Ending the Urban Photo Contest: no more nominating

[Apteryx]

I loved the UPC, and I'm organizing the same thing on the italian forum... even there after years the participation is going downhill. Unlike the quality of the pictures has improved!

[DFDalton]

Don't blame only the voters though. Several of the more frequent contestants are at fault as well for rendering this contest useless.

I foolishly thought that the contestants were looking for honest opinions regarding the technical and creative quality of their submissions and were interested primarily in improving their skills by garnering unbiased feedback on their work. So along with a fair vote (not every mundane skyline snapshot deserves a 10/10 vote), I offered what I considered honest and constructive criticism. But I quickly learned that unless I voted a 9 or 10, a detailed critique was often greeted by the photographer with ad hominem attacks.

There was this guy (I think his handle was "ChicagoPhotoDude" or something like that) who was the worst offender. I don't think we've seen one of his technically fine yet hackneyed Buckingham Fountain/Chicago skyline shots here lately. He wanted the "10" votes, but no critique. And sorry TDS, but despite all your sanctimony, you were also among the contestants who sought to drive away any honest critique. Do you truly believe that you've grown as a photographer as a result of this contest in the past year or that your submissions really deserve a 9 or 10 vote?

[TheReturn]

I always used this contest over the years as a way to either learn or adapt my photography skills. You can learn what people like, what they don't like, and even get good examples of new ways to look at a scene. I haven't posted much the last few months because I was sick of peoples attitudes in here. Some people were getting a little too big for their britches and making people with less experience feel bad about it. I felt the need to point out a few of these people making rude comments because it was getting ridiculous.

But thank you for taking the time to have the competition and allowing us to experience a little bit of where everyone had been.

[Somnifor]

Originally Posted by DFDalton

Don't blame only the voters though. Several of the more frequent contestants are at fault as well for rendering this contest useless.

I foolishly thought that the contestants were looking for honest opinions regarding the technical and creative quality of their submissions and were interested primarily in improving their skills by garnering unbiased feedback on their work. So along with a fair vote (not every mundane skyline snapshot deserves a 10/10 vote), I offered what I considered honest and constructive criticism. But I quickly learned that unless I voted a 9 or 10, a detailed critique was often greeted by the photographer with ad hominem attacks.

There was this guy (I think his handle was "ChicagoPhotoDude" or something like that) who was the worst offender. I don't think we've seen one of his technically fine yet hackneyed Buckingham Fountain/Chicago skyline shots here lately. He wanted the "10" votes, but no critique. And sorry TDS, but despite all your sanctimony, you were also among the contestants who sought to drive away any honest critique. Do you truly believe that you've grown as a photographer as a result of this contest in the past year or that your submissions really deserve a 9 or 10 vote?

Your "honest critiques" tended to be posted in the most condescending manner possible - as if you were a photography professor who was deigning to give advice to the poor rubes who posted here. There is a difference between offering a critique and being nasty about it. To be honest you were one of the reasons I stopped submitting photos. You were obviously under the impression that your opinions were fact. Out of curiosity do you have an arts background and have you participated in formal critiques in a professional or academic setting? In my experience they are generally done with a certain amount of social grace, a trait that is not your strong suit.

Because I work in a creative profession I don't take my photography as seriously as a lot of people here. It isn't my main outlet, it is a relatively unimportant thing I do for fun. I am not going spend an hour (or more than five minutes) tweaking a photo. I am more interested in the anthropological and documentational elements of photography and less in photoshop eye candy, I guess this was my problem.

I think a lot of people here took themselves way to seriously and as a result it stopped being fun. Over time it seemed like the UPC turned into something akin to an abusive relationship with mutual antipathy between the photographers and the voters. Good riddance.

[LT1550]

Originally Posted by DFDalton

Don't blame only the voters though. Several of the more frequent contestants are at fault as well for rendering this contest useless.

I foolishly thought that the contestants were looking for honest opinions regarding the technical and creative quality of their submissions and were interested primarily in improving their skills by garnering unbiased feedback on their work. So along with a fair vote (not every mundane skyline snapshot deserves a 10/10 vote), I offered what I considered honest and constructive criticism. But I quickly learned that unless I voted a 9 or 10, a detailed critique was often greeted by the photographer with ad hominem attacks.

There was this guy (I think his handle was "ChicagoPhotoDude" or something like that) who was the worst offender. I don't think we've seen one of his technically fine yet hackneyed Buckingham Fountain/Chicago skyline shots here lately. He wanted the "10" votes, but no critique. And sorry TDS, but despite all your sanctimony, you were also among the contestants who sought to drive away any honest critique. Do you truly believe that you've grown as a photographer as a result of this contest in the past year or that your submissions really deserve a 9 or 10 vote?

That pretty much sums up my feelings. When I joined this contest a few years ago, I regularly posted more or less detailed opinions and gave feedback. It took not very long until I learned that a lot of the contestants kinda 'fought back' and told me how 'stupid' I am or that I 'don't understand the picture'... I mean... I am photographing for more than 15 years now and I know what I am talking about. Sometimes it is also much harder to critizise a photo correctly in another language than your mother tongue...

Later on, I found out that it's easier for the voters' soul not to give a comment.

[balthazar]

I don't understand why some of the "great photographers" who criticize the quality of the voters have the habit to post many and many times almost the same picture (views of the same city, with the same mood, the same colours, the same light, and nothing special in any of them). Is it a form of protest?
This discussions about "what the voters must do" are very annoying and serve just to keep people away from the contest, I think.

[TheReturn]

Originally Posted by balthazar

I don't understand why some of the "great photographers" who criticize the quality of the voters have the habit to post many and many times almost the same picture (views of the same city, with the same mood, the same colours, the same light, and nothing special in any of them). Is it a form of protest?
This discussions about "what the voters must do" are very annoying and serve just to keep people away from the contest, I think.

Not sure to whom you are referring exactly, but I iwll answer it as ifyou are talking to me. I live near Buffalo, NY. and Rochester, NY. They aren't very large cities, they lights on the buildings don't change As the colors don't change much either. You can only change the angles of the skylines from vantage points, times of day that you get there. We can't all live in the Swiss alps or Hong Kong, or London. You might not find some cities as intersting as others but that doesn't make a photo less good. I tried very hard to not repeat the same photos, but maybe on an area with a different angle such as my bridge photos.

The problem people had with voters was the inconsistency. A picture of a guy farting on a park bench might get all 10's one week, but something similar will get all 6's another week. And it depends on who was taking it. I know people around the world don't like Americans or our cities. I do feel that plays a roll in how people voted.

This was my protest photo.

[balthazar]

No I wasn't talking about you. Btw, if you see the semi finals of 2012, I think you can find quality is very high, so votes were not so random as somebody say.

[TheReturn]

@ LT1550 I remember talking about a graveyard photo from years ago. I think it was with you. But this was the one I was talking bout.



Posted by Nicolas in 2007

[musiccity]

Originally Posted by TheReturn

I always used this contest over the years as a way to either learn or adapt my photography skills. You can learn what people like, what they don't like, and even get good examples of new ways to look at a scene. I haven't posted much the last few months because I was sick of peoples attitudes in here. Some people were getting a little too big for their britches and making people with less experience feel bad about it. I felt the need to point out a few of these people making rude comments because it was getting ridiculous.

But thank you for taking the time to have the competition and allowing us to experience a little bit of where everyone had been.

Exactly the reason I stopped submitting entries

[Þróndeimr]

Originally Posted by TheReturn

I always used this contest over the years as a way to either learn or adapt my photography skills. You can learn what people like, what they don't like, and even get good examples of new ways to look at a scene. I haven't posted much the last few months because I was sick of peoples attitudes in here. Some people were getting a little too big for their britches and making people with less experience feel bad about it. I felt the need to point out a few of these people making rude comments because it was getting ridiculous.

I believe in giving good advises and receiving good advises on how to improve the photo, but its a fine line here where the receiver will take it as a good advise or a critic "your photo suck, i can do a lot better than that"! As in your thread i try giving some advises which might help, not because i say i am better than you but because i want you to get better and i think that i might know how you can!

The thing is there is a lot of people in here from all edges of the world on skyscrapercity, where some are rude in whatever way they speak, by nature, while others are far more gentle in their speech. So i believe it will always be hard to run a photo contest in this forum where we can't expect some rude comments or "dislikes" due to nationality/photo subject etc.

[Suburbanist]

I was thinking of something... what if in a new (possible?) version of photo contests the name of photographers is hidden. So that people can vote without giving positive or negative votes according to the person who took it. Maybe something within XL

[PRIMEVAL]

What about an urban video contest?

[MilwaukeeMark]

I'm interested to see how the UPC returns. I completely agree with TDS's points raised earlier and have avoided the competition as such.

[FAVAustinTX]

Originally Posted by Somnifor

Your "honest critiques" tended to be posted in the most condescending manner possible - as if you were a photography professor who was deigning to give advice to the poor rubes who posted here. There is a difference between offering a critique and being nasty about it. To be honest you were one of the reasons I stopped submitting photos. You were obviously under the impression that your opinions were fact. Out of curiosity do you have an arts background and have you participated in formal critiques in a professional or academic setting? In my experience they are generally done with a certain amount of social grace, a trait that is not your strong suit.

Because I work in a creative profession I don't take my photography as seriously as a lot of people here. It isn't my main outlet, it is a relatively unimportant thing I do for fun. I am not going spend an hour (or more than five minutes) tweaking a photo. I am more interested in the anthropological and documentational elements of photography and less in photoshop eye candy, I guess this was my problem.

I think a lot of people here took themselves way to seriously and as a result it stopped being fun. Over time it seemed like the UPC turned into something akin to an abusive relationship with mutual antipathy between the photographers and the voters. Good riddance.

Love this comment, I always like your photography because, as you put it, it was organic, and yes sometimes too much photoshop makes the photos artificial and unrealistic, I have sinned myself by peer preassure on this aspect because sometimes you felt it was the only way to get the attention of some of the folks here, but as Bob Dylan said "Just how much abuse will you be able to take ?". The same as you I don't do photography as a profession but as a hobby and fun thing to do. I wouldn't hold my breath hoping things are going to change in whatever form the new contest takes, we'll see.