Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/02/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi Brian, Having gone through this judging/word thing more times than I can remember both with amateur clubs and professional organizations. The photograph must be judged on "what you see first." If there's a question, "What is this?" and an explanation is required it becomes a judges call even if one judge asks. Then the photographer is asked discreetly what is? Then judges have a discussion in whether they feel the picture and words make or break the picture. And how well the moment was captured, then decision made. In that way the anonymity is retained because only the photographer knows his photo is in question without alerting everyone. My gut feeling is I'd have gone with the judges even if I knew this was snow in Iraq. I'd like to say, Mads is a damn fine photographer as we've seen in his work. However I don't think this is one of his all time super fantastic photographs and I'd put money on it that given second thoughts he'd probably agree. ted -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+tedgrant=shaw.ca@leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+tedgrant=shaw.ca@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Brian Reid Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2008 9:36 AM To: LUG@leica-users.org Subject: [Leica] observation on the LUG Photo Contest The photo contest is anonymous. Unless the entrant's work is well enough known that you can look at it and say "Oh, yes, that's by Steve Barbour" then the judges look only at the image itself. The image that came in dead last in the January contest was this one, entitled "Snow 5": http://contest.leica-users.org/main.php/v/0801/IMG_4117.jpg.html Once the results of the contest were published and I saw that this image was by Mads Christensen, who lives in Iraq, my opinion of the image totally changed. Suddenly the brown parts of the image weren't just "brown crud" they were "sands of Iraq", and suddenly the little patches of snow took on a much more complex meaning. Mads is, to my knowledge, the only LUGger who lives in Iraq or who has been there recently, so if he had given this picture a caption identifying it as "Snow in Iraq" we would all have known whose image it was. I'm not a judge, but like all of the rest of you I have opinions about photographs, and I find that now that I know what this picture is, I'm fascinated by it, especially by the "Full size" version. But the knowledge that it came from Iraq, and was therefore taken by Mads Christensen, is a necessary part of that fascination. Curious. I don't think it would work to revise contest rules, but this might be worth thinking about. _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.19.19/1256 - Release Date: 2/2/2008 1:50 PM