Possibly, I can't really comment on the reasons for choosing such an image but as for it being kosher, it's certainly not that. It's a half-decent amateur photoshop job with poor use of the liquify tool on the hair, masking still evident on the hands and shirt, the light not falling consistently (but a good try) between the two images or even on the main subject, different noise levels on the two images, etc, etc.

---

My Gallery

ABERS:

stu.mandry:

On a slightly different note - you've got to feel a bit sorry for the photographer in question - this thread could not of made easy reading today.

Stu

www.moonstonegallery.biz

That's called taking the rough with the smooth I think. We are all open to critism, that's what this is all about. Everybody tries to criticise constructively but sometimes you are left wondering why a picture is posted in the first place. 

So, wonder quietly, and not openly on the comment system. I, too, feel for the photographer reading today's comments. I share his disgust.

As I said on the image page, I chose the photo because it was the most colourful, dynamic and interesting shot I saw uploaded today. It might not 'tick the basics', whatever they might be, but it shows a lot more creative flair than much that is uploaded here. The comments system on this site is for constructive criticism. "Not my cup of tea" is not constructive. "It is a fix" is not constructive. "DCM you can do better than this" is not constructive. "DCM I am shocked" is not constructive. Addressing the DCM staff and not the photographer is not constructive. "Is it still April fools day?" is not constructive. Complaining that the user only has one image in his or her gallery is not constructive (do 10 average photos = 1 great photo?)

In future, if you have an issue with my selection, send me an email - otherwise, your comment will be removed without warning - and woe betide repeat offenders.

As for how POTD is selected, both Ant and I use the Recently Changed system to choose shots from the last 24 hours. Some days we need to go back further to find four images, other days we're overwhelmed with new images and have to add photos to a queue to showcase on other days. If you have photographs currently in your gallery that you feel 'missed the boat', you can always remove and resubmit.

---

James De Vile
digitalcameramagazine.co.uk
Future Publishing

Hi JD

I personally think what got many people's Goat today was the lack of comment and the reason why you choose the picture/ pictures in question. I for one like to read your take on a photo to see if I agree with your choice. When you took over the picking of the POTD , I commented on the forum that I liked the way you gave a reason for your choice. I think the misfortune of not seeing your reason today and your April 1st joke MPOTD just ruffled a few feathers .As fot resubmitting, I would like to resubmit one or two of my better shots, but because people have taken the time to comment on them, I just cant just remove the shot without losing their kind words and maybe upsetting one or two fellow DCMer's. Perhaps you could make it possible that a resubmitted photo could carry its comments over ! just a fought. Goodnight, see you in the morning.

Steve.....Conners777

---

My DCM gallery

I always look forward to the four pictures on the front page, hoping that one of mine just might be picked and knowing that generally most warrant being picked. But there seems to be quite a few photos from gallerys with only ONE photo submitted to the site reasantly. They only post the one photo then fade into the distance by not submitting anymore.which I find very annoying! not saying that regular posters should recieve all the credit, but credit where credit is due. I know when picking these photos your not going to know if they will post anymore but surely gallerys should have more than one photo in it before achieving  a front page shot!! Mind you when some have a good old moan the next thing you see is they have a POTD, Spooky!!

PS, One gallery I no of took over 280 photos before they got on the front page recently, so I've another 250 to go then, LOL.

PLEASE PICK MINE, GROVEL, GROVEL, LOL

Alan1j

---

http://community.dcmag.co.uk/photos/alan1js_gallery/default.aspx

JD:

So, wonder quietly, and not openly on the comment system. I, too, feel for the photographer reading today's comments. I share his disgust.

In future, if you have an issue with my selection, send me an email - otherwise, your comment will be removed without warning - and woe betide repeat offenders.

Can't take the rough with the smooth then JD? Your photographic judgement is just as open to criticism as the next person, or can you do no wrong? This is tantamount to censorship. By addressing your customers as though they were a bunch of schoolkids is not only insulting, it's downright rude. Now censor that!

---

FACES,STREET,PROTEST & CANDID
A BLOG
My Flickr

JD,

 

After re-reading your rant about yesterdays choice of POTD and what members have said about your choice . Ive just noticed that you have miss quoted what I wrote. "It is a fix", is a statement ! I wrote, "Is it a fix" which is a question, I was asking a question not making a statement. Just to put the record straight.

 

 Steve.................Conners777

---

My DCM gallery

JD:

If you have photographs currently in your gallery that you feel 'missed the boat', you can always remove and resubmit.

As soon as I read that, I saw a big opportunity for those wanting to abuse the system.

How many times are images allowed to be resubmitted before you decide (and not tell, going off what you've said yourself) that enough is enough? Once an image is removed from the gallery, all comments are removed, so when an image is readded, it's brand new. Also, allowing resubmissions will put a strain on the struggling gallery software itself.

Sorry JD, you obviously have more faith in humanity than I have.

---

Galleries: Monochrome : The best

JD:

 If you have photographs currently in your gallery that you feel 'missed the boat', you can always remove and resubmit.

So lets think about this - 72,120 members all entitle to gallery space (though not all using it) are being told that if we dont pick your best picture remove it and re submit - If every gallery owner decided to do this how would you find time to look at all the pictures. If they all decided to remove and re submit 5 picture every day would your server stand up to the traffic.
OK it wont happen but just think if it did.... not the most sensible suggestion I've ever seen on here.

RPOTD does not have to be picked from the most recent submissions but it is obviously the easiest way to do it. I would like, if I may to make a suggestion. Would it be practical to ask the programmers to come up with a system that allows gallery owners to highlight a picture in their gallery that they would like considered - you could then view just the nominated pictures and could pick one. If the system as is can allow you to see all the new submissions it should be easy to view user nominated ones.To prevent abuse there should be a way of ensuring only one nominated picture in a gallery. Any new nomination would have to cancel any existing nomination - thats not hard to do.

"In future, if you have an issue with my selection, send me an email - otherwise, your comment will be removed without warning - and woe betide repeat offenders."

Are threats of this nature really in the right place on this - the most civilised of forums....

---

"Every day is a nice day - if you wake up - even nicer if you are dining at Cann Office"

My gallery

ABERS:

JD:

So, wonder quietly, and not openly on the comment system. I, too, feel for the photographer reading today's comments. I share his disgust.

In future, if you have an issue with my selection, send me an email - otherwise, your comment will be removed without warning - and woe betide repeat offenders.

Can't take the rough with the smooth then JD? Your photographic judgement is just as open to criticism as the next person, or can you do no wrong? This is tantamount to censorship. By addressing your customers as though they were a bunch of schoolkids is not only insulting, it's downright rude. Now censor that!

No, it's not. The photo itself is open to criticism, and through it a constructive explanation of why you don't agree with the choice, but addressing DCM, myself or Ant within the comments system will result in removal. Not as censorship, but as a reminder that everyone is human, people like different things and making a comment about your surprise at the selection while offering no worthy criticism is not permitted on this site. A bunch of school kids sums up perfectly the feeling someone will get from reading the comments left on that image, and insulting and downright rude does well to describe them also.

As for your 'now censor that!' comment, this isn't the Daily Mail, and there are no Orwellian battles to be won.

To everyone else, I can understand entirely that my lack of explanation at the time was a contributing factor, and can only apologise for that. Ant's on holiday, and I'm doing two people's jobs, as well as writing reports to bring to long, daily meetings about how to make this site better.

Finally, and in regards to my 'you could always resubmit' comment, that was bordering on farce; if you really feel the need to resubmit your shots in order to get them in the runnings for POTD, you'd have already done that by now, stripping out any EXIF data to suggest it might have been posted before in the process. Or, you could post in the 'Photo Of The Day' thread, which stats of logged in users show gets just as many views as POTD.

---

James De Vile
digitalcameramagazine.co.uk
Future Publishing

CannOffice:

JD:

 If you have photographs currently in your gallery that you feel 'missed the boat', you can always remove and resubmit.

So lets think about this - 72,120 members all entitle to gallery space (though not all using it) are being told that if we dont pick your best picture remove it and re submit - If every gallery owner decided to do this how would you find time to look at all the pictures. If they all decided to remove and re submit 5 picture every day would your server stand up to the traffic.
OK it wont happen but just think if it did.... not the most sensible suggestion I've ever seen on here.

RPOTD does not have to be picked from the most recent submissions but it is obviously the easiest way to do it. I would like, if I may to make a suggestion. Would it be practical to ask the programmers to come up with a system that allows gallery owners to highlight a picture in their gallery that they would like considered - you could then view just the nominated pictures and could pick one. If the system as is can allow you to see all the new submissions it should be easy to view user nominated ones.To prevent abuse there should be a way of ensuring only one nominated picture in a gallery. Any new nomination would have to cancel any existing nomination - thats not hard to do.

"In future, if you have an issue with my selection, send me an email - otherwise, your comment will be removed without warning - and woe betide repeat offenders."

Are threats of this nature really in the right place on this - the most civilised of forums....

The number of 'behind the scenes' quibbles between members that I regularly have to step in on suggests that it might not be as civilised as some think :)

As for your suggestion re POTD, we have no budget to change anything before September, but after that, big changes will be afoot. POTD will be changing to something entirely different yet the same, with user voting and more emphasis on the photographer rather than the photo - which would eliminate the '1 photo in 1 gallery' effect in its process, and give power back to the users in terms of voting. Yes, September is far away. If I could do it tomorrow, I would.

---

James De Vile
digitalcameramagazine.co.uk
Future Publishing

JD:

 It might not 'tick the basics', whatever they might be, but it shows a lot more creative flair than much that is uploaded here.

In future, if you have an issue with my selection, send me an email - otherwise, your comment will be removed without warning - and woe betide repeat offenders.

I personally don't submit my photos to the site unless I want critisicm or help. 

But regarding the basics, I'm sure everyone has a list of them but a few suggestions would be

1) A straight horizon

2) Good exposure

3) A Clean image (ie spots removed)

4) A considered composition.

This does not mean that every one of these should be used every time.  But they do have to be understood before one can go about breaking them.  That is what makes a photograph that breaks the rules successfully different from an amature snap. 

I understand that not everyone has (or needs) the latest SLR and that many people are starting out in photography, and I would like to think that I have given constructive critiscm throughout the forum when it has been asked for and praised an image when it has deserved it.  And I have appreciated that same constructive help only recently when I uploaded a portrait shot for comments.  This is how we learn.

But... I do think that when choosing a photo for the top spot it should be a top photo, not just interesting.  This doesn't mean the same type of images, in fact my favourites of late have been those that are different from anything that I do (or could do).   

I don't believe that the photographer on this occassion would have been expecting to make the top spot, and so I am sorry for my comments in this respect.  It is an interesting/dynamic idea and with a few improvements could be a better shot. 

I do not take back my shock at this shot reaching the top spot though.  I can't see any justification for choosing a photo that has not had the time spent removing spots or straightening the horizon.  In fact the horizon straightening is one of the things that is pointed out at least once a month in the magazine.   Would you be happy to print this photo on the cover of the magazine?  No, and why not?  The front page of the DCM website is no different to the front cover of the magazine on the newstand.  The quality of what people see here reflects the quality of the magazine and it's website in my opinion.  If this standard of image was a regular feature on the sites front page then I would stop visiting, and spending the time looking at other members galleries, which would be a shame.

If this image had been allowed to stay in the gallery for longer I am sure that it would have received much more constructive critiscm, and had the photographer posted it in the forum for advice I am sure that he would have been given plenty of helpful tips.  As he would have if he submitted the image to the magazine. 

So again, I am sorry to the photographer that he has been caught up in comments that are actually directed at your choice of POTD.

On this occassion I think it was a poor choice and in the future I shall not comment as such, saving my words for photos that only deserve praise. 

I am happy for you to remove my comment from the POTD in this instance, they were mis-directed and the photographer, as has been said, got caught up in something that was not their doing.  I do understand the feeling of distaste at some of the comments, as I also felt them when reading comments left about the 2007 POTY competition. 

Martin.

 

 

---

 - and woe betide repeat offenders.

A bunch of school kids sums up perfectly the feeling someone will get from reading the comments left on that image, and insulting and downright rude does well to describe them also.

I seem to have got the wrong end of the stick here. I thought that as customers of DCM and contributors to these forums we were a valued asset to Future Publishing, in respect of readership and forum numbers to potential advertisers.  I didn't realise that by posting on these forums that we were agreeing to be threatened and insulted. If I disagree with your views in the future, and if you continue to treat your customers as contemptuously as you do now that future doesn't look too rosy, I shall send you a PM.

---

FACES,STREET,PROTEST & CANDID
A BLOG
My Flickr

I've sat on the fence so far but here's my take on it...

First of all, some of the comments written after the picture in the gallery were bang out of order. It's hardly the fault of the photographer that his/her image lands on the front page. I daresay that the flak he's received could have put him off this place for life and if he/she's quite thin-skinned, possibly put off photography in general. I personally thought the MPOTD images were much stronger and that the main image was lacking in a few ways but that's always going to be a subjective thing.

On the other hand, JD's rebuttal has been ham-fisted and about as diplomatic and subtle as cooking a pork chop in a synagogue (analogy added for irony's sake).

In fairness to the readership JD, everyone's got used to the way that POTD is selected and then on the one day a 'questionable' image is posted, you didn't back it up with a comment albeit because you've said you had other work to do. In the midst of your meetings and endless bouts of running around, I'm pretty sure you could have written down the thoughts you had when you chose those particular images. There seems to be a general malaise on the part of this forum's management and the magazine in general... Even the camera reviews seem to be a bit half-hearted and lacklustre lately - I know that's not specifically JD's fault but there seems to be a distinct lack of direction.

I visit and contribute to this place for one reason only now... the people who frequent it. Future Publishing has already lost my subscription to DSLR User Magazine and I'd hate to leave this place too but I find myself visiting less and less these days.

So come on JD... stride into that office of yours, use a bit of the fire and venom you lay on us and tell the powers-that-be just how narked some of us are getting. You're obviously passionate about this place - make your bosses know how passionate we are too!

---

Si
DCM
spiritflier.com
My Flickr
BPITW x 4

After  just logging on and viewing the four front page images I would just like to say that congradulations are in order JD. They all are extremely good photos and feel relieved that once again order is restored to DCM POTD. I know not everyone  likes all of images you choose but these four prove just how talanted most of the members are on this community. Which is what we all want to be in the long run woudn't you agree. As with any hobby not everyone is on the same level of abilaty or have mega expensive camreas/software  so this sould be considered when making choices also. Just a diffirent angle on how and why images are picked is sometimes needed which I know you try to achieve. 

Rgds Alan1j. 

---

http://community.dcmag.co.uk/photos/alan1js_gallery/default.aspx

My 2 penn'orth...

I personally think that choosing M/POTD from the previous days submissions is as good a system as any while the choice still has to be made manually, it is called Photo of the DAY after all. I also agree that there appears to have been considerable effort made into the choices recently and you can't expect more than that. Maybe we should have a system based on open bribery?

Didn't get a look at the pic that caused all the hassle nor the comments other than the ones in this thread but I would agree that posting comments on the pic itself saying it didn't deserve to be POTD would be a bit cruel, however posting comments on alleged faults is fair enough if you can back them up. If you don't want genuine criticism its not a good idea to put your pics on the internet but I agree there is a limit.

Now for the negative bit. Sorry JD but your 'woe betide repeat offenders' rhetoric is unnecessarily macho and has clearly only served to distract attention from the points you were making.  I've noticed a few other occasions where your comments could be seen as waspish at best and I'm afraid as a moderator you undermine your own authority to pick up on members umacceptable behaviour by doing that.

It also wasn't very wise to suggest that people resubmit their pics if they want another chance to get on POTD, partly cos sarcasm doesn't tend to come across that well in print (btw, can I suggest thst you get us a 'rolleyes' smiley for this very purpose?) and, how can I put this, bearing in mind that the whole problem with the previous automated system was caused by someone small minded enough to join up with multiple profiles to vote their own pics up and others down (sorry to keep banging on about that), its probably a little naive to presume that nobody would take your advice literally unfortunately.

---

BPitW 9-10 June 2007.
My website My flickr