I have received several comments on my submission and was wondering if it is acceptable to send a message to the voter in response. After reading these particular comments, it occurs to me that either I missed the boat in my submission, or they missed the multi-level aspect of the photo! I am not looking to have them change their score/comments, just wanting to let them know what I was thinking when I took the photo! Are responses during the voting OK?
I think commenting during the challenge can sometimes be the only defence from 'missed-brief' presumptions due to cultural differences. I commented back to those who mistook my Garden shot for missing the challenge:
//www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=31115
In my case, I had to "defend" my dragonfly from the very wrong assumption that the color was un-natural. I had to educate a little bit by pointing out that there exists a whole slew of species that are far too colorful (and thus, *exotic*) for majority of Westerners who have never been to Asia. The dragonfly I captured is truly crimson. There's absolutely no need for me to thank Photoshop.
In my case, I had to "defend" my dragonfly from the very wrong assumption that the color was un-natural. I had to educate a little bit by pointing out that there exists a whole slew of species that are far too colorful (and thus, *exotic*) for majority of Westerners who have never been to Asia. The dragonfly I captured is truly crimson. There's absolutely no need for me to thank Photoshop.
ha! i like yours better than the winning shot! (although that is a great one too) Hope you didn't get voted down for suspected photoshopping. Keep up the good work.
Oh yeah, as to the thread topic. Yeah, it's fine, I've done it many times, although usually only when a question was asked or a response was somewhat asked for.
In my case, I had to "defend" my dragonfly from the very wrong assumption that the color was un-natural. I had to educate a little bit by pointing out that there exists a whole slew of species that are far too colorful (and thus, *exotic*) for majority of Westerners who have never been to Asia. The dragonfly I captured is truly crimson. There's absolutely no need for me to thank Photoshop.
Though the comment you got from the winner must be something of a satisfaction :-)
I have a high regard for Bobster and his pics. Having said that, I think I should emphasize that to me, the numbers people collectively generated do not detract from the beauty of what I personally caught (on photo). Some might have found it too fantastic... oh well, que sera sera.
Chalcone, that's a superb shot. I'd love to have seen you get even closer though. I love it when critters behave so well - like this little fella (no awards but he was a good boy!):
//www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=31761
BTW I agree, the Bobster is a bit of a star in my book!
As for your suggestion, I really wanted to get closer to the dragon fly, but that papyrus stem was in the middle of a pond. I did not want to waddle through and disturb the fish - let alone scare the d-fly!
I had lots of people comment on the water drops, even though what I though neat about this plant was that they aren't water drops, but a glue the plant uses to catch insect prey. Also someone thought it was a flower, and thus off topic. But I decided against contacting the people, as I'm just starting so I need to know what the typical person thinks when they see it. Therefore someone who missinterprets the picture does me a service.
But I decided against contacting the people, as I'm just starting so I need to know what the typical person thinks when they see it. Therefore someone who missinterprets the picture does me a service.
Responding to a comment doesn't prevent your research, as they will have commented and shown their confusion anyway! It just potentially prevents you losing votes from misinterpretation and 'educates' the voter in the process. Nice pic of the sundew plant BTW.
Not to detract from all the pretty bug pictures, but to bring this thread back to it's original topic:
Technically you shouldn't contact the commenter until the challenge has concluded. It's supposed to be anonymous. It's the political equivalent of a candidate calling a voter and saying "Look, I know you voted for the other guy, but maybe you don't REALLY understand my platform, let me explain again."
If his campaign (or your picture) doesn't explain itself well enough...better to just campaign harder next time.
This is not to say I've never done it...I'm just sayin'.
