Plant photography contest a flop?

[rtcc86]

01. Shall we organise contest/lucky draws for our members or is that a waste of time?
Contests are a must!

02. Are the prizes unattractive? If so, what suggestions do you have?
Imho, they are great! However maybe the prizes are too little e.g. 2 sets of Eden 501 for lucky draw...but i dont blame AQ...its FREE!

03. Are the type of contests boring?
No.

04. "There are only so few prizes, I'll never win" mentality?
Maybe but there are other reasons which prevent us from joining.

05. What kind of contests would you guys like to see in the future?
Lucky draws!

And lastly, why didn't you submit a picture for the plant photography contest? As plants are much easier to photography, we are surprised by the less than luke warm response.
Well, i guess many forumers like me dont have a decent camera to start with..my sony cybershot is useless when taking macro shots..also, many of us do not have the cash to buy lenses or cameras and even if we did, we do not know how to take good shots...maybe a sticky on basic photography??

Hope to hear from you guys to make this a better place.

Cheers,

[anttz]

01. Shall we organise contest/lucky draws for our members or is that a waste of time?

IMHO, contest is a must. But preferably not too many. 1 or 2 major events held annually at a
specific date (example such as ADA) should suffice. If not, it may become meaningless.
Occasional lucky draws such as the recent Eden 501 filter is most welcome.

02. Are the prizes unattractive? If so, what suggestions do you have?

Not a major issue for me.

03. Are the type of contests boring?

No.

04. "There are only so few prizes, I'll never win" mentality?

Prize is relative to me. I’m here for the hobby.

05. What kind of contests would you guys like to see in the future?

I know many other forums have similar contest but can consider an annual AQ Planted Tank
competition. Maybe, since we are in South East Asia (SEA), how about a SEA theme planted tank
competition? This is just a suggestion, perhaps we can think of some other specific theme to
differentiate ourselves from other forums.

And lastly, why didn't you submit a picture for the plant photography contest? As plants are much easier to photography, we are surprised by the less than luke warm response.

Lousy photography skill and I’m using a canon powershot which is not very good at taking macro shots. Oh no!!! Come to think of it, maybe I have the same mentality as what Justikanz has mentioned earlier. The kiasu and kiasi symptom.

[Justikanz]

Well, glad to know that a lot of AQ-ers actually do support AQ and AQ's actitives... In that case, why not just join the competition? If for nothing, just for the fun of it? Also, you can 1) Showcase your plants, or some pretty plants you had seen somewhere, 2) Showcase your skills, 3) Compare your plants and skills with fellow AQ-ers, 4) Increase interaction between you and other AQ members.

There's no such thing as I have a DSLR, I can take better pictures than you or I have a prettier plant, I can take a better picture than you. It all depends on the person taking the picture and how he composes the pictures in his mind. Take a look at what I had submitted... My pics are not good too... Besides the fact that I am kiasu, I just want to show the pics that I had taken so far and at the same time, see where I stand among other AQ-ers.

Maybe the admin can extend the deadline for another month or something and you guys can just submit your plant pics, just for the spirit of AQ, eh?

[semota]

There's no such thing as I have a DSLR, I can take better pictures than you or I have a prettier plant, I can take a better picture than you. It all depends on the person taking the picture and how he composes the pictures in his mind. Take a look at what I had submitted...

That I would beg to differ Sadly, the truth is that when the ultimate jousting for the top positions come, what can someone with a 1.3 megapixel consumer camera do as opposed to a 5.3megapixel with 100mm macro lens that is able to show off the close up veins of a plant? Even an algae cover plant might look good?

To some extent, there is certain truth in what you said, but ultimately, the judges as well must not be wowed by great technical skills but look for great compositional skills etc.

I would say that much of the lack of response is probably because there was too little advertising on this event, I myself saw it just only like two weeks ago.

Another point being is that maybe uncle benny's examples scared quite a few people! haha..no offence ah..I am quite sure some people saw those pics and they were like ..."there's no way I can shoot like that".

[XnSdVd]

Equipment gives a photographer more options. The more you have, the more you have.

And when the subject is that specific... well... the more lenses the better off you are.

HOWEVER no one said "pretty" plants would win... if you had an entire patch of melting crypts and shot with the intention of making it look completely macarbe. It'd be VERY unique. Alas i lack the afore mentioned carpet

[|squee|]

Shipping? I thought it's just a email of the photo

benny, I've been busy but to show my support... one photo from me tonight

[valice]

Another point being is that maybe uncle benny's examples scared quite a few people! haha..no offence ah..I am quite sure some people saw those pics and they were like ..."there's no way I can shoot like that".

That's why he is not eligible for the competition! Hahaha...

But on the serious note, there is two categories in the whole competition... One is single species plant, which probably give some advantage for those who happen to have a prosumer camera (not even a DSLR yet)...

There is also another category which is suited for a 1.3 MPixel camera as the category is meant to shoot a variety a plants in the same frame... So I believe every one who owes a camera should give any competitions in the future to try... I believe the organisers would have considered groups of people who see uses a low end point and shoot camera...

It helps other AQ-ians to better learn the different species of plants in the process too... And in the process help to build up a database of plants in our gallery...

[XnSdVd]

Has anyone ever considered cash prizes? Sorry if it's been brought up before but... yeah, why not? It'll save the mods the trouble of going to get the prizes right? And hey, who doesn't want money?

[semota]

Why not start with something more direct first? The idea of setting up the AQ aquascaping competition is cool!

[celticfish]

justikanz,
i concur with your suggestion on extension and the spirit thingy for AQ!!

[benny]

Aq is a aquatic forum? not a photography forum?

I am sure there will be better response in clubsnap, even if they dun have aquatic plants.

ck

Point taken. AQ is an aquatic forum.

However, fish and aquatic plant layout is a very visual hobby and by sharing images, we all can learn more from each other, be it identification of species or tank layout.

Also, this objective of the contest is clearly spelt out as a a platform for all members to explore the various aspects of plants in an aquarium/aquatic setting, and to capture these aspects via their camera. It's about the plants, not the photography, although I will agree a blur mesh of green will not go very far.

I am aware of some comments from others that some guys in AQ seems to be always talking about camera gear (e.g. DSLR). However, I'm sure you will also agree that we have seen some pretty good developments amongst our member (including those lurking) whose photos, have benefited many other forums as well.

Many aquatic forums do photo contest on a monthly basis, and despite the amateur efforts, they have fun as a community. In our case, I suppose reponse would be indicative that it's a case of apathy more than anything else as gear and subjects are certainly not lacking. And I can identify with that as a Singaporean.

Cheers,

[benny]

Like me, some of the members can't afford a DSLR?

As I've said before, it's not the camera that makes that much of a difference. I am more than happy to demonstrate what you can do with a compact digital camera.

If you need help with gear and technique, let me know. Creativity, you are on your own, I'm afraid I can't help with that.

Cheers,

[benny]

I feel that to submit pic for a plant-photo contest the plant must be in good shape. On the whole I think people feel their setup is ok but to zoom in to a particular plant may show lots of flaws/alage-problems/growth, etc. I originally wanted to take a pic of JF philippines sp but it started to melt very badly and is spreading..

Examining your plants in details does give you nightmares sometimes!

I like to see a AQ aquascape contest but the setup must be recent enough to be verified, instead of allowing people to submit their setup 3 years ago and has participated in all world-wide competitions. But I can also see the shortcoming in this; that number of entries will drop, plus indirectly overseas submission becomes impossible. I also thought that there should be follow-through in any competition. Look at the successful competitions such as ADA, they offer a magazine and have a get-together session for winners to share their tips/skills.

We are planing a series of activities, contest, including a planted tank contest. Details are being worked out, but given the lack lusture reponse of most of the activities (except for the no action required lucky draws), it's not very encouraging. We are reconsidering if it's worth our effort.

Cheers,

[benny]

Frankly, I think a lot of people will not dared to enter... Just like how many people don't want to send to ADA competition because 'they think they are not good enough' or 'they don't have good enough equipment'... I would say it is a mentality thing... Afraid to lose?

To a degree, I can understand about feeling not up to the mark. A lot of pictures don't often turn out the way you want it. But the question is, do the folks even try before feeling that way?

And...to be honest, what does one actually have to lose? Credibility, reputation? On a fish forum? Jeez... didn't know we are that important!

I do know that some folks do consider these contests fivolous and not worthy of their time. I think that is probably more the case than the former. I was hoping to get more feedback to find out how we can make it different/better.

Cheers,

[benny]

It was the prize for me. Didn't it seem strange to offer a book on plants when AQ's already a very comprehensive source of info? When choy's around at least...

An interesting thing to do would've been to have some rare species of crypt as the prize. Or a bag of ADA powersand? haha, stuff people use or could make use of essentially.

Prizes are often a headache for us. Livestocks and plant aren't the easies thing to give away as prizes and don't forget, one man's meat is another man's poison.

And postage have to be consider for our foreign members around us too.

Cheers,

Has anyone ever considered cash prizes? Sorry if it's been brought up before but... yeah, why not? It'll save the mods the trouble of going to get the prizes right? And hey, who doesn't want money?

I agree with the last statement! Care to contribute? But on a serious note, we are considering some cash prizes so that it's easier for foreign members further afield to participate in our contest as it's easier to facilitate money transfer than send physical prizes. Now the question is where is that stash?

Cheers,

[benny]

No time, plus I have to pay for shipping.

Sorry Eric! Purse strings are a bit tight on this one. We don't have any revenue of any sort funding this site.

But I am working on some thing that will allow ease of participation from foreign members. Hopefully it will materialise. Keep a lookout!

Cheers,

[benny]

01. Shall we organise contest/lucky draws for our members or is that a waste of time?
Contests are a must!

02. Are the prizes unattractive? If so, what suggestions do you have?
Imho, they are great! However maybe the prizes are too little e.g. 2 sets of Eden 501 for lucky draw...but i dont blame AQ...its FREE!

03. Are the type of contests boring?
No.

04. "There are only so few prizes, I'll never win" mentality?
Maybe but there are other reasons which prevent us from joining.

05. What kind of contests would you guys like to see in the future?
Lucky draws!

And lastly, why didn't you submit a picture for the plant photography contest? As plants are much easier to photography, we are surprised by the less than luke warm response.
Well, i guess many forumers like me dont have a decent camera to start with..my sony cybershot is useless when taking macro shots..also, many of us do not have the cash to buy lenses or cameras and even if we did, we do not know how to take good shots...maybe a sticky on basic photography??

If contests are a must, we need entries for the contest to work. To be honest, even if we were to put out 10 copies of Kasselmann's book (which incidentally cost more than the Eden 501 filter), I don't think the response will be any different.

If there are any other reasons that prevents our members from joining, we would like to know more. Please share with us.

As for lucky draws, we do have some others lined up. But they will be shelved for the time being as it does not value add to the community or community development in terms of interaction or knowledge base.

For basic photography tips, visit www.clubsnap.com or many of the free interest resource. Alternatively ask here or attend one our photography workshops.

Cheers,

[benny]

01. Shall we organise contest/lucky draws for our members or is that a waste of time?

IMHO, contest is a must. But preferably not too many. 1 or 2 major events held annually at a specific date (example such as ADA) should suffice. If not, it may become meaningless. Occasional lucky draws such as the recent Eden 501 filter is most welcome.

02. Are the prizes unattractive? If so, what suggestions do you have?

Not a major issue for me.

03. Are the type of contests boring?

No.

04. "There are only so few prizes, I'll never win" mentality?

Prize is relative to me. I’m here for the hobby.

05. What kind of contests would you guys like to see in the future?

I know many other forums have similar contest but can consider an annual AQ Planted Tank competition. Maybe, since we are in South East Asia (SEA), how about a SEA theme planted tank competition? This is just a suggestion, perhaps we can think of some other specific theme to differentiate ourselves from other forums.

And lastly, why didn't you submit a picture for the plant photography contest? As plants are much easier to photography, we are surprised by the less than luke warm response.

Lousy photography skill and I’m using a canon powershot which is not very good at taking macro shots. Oh no!!! Come to think of it, maybe I have the same mentality as what Justikanz has mentioned earlier. The kiasu and kiasi symptom.

I think you answer to question number 4 says it all. We appreciate that.

Cheers,

[benny]

Maybe the admin can extend the deadline for another month or something and you guys can just submit your plant pics, just for the spirit of AQ, eh?

justikanz,
i concur with your suggestion on extension and the spirit thingy for AQ!!

Thanks for the suggestion. However, from our analysis, the lack of entries is not due to a time issue. As such, we will not be extending the deadline for the contest.

In AQ, we do things slightly differently, when a contest/program does not run well, we do not cover it up and push it under the carpet. We will look at it to see how we can do better next time. Hopefully, we will get enough input to make proper adjustments for programs that will appeal and value add to our community.

It will also be important to note that with reponses like these, we will have a tad more difficulty getting prizes sponsorship in the future. It will barely be justifiable for any organisation.


Cheers,

[benny]

I would say that much of the lack of response is probably because there was too little advertising on this event, I myself saw it just only like two weeks ago.

Another point being is that maybe uncle benny's examples scared quite a few people! haha..no offence ah..I am quite sure some people saw those pics and they were like ..."there's no way I can shoot like that".

Well... we do have a bright green/red banner on the top of the page for a whole month. Quite hard to miss in a sea of blue...

And on hindsight, I do regret posting up some reference pictures. They were meant to inspire, not intimidate. Unfortunately, it wasn't the case. I was already informed of this before the contest was nearing the end and hence stopped further postings. Obviously the damage is done. I apologise for not considering this during our planning.

Cheers,