No kidding, man. If you don't like the rules, don't enter!

I wonder if people are starting to kvetch because there's an actual prize on the line (and a pretty nice one, at that)? Seems a shame.

 

I'm not very happy about this myself. I've been waiting for the right time to submit my picture and then it get's removed. I don't remember this being such an issue in the past contests. It's very hard for some amateures to get out and shot in that short amount of time. I've tried on several contests to shot something that month and just don't have that kind of time. That is what makes us amateurs.

May be you can make these contests last longer than 21 days to give us working folk and better chance at getting something shots for the contest.

 

I didn't even pay attention to the prize. It was the first time I entered. It was the disappointment of not seeing my picture & not knowing why it was "disqualified". I'm normally not a woman who creates a fuss but I just like to be treated with respect.

Lois

 

The problem with allowing people to enter pictures that were not taken in the month of the contest is that the people who are professional photographers (or even those that are just better than us amateures) have tons of photos that they could enter every month, so the same people would keep winning and us amateures would have very little chance. At least this way the competition is narrowed down to those people who had the opportunity to shoot something relevant to the topic, making it much more equal-opportunity.

Making the competition last longer is a great idea, but then of course it wouldn't be a monthly photo contest, or as much of a challenge.

It's my understanding that the calendar contest is open to everyone (or is it just made of the monthly winners?). Perhaps those people that feel they have some really great photos could just enter them into that. I took an incredible picture this month, but too late for the contest, so I figure I'll just try for the calendar instead.

My only gripe is that the topic doesn't get announced until a few days (sometimes a week) into the month, cutting down my chances at a good picture.

 

You have some good points there. perhaps I will just enter my photo to the calander as well.

 

I have my own exterior video camera rig on my car so the prize didn't mean anything, i just wanted to see how my photo skills compared to you guys....

I entered for fun.

 

Yea and then you have Exif editors...... So anybody can just change the info to show they took the photo the day before the contest entry date.


YEa but again with some of us amatuers don't have all the time in the world to go around taking specific photo's for the contests. Some of us only get to shoot when we get a chance to on our own. Again the best picture i had taken recently for a contest like this was from MOTD which was a month before the contest, how is that unreasonable?

So one of the best photo's some of us amatuers could take could be from a recent vacation or an event, but they're excluded because of a time technicality?????

If you think about it semi-pro and pro photographers are the ones that are going to have the move time to go out and take specific project style photo's on a whim......

 

We'll take reasonable measures to ensure the integrity of the contest. Personally, I think it's shabby, but if you'd rather rework exif on an old photo than take new ones or just accept that you won't have an entry that month, I can't stop you.

Have you seen how many contests I've entered? A handful. Maybe. And we're on the 18th one. Would I like to enter more? Sure. Do I have the time every month? No.

So enter it in the calendar contest or just post it on the camera and video forum to get feedback on the photo you're proud of the way it came out.

The monthly photo contest is here to present a challenge, a specific time period to shoot in, and then feedback in the voting compared to how other members of the forum did with the same constraints (including time).

It's not a technicality. The primary reason for having a topic is so that members have an opportunity to shoot with a topic in mind.

You'd be surprised how little time I get to shoot for the contests. I try to think about it each month, but do I get a photo in? Rarely.

 

Their contest and their rules to apply as they see fit.

Date on the camera hasn't matter before.

Why now all of a sudden.

Oh well guess I'll just retire the camera.

 

True dat.

 

Retire the camera based on a silly contest on a forum?


Comon guys, in all honesty,...I think some of you may be over reacting a bit... . There is always next month .

 

I have an idea: let's not have any rules. That way hundreds of photos could be entered every month!
I wanted to whine about the stupid flower theme last month because there aren't any around here! So I missed a month. BFD.

 

 

nm

 

As I have said already, since it's inception the contest has been about encouraging people to get out and shoot with a specific topic in mind.

In the earliest contests the vast majority of the entries were shot the month of the contest. The rules at that point "encouraged" new photos to be taken. Every now and then someone (most likely a contest regular) would PM me and say they would like to participate, had the perfect photo, but didn't have the time due to travel or what have you, and they would be back to shooting new work for the contest the month after, so please could I let this photo in. I'd generally say yes, and in the monthly poll we might have one photo that was taken prior to the topic being announced.

Move forward to about 6 months ago, more and more old photos start to come into the contest, and the rules did change so that "new" photos were now a stipulation of the contest, not just desired. This was done as an effort to cut down on the number of old photos entered in the contest.

Fast forward again to this month, the requirement for new photos is in place, and even with that in the contest information, about half of the photos submitted were clearly taken before the contest topic was announced.

It is unfair to those people who are playing by the rules of taking photos with the topic in mind (i.e. after the topic was announced) to allow half of the photos into the contest to be photos take with no prior knowledge of the topic to be accepted into the contest, just because they kind of fit the topic after the fact.

That being the case, it was time to take a harder line on enforcing the requirement for new photos to enable the spirit of the contest to continue forward for those that look forward each month to the topic announcement and then trying to figure out how to put their twist on it.

 

There's a very old saying that 'the letter of the law kills but the spirit of the law gives life'..

I think your rules are unneccesarily restrictive, bordering on arbitrary, for a site that is not even devoted to photography at all but to people who own MINI Coopers!! :impatient

If this were the National Photo Club or something, I might understand, but it's not is it?? Only a select few of your regulars are going to have the time resources to regularly go out and shoot ultra-specific photos in a three or four week timespan, and that unneccesarily excludes a very large number of the other members of this site that might otherwise get a foothold in photography.

Frankly, with the level of effort required to even get into your contest, the prize is hardly commensurate (no offense intended to Octane Guy).

I think this contest has become all about rules and regulations and totally ignores actual people having fun on this site. Really, if we want a bunch of frustrating exclusionary complicated rules all we'd have to do is call the IRS for help. I don't think that's what NAM is supposed to be about.

 

I'm already coming off as too grumpy on this one. I'll just say that I agree with BartMack for the most part. The fun has been sucked out.

I however like the idea of having a topic and going out and getting shots that comply. But OMG, the date on your camera has to be accurate or you get the boot! My date is now set sometime in the future around 2048... hope they still have MINIs then so I can get in next month! But since it's possible to have 04 and 05 MINIs at the 2006 MOT event back in 2003 I think I'll be OK.

Have fun everyone! But by god, you better follow the rules or your birthday will be taken away! Big Brother is always watching....

Super Happy Cheers!

 

This thread is amazing.

I have entered one contest. Only one, because I read the rules and did not qualify for others.

But I have taken other photos - for fun. And shockingly, I even shared some of those photos with others - for no prize, for no claim at winning a contest.

This contest is a fun idea, if you don't qualify, skip it. It is a voluntary contest with no real-world consequences. Have fun.

 

And, hey, this is a big forum. If you don't like the rules, start your own contest!

 

I'd like to interject my own thoughts on the subject:

I thought the highly encouraged but not strict rule was still in effect, and I agreed with it, especially when you're from a part of the country that the weather often makes it impossibly to participate in some months.

I was unaware the rule had changed to strict.
However, reading here that NAM started receiving an overabundance of old photos, I understand and agree with changing that rule. I could certinaly dig up and submit entries for pretty much every month, but I don't because (even when the rule wasn't strict) I wanted to play along and go out and shoot something specifically for the topic.

However, what I think is unfair is that entries were pulled at the last minute, without (privately) notifying the owner and giving them a chance to explain, correct, or submit something else. A simple technical error such as the date being off in your camera (How many of you still have your VCRs blinking at 12:00?) should not ruin all chances. We don't want the contest to be exclusive to just nerds who are pros at keeping every clock synced to the atomic signal (raising my hand...).

Another note, to those that are discluded. You are always welcome to start a thread for any photos you take. You will get just as much praise if not more as you would winning the contest. And as always some constructive criticism. Especially if you've been saving something up. We want to see it!

 

Now I'm getting PMs from Dave saying my sig doesn't meet the technical specifications of NAM :impatient this baloney is not for me.....

 

They started PMing people about their sigs being too big some time ago because well they are . Dave isn't picking on you

 

True enough, and in retrospect surveying the photos farther in advance would have been a good idea given that a number of entries were being excluded. I'd like to apologize to those affected for not having handled it that way.

I have to say it was quite surprising to see that less than half of the photos submitted for the contest were actually taken during the contest period. Out of the photos excluded it now appears that one photo was taken during the contest period that should have been in the poll, but was excluded because the EXIF indicated it was taken prior to the contest topic being announced. Really at this point there is no good recourse. All I can do is say I wish things had happened a little differently.


30 members and three vendors got that same exact PM two weeks ago. An additional 20 members got that same PM last night.

The 500x100 pixel signature size restriction has been in place for the past three years and many members have been contacted regarding it (the contacts didn't just start two weeks ago). A reminder of that limit was posted in the past two weeks in both site feedback and in the grille badge thread.

 

 

Dave, I agree it's too late now. But I would suggest repeating the landscape topic again later this year, both to give them another chance, and well, it's the one thing I have a lot of around here!