MAY PHOTO CONTEST- Comment thread "SCENE AT A NATIONAL HISTORIC REGISTER SITE!

I'm really looking forward to this! Let's go!

I was thinking I didn't need anything to tell what my picture was since it was in the title, but I guess I do-- not sure how to add it now. Sorry.

Beale Street Historic District, Memphis

Color. I like this. It looks like an old postcard, but in the end I went with the brown tone.


B&W is nice, but the brown tone added to the funky feel, I think.


This mill is just hard as heck to shoot. I've tried it many times. This is the best attempt. The right side with the wheel never gets any sun and the front almost always has sun. The front area is very shallow and filled with large trees so it limits the angle. In the end I set up the tripod, did multiple exposures and sandwiched them together to get a more even exposure for both sides. The mill has been restored (although the wheel is imperfectly restored) and they do grind grain there for exhibition purposes. I was fortunate to catch it just as they released some water to turn the wheel. They recycle the water from a small holding channel so it's not truly the working mill it once was. And the buckets weren't assembled correctly so the water leaks out the back of each bucket. They only time you can get the water flowing over the wheel is when they first release it from the top. But it was a fun shoot and I bought some freshly ground corn meal.

But I can see why you went with the b&w. I loved it before I saw the color version--well, I still love it, but I do like the old postcard quality of the color version, like you said. :thumbsup:

The colour one is nice too, but the B&W shows up the details better where the light hits it.

list them at the bottom of your picture. People might not get it if they are in a hurry. I forgot to do it on my picture, and just added it below mine in a separate post, as soon as the number count got a little off anyway. It wasn't even all that necessary. But your six are not in your title.

Actually I am on dialup right now and I may have missed your subtitle anyway, so ignore if I am wrong.

but is there any way you could get it bigger? You are allowed 800 pixels on the longest side and up to 200k size. I fear your photo is at a disadvantage that small. I would love to see it bigger since it looks like there is a lot of detail I am missing now.

Sorry posted in wrong place

Great photo.

That's an awesome picture

Very dynamic. I'm on dial-up, so I had a bit of time to think about what the pic was going to look like from the title. WAY more interesting than I expected.

I was thinking about this one too



That is in Kiev, Ukraine.

Wikipedia doesn't have much info on the monestary, but here it is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uspensky_Cave_Monastery

Really breath taking.

. . . that there were buildings on the national Historic Registry that were out of the country. Where was the list for this? I might want to change my submission.

Reading for content is always a good idea!:shrug:

Sorry.

Don't change a thing about your entry. However, I do think you should add the names of the SIX historical places as a response to your photo. I had to do that because I am a challenged reader as well, LOL. I mean, I recognized yours as SF Bay right away but I bet a bunch of people wouldn't recognize Alcatraz, etc.

Am I allowed to do that?

realized my mistake, the edit time had passed.

It's probably too late to add in an edit to your submission post, but if you could post the info here, I can add it in when I start the prelims. I figure people are going to ask "what and where" when we go to GD, so I may as well save everybody the trouble of having to answer the same old questions over and over again. Tuesday Afternoon - you too! (And anyone else I've missed!

See you are ahead of me!

sending you a ...PM

It isn't luck, it's knowing it would make a fine image at that moment.

Lexington Cemetery, Lexington Ky.


Henry Clay is buried there. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Clay

His cousin Cassius Marcellus Clay was a noted abolitionist. I guess you recognize the name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassius_Marcellus_Clay_(1810%E2%80%931903)

Another Cassius Marcellus Clay

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali

I've long known about the photography contests, but just never got around to having time, etc. I was idly thinking about the contest today, and not having read the photography forum in awhile, I had no idea the submissions were due today. When I read about the deadline, I looked at the Nat'l Register of Historic places to see what was in my area, thinking I'd drive somewhere after work, take some shots, and get one posted. But in reading the National Register's website, I found that I had unknowingly taken pictures of a historic register site last weekend. Dry Creek Valley is a wine appellation in Sonoma County, and the valley itself is on the register. So that's my submission.

I did have a couple of questions. I reduced my image to 800 pixels and dropped the jpeg quality down so the image was under 200K. I've noticed that some of the submissions are larger. Is everyone more or less ok with submitting an image larger than 800 pixels on the long dimension?

Also, I didn't see anything in the stated rules about post-processing, image editing, etc. I only use digital darkroom techniques, i.e., the same things that could be done with developing film. Are there any guidelines or restrictions for image post-processing?

Anyway, thanks! This is a lot of fun.

Just wanted to welcome you. You ask some good questions. I make my submissions 800 pixels at the widest but I have no idea how to drop the jpeg quality down. LOL there is a lot I don't know. So, sometimes I drop the size down further and still go a little over the 200k size.

I wish I knew the answers to your questions. This is a pretty informal contest and some things I guess are sort of set in stone and some are pretty lax. One thing is that it is a different person in charge every month, because the winner from the previous month gets that job. So, these rules are just passed along. I haven't actually ever seen them enforced, and I have been here about six months. But this is the first month that I have seen the dimensions of 800 pixels exceeded so much.

I haven't seen any rules about photo editing so that is okay I think. We probably should start a discussion about the rules. I am not sure why the file size is important. I have to say it is a little disconcerting to see photos of so many different sizes. I would prefer them to be similarly sized. But again, this is just an informal contest to have fun, so I don't want to add to anyone's headaches who organize these things. Everyone does a good job just to get them posted correctly. Maybe after we get through with these contests in progress now we can start a discussion and a poll (a poll, naturally, after all this is the Photography group!)

I just wanted to get a good idea of the rules of the road, I didn't want to suggest I wanted more rules imposed. The informality is nice.

You do ask some good questions, and I think we should discuss them in the photo forum. Let's just wait 'til I'm off the hook!:rofl:
I haven't checked too many of the photos for pixel dimensions or file size. I suspect that the file size limits may be due for an update, given modern cameras and people's ability to up and download. I think the dimensions may be ok - I really dislike it when people put up photos that are bigger than my screen. Personally, I am leaning towards being inclusive in the contest and opposed to strictly following the rules, but I do think that puts those who post smaller images at a disadvantage. It's a tough call for me. :dilemma: As far as post-processing - this is an art form, isn't it? I'd say anything goes, except for the limits set by the monthly theme and person running it. The idea is to put out the best image you can, based on a photograph. Otherwise we could demand RAW files, I guess.:shrug:

And thanks for playing in our prestigious competition!

edited because I had you confused with another entrant!

Unless I am missing something your entry is only 640 pixels wide, and you are well under the 200k (???)

This isn't a criticism or anything but wondering where the "I reduced my image to 800 pixels" came from. Did you reduce it more than you intended?

I had it to 800 x 500, 198K, and I thought that's what I uploaded. But I was using the local version of Picasa to upload to my web album Picasa page, and I think there was an upload setting that reduced it and killed the EXIF data. I noticed all of this after it was too late to edit.

welcome to the Photography forum, and please my late response.

In regards to your question about post-processing, since no one else addressed it: in general, extreme post-processing (i.e. anything that could not be done within a camera or in a dark room) is discouraged within the contests, unless the contest expressly allows it. It is, of course, welcomed in any non-contest thread. :)

I do enjoy the extreme post-processing contests, and we may be due for one soon, but they do tend to be less about the photography and more about the process after the strict photography work is finished.

I can see you came back with some real treasures.

the contest already? It says in the Submission thread that the prelims are running this weekend. I didn't see anything. Do you want to wait till the Seasonal contest is over?

:wow:

Thanks Mira. I love your pic!!