The 'past' is a really poor challenge topic ot have 'no edits'. This challenge screams for b/w and duotoned images. It also puts the higher end SLR cameras at an extreme disadvantage. Poor idea.
To attempt to recover from last week's mistake (the Future Challenge), this week we are doing the Past. The catch is that you are not allowe to do any post processing what-so-ever. You are allowed to resize -- and that's final.
No cropping?
Mo contrast?
No histogram?
No Grayscale?
No Good!
I just think it's a piss poor idea. Why solicit a bunch of photos that aren't gonna be what they could be? I'm about to give up. The challenge topics lately have been mediocre (IMO) and this 'no edit' challenge is just a joke...
I'm outta here for a few weeks... I don't suppose the site is gonna move forward. Let's go backwards instead for a while...
Bah! I know one person who won't be submitting...every film photograph in history has been post-processed, so why the constant gripe about no edits? I just don't understand. My camera won't take photos in black and white, and the images straight out of the camera aren't satisfactory to me 99.9% of the time. If I'm not happy with it I won't submit it...
I probably won't enter this challenge. I agree that shots straight out of the camera can almost always be better, even with some minor tweaking for levels, saturation, etc. Besides, I don't feel like voting on 50 pictures of an old film SLR camera...
I've got a few dusty Nikons laying around, which would probably be my entry anyway, so make that 51.
JD Anderson
I'm anxious to use the challenge to improve my photography. I have had too many shots that were taken too dark or too light and I've had to adjust--and lose image quality. So for a challenge, this is a good idea.
Hey, it's only one challenge, folks. Have fun with it and learn something!
I do agree with the idea that images straight out-of-camera are certainly not as good as they can be.
I do consider it an interesting challenge to get the best possible image straight out of the camera, so I don't really understand the angst in some of the posts here.
I don't really see where SLRs are at any real disadvantage in this challenge either. OK, so you can't do in-camera B/W or sepia, and that does take out some possibilities, but surely there are many others?
I'm out too. I want to provide images that I'm proud of, I don't think I would be proud of a shot that I couldn't adjust for proper color balance and tones....
Good old fashioned photography? You've got to be kidding. Yeah, hook up the good ol' fashioned USB cable and resize the image in the trusty PhotoShop 7. Bollocks. The best film photographers are wizards in the darkroom. Ansel Adams' own negatives have been described as 'boring'. What do you think goes on when you take a roll of film to the developers? Have you ever tried to enjoy the aesthetics of a film negative? They adjust contrast, lightness, sharpness, tone, hue, they crop and even touch up images on occasion. A camera is nothing more than a tool, and the image straight out of the camera one step in the process. It's like making a cake and not getting to bake it.
Post processing is a crucial part of film photography. Any other opinion is just based in ignorance.
Originally posted by clues56:
I think it is a good challenge for good old fashioned photography. We'll see who the real photographers are.
No editing challenge on a digital photography site? If you want to have a "purist" challenge, why not make it a film challenge where entries can only be shot on a manual SLR (no meter) and a 50mm lens. Then we could see who the "real photographers" are.
Well, it might compare with old-fashioned "popular" photography where you shot all the frames on your Brownie, mailed the camera back to Kodak, and got back prints and another loaded camera. Maybe the technicians performed the wizardry you describe, but the vast majority of film photographers (public, not pros) don't have much to do with the final output.
I'm not particularly in favor of "No Processing" in general but can try and cope for one challenge.
How about just take a shot of something that reflects the past, resize it down and submit it.
Or maybe sit this one out and give a clear look at what gets submitted without having to thik that the photo you are voting on may beat out your entry this challenge.
Last I checked we didn't have to enter every single challenge that's thrown up on the boards.
Good points, all. It's true that post processing is a marvelous and wonderful thing. But this is only one challenge, and for me it is a good exercise. If I don't get a photo I'm pleased with, I won't submit--but I'm gonna try!
B - Post processing is part of photography but anyone that submits to DPC has to work around rules that potentially restrict some of their skills every challenge.
C - No one says you can't post process the image for later consumption in some other gallery or even here on DPCPrints.
D - I'm trying to get better at many facets of photography. Not being able to compare my image with others out there lessens my learning experience. Heck, I'm not complaining that some of you are better at using PS or have better lenses. Isn't the goal here that we all have a common challenge and we're working in this community to enhance our skills? So this week we stop a little shorter than other weeks. I appreciate getting to compete and compare with many of you folks. Seeing your creativity challenges me to spend more thought and effort. Just take a picture that you know you can enjoy and feel good about once its finished and then don't finish it.
