I'm gonna have to agree with Joe here. Have we really ran out of challenge topics? It really was CRAP to have money XII and affluence XXVI back to back. Follow that with smoke II and mirrors II, and you end up with more crap. I know that Langdon is off enjoying the new married life, but surely someone is manning the site while he is away. Perhaps when some new challenge ideas are posted, that same person could visit the idea of actually overhauling and enhancing the site. I'd vote to start with giving us larger image sizes for ALL the challenges.
Nothing personal with anyone here, but I also think the original post was a bit on the edge with the language. Perhaps a bad day, Joseph? :-)
Seriously though.. you have two ribbons and a great portfolio...I wonder what made you so mad.
I'm not mad or I wasn't mad when I posted the OP but when I see these challenges I'm just like BLAAAAAAAAAAAA... a year ago I was looking at them and was getting excited because they were good challenges but now it's like we just took a VERY SIMILAR picture why should I do it again. Like Eric said money then affluence isn't that the same freaking thing? Anyway like I was saying I'm not mad just disgusted with the lack of interesting challenges.
Originally posted by K10DGuy:
I find that when people complain about a lack of creativity, it's mostly only to mask their own lack of.
I'll be the first to tell you that I am lacing creativity here. These challenges say nothing to me. They don't motivate me what so ever. Plain and simple... They suck.
Give me something good, give me something I can go out and look for. Give me something worth taking time off work to hunt down. What I don't want is challenge part 2 or 3 or 4...
mmh i find it the other way around actually. some of the recent and current challenges are quite exciting to me and make me wanna get out shootin again.
i guess it's, like nikonjeb said, an ebb and flow and of course a personal taste thing.
now if they'd just announce nudeIV soon i'd be totally satisfied ;)
I find it frustrating that so many good challenge suggestions are ignored.
K10DGuy seems to be implying that we should be creative about boring challenges, but creative solutions to boring challenges are usually punished with low scores. Of course, I do it anyway. I'm comfortable in the lowlands.
If I may say so, I think most of you have reached the peaks of the 'inspiration' curve and now need a bit more to feel challenged. Honestly, I have gone through some of your profiles.. and most of you have been around for a while as can be seen from the astounding quality of work.
For a newbie like me, every challenge brings a new assignment. Granted some of them I have a hard time finding a scene or subject for, but I am still thrilled every tuesday or sunday evening.
I am now trying to hear what Joseph meant... I agree just adding a I, II, III in front of the same theme may not help. I saw there are plenty of new themes in the challenge suggestions thread... and FWIW, I hope the SC/Langdon are watching that thread and start using unique (as far as possible) ideas.
To Joseph: sorry I didnt mean to be offensive. I just get ticked off with offensive language.
I find it frustrating that so many good challenge suggestions are ignored.
K10DGuy seems to be implying that we should be creative about boring challenges, but creative solutions to boring challenges are usually punished with low scores. Of course, I do it anyway. I'm comfortable in the lowlands.
I am mostly implying that, but I'm also implying that just because you happen to be personally bored with a challenge does not intrinsically mean that the challenges are boring. I'm sorry, but if you can't work yourself up to be excited about the choice between Smoke and Mirrors (the first ones were FOUR YEARS AGO), then I'm honestly stumped at what you are going to be able to work yourself up to be excited about. So either be a part of the solution, or if you're truly that jaded, maybe some kind of break from challenges altogether is something to look at. (Not directed at you personally posthumous)
How many people will take a shot of a lake or river and shoehorn the title and say something about a mirror or a reflection. How many people will do an IreneM shot and have something reflecting off of a mirror, or better yet how about shots that have to deal with drugs???
or
I'm Just saying I need better inspiration here and I would like to come up with something a little more different that the same old crap.
I'm gonna have to agree with Joe here. Have we really ran out of challenge topics? ... surely someone is manning the site while he (Langdon) is away.
We've run almost 1000 challenges -- how many original topics can you list. I haven't seen any of the complainants in this thread posting actual new, inspiring topics -- just complaining that "the site" should come up with better topics.
You know what? If you have such a great idea, start your own side challenge with any topic you want. As mentioned, there are always lots of new members, for whom any topic is a new challenge, and discussions like this are probably a disincentive towards sticking around. :-(
There are many areas of the site to which only Langdon has access -- and you really wouldn't want SC members having advance knowledge of the scheduled challenge topics anyway.
I'm Just saying I need better inspiration here and I would like to come up with something a little more different that the same old crap.
So what, exactly, is stopping you? The mirrors challenge has inspired me. I have close to 20 ideas running around like mad in my head.
If the reason is that you just don't feel you want to compete against the type of photography like in the examples you've posted, well, I guess we'll just have to miss whatever inspired entry you would have come up with had you focused more on inspiring yourself than complaining about the status quo.
Plus, there's some of us who've been around a few years who haven't participated in official challenges much, so a "Smoke IX" or a "Mirrors XX" is still something new to try.
I'm gonna have to agree with Joe here. Have we really ran out of challenge topics? ... surely someone is manning the site while he (Langdon) is away.
We've run almost 1000 challenges -- how many original topics can you list. I haven't seen any of the complainants in this thread posting actual new, inspiring topics -- just complaining that "the site" should come up with better topics.
You know what? If you have such a great idea, start your own side challenge with any topic you want. As mentioned, there are always lots of new members, for whom any topic is a new challenge, and discussions like this are probably a disincentive towards sticking around. :-(
There are many areas of the site to which only Langdon has access -- and you really wouldn't want SC members having advance knowledge of the scheduled challenge topics anyway.
I don't think that's the right answer. There's no reason to get upset about it he's just agreeing with me and were saying that we (customers) would like some better products that's all.
