Introduction:

The weekend competition runs over each weekend with the winner of the previous weekend setting the topic of the following weekend. All forum members are welcome to participate and vote on the entries and there are no rewards to winning other than a (cheesey) title , the fun you had participating and perhaps feedback to help you improve for the next time.

Organisation:

1. At some point before 21:00 (UK local time) on the Friday night, the winner of the previous weekend competition will:
1.  start an entry thread in the "Post your best here" DCM forum entitled: Weekend Competition - The Best Photographer in the World (<insert weekend date here>) that includes the subject/topic for the weekend competition.
   
2. start a chat thread in the "Post your best here" DCM forum entitled: CHAT for Weekend Competition (<insert weekend date here>).
2. From 00:00 on the Saturday morning (photographer's local time) until 23:59:59 on the Sunday night, the participants are challenged to go out and take a photo that follows the subject chosen for the weekend.
   
3. Only ONE photograph per forum member, please. With up to 30 or more participants, it becomes progressively more difficult to set up the poll and summary post with each additional photo - it's all volunteer work.
   
4. The participants have until noon (UK local time) on the following Monday morning to submit their entries to the entry thread (as outlined in point 1 above). This gives time for those without easy access to the internet on the weekend to still submit their photos on the Monday (or edit them further).
5. During the Monday morning (late Sunday night), a Polling thread will appear, entitled POLL: Weekend competition (<insert weekend date here>). In this thread, a summary of the entries and the poll listing all of the entries will be provided with the entries in the order in which they were submitted. While this thread might appear before the submission deadline, it will be updated with all of the submissions after the submission deadline has passed. It appears early for practical reasons (we have to work!) and it's easier to get as much pre-arranged as possible to avoid problems with the boss man. (BTW, if when creating the poll on a Monday, if you use "2" in the "Expires after" box on the poll tab it will stop the polling at the right time on the wednesday night).
   
6. VOTING then runs from the Monday noon (or preferably after 13:00 UK local time - to give us a chance to ensure any late submissions are included) until Midnight on the Wednesday (UK local time).
7. The winner then has until 21:00 UK time on the following Friday to post the new subject, and we return to step 1, above. They also have the onus to include the title "The Best Photographer in the World <insert weekend date>" in their Forum signature".
   

Additional Threads:

Additional threads in the "Post your best here" forum exist to support the competition:

1. Weekend Competition - The Best Photographer in the World (<insert weekend date here>): This thread is only for the entries UNTIL AFTER the submission deadline passes. It is very very difficult to assemble the poll and summary post if the photos are interspersed with discussion posts. So, please refrain from posting anything other than your entry until AFTER the submission deadline.
   
2. Weekend comp rejected shots: here you can submit the photos that you considered entering but didn't and generally whine about the poor light, lack of subjects in your area and how life is generally unfair . It's also used to get advice on which photo to submit.
   
3. CHAT for Weekend Competition (<insert weekend date here>): This thread is intended to provide a forum where the relative merits, suggestions, comments and critiques of each photo are to be aired.
4. Weekend Comp - Past winners: This thread is a gallery of the winners from the previous weekend competitions. It will be updated regularly (we hope). Chatting in this thread is seriously frowned upon.
   

Additional Rules, Hints and Tips:

1. If you change your mind as to your submission, then please use the EDIT feature on your original post to change the photo. This should keep the number of posts in the submission thread to a minimum (and keep the poll organiser from having to go through and select just which of your entries is the final submission, and swearing profusely).
2. If you have ignored hint #1, above, then the LAST photo you submitted to the competition will be assumed to be your entry.
3. The recommended size of photo to post to the competition is about 650 pixels WIDE. This ensures the whole photo can be seen without scrolling horizontally. Height doesn't matter as much.
   
4. VOTING: the DCMag forum polling system only allows you to vote ONCE, and you can't change your vote once you've voted.
5. Ultimately, the appropriateness of a photo to the subject is decided by the poll. No submissions (other than duplicate entries or poor taste as decided by DCM) will be excluded.
   
6. In the case of a Draw/Tie in the voting, then the first to have submitted their entry wins.
   
7. Of course, any posting restrictions placed on the forums by DCM will also limit the competition, e.g. appropriate or copyrighted content.
8. Amendments and discussions to these rules should be carried out in this thread (http://community.dcmag.co.uk/forums/thread/277272.aspx). This will keep all of the various comments/arguments/history together in one place, making updates to these rules considerably easier.
   

Tips on Selecting a Subject

If you're lucky enough (or perhaps good enough) to have polled highest in the voting and selected by this community as the winner, then it's your arduous task to select the topic for the next competition. In the few times I've had to choose a subject I've learned the following about setting the subject but please treat these as things to consider and not rules to follow.

1. exclude as few people as possible - this is absolutely essential.
   
2. don't let it be localised, for example: "signs of autumn" was a bit tricky for those living in Australia and Barbados. Consider the geographically diverse distribution of the participants. (Mountains would be difficult for those living in Holland, Coastal shots would be difficult for those living in Alice Springs).
   
3. Not require specialist equipment: for example: macro shots might exclude those without a macro lens.
4. Generally, consider if the subject you've selected can be taken with a standard compact camera, if it can, then it's probably a good start.
   
5. The topic should be as general as possible, while still reasonably focused: For example, don't pick a very narrow topic, such as "Fireworks". Local regulations can prohibit their use outside of particular times of the year, a better topic is "Fire/Fireworks/Bonfires".
6. Don't set the subject based on an Event/Holiday - it's not always recognised everywhere (4th July, Bastille Day, Rememberance Sunday, Christmas, etc.)
   

History:

This competition was originally proposed by Cedar in the dark days of September 2006, and it's him that we have to thank for the whole activity. Original proposition by Cedar can be read here: weekend competition,

Hope this all makes sense.

hevans

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Hello All,

In response to the "This forum is very confusing" post I've tried to write a FAQ for the weekend competition. This is by no means the final draft, but I've put it out to the forum for their consideration and comments and further enhancements. I've tried to make it as close to the way the competition has been run over the last few weekends, and hope I haven't left anything out.

When we've reached a reasonable concensus on this, perhaps we could then ask Jake Xu or Lurkalot to include it in the "Announcements and FAQs" part of this forum, for all to easily find and read.

Regards,
hevans.

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Just had a quick read of the rules and it appears OK to me. I agree about choice of subject been open to as many people as possible. When I went for waves I was conscious that it was possible to see them in rivers, lakes, ponds and even puddles. The subject wasn't advantageous to myself, as I live in Birmingham, but I was aware that given the right conditions, even ripples in puddles, could produce a winning shot with that wow factor. I was also aware that the subject had to be a challenge to inspire members to look at their surroundings in a different light.

 

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SK
The Best Photographer in the world 4th November - 5th November 2006 & 17th-18 November 2007
Oldboy’s Gallery

Thanks

What's the best size for images for the comp (Pixels wide X Tall)? Presumably 72dpi?

 

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http://www.grantgb.com

bbb:

Thanks

What's the best size for images for the comp (Pixels wide X Tall)? Presumably 72dpi?

Good point, I've added a suggestion of 600 pixels wide to the "Additional Rules, Hints and Tips" section, item #3.

H.

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bbb:

Thanks

What's the best size for images for the comp (Pixels wide X Tall)? Presumably 72dpi?

 

 

See the rules

 

The recommended size of photo to post to the competition is about 600 pixels WIDE. This ensures the whole photo can be seen without scrolling horizontally. Height doesn't matter as much.

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Give freely the benefit of your wisdom, if they fail to listen, they will learn through adversity.

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ian140:

bbb:

Thanks

What's the best size for images for the comp (Pixels wide X Tall)? Presumably 72dpi?

See the rules

Hi ian140,

Actually, I only just added it to the rules after bbb suggested it. Instead of reposting the whole thing, I just edited the original post. And after a quick scan of the previous entries, I concluded that oRGie's photo was the best width, and re-adjusted the rules to a width of 650 pixels.

Ta.
H.

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Not really a rules issue but I think it would be a good idea if the poll thread could be pinned to the top of the forum for the duration of the voting period.

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Best Photographer in the World 24th & 25th February 2007.

john175bramley:

Not really a rules issue but I think it would be a good idea if the poll thread could be pinned to the top of the forum for the duration of the voting period.

Hi John,

Unfortunately, that's a request for extra powers to the DCM administrators. I *think* Lurkalot has that control, but he might not anymore. This ability was requested, but for security and management issues it wasn't immediately possible.

Regards,
H

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john175bramley:

Not really a rules issue but I think it would be a good idea if the poll thread could be pinned to the top of the forum for the duration of the voting period.

Sorry, I hold my hands up to that one, I forgot to pin it as usual.   Please remind me If I forget again.

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My website Camera Craniums

Where do we stand as regards manipulation of shots, e.g. do we prefer "as shot" or allow a reasonable amont of editing so long as parts aren't added or removed?.

I know some editing is required, e.g. to remove dust/sharpen/do b+w conversions.

should this be added to the rules or left up to the theme chooser as to whether manipulation is allowed.

Just a thought.

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rob@dcmag:

Where do we stand as regards manipulation of shots, e.g. do we prefer "as shot" or allow a reasonable amont of editing so long as parts aren't added or removed?.

I know some editing is required, e.g. to remove dust/sharpen/do b+w conversions.

should this be added to the rules or left up to the theme chooser as to whether manipulation is allowed.

Just a thought.

Personally, I think this is something best left up to the person setting the topic. I don't like excessive editing, such as in the combination of more than one photo (although two shots of the same scene combined for exposure purposes - one of foreground other of sky). However, basic tidying up, such as you mention I have no problems with. If someone does come up with a gloriously edited shot, then it'd be nice if they enlightened the rest of us with how they did it...for the sake of educating us.

H.

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Sorry to bother you all in the midst of this, but I've been offline (TV and internet) since Saturday when my husband cut the cable planting shrubs!!   Needless to say....I have not been a happy camper.  Luckily, the artchitecture in FL is about par with Hevans choices.  Anyway...how do I get to the thread showing the weekend competition entries and find out who won?  I really want to see what every one shot.

Thanks much....Rebecca

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Hi Rebecca.

Glad to see you back.

You can find the entries here, the chat here and the summary/poll here. And the usual reject discussion here.

H.

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Rebecca click the link to view this weekends entries and poll.


LINK

oops too slow.

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Best Photographer in the World 24th & 25th February 2007.