(Photo comp chat here please!) Help me set up the STW forum photo competition

I reckon (1) but see if you can get one of the STW folk to set up a voting page as they do with their competitions and little teasers (like they did with that "identify the bike brand from a single letter of their logo" and the "identity the suspension design from a drawing of pivot points" examples).

Sure @Ben_Haworth or @stwhannah could help with that?

A forum thread to submit would be fine but with strict rules that there's one photo and a description only, no arguments or other bollocks that spills the thread to 18 pages... Time limited so it opens on a set date and closes a week later (for example).
And then some way of narrowing it down to a top ten or so to actually vote on. Maybe the top 10/20 most liked posts or something?

I've been in a few photo comps and have an observation.
When it comes to any sort of voting, all the photos should be displayed in a single and easy to view manner. Posting on a thread is easy, and the 'likes' mechanism is great, but it will always penalise people who enter late as their photo will naturally get less traffic.

So I like option 1 with added 'on forum' voting if possible. Unless a google form can be used without signing into google?

Please hold, caller, experiment under way...

I've run a few photo comps in my past editorial jobs.

I think you have to balance reducing barriers to entry (just posting in a thread is nice and easy) with Rikk's observation about navigability and votes being skewed by time.

A few ideas for the logistics:
- Have heats on a per-day or per-week basis. This could involve having pics submitted in a single thread and grouped into 10s or 20s for voting, with each heat getting a fresh thread and poll

- Have several categories

- Specify entry criteria (e.g. has to include a bike)

- Palm it off on STW to do with their CMS

Well done for taking this on anyway 🙂

Members only if STW resources are being utilised?

Please hold, caller, experiment under way…

Thanks @stwhannah

Is this cycling photography? Or anything/everything?

Members only if STW resources are being utilised?

+1

Is this cycling photography? Or anything/everything?

It probably needs a theme and some rules like "must have someone actually riding a bike" and "must not be a pic of your bike leaning against a tree/gate/wall". 😂

OK, so the thing i use for quizzes won't work because you have to put a 'right answer', and the thing for polls crops the images. So here is my suggestion:<br /><br />---

+++

Suggested plan:
I start a story a day, in 5 categories. That will create a forum thread a day.

Potential categories:

1 Animals (pets, wildlife, birds, safari etc)

2 Bikes (riding shots, leant against a gate, bike porn - anything with a bike in)

3 Landscapes (any outdoor view)

4 People (portraits, baby photos, riding shot - anything with a person in)

5 Open (anything you like within the usual forum rules of decency etc)

If you want to enter: Upload your image in the comments. One image per comment. If you want to include a sentence to say where/what it is, fine, but no giant stories please.

If you want to show your appreciation: Do not put comments in the comments. Just use the appreciation tokens. You can 'like' as many images as you want.

Only subscribers can use coins, so only subscribers can vote. But anyone can enter.

Likes can continue after threads are closed, so we could give each thread/category a week to have pics uploaded, and then close the threads to further comments, leaving them open to votes. With 'Open' category posted last so it can mop up any late entries.

On 2nd Jan I'll count up the coins. Top 3 images from each category will go into a story. The story will have polls in it, to allow anyone logged in to pick their favourite image in each category, and their overall favourite. The polls won't show who has what votes when you vote!

Winners will be revealed in a story in early January. Prizes will be internet kudos, and perhaps a 'well done for that' certificate by Amanda, or maybe one of our kids, if I manage to sweet talk someone into it.

+++

How does that sound? Any comments on categories? I did think about following the Red Bull Illume but that's a vague pile of waffle right there! Could combine animals and people and split bikes into riding/not riding. Could make it mandatory that bikes are being ridden (or crashed) and any bikes leant against gates go into 'landscapes'. Go and debate below while I get on with some work that's sort of paying the bills!

I think having people riding bikes in the people section may muddy the waters too much on a cycling website - I'd keep the bike stuff completely separate and maybe have bike stuff dominate the categories, then use Open for everything not bike related.

It does create the problem Rikk mentions above of earlier posts scooping more coins - is there a way to turn them off for a short period?

Within the confines of the system you have to work with it sounds reasonable to me.

Can't we just keep it "cycling" - its a cycling site after all?

Thanks Hannah. Sounds a plan.

I too am of the view we keep it as 'cycling'....…maybe an 'open' category.

Set up a Google Drive where people can upload an image to and everyone can browse? I think you can like images in a folder so may then see which ones get most votes...

Choose a hashtag and use instagram? So much easier….

Is there a no professional photogs rule? Or maybe photos only from phone/GoPro etc rather than one taken on £10000 of equipment then run through post processing?

How about categories:
- riding and riders (must include someone on or with a bike)
- views while riding (which needn’t be stereotypical landscapes)
- everything else

An outright “bikes always” is no good, as there needs to be at least one option for those who ride alone, and the world doesn’t need any more pictures of bicycles leaning against anything.

And I’d suggest not drawing some arbitrary line where a camera is considered an unfair advantage. God knows mountain bikers should be familiar with the concept of “all the gear, no idea” and any who’ve raced should also have learned how to muster a Paddington Stare for chronic pot-hunters and move on 🙂

I don't think Instagram would work (I keep my profile private so couldn't enter). I'd also say that not allowing photos from cameras wouldn't be fair, but no pro photographers would be nice.

Apart from excluding Amanda, James Vincent and Pete Scullion because I know their usernames, I have no idea how I'd go about excluding pros from it! Likewise, I'm not going through metadata to filter out cameras used etc. This is not going to be a stepping stone to greatness, glory, and a giant cash prize, so hopefully the pros will self filter and leave it to the enthusiastic amateurs?
I think having 5 categories makes sense because it will reduce the number of pages per thread, which should limit the 'all the coins on the first page' issue. And there are 5 week days, and then 15 pics in the final 'pick your winners from 3 finalists' story feels about manageable.
I'm not doing instagram because loads of you tell me you don't use it, and it does nothing for our site traffic. And being a Singletrack Subscriber means you can upload photos to Forum posts easy peasy these days. I'm being mercenary here 🙂

With more of a bike focus, how about:

1 Just riding along (must include someone on or with a bike)
2 Gnarpooning (action/radness/racing/tricks type 'rad' shots)
3 Out there (scenes from out on rides, no bike included)
4 Bike life (The incidentals that sum up life as a rider. The muddy faces, the grimy hands, the sandwich on a hill. Atmospheric or humorous shots that make you think 'yup, that's what bikes make happen'.)
5 Open (anything within the rules of the forum and decency)

I feel weirdly honoured to be excluded from a photo comp. @stwhannah - I think your latest five categories is a good mix, and another vote for allowing all cameras. You can take a terrible photo with a decent camera and a great one with a phone.

1 Just riding along (must include someone on or with a bike)
2 Gnarpooning (action/radness/racing/tricks type ‘rad’ shots)
3 Out there (scenes from out on rides, no bike included)
4 Bike life (The incidentals that sum up life as a rider. The muddy faces, the grimy hands, the sandwich on a hill. Atmospheric or humorous shots that make you think ‘yup, that’s what bikes make happen’.)
5 Open (anything within the rules of the forum and decency)

Yes.

All the other faffing and rules - I think this was meant to be fun and inspiring in equal measure.
Not a pain the ass and a set of rules.
So submit a picture, have some integrity, enjoy the photos.
STWHannahs decisions are final.

– Palm it off on STW to do with their CMS

STW has a CMS? 😉

OK, I've had a quick chat with that there M.OAB and there will be 5 categories:

1 Just riding along (must include someone on or with a bike)
2 Gnarpooning (action/radness/racing/tricks type ‘rad’ shots)
3 Out there (scenes from out on rides, no bike included)
4 Bike life (The incidentals that sum up life as a rider. The muddy faces, the grimy hands, the sandwich on a hill. Atmospheric or humorous shots that make you think ‘yup, that’s what bikes make happen’.)
5 Open (anything within the rules of the forum and decency)

I'll publish a story a day per category from 18th December, which should give you time to dig through your pics, take your cameras out on a ride, and so on. You'll then upload your pics as comments, and subscribers can vote on their favourites by using the coin/token credit system. 3 top votes become finalists from each category, finalists will be voted on via a story on the front page of the website. Yes, there's a website. Rules will be few and far between, and I'll make them up as I go along if there are any arguments. Bribes will be accepted, but I don't have the tech knowhow to diddle the credits, so will be futile.

Looking forward to seeing all your snaps!

Happy days.

Sounds amazing, should be an awesome way to wrap up the year!

It's a shame you can't add a poll in the forum posts.

subscribers can vote on their favourites by using the coin/token credit system

The what now?

that thing with the green 1 under it @thenorthwind

Great idea Matt. 

Taken by mobile.phone category too

Am I 'allowed' to enter?

(I possibly shouldn't if we're self- censoring but I do love a contest)

Not a pro by any means but I do teach photography...

Am I ‘allowed’ to enter?

Go for it, we need to up our 'game' to win and you are helping keep the lights on.

Speaking as some one who own an actual camera and  then runs the pictures through Lightroom trust me that doesn’t give better pictures than my phone. The only benefits to the camera are longer focal lengths.

An iPhone 15 pro costs more than all my photographic gear 

Is this competition photos taken this year or photos taken at any time?

How do you enter and where ?

Is this competition photos taken this year or photos taken at any time?

I think it should be...then it can run each year with fresh content

Speaking as some one who own an actual camera and  then runs the pictures through Lightroom trust me that doesn’t give better pictures than my phone. The only benefits to the camera are longer focal lengths.

An iPhone 15 pro costs more than all my photographic gear

There's some debate as to whether iPhones are better than Samsung, but there's no way I could have taken this with my top end Samsung phone

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/4760/26448544398_fcb94a2100_4k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/4760/26448544398_fcb94a2100_4k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/GiaGNb ]DSC00638-2[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/85252658@N05/ ]davetheblade[/url], on Flickr

There are of course things a phone can’t do. That’s why I own a camera. But I think my phone could do that picture. Unless I got flare. My phone can hand hold a 10 second exposure.

There's an element of noise on that pic as it is, but it's bearable. I reckon on the tiny phone sensor it would be verging on unusable.

That was 2.5s @ f9

Are yes. Image quality would be worse on a phone. But in this competition I think the inferior image quality of the phone won’t be that visible. However the crowd pleasing colours will help

It's live! Thanks for getting this going Matt and Hannah, it's a lot of effort for no reward.

My entry for today is my favourite bike photo of the year - I love the stark line of the precipice in front of the rider, who's gamely dropping into it in full attack mode, fleeing the snow falling around them. It's not bright, but hopefully it looks like a real adventure. Taken on a little mirrorless digital SLR which I do almost all my riding photos on - I agree with STR, phones just aren't a match for a real camera (at least, not for the amount of money I'm willing to spend on a phone - but I'm happy for this competition to prove me wrong).

The current rules discriminate against us solo riders. I have hundreds of nice photos of my bike on rides, but none with me in them. We need a 'bike love' category 😀

Although the last one kind of has me in it (but no bike 😞 )
Boo hiss - it's bad enough having no mates but now I can't even prove I do go out on my bike 😀...

Actually, I'll start my own rival competition; a prize to whoever can identify the three locations above. 2 easy, one less so!

Last photo - Achininver Beach?

And for the record, I have done he-haw on this. It's been Hannah and the STW team...

👍

matt_outandabout
Last photo – Achininver Beach?

Close but no cigar, Matt! (Prize isn't tobacco based 😀 )

Same place different view.

daverhp
The current rules discriminate against us solo riders. I have hundreds of nice photos of my bike on rides, but none with me in them. We need a ‘bike love’ category 😀

I also ride mostly solo, but take at least one riding shot every ride. Just need a bit of patience and creativity.
(not my actual entry below - I'll decide on that later)

The 'out there' category is the one for solo riders. Scenes from when you're out and about!

@daverhp - both my entries are self-timer shots from solo rides! And loads of others have posted photos without people on or with a bike as per the rules, so just crack on.

Taken on a little mirrorless digital SLR which I do almost all my riding photos on – I agree with STR, phones just aren’t a match for a real camera (at least, not for the amount of money I’m willing to spend on a phone – but I’m happy for this competition to prove me wrong).

Depends on your 'judging' criteria.

Despite teaching photography for part of my living, I have absolutely no personal interest in technical image quality when viewing photographs. I know this makes me a bit of an outlier but you'll know if you've seen any of my images posted here that low pixel counts, digital artifacts, noise and heavy processing are things I love rather than avoid. I value idea and feel above any technical quality so I don't even look at, let alone care about, what gear or settings someone used or if it's SOC or dragged through every tool Lightroom has.

YMMV.

The only thing I'll concede are phone lenses are no match for real glass when it comes to depth of field (but even there I tend to buy slow, old lenses with all their foibles over modern glass.

Either way, looking forward to these little contests as a bit of fun and a source of inspiration!

Thanks @stwhannah (must read more carefully) and damn you @colournoise for producing such an excellent image as a self timer shot thus encouraging me to make my rides even slower! Out of interest is that some sort of trap shot, or did you have loads of goes to get it right (or have impeccable timing) ?

Basically, I cheat.

I used to use an app called Framelapse which is basically a glorified burst mode for phones, but now I get better results using my Instas360, capturing a video clip and then reframing before clipping a frame and post-processing.

Like I said, for me the image is what's important not how 'pure' the technique is!

Thanks @colournoise - interesting. I have an Insta360 myself but only really use it sea kayaking. I tend towards grab landscape shots / portraits of my bike in nice situations but I may now be tempted to experiment. I did try panning video using the remote to trigger, but the very poor range of the remote made for a frustrating exercise.

I do try to avoid breaking the flow when riding; in a way the Insta works really well sea kayaking for exactly the same reason (and the remote stays in range) as I can concentrate on the paddling and frame shots and video afterwards without interrupting the experience I seek to capture.

Having a trap type trigger on the Insta seems an obvious feature - surprising they don't have it.

Is it one photo per category per person?

Thanks for setting this up!

kiksy
Is it one photo per category per person?

If it is, there's a few of us have already broken one of the few rules this contest has!

Apologies if covered earlier, but when I click the 'insert image' thing, a box pops up saying full members can post images, click here. When I click here, nowt happens. Full member and subscriber since Issue 1 GoFar days.

What am I missing?

@boxelder

When you click on the 'full members can post images' box, it should open a folder on your computer (probably the last one you uploaded from) then just select the image, click 'open' and the image will upload with a percentage graphic. This is on a PC, phone seems to want an img url.

Obviously, this isn't happening for you, but that's what should happen.

Is it one photo per category per person?

Definitely should be, but looks like a free for all so far

Is this competition photos taken this year or photos taken at any time?

This year surely

Ta. Some Apple nonsense - works fine on the phone.

I read the rules before posting, but the 1 picture per person isnt mentioned, just one picture per post. So apologies!

Brilliant idea by the way, stuff like this is great fun. I love seeing other people's pictures.

Is this competition photos taken this year or photos taken at any time?

This year surely

That 'rule' has been broken too.

It's image posting anarchy!

Well I've stuck to one image per category, and from the past year (as I thought that was implicit).

But it's just a bit of fun so I won't demand a stewards' inquiry if I don't win.

Brilliant idea by the way, stuff like this is great fun. I love seeing other people’s pictures.

Yeah, it's been great to see people's favourite photos from the year and all the adventures people have been on. The photos say a lot about people too - what's important to them (the view, the jumps, riding with their kids, the history you come across on a ride, the people, the bikes or whatever) and where they like to go.

I'd initially assumed it was one photo from this year, but some folk started posting a few and I had more than one favourite for some categories so pitched in as well.

I'm finding the levels of engagement and which photos are attracting likes pretty interesting so far.

I’d initially assumed it was one photo from this year, but some folk started posting a few and I had more than one favourite for some categories so pitched in as well.

I must admit that when I first suggested the (POTY) idea, in my mind it was one photo per person and must be from this year.
Hopefully, it will become an annual thing.

Plenty of multiple entries creeping in. I’m not sure it was made explicit in the rules, but one photo each seems right to me.

Hell, it doesn't really matter as it's only for fun?

Anyone spotted an AI entry yet?

I've been guilty of multiple entries. I've not participated before and hadn't read this thread before posting on the others so wasn't aware that was a rule. As there is no prize and it's just a bit of fun I didn't think it mattered. I thought it was more about sharing good memories. If it does matter, I'm happy for any of mine to be deleted. I'm no photographer, so it's not like my crappy phone snaps are going challenge anyone who is! 🙂

Seems it might be a bit more serious than I thought,  I'll maybe leave it to others more talented than me from now on. Good luck, there are some good photographers on here 👍

Multiple entries are allowed, I made no rule against it! But post one image per post, or there’s no way to vote for each favourite.

Since it seems like it’s got a fair amount of interest, I’ll probably suggest we do it again next year, but you’ll have prior warning so I’ll make it images from the past year to trim it down a bit/give you chance to work on your finest through the year.

I don't think the serious photos from the people into photography are attracting the most votes but the ones taken by people getting a quick snapshot that tells a nice story about a particular moment. It's nice, it's definitely not just for ****ers like me who spend ages faffing about with photos.

Are there going to be new catagories until the photo competion take over the entire forum.:)

@Bruce No, that's it!

Last call for votes on your favourite photos! I’ll be counting them up once I’ve had coffees, explored my inbox and so on!

Excellent.  I've really enjoyed a lot of these

Votes are counted and finalist story is up!

https://singletrackmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/vote-here-singletrack-forum-photography-finalists/

I think the mechanism for stopping me voting twice might just look at whether I visited the page. Does that seem likely? I clicked on the overall category first, but didn’t vote. I then went back to it and it said I had voted

Not a big deal

Thanks for organising