[normhead]

Having set up a Booth at a few fairs, I have a feeling for how this works.... a good number of the people who go by my booth don't stop. Of the ones that stop, about half go inside and go through the print bins, or otherwise hang around, because they saw something they liked. Of the ones that hang around maybe 1 in 10 actually buy a print. So maybe of the several thousand people who are at the fair. Maybe 4 or 5 buy a print. A fellow photographer exhibitor tells me that it's a law of numbers. The more people attend a fair, the more prints you'll sell.

So the way I see it, it has nothing to do with the quality of the image. Not when you see the quality of the submissions. It's about satisfying the artistic preferences of the judges involved, and that is pretty much a crap shoot. That's why it's a contest, not a competition. The guy who wins, will have an image, where none of the selected judges dislike his print enough to stop the one or two who like it from declaring it the winner. And the thing is, in art, it's always like that. A different set of judges, a different result. The same judges on a different day ,a different result.

You can't take these things too seriously. All I know is at the craft fairs, someone turns up and buys one of your pictures. Or one of the pictures taken by one of the other photographers that are exhibiting their work. If you start trying to analyze it and ascribe meaning to it, you're going to go crazy. If you participated, you had a chance, it just wasn't your day.

[ChristianRock]

Well, hopefully no one takes this thread seriously.

But Norm, you do have a point... in any art form, it's never about what is "best", just what whoever judges thinks it's best according to their own personal taste. I've been a musician for a lot of years now and I see it in music as well. Certain formats seem more popular than others at times, and then the trends change. It's just the nature of how things are.

I see a big diversity in the pictures that were selected, and that's a good thing. Let's see how it all plays out. In the meantime, we, the losers, can watch how the contest continues from the comfort of our couches eating popcorn

[micromacro]

I kind of feel guilty not reviewing even 30% of pictures. Because it's impossible! It's too much to give an attention to every picture. I saw lots of them with 0 responses, and lots of them deserved responses. No harsh feelings I hope

[ChristianRock]

Same here. I don't even know the percentage that I reviewed, though I do recognize quite a few that I nominated that made it to the final list.

But yeah there was no way someone could view them all unless they had a lot of time in their hands...

[micromacro]

But yeah there was no way someone could view them all unless they had a lot of time in their hands...

So, the main problem is too much Pentax lovers.

[normhead]

So, the main problem is too much Pentax lovers.

No I think it might be too many people want a free K-3. Some of them are just wannabe Pentax lovers.

[micromacro]

Some of them are just wannabe Pentax lovers.

I noticed that the most of them are already Pentax users

[Clicker]

This forum has a LOT of photographic talent, any contest held here will have nothing but winners, choosing just one is not an easy task. Just know you're in good company when you decide to show your work here and you're competing with the best around!

[mee]

This forum has a LOT of photographic talent, any contest held here will have nothing but winners, choosing just one is not an easy task. Just know you're in good company when you decide to show your work here and you're competing with the best around!

That is exactly why I deleted my entry shortly after posting it. I realized it was pointless for me to attempt to compete. So many fantastic, very skilled photographers here. And, the way I see it, if I get the urge to share my photos, I can do that any time without the pressure of a competition.


That said, it opened my eyes to the amount of wonderful photographers in the 'neighborhood.'

The odd thing I found about the entries was through the use of an EXIF addon for Firefox that automatically posts basic info (camera make and model, lens, shutter, aperture and iso) as an overlay when the mouse cursor is scrolled over and image with this exif info embedded. What I found is that there were a large amount of people competing with a K-3 already! hahaha I mean come on.. you already have a K-3. I hope someone with like a K-m and the kit lens or something equally old wins the camera.

[normhead]

That is exactly why I deleted my entry shortly after posting it. I realized it was pointless for me to attempt to compete. So many fantastic, very skilled photographers here. And, the way I see it, if I get the urge to share my photos, I can do that any time without the pressure of a competition.


That said, it opened my eyes to the amount of wonderful photographers in the 'neighborhood.'

The odd thing I found about the entries was through the use of an EXIF addon for Firefox that automatically posts basic info (camera make and model, lens, shutter, aperture and iso) as an overlay when the mouse cursor is scrolled over and image with this exif info embedded. What I found is that there were a large amount of people competing with a K-3 already! hahaha I mean come on.. you already have a K-3. I hope someone with like a K-m and the kit lens or something equally old wins the camera.

The trouble with owning one K-3 is knowing the kind of withdrawal you'd experience if you ever had to send it in for repair. Or to put it another way, they're addictive, having one K-3 makes you want more. It's like heroin, those of us who haven't tried it don't miss it. Those who use it regularly can't get enough.

[PrincessLuna]

No K-3 for me. No K-3 for you!

Next time, I'll just post a kitty cat. Everybody loves kitty cats.

Oh I love kitty cats the are so adorable[COLOR="Silver"]

[Hydnum]

There aren't any losers.
I tried my best to get through the entries, but load time wouldn't allow me to. With that said, I tried to put myself in a judges position. I wanted to see something different.
I love macro photos of bugs, for instance. But to me, that's not different. Composition and lighting were more important to me than the subject.
I like norms post above the best. Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, or in this case, the judges.
Awesome entries, everyone!
K-3less in Ontario, Canada - For now!

[ruggiex]

There are so many talents out there I never expected to get to second round. Nonetheless, getting a few thumbs up still makes me happy. Nothing lost but got some inspirations from many other entries.