Hello everyone,



I am very happy to announce that an idea we've had in the back of our minds for a good while has finally been brought to life! Today we're officially unveiling the PentaxForums Exclusive Gallery, which is conceptually similar to Pentax's PPG. At first, we wanted this gallery to also appear fancy and have cool effects, but we found that other solutions wouldn't offer the level of integration that this one did. So, let's jump right in to what we're looking at here.

Our Exclusive Gallery will become a collection of only the best photos taken by our users. Only PentaxForums.com users will be able to submit to this gallery. We will also be imposing certain quality standards to make sure the photos are at their very best.

To submit a photo to the gallery, simply click the 'upload' link in the upper gallery toolbar, or click here. The submission form is the same as that in our other gallery categories, so you should already be familiar with the controls. The following will be required of each photo:

• JPEG format and compression at 90%-100% (9-12).
• A resolution of at least 1024x700 (WxH or HxW) pixels; preferably around 1500 or 2000px on one edge
  
• Full EXIF left intact in the file, if digital
• Manual addition of EXIF metadata, if film
  
• A photo description and complete camera/lens fields
• If you choose to place copyright text in your photo, please do so in the lower-right or lower-left corner only
• No added frames, borders, or drawings
  
• Taken with a Pentax camera (no exceptions)
• Limit 2 submissions per user day (to be fair to our judges)
  

If your photo conforms to these regulations, it will then be evaluated by the site staff. If the photo is good enough, it'll be approved into the gallery; if not, we'll simply move it to a regular category. You will be able to submit as many photos as you'd like until 10 have been approved in the gallery. This limit is currently going to be in place so that every photographer gets about equal exposure, but may increase in the future.

Why this is going to be better than the PPG:

• Not a slow flash-based gallery
• Large resolutions will be available for your viewing pleasure
  
• Comments can be made
• More great photos will be posted!
• Feedback on your photo will be e-mailed to you once a decision has been made
• The approval decision will be made within 1 week at most (apply to be a judge)
  
• Status tracking at https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/galleryapprove.php?do=status and updates on status via e-mail
• It's integrated with your favorite photo forum
  

And, best of all:

• If 5 or your photos get approved into the gallery, you will be invited to become an Exclusive Gallery judge

So, why wait? Upload your best now!

A note to newbies: the gallery is accessible through the 'photos' button in the navbar. Simply click it and then select 'User Photo Gallery' from the menu.

Enjoy, guys! I'm very excited to be bringing you this.

Photos accepted into the gallery will also be tagged as "exclusive" in gallery searches and listings, and within the exclusive category, supersized thumbnails will be shown!

[whitelotus9]

Would it be possible (or feasible) to make PEG a true gallery for the PHOTOGRAPHIC abilities of the submiting photographers and NOT their ability to manipulate an image with PhotoShop or any other post processing? or perhaps what is needed is a PP-PEG and a NonPP-PEG. Now I realize that this might mean that some (perhaps a lot) of the photographers who have had photos accepted would find their photos no longer in PEG since they PP'd their way in vs photographed their way in...

While we're revamping things, perhaps it's high time to have quanitifiable, identifiable, "check the box" criterion for admission to PEG instead of letting it be a matter of some unknown judge's whim... That would ensure there would be much better consistancy and those submitting photos would know up front what is needed to be approved. And require a detailed rejection notice to help the submitter to know exactly why his/her photo did not make it.

[Adam]

Post-processing is a key part of digital photography- just like the darkroom was in the film era.

We could definitely use some more judges to keep the approval process as level-headed as possible. If you are interested in being a judge, you can apply here:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/profile.php?do=editusergroups

[jpzk]

Re: "The Exclusive Gallery".

When I look down on the forum home page, on the bottom right, I see "random premier photos" ... why am I seeing the same ones being shown time after time? Have you not enough "premier" pics to show for?
This is becoming a bit redundant.

Are those "premier" photos taken out of the "Exclusive Gallery" ?

JP

[Adam]

That particular sidebar module uses photos from album system half the time and the premier gallery categories (see the gallery for those) the other half.

Adam
PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide | Site Help | My Photography)



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[Chaos_Realm]

@Adam I was just curious whats going on with PEG at the moment? I submitted a shot a couple of weeks ago and it is still in the 'Pending Approval' stage. I was reading the guidelines at the start of this thread which indicate "The approval decision will be made within 1 week at most" The shot seems to be in limbo and might need a prod to keep it moving through the system.

[Adam]

I can tell you that it's really close to being approved, but it hasn't gotten enough votes yet. Once I remove judges that have been inactive, your photo should go through

[kengoh]

Adam, any chance of increasing the 10 photos limit?

[Adam]

Why not- let's make it 15!

[kengoh]

Why not- let's make it 15!

That's great! Hope to add another 5 to PEG.

[Adam]

FYI, PEG judges will now be able to see the text you put in the "description" field when voting for your photo, so we now encourage you to include any information you think may be relevant in this field, such as the goal of your photograph or meaning of a particular effect.

[PentaxRev]

Thanks for starting the new exclusive gallery. I have really enjoyed the quality of the shots found here. There are without exception incredible photographs... which I assume is the idea.

I would like to submit some of my photos as well but have a question regarding the resolution. In the EXIF data I'm not finding resolution listed. I'm probably overlooking something obvious, but how do I tell if an image falls within the resolution parameters? I will appreciate anyone's reply. Thank you!

[builttospill]

No problem. Resolution is listed in the first post, second bullet down:

A resolution of at least 900x500 pixels; preferably around 1500x1000.

[PentaxRev]

Adam, I've looked in the EXIF data of my pictures and am not seeing resolution listed there in a format similar to what's suggested in the guidelines 900X500 pixels; preferably around 1500X1000.) How do I determine if a picture shot falls within these parameters? I have a few shots that I think would fit well in the gallery but don't want to waste the judge's time by submiting something that doesn't qualify technically.

[Adam]

Right click on the photo and select properties and you'll see the image dimensions. This also works for images on the web.

[scatron]

In the past, I've been able to submit photos to the PEG by clicking [edit photo] and then selecting PEG from the category drop-down menu.

I tried that today but it didn't work - I get this message:

Dear scatron, you do not have permission to access this page or feature.

This could be due to one of several reasons:

You are trying to post an item for sale in the Marketplace, and do not meet the conditions to do so. Click here to donate and gain access! You must either be a Pentaxian or Site Supporter to use the Marketplace.
If you just registered, your account may still be awaiting e-mail conformation; you may not post until you click the activation link e-mailed to you following registration.
You are trying to make a post in a locked thread or administrative forum.
Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
If using the Marketplace feedback system, are you accidentally trying to leave feedback for yourself?

Is this method not valid anymore?