New Photo Challenge rules

[Steve Randles]

Ayjay,

 

Levels control how the pixels are spread about in the image and a levels adjustment just set where the white and black point are in the photograph and help to contol tonality throughout the photograph.

 

Curves essentially do the same thing as levels, but using the curves command you have a far greater control of the whole tonal range.

 

These two commands are accepted editing techniques in digital photography and come from Photoshop, most photographers will use one or the other on all his/her shots.

 

All,

 

RAW files are a photograph format, ALL cameras will take the photo in RAW format, its what happens next that decides what file you end up with. RAW is uncompressed and Jpeg is compressed, so jpeg will be a smaller file size. Add to this that in jpeg all of your camera setting are "set" into it and in RAW they are not. Some cameras have the abilty to save the RAW files, and some dont, but all have the abilty to use jpeg.

 

Steve...

[Steve Randles]

BTW, the only things that have changed from the rules in use now and these is the increased sized of the photograph, and also one little bit about asking the judge to give a few words once the poll has started, about the photos they chose. Thats it in a nutshell.

 

Steve...

[John E Ashford]

If I could photograph nursejudy in the raw, maybe it would be easier to explain.

[medwaygreen]

Is it OK if i have my steak RAW.

 

 

Let's play.

 

And my the best Man or Women win.

[Steve Randles]

RAW files dont come into this discussion at all, and they are something only a handfull of people can use or want to use. At the file sizes we use for the challenge if it was taken as RAW or JPEG, no one will be able to tell the diference. I suggest if anyone wants to discuss RAW files they start a new topic, or add to one of the many already in this area.

 

I've spent a long time thinking these new rules out (way before I started the 800 pixel test thread a good while ago) and to what changes where necessary to keep the challenge as evenly balanced as possible.

 

Basic editing is allowed because most people will do it anyway, and if it is disallowed, then we have an uneven field or fewer entries. The basic editing are the names for it in photoshop, in other programs it might be defined or classed as "Fix Photo" or something similar which every editing program has in one form or another.

 

At the end of the day I only changed the filesizes so that the photographs look far better when viewed online, and the part about the judge giving a brief description of his/her choices is to stop a repetiion of recent events. Oh yes and changed slightly how we post the entries, by not having to print the exif file on the challenge cleans the look of the entries up a little

 

When all is said and done these rules just give boundaries to work to, and are very little different to the previous 20 challenges.

 

Steve...

[nursejudy]

as time is something i find myself with alot of at the moment is there an idiots guideor have i already missed it,not been on forum lately due to health problems.

[poledark]

I wil try Edit..seems I was to slow with this, but I will leave it in anyway

 

All cameras capture in RAW, but in order to save space on the memory card the camera software removes some of the pixels "that the human eye won't miss"

 

Most commonly about 1/3 or even 1/2 of the pixels. This is called JPEG compression.

A quick check of your camera will show that you have several different compression levels which are often labelled High, med or low, each setting being more and more compressed (more pixels removed) allowing you to store more images on the memory card or in camera.

 

Memory cards are much more powerful now, storing many Gigs and this in turn allows bigger uncompressed pics to be saved

 

 

" High end" cameras, usually more recent models with more powerful software, offer the option to save the uncompressed image with every pixel intact...invaluable for printing larger pictures.

 

I hope that helps

 

As Steve (and others ) have commented, at 800x600 on a PC it is almost impossible to tell the difference between a RAW image and a JPEG........ AT THE MOMENT! and as we are dealing with this moment in time then RAW should be allowed. No one would dream of suggesting that we all have to take pics at the lowest setting (to suit those with older more basic cameras) my old Sony could only take pics at .5 mpx, but it wouldn't have stopped me entering so why restrict it at the top end?

 

But I would still draw the line at anything other than crop/resize, and the only reason for that is to fit the pics on the PC screen . As I see it, this comp is about encouraging us all to take better pictures, the actual content is down to what you see as worth capturing/entering, and your ability to capture it. The ends required to effect that capture should not be relevent.

 

For myself, if I were ever to make it to judge level (dream on Den) then I would probably "pass over" any images entered that weren't, at the very least, pretty sharp.

 

My simple rules ?

 

Within time period,

 

Any compression level

 

Only crop/resize

 

ANONYMOUS

 

 

Original kept for checking EXIF if needed.( some editing progs remove EXIF when resizing)

 

Happy snapping

 

Den

Edited September 14, 2006 by poledark