal and perhaps not really about technical issues, this kind of contest. I find that I gravitate toward images that somehow resonate to me on a gut level. As with any kind of art. It is so cool we can do this! Thanks, Dave!

For me, it does boil down to the "art" of the images, how the photo makes me feel (happy, sad, excited), and not the technical at all. I, too, am having a wonderful, but trying, time deciding... especially the bug shots!! They are fantastic!

This is Really hard. I've only done the first three and my head and eyes are reeling. They are all so beautiful and some are just outstanding. So many outstanding photos that the narrowing is really hard. Love it though.

Its funny in a way, we worked so hard to pick are own pics for the contest and then to look at thousands more. and only get to pick 3 from each cat. I get so many free calenders at this time of the year, the photos on them to not come close to what I have seen here.

Its all good htop, I do recall some last year.

Good luck all
I am having fun.

I have now resorted to printing off my top 20 in a catagory and laying them all over the floor like a big gallery viewing. Furniture moving may be required. Just a tip if you're having SERIOUS issues with choosing like me. Score is: 1 catagory down: 13 to go.

edit: Don't go back. Never ever ever revisit or you will be doomed like me.

This message was edited Nov 4, 2008 1:22 PM

Don't kill yourself,
I have 3 cats left.

dahlianut,
Try sleeping on it and see if that helps you to narrow the field. I had an incredible time yesterday viewing and choosing. There are so many talented photographers, and so many excellent photographs to chose from. I had sore eyes after completing all the categories.
It was well worth the exercise and a real pleasure to see all the beauty captured from all over the world. The landscapes were outstanding. You know, every single entry touched me on some level, which is why it is so hard to choose only three from each category.
I agree with Aunt_A, all who entered are winners! Many thanks to all of you photographers who shared their photos. Even if you don't make the calendar you've given a lot of people a chance to see the world through your eyes. Not just for now, but for as long as Dave's Garden grows.
Walk In Beauty, Be of Good Heart!
SingingWolf

So true !!!!

Thanks singingwolf. I think I will have to try a few sleeps on some of them. They are so beautiful.

I'm done, major stiff neck and headache, may go back between now and closing just to review.
I have to say, it was very hard to make each choice. you all are great photographers. I pat you all on the back.

This is only my second year for the contest. I put one pic in last yr and 22 in this year. It is very rewarding in it self to see your own pics in here but seeing these awsome photos that some have taken just overwhelms me. I am done with my voteing. I do it fast because if I didn't I would not finish by the deadline. You are all wonderful photograhers. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" Thanks Dave and all for all the hard work and I am already to take photos for next year!!!! BEV

I go for the first impression approach during the first pass. I try to move very quickly - if a picture resonates with me, I quickly save it. Otherwise, I pass by very quickly. The hard part is the second pass - I take much longer to pick my top 3. That being said, they are all great pictures and I often go back after I'm done to look at all of them more closely.

I have the turtle approach and look at every pic carefully and then after many passes whittle it down to the top 20. Then the gallery approach is working for me. Perhaps that is why the score is just 3 down: 11 catagorys to go (snort). I'll probably still be in the contest matrix when Dave closes the voting and be stuck in there til next year. If I disappear on the 17th please send someone to free me. Thanks muchly. OMG only 12 more voting days :O I better get back at it!

Songsof joy,

I pretty much do it the same way. It is like--"click"...."click"....."click".....I do not linger too much. It either 'resonates" with me as a good photo--or it does not.

Dahlianut--Oh, my God! You print hem out?????? 20 per category?
Do you realize how much toner/ink you are using up? And that is not a cheap product!
I would say--just look and make a decision--do you want to "save it" or not?
The good part is that all the ones you "saved" are now in a bigger format and all there for you to compare.

I am sure we all have our ways.....I make a snap decision--and it is either gone--or saved.

Gita

Dave, Was going to make Thumbnails for are choises, but I guess now that the voting has already started he can't change it. maybe next year, I hope.
But Dhaila, don't go overboard, LOL I know its hard. they where mostly pretty much easy, until I got to Insects and scenic now that was really hard. Be easy on youself.