Calendar contest voting - Page 3

Calendar contest voting · 08-31-2009, 10:56 PM

Voting will start on September 2nd and close at 6:00 PM on September 13th. There looks like a lot of great entries. It is going to be tough to pick a winner. Remember you can only vote once in each category and you can not vote for your own.

So everyone knows what the winners will receive. The winner of each monthly category will receive a $50.00 gift certificate from one of our fine sponsors. The winner of the cover contest will receive a $100.00 Klingspor gift certificate. All winners will also receive one free calendar.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

CarvedTones · 09-08-2009, 08:58 AM

Jerry,

Oddly enough, I have to admit that while voting I did encounter a situation where I would have liked to know how the vote was going to factor into my choice. I based my choices with the quality of workmanship on the item(s) as my primary criteria, my personal impressions of aesthetics as a close second and photography as a distant third. As long as the picture had a nice backdrop and good enough resolution for me to clearly make judgements on my first two criteria, photography had little impact on my decisions. In more than one category, I found myself having to choose between alternate pictures of the same items. Had I known the vote count, I would have followed the herd and voted for the picture of the item(s) I like that was getting the most votes. But the danger is that I might have seen that the real contest seemed to be between two other items and I may have selected one of them instead.

OTOH, I do understand the POV that it is still a free choice. And I absolutely agree with you about our rights to opinions (and friendly debate

).

DavidF · 09-08-2009, 02:43 PM

I have to say that during last years voting, seeing the score DID influence my score, If I saw it was scoring low consistently, I admit to not really giving it a good look, and the same applied at the top end, If a picture was scoring consistently in the 8's then you could bet that my score wasn't much different. I think complete anonymity is the best way.

walnutjerry · 09-08-2009, 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by DavidF

I have to say that during last years voting, seeing the score DID influence my score, If I saw it was scoring low consistently, I admit to not really giving it a good look, and the same applied at the top end, If a picture was scoring consistently in the 8's then you could bet that my score wasn't much different. I think complete anonymity is the best way.

Dave----------I think the last sentence in your post is the key for me. To be complete anonymity would be to omit the entrants name also. I firmly believe if there is a choice to be made and it is a close decision, we tend to go with people we know, trust, admire, etc. rather than someone we have never met.

I do NOT feel as though I let someone else's score influence the way I rated images last year--it is difficult sometimes but I vote my convictions.

I believe there will be some more good thought to come out of this issue yet. Once a good set of guide lines are established then it will be a smoother event.

Jerry

FredP · 09-08-2009, 04:31 PM

the only way to have complete anonimity is to keep contest entries under wraps. ie... not posted to the forum untill after the contest has run its coarse. when entered the name should be invisible to all but the persons running the contest and those persons would be inelligable. [spelling?] the rules state that we are to judge the photo. voting for the project is not the way I understood the rules. in years past I gave better grades to good photos and lesser grades to not so good photos. Unfortunately some great projects got lesser grades because the photos were not pleasing to look at. mho...
an example [and this is not meant to offend anyone] a picture was plucked out of its background and pasted in a plain white box. while the project itself was exellent it just did not look right floating out there in mid air. this is a calendar picture and should be pleasing to look at with a background that looks good and doesn't detract from the project. If the project is a piece of furniture it should be on the floor or ground as it would occur in the real world. pens, boxes, and other small items look great sitting on a blanket or whatever but a dresser or chair doesnt. I am sure some feelings have been hurt in previouse years because not so great grades were had by truely great projects. I am also sure the grades were not a reflection of the project. this is another reason for complete anonimity.

CarvedTones · 09-08-2009, 04:52 PM

Fred,

The rules do say it is primarily a photo contest, but also...

Please remember that this is primarily a Photo Contest, therefore, only photos that can be made to fit within the size and resolution requirements will be accepted.
Also remember the contest reflects your wood working and photo skills.

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/f...contest-25022/

I took that to mean that your entry must be in the form of a photo meeting some very specific criteria for resolution. The categories are related to the type of project being photographed, not the type of photography. I guess the way I looked at it is the winner of the spindle turning category should be the best spindle tunring project that someone took a good picture of.

RayH · 09-08-2009, 05:00 PM

I believe this thread is great, and I believe the posters are doing a fantastic job of spelling out their thoughts on the subject without getting emotions involved.

I think the greatest value will be for the organizers setting up next year's calendar contest (and any other such contests). These posts should help them in deciding, and clearly stating, what criteria/rules are intended -- before the contest. I have the greatest admiration for these folks that willingly take on a task that I would never attempt.

My sincere thanks for all their work.

Ray

FredP · 09-08-2009, 05:00 PM

Originally Posted by CarvedTones

Fred,

The rules do say it is primarily a photo contest, but also...

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/f...contest-25022/

I took that to mean that your entry must be in the form of a photo meeting some very specific criteria for resolution. The categories are related to the type of project being photographed, not the type of photography. I guess the way I looked at it is the winner of the spindle turning category should be the best spindle tunring project that someone took a good picture of.

ummmmm................. yeh!

Jeff Mills · 09-08-2009, 05:34 PM

I Voted

Mike Davis · 09-08-2009, 05:37 PM

I won't.

maybe next year.

I will say the voting is much more logical and definitive this time. I always wondered why anyone would vote 5 for all the entries.

If I thought one was best I voted 10 for it and zero for the rest. Same as voting one vote for the best.

Also think your vote should be secret. Maybe that's why some voted 5 for all. Didn't want to hurt any feelings, same as not voting. If you put a piece up to be judged accept the vote and forget about feelings.

Jeff Mills · 09-08-2009, 05:41 PM

Originally Posted by Mike Davis

I won't.

maybe next year.

It's a free country - that's why I voted

cskipper · 09-08-2009, 08:10 PM

I can honestly say that knowing the way voting was going has influenced me in the past, but that that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. For example, if Mike entered in several categories, but the one in category A was amazing and getting lots of the votes. His entry in category B is also good, but not necessarily better than someone else's in category B. Knowing that if he won the most votes in both categories that he would have to pick which entry he wanted in the calendar. I'd probably guess that he'd choose the outstanding piece in category A, and I'd be more likely to vote for the other equally nice entry in the category B. When all else is equal, I try to include a variety of submitters for the calendar.

Did that thoroughly confuse everybody?