****On the Proposed New Blind Submissions***

[Celebration]

Wow, so far it looks like most people want to try it. I'll give this a day or two. If this passes, here are the guidelines that I am invoking as Czar for the month:

1. All entries should be sent by IM to me, and they may not later be altered in any way, unless there is a sizing problem, and I can do that.

2. Nobody can run polls to see what photo to enter.

3. Any photos posted to this group before right now may be entered in the contest. However, do NOT post any more photos that you think you might want to enter, only second or third place finishers.

4. Although I will do my best to keep up with the entries and post them to an "entry" thread periodically, remember that I am not chained to my computer, so you will just have to make sure you send them to me quickly enough to be in the first thirty, even if I have posted just a few photos.

5. I may make any other rules I want if I decide they are necessary.

Submissions will begin a week from today (I think I said that)........next Monday. In any case I will put reminders here.

[Mz Pip]

1. Sounds good!

It's always interesting to try something new.

[CC]

2. Sounds good though

wondering who might be near enough to run over and chain you to your computer? Course we would never even think of doing something like that. O8)


You are one brave soul to take on all the extra work. :yourock: Sounds like fun for the rest of us.

[Celebration]

5. I'm not sure where the extra work comes in

It will be easy enough to post the photos as they come in. And this way I won't have to make any changes............

But I refuse to be chained to the computer!

[CC]

6. I think it is more the stress of

doing the contest as all that makes any changes sound bad. Unfortunately there are way too many times I feel like I am chained to my computer, usually when doing work type stuff and not fun stuff.

[ohheckyeah]

3. I actually voted no

but whatever everyone wants is fine with me.

[Celebration]

4. me too!

Remember we are only trying this for this month. I assume it will be left up to the particular host in the future, or, we could decide one way or another whether this works well or not. I like the idea of trying it, but I think I will miss everyone's polls.

I think what it will do is quiet some of the rumblings in the background.............

In the spirit of this one particular contest, I am going to include an honor code, about not telling people to vote for your photo, etc.

[ohheckyeah]

7. Trying new things is always interesting.

I doubt I'll even get a submission in this time. I had to re-install my OS and since I'm getting a new computer I haven't reinstalled my photo software on this computer. With all the extra work of fixing this computer and then setting up the new one when it gets here I might now have time to work on photos.

[Mira]

8. Dear Czarina, one thing you forgot to mention:

Does the Host title the photos, or do the Photographers?
==========
I started this with tongue in cheek, but now I wonder.....because I've been thinking about this experiment a little bit. Just before I left this morning I saw that you posted it, voted for it, and still am definitely on board because I think it's fun and maybe we'll learn something from the results.

What I wonder is WHY we are doing it?
Would you tell me in a sentence or two what "problem" the blind submissions might solve?
If I understand that better, then I think we have a better basis from which to evaluate the results

Is it so the photographers don't know who's photo it is ?
The problem with that may be that we know each other well enough to get at least a third of them right off the bat just from being exposed to each others work.
And it implies that we are buying into that interpersonal trust and preferred personalities are in question, and I for one do not want to believe that is true.

Or is it that the GD folks can't sneak into the Submission lineup and find their favorite people and vote for them by name?

Or is it both, and we just want to assume we will have a more trustworthy end result. When the origin of a photograph is less transparent then the personal and interpersonal values of some participants can't be so easily questioned. Is that what underlies this experiment?
============

If that is right, then the titles should be set by the Host. Better yet, just numbers, not titles. And have the theme, as always, prominently featured. Objectionable titles set by the photographer were a major complaint in the monster thread. Specifically my titles. I think the titles were more of a complaint than knowing who submitted which photo.

[Celebration]

10. all of the above

I also think it may be more fun for us not to know who submits something. Also, knowing who submits the photo may affect us even though we say it doesn't. It could be subconscious. I'm serious about that.........knowing the photographer is a distraction when voting.

I'm going to allow everyone to make up their own titles this contest. If someone wants to experiment with that in another contest that is fine with me. I think it is important that the title descibe the photo. It is too hard to remember numbers.

[Mira]

12. So you say it is all my reasons plus seeing if it will be fun.

Thanks for making it clear why we are doing this.

I fully understand that making changes about the titles is an additional change, and possibly was an annoying thing to be asked to do.

Yet, I bet it's also understandable that I'm the one who is touchy about the issue of titles, because it was MY titles that were singled out as objectionable.

[ohheckyeah]

19. I'm no expert but I did

take 5 semesters of photography from experts and both believed that titling a photograph was part of the creative process. I won a second place award for a photo at the college art contest in part because of the title. Even people who weren't particularly overwhelmed with my odd little photo loved the title and made comment about it. It took creativity to title it in a way that many found amusing and told them something about me and the photo.

I don't think there's anything wrong with coming up with appealing, creative titles and I don't think anyone should apologize or feel funny about using a title that tugs at emotions whether the emotion is sentiment, nostalgia, humor or whatever.

It's not cheating, it's not gaming, it's not anything but an extension of the creative process.

[Celebration]

20. Absolutely!

It would be quite presumptious of me to title people's photographs......! Photographs are personal, as are any work of art. People should be able to title their work any way they want. If any of the rest of us don't like the title we are free not to vote for it. And if we don't like the way someone titled their photo, and other people vote for it anyway, then....TOUGH LUCK! This is so obvious that it doesn't even need to be stated.

[Saphire]

22. I name all of my photos when I shoot them...sometimes, it's the name

that dictates the photo.

Yes, titles are just an extension of the photo. To me at least.

[Mira]

23. Thanks, oheckyeah. I would be hard pressed to have to stick with

a banal descriptive phrase here such as

"Big Brown Broken Boulder" when I would want to call it

"Sentry"



You settled the issue in my mind, and I thank you for your support, whether intended or not.

[ohheckyeah]

25. I'm glad it settled it in your mind

and yes, it was intended to be support for you and everyone who puts time and thought into titling their photos.

I like words and I like writing, so trying to write a catchy or clever title is really part of the whole process for me.

I think I posted this before but I will again:

ONE TOE OVER THE LINE



The title says a lot about me and the photo and of course was a play on the song One Toke Over the Line, which also says a lot about me (back in the day).

[Mira]

26. Don't know the song - but the photo is in my memory. Etched. I loved it

the first time I saw it, I love it still. It should be published; it is an emotional and sensual smorgasbord.

I would not have been able to say I remember who's it was, but now I know, and thank you!

It's right up there with one of my other all time favorites, a b/w of Johnny Noshoes' - with a white curtain at the open window and a shoe on the floor.

I would love to see that photo again, too, if he by chance stops in to see this.

[ohheckyeah]

28. Thank you.

The original of the photo took me HOURS in the darkroom trying to get the detail in both the black and white. It was a real challenge.


One Toke Over the Line is an old hippy classic.


http://youtu.be/ql0IB1zv2MA

One toke over the line sweet Jesus
One toke over the line
Sittin' downtown in a railway station
One toke over the line

Awaitin' for the train that goes home, sweet Mary
Hopin' that the train is on time
Sittin' downtown in a railway station
One toke over the line

Whoooo do you love, I hope it's me
I've bin a changin', as you can plainly see
I felt the joy and I learned about the pain that my momma said
If I should choose to make a part of me, surely strike me dead
Now I'm one toke over the line sweet Jesus
One toke over the line
Sittin' downtown in a railway station
One toke over the line
I'm waitin' for the train that goes home sweet Mary
Hopin' that the train is on time
Sittin' downtown in a railway station
One toke over the line

I sail away a country mile,
Now I'm returnin' showin' off a smile
I met all the girls and loved myself a few
Ended by surprise like everything else I've been through
It opened up my eyes and now I'm
One toke over the line sweet Jesus
One toke over the line
Sittin' downtown in a railway station
Don't you just know I waitin' for the train that goes home sweet Mary
Hopin' that the train is on time
Sittin' downtown in a railway station
One toke over the line

Don't you just know I waitin' for the train that goes home sweet Mary
Hopin' that the train is on time
Sittin' downtown in a railway station
One toke over the line

I want to be
One toke over the line sweet Jesus
One toke over the line
Sittin' downtown in a railway station
One toke over the line
Don't you just know I waitin' for the train that goes home sweet Mary
Hopin' that the train is on time
Sittin' downtown in a railway station
One toke over the line
Sittin' downtown in a railway station
One toke over line
One toke, one toke over the line

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/brewer_and_shipley/#share

[Mira]

32. Thanks, I had to wait til I had a little time to spend with it,

it rings a very faint bell - so in my early years in this country I did hear it. The melody and the "sweet Jesus" refrain are very familiar, and I would have had no idea what a "toke" was.
Thanks for that. I like your photo much better, thanks for the background on it.
:)

[Mz Pip]

24. Back in the days

when I was a painter I did large abstracts that I would sell to businesses for their walls. I never was good at titles, especially titles for abstract work. So I would take a dictionary, close my eyes, flip it open and put my finger down. Whatever word it landed on was the title of my painting. Dictionary Ching; abstract titling for abstract work.

It doesn't work so well for narrative work.

[Mira]

27. That's making me laugh out loud Mz Pip. IChing before Ka-ching, I love it. n/t

[alfredo]

9. Two thumbs up.

[alfredo]

11. Just a thought: Blind Submission sounds a bit kinky.

[Mira]

13. ...I want a photograph to go with that (and fries) n/t

[alfredo]

18. Supa Freak!

[Celebration]

16. ...........

:rofl:

[Callalily]

31. Well . . . that doesn't sound just too bad! LOL! j/p n/t

[alfredo]

35. Just a bit kinky, not David Vitter kinky.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. Did you mean to say IM, which (to me) means instant message?

Or did you mean PM=private message?

Sorry, but I am confused!:silly:

[Celebration]

15. PM

LOL, that is what I meant.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

17. Ah, thanks!

I thought it had to be PM, but I did want to make sure!

[Callalily]

21. I'm always willing to try

something new. Thanks for all of your hard work on research on this new format/project.

[NV Whino]

29. You need to address the situation of names on photos

Just saw RichardD's and realized he and perhaps one or two others copyright their photos with a visible imprint.

[NV Whino]

30. Question on submitting by PM

I see on Photobucket there is an option for e-mail and IM. Am I correct in assuming that is the link we would put in our PM to you?

[Celebration]

33. Pm me

The same link you would post in the thread. I'll copy and paste. I might have more info in the entry thread.

[NV Whino]

34. Okay, thanks.