I have been hanging out for this to come along again. I had such a great time doing it last year and I finally saved enough to buy myself a DSLR recently, so I can't wait to be able to get creative with it! Oh, and Mcleod, I'm going to win but I'll mention you in my acceptance speech LOL :P

WooHoo!! Loved the competition last year & have quickly registered again this year. Can't wait to get my secret props!!

New to this competition this year, so hopefully I can take excellent photos worthy of the competition.

By the way, does this blog has RSS?

I'm pretty excited as well, unfortunately some of the winners last year looked like professionals with their shots.  So that in mind, I'll just have to be happy with my crappy-snaps ;)

First yer entering and I am excited, missed out last year. Bring me my box so I can explore!

Hi Iggy. Sure do! You can find this on the right hand side of the Photo5 landing page - community.canon.com.au/.../default.aspx

Photo5 is such a brilliant concept and it was huge fun last year just trying to come up with creative ideas. I'm really looking forward to seeing the entries this year.

Ive been checking for the last few months to see if this comp was happening again,

lets just say when i got the email, i did a little happy dance and patted my camera, (soon my precious)

good luck everyone,

This should be a lot of fun.  Didn't see the comp last year as I was moving and had other things on my mind but looking forward to it.  Can't wait to see whats in the box.

Flickr has a Group dedicated to this competition.  So if anybody reading this blog is also on Flickr, the group can be found here:

www.flickr.com/.../canonphoto5

We had several finalists and one winner from this group last time around.

Thrilled to see the Canon comp again in oncology last time and saw many photo opportunities but too late .....thank you cannon here we come with my little technical wonder

I had an absolute ball last year, cannot wait to see this years objects!

Nice one. I missed out last year and am keen to give this a go. :)

First time entry for this year.  It's going to be fun!

I only just discovered this competition and it sounds like a lot of fun! I can't wait to get my Photo5 box and get shooting!

I work in a camera shop and we had a Canon Rep come in and he told us about it and gave us promo stuff. Im looking forward to shooting the images with the objects. Which i've already had a play with in the shop!

It's going to be intresting this year for sure!

Cheers,

Simon

Just bought my first DSLR and am looking forward to entering. Sounds like it could be fun and interesting. Waiting for my box to arrive and see what is involved.

PLEASE make the gallery easier to navigate this year. Last year was hopeless, I gave up voting for entrants because it was such a pain in the butt to navigate through.  Great competition though.  

I cant wait... last year was an absolute hoot! gunn run wild with my imagination this year for sure!

This will be my first year entering this competition!

I am really looking forward to receiving my box of surprise items and cannot wait to start shooting them!

I didn't do last years going to this year

should be fun good luck all

Hi Amateur Photog, thanks for the feedback. You'll be pleased to hear that Canon has changed the operation of the gallery this year and it's much easier to use.

Just saw the site and the competition. Great idea! We have a similar ongoing concept at work which has been going really well.

This is going to be like Pandora's Box, who knows what is going to come out.

Just bought a new DSLR to replace the tried and trusted 35mmSLR which I have kept for old time sake. Might try both.

Good luck y'all.

I have no idea about photography, but i am going to give it a go as i have had a distant untapped interest in it for a long time. Hope there is a prize for last place!

I have just updated to a 450D and this competition will give me an excuse to experiment with it. I am not creative but maybe I can learn to discover something hiding within.

I can't wait until my five goodies arrive. I wish for, a Ferrari, a New House, a B&O television and stereo, a Tag Heur Watch, and a big block of chocolate.

Then I will photograph them all.

Its my first time this year.Waiting for the Box to come. I will try to get good pictures.

  can't wait....send me the Box cannonnnnnn

Hi all, this is my first year entering as well. Very much looking forward to everything. Good luck to all and have fun.

I am really looking forward to this competition! Probably the most creative and fun competition I have ever come across by a large company :)

Is there anywhere to view last years entries/winners?

Yep you can see last year's winners here - www.canon.com.au/.../photographerCredits.aspx

Love the comp, had a great time getting all the ideas together and finding ways of shooting them

Though was a little annoyed last year to see one of the winners didn't actually abide by the rules - "no more than one item in the shot"... fingers crossed I won't end up agro this year :)

When will I receive my box? :-(

This competition is not only exciting, the box is so intriguing! Bring on the box!!

Hi Lisa, hopefully you will receive your box soon! Takes approx. 7 working days from time of registration.

Just got my 50mmF1.4 & 18-135IS last week. Talk about good timing :-)

This is an interesting competition. Wonder I have got any chance considering I have a compact digital camera (*gasp*) and it is a Sony. Should I bother?

;)

Well this is the first competition I have entered and I am looking forward to the box.........

I know last years winners are at www.canon.com.au/.../photographerCredits.aspx but are there any larger images?

This looks like fun, can't wait to get my box it means I will get to really play around with my 400D. Need to get the creative juices flowing

Wish we had this comp in NZ.

Excellent timing, Spring is my favourate time to shoot. Get your tripods ready.

Hi all, this is my first year at the comp. great idea I've had a 350D for about a year and not sure how to use it properly yet! can't wait till I receive the box to find out whats in it..

Finally got a D-SLR in May, starting to get a bit creative with my work now, and along comes this challenge (face it, its going to be tough! :)

Fantastic I say. Bring on the box.

Well I figured anything that gets people being creative is a fabulous competition. Can't wait to get my box and get started!

This will be my first ever photo competion, nervous but excited. Reading everyone elses blogs it sounds great, bring on the Box!

Saw an ad for the Photo5 comp while eating noodle soup so rushed back to work and registered! Will be my first time...so looking forward to it...

Really an amateur but thought I would give it a go! Has to be fun if nothing else

just got my box just got my box...

so so excited at the endless posibilities...

GAME ON PEOPLE!

Hi John, no there aren't any larger images but will keep this in mind for next time!

Hope to get my box soon and think up some ideas. Awesome to see the excitement.

What a wonderful idea. Hope grandmothers can play too. I've registered!

just got my box!this is goona be harder than I thought!

Is it only 1 item per photo or can you combine multiple Photo5 items in a shot?

I am so looking forward to start having serious fun with my first digital baby.

I never entered any photo competion before and doubt I am going to win this time around, but I am so excited about it...

Good luck everyone, have fun!!

Thank you Cannon for this opportunity,

Angelita

Hi chikabelley, each image needs to feature one of the Photo5 objects. You cannot submit an entry that combines all 5 objects. Feel free to refer to the FAQs on the Photo5 site for more information - www.canon.com.au/.../default.aspx

I purchased my first digital SLR last year and have just never got around to reading some basic material on how to get the most out of my camera. Congrats to canon on such a fantastic idea and especially giving them the chance to win the same awesome prizes as the professionals. Its also good as it makes you 'think outside the box' (excuse the pun) in terms of how you interpret an item to be snapped. Can't wait for my email as to what I am taking snaps of. Good luck one and all

Damn damn damn...have not got my magic box yet and the wait is killing me.

Of course. Thanks for the link & reminder.

Just registerd.. i'm a little old school in that I love my film slr... the terms&cond say it has to be a digital photo... will they accept a scanned neg or slide? ..and what about photoshopping to correct exposures?

I just got my box and my brolly stick is broken...sob..sob..sob :-(

Hmmm... could make an interesting pic..

Just invested in my fisrt DSLR camera and im loving it :-) But still amateur and have had no experience with naming and comenting on photos. Any hints from old Pros??

This will be exciting! I cant wait to test out my creativity.. Good Luck to everyone thats entering, and Great idea Canon :)

I just registered today, my interest in photography is rather new with aquiring my digital point and shoot after the birth of my son nearly 2 years ago, I look forward to the challenge. Too bad I had not saved up for my 40D in time for the comp though :(

Just registered - looking forward to this

Phill

Hi Melanie, Sorry to hear that your umbrella didn't last the distance! As you mentioned, you may be able to do something interesting with it, however if you'd like a replacement umbrella you can email canonpromos@claimit.com.au. They can organise a new one for you.

Yay just got mine in the mail today - can't wait to give them all a go! should be awesome fun.

Just registered ~ I came across this quite by accident! What fun ~ can't wait for my box to arrive :)

Hey, just wondering...are we allowed to crop the photo's? or is that against the rules? lol...

btw..this is fun.

Hi Kyle, glad you're enjoying it! Yes, you can crop and photoshop your photos.  

Hi Jimbo, the Canon Photo5 competition will accept a scanned negative digital file. And yes, photoshopping is accepted.

I just bought a 400D and have absolutely no clue how to use it to it's potential having only had point and shoot cameras before. Hopefully this comp will bring out the hidden artiste in me that I know is in there somewhere!

If my ribbon isn't big enough for my idea can I substitute it with a thicker longer red ribbon.  Sorry new to this comp and unsure of the rules.

Hi Heather, In the interest of a fair competition, the Photo5 objects you were sent are the objects that have to be used. I hope this doesn't totally ruin your idea!

hey!!! I JUST GOT IT TODAY XD

was wondering...

although it says not more than 1 item per photo

what about Duplicates of the same item??

eg for the candle - you can get more of them cos they're easy to buy

is that allowed?

Hi Vincy, no to duplicates, you are only able to use the objects that have been provided in the box. Good Luck!

Hi! :)

Got my box today and as with everyone else I can't wait to brain storm some visuals. But I did have a query, I believe you can use photoshop for example to correct exposures. But what about using it for collages or using some of it's filter effects or blending (layering) photgraphic elements? Is this against the rules or can photo editing software just be used for correcting exposures and adjusting hues, contrast etc?

Either way I'm looking forward to seeing what other people come up with...Awesome competition.

"Promotion is only open to Australian residents aged 18 years or over"

D:

!!!!!!!

Got my box-a-tricks yesterday and have big plans for it :-) A mate of mine who just bought a stack of high end Canon photo booty put me onto this comp - thanks Luke! Now to see if creativity can help me beat the bugger and his Paparazzi pack ;-) BRING ON THE BATTLE!!!

Firstly I can't wait to get started!!

And I was wondering if you can use 2 objects in the one photo?

I know you can't use all 5 in one photo!

But does it have to be strickly one object per photo? (ie. 5 objects/5 photos)

With the bubble mixture, does the actual wand and bottle have to be in the image or can it just be of the bubbles that you blew with it?

My umbrella was broken, can I still use it????

It's terrible that there is an age limit, young people have such great imaginations, and would give such great opportunity's. Would love to know the reason behind this?

Am waiting patiently for the box to arrive....can't wait. I missed it last year, but know some friends who had a great time getting creative

I'm having loads of fun with these photos. I was wondering can I add something to the bubble mix to make it stronger?

Hey, speaking of that ribbon question, am i allowed to use the little piece of ribbon you provided for us but also use our own red ribbon that is the same thickness to make one long long piece of ribbon?

So excited to see my box sitting on the letter box this morning wrapped up like a present. Thanks Canon for the chance to photo shop til you drop.

Hi Anna, so if duplicates aren't allowed but photoshopping is.....can you create duplicates of the original item in photoshop?

Hi Alex, Photo editing software can be used on any of your entries, however, just remember - this competition is about creativity as opposed to technical ability. Good Luck!

Hi Cel, yes, it's strictly one object per photo.

Hi Nicole, you can decide either way - the actual wand and bottle don't need to be in the image.

Hi Jane, we'd recommend just using the bubble mixture as is - objects are not supposed to be modified or duplicated. Thanks!

Hi Jocelyn, again in the interest of a fair competition, we do ask that you just keep the object as is. Best of Luck

My crayon was missing from the delivered box. And from your previous statements It looks like you can't use a substitute. Guess I've got 4 photos to think of

Hi Tanya, you can still use the broken umbrella but if you'd prefer you can email canonpromos@claimit.com.au and they will organise the delivery of a new one.

Hi Vanessa, yes - any photoshopping techniques are allowed.

Hi Adrian, apologies for that! Please email canonpromos@claimit.com.au and they will organise a crayon for you asap.

Hi Shay, thanks for your feedback. We didn't foresee such high interest from those under 18 but have received lots of feedback similar to yours. This is fantastic to see and based on this, opening up the age bracket is without a doubt something we will consider for next year. Keep the feedback up - it's definitely appreciated!

Hi, I registered on the 8th of September for the competition and have still not received my box.  I emailed the address given and have not received a response.  I'm concerned I will not get my box in time.

I have registered.....does that guarantee entry and if not how will i know if i was successful or not?

My first year..... and I would have loved to have seen the full gallery from last year.

Also, it would be great if the judges put their reasoning on choices this year - helps with the creative process.

I am very excited to be part of this comp. Kinda feel overwhelmed though with so many fantastic photographers around. Not sure what I will manage with my little compact digital.

Hi Xanthe and cRIPSIN, it would be best to email  photo5@canon.com.au and enquire as to the progress of your order. If you email them your full name and postal address, they'll be able to give you an update on your registration. Thanks!

Can anyone tell me where I can see last years photos/winners etc ?

I just got my Box after long delay because of Australia post.Now i am excited !!!

   I think Canon should encourage all the participant to read the blog.As it answers most of my questions.

  This is my first time to enter any competition and proud to be as its Canons own competition.

cant wait to see the entry's....

All the Best to Every one

I just got started shooting, can't wait to upload my final shots to the comp! yay!

Hi

Just wanting to get absolute clarification on the duplication question.  It has been stated in previous blog answers that duplication of the object is not allowed, but looking at the winners from last year I see that several boxes (for example) have been used.  Is this a new rule for this year, or have I misunderstood what you mean by duplication? I was hoping to use more than 1 candle in my pic.

Thanks

Hi Linda, you can check out last year's finalists at www.canon.com.au/.../photographerCredits.aspx

Hi Kylie, yes, it's a new rule this year - we ask that you don't duplicate with more of the same object and instead, just stick to the objects that have been provided in the box. Good Luck!

Hi,

I was just curious as to whether it matters what camera we use, as we had to put the details of our camera when registering.

I have a fuji and a friend has offered me the use of his Canon, it should be alright to use both right?

Hi Coleby, it doesn't matter at all what camera you use in the Photo5 competition. Thanks!

i just wanted to ask how much edditing can the photo go though?

Hi

I am aware that we cannot modify the object by duplicating or extending... but could we put something inside the teacandle or dent it, for example?

My teacandle came a little dented so I thought of dented it more. Is that ok?

Thank you,

Angelita

Just wanted to say the I received my photo5 competition box with half of the items.

I'd like to confirm that we need to upload photos that are 300dpi, re-sized to 6x4 inches. In other words, 1800x1200 pixels, right? There were several finalists last year that did not conform to the 6x4 format, so what's the deal this year?

I'm a little disappointed about the duplication rule. I can't seem to find mention of it anywhere but here. Did I miss something in the terms and conditions? That would be a little unfair to anyone who has not read this and has their image knocked back.

I went through the FAQ and terms and conditions, and I could only find mention of this new rule in the blog. Am I missing something? Are people who haven't read the blog (which would have included me if I didn't hear about this new rule) going to have photographs disqualified for not knowing about this unmentioned rule?

I have no issue with there being rules, just this is not one I've seen mentioned outside of the blogs, and with last years winners using duplicate objects a lot of people could find themselves running into problems.

Also, with any photoshop technique being allowed, it's quite easy to mask and copy the object from a photo and create the illusion of multiple objects. How will this be differentiated?

I just received my box today! Very excited as this is the first time I'm entering the Phto5 competition. Good luck to everyone! :)

Hi Theresa, that's totally up to you. You can manipulate your image in photoshop any way you choose.

Hi Wendy, sorry to hear that. Please email canonpromos@claimit.com.au and they'll ensure you receive all the objects you require straight away!

Hi Steve, that's exactly right - this year you need to upload photos at 300dpi and resize to 6x4 inches. For more info surrounding image format, you can check out FAQs 14-16 on the Photo5 site - www.canon.com.au/.../default.aspx

SO EXCITED!! Recieved my box - photo moment !! First time to comp - great to read through the comments and have all my questions answered - thanks Canon for this opportunity for me &

my 40D cant wait to get started :)

I am really really disappointed to learn of this duplication rule. Mainly because it is not mentioned ANYWHERE but in this blog (and even then it is still not obvious)...

I had taken photos for the crayon, and only found out through another person on a photography site that I would not be able to use it as I had used different crayons (however had changed their appearance)...

Very disappointed.

Hi I am entering this competition for the first time this year, I am a little confused by some of the comments regarding use of photoshop and duplicating items. I woulds like to know if you can put titles on your images, thanks for the opportunity toi enter, cheers- Valerie

My box arrived but the candle was missing, will buy my own... Ready to submit my first entry come October.

Good luck everybody!

Hi Jo, Steve and Alecia, we really appreciate your feedback and please note we've now removed the duplication rule because it was unclear in the T&Cs. You can link through to the post that details this change at the top of this blog post.

Hi Valerie, you can do anything you like in photoshop, so if this includes adding titles, that is totally up to you. Also, please see one of our recent posts to  read about the duplication rule - we have now removed this rule due to confusion. Best of Luck!

this is my 1st year and i am a little confused re the copyright.  as the winners are chosen on artistic and creative merit, as opposed to technical ability how do you ensure that your idea will not be copied, or where is the line when it comes to copying and inspiration.  how do the judges judge this?  what happened last year - did anyone have their idea borrowed?  appreciate some feedback on this. thanks

Hi - I have completed all 5 photos and spent quite a while on them - I have been waiting days to upload!... the info on image size to submit is a little hazy - it says "Image resolution should be minimum 300dpi - standard size 6x4." and "Minimum 500KB, maximum 10MB."

I read that to mean it can be larger than 6x4 so long as it is 300dpi and between 500kb and 10MB is that correct? or does it have to be 6x4? that might mean a loss of image quality if I reduce? (unless of course I make them more than 300dpi) my images are probably on average 3MB (RGB Jpeg)but probably way bigger than 6x4 :)

I'm so glad the duplication rule was changed!! I had great ideas for multiple candles but was dissappointed when I found out I couldn't shoot it....now I can, I'm looking forward to it even more.

Steve said:

I'd like to confirm that we need to upload photos that are 300dpi, re-sized to 6x4 inches. In other words, 1800x1200 pixels, right? There were several finalists last year that did not conform to the 6x4 format, so what's the deal this year?

Reading above post

I am bit confused now with the image format. I have Canon 400D.In the menu quality can go only small and 1936 X 1288. How can i make it 1800 X 1200.

  Please lets us know the 300 dpi and 4 X 6 if some one scan images. what quality setting we should have in camera. Sorry i am not a Professional photographer.  

I'm a 1st timer and am wondering how you deal with copyright?  how do you make sure your idea isnt dulpicated?  what happens if it is?  where is the line? and how do the judges apply the line?  Also in the T&C it says that the pictures are judged on artistic and creative merit, and you have mentioned not on technical ability...so is execution of the creative idea considered in the judging?

thanks

Very disappointed that my box hasnt turned up. Just had an email asking me to upload my pictures and havent even got my box... :(

i have uploaded an entry. on the printout sheet i have noted that the time/date taken is1/01/0001 at 12am. i have checked my computer for the statistics for my picture and it was taken 11/09/2008at 3.23pm so how/why does the date you have put on itoriginate, which incidentally cannot be removed when you check the details

I like the idea, but would like to be able to enter before the age of 18.

is anyone having difficulty with an incorrect date and time taken attributed to your picture. i have found this to be the case with  my entry.The date and time is not changable on photo5 my automatic records show correct details but is then converted to 1/01/0001 why?????????????

Just wanted to say thankyou for the competition, this year i was more prepared and wrote my comments out before i started the upload.

has there been any word on how the gallery will look this year, last time it was hard to navigate and vote.

Hi Beata, we have looked into this and from now on the date and time should relate to the time of image upload. However the time and date won't affect your entry at all.

What should we include in the comments section when we upload our photos. Have no idea as this is the first time i've entered

Hi Lindsay, sorry to hear that! Please email photo5@canon.com.au to find out the progress of your box.  

Hi Andrew B, yes the gallery has been revised this year to make navigation and voting easier, you'll be able to check out the new gallery from October 8th onwards - www.canon.com.au/.../default.aspx

Hi Hannah, the main information to include in your comment is how you have used the Photo5 object to create your image. Hope that helps!

There's been a number of queries regarding the required size and/ or resolution of all entries. I've checked the FAQs and I'm still left with a few question marks...

On the FAQ it mentions that minimum resolution should be 300 DPI and the standard size is 6 X 4. Does this mean that the picture proportions should be 3:2 (or hence 6X4)?

DPI also appears to be independent of the image pixel count. 300 DPI in a 6 X 4 inch print doesn't necessarily equate to 1800 X 1200 pixels, I think.

So if I submit an image that is 6000 long X 4000 pixels wide (hence meeting the 3:2 proportions) at 300 DPI and with a file size no greater than 10MB, would it be acceptable?

Does this mean that photos in a panoramic format are not acceptable?

Thanks for taking the time to answer the massive amounts of queries being posted at this blog.

re time/date. thanks for your reply however i have noted that this defect 1/01/0001 is attributed to all my entries even the one i uploaded today 4/10/08 so what is happening??

i STILL HAVEN'T RECEIVED MY PACKAGE

If we took several photos of one item, are well allowed to combine more than one of the images from the shoot to make the final image?

Just wanted to clarify, the FAQ section says that the minimum size for a photo is 500KB, but when you go to upload a photo to submit, it says the minimum size is 250KB. Which is it?

Hello Anna, I understand that the limit of uploaded photos is 5. However is it possible to submit more than 1 image for 1 category? ie. 5 images of the bubbles. I'm not that clear with that part in the Terms and Conditions. Thanks.

Hey guys, re. the queries relating to uploading entries. It doesn't matter what resolution you upload at (300dpi, 400dpi, 600dpi etc) so long as the file is 6x4inches in dimension.

For those that don't know how to determine the DPI of an image, when using Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, right click on the image, go to properties and a box will appear with a tab, 'summary'. Click on 'advanced' and this will tell you the metadata of the image, including the DPI resolution.

Hope this answers your queries!

Hi Jo, Photo 5 is judged on creativity as opposed to technical ability and the idea behind this is to make the competition as accessible as possible to people who may well be new to the photography arena.

Canon fiercely support the rights of photographers and any winning images used by Canon will always be credited to the individual photographer. Unfortunately, Canon cannot protect your idea from being copied or developed by 3rd parties. Once you have uploaded your images to the website they will be in the public domain.

Hi Judi, by the sounds of it, you'll still only end up with one image to submit so that's fine. Be as creative as you like!

Hi beata, we're trying to sort this out but please note that the time/date attributed to your image will not in any way affect your entry.

Hi Roy, you can only upload one image per category. Thanks!

Hi Amy, minimum size is definitely 500kb - not sure why it said minimum 250kb but we are looking into this. Thanks for letting us know.

i have enjoyed creating my images for photo 5. for first time amateurs like myself some aspects of the rules were initially confusing. but it  worked out in the end

upon reflection. the rules are confusing, there is nothing said about the size of the upload in the rules. on the upload page if i remember correctly you had 300dpi min kb and 10mb. i think i read in the blog that it had to be 6x4cm to upload. all this information needs to be together in one spot... the rules

consequently, there would be no need for altering the dpi to a lesser ammount as i had to.

also as the size is not mentioned in the rules,i would not be faced with uploading at the incorrect size.creating was fun

How can i get an Digital Image 6x4 in dimension ???

Hi,

I've been trying for the last two days to upload one of my photos, but it keeps timing out.

The file size if about 3.5mb which is well within guidelines.

Is there any other way to submit photos or are the servers just really busy?

Hi Cong, can you make sure that you're using Internet Explorer? If it still doesn't work, please send the image to photo5@canon.com.au with all the required upload information and we will upload it. Thanks!

Hi, i have uploaded all 5 entries but my crayon entry isnt comming up in the gallery or when i search by my name. However it does appear in the summery of what i have uploaded. Does this mean there is an error or is it still being uploaded??? i an confused.

Hi Kimberly, it is most likely pending approval from Canon. Can you view it now?

No, Still not coming up. Just thought it was a bit strange that the other 4 came up pretty much straight away but the crayon one still hasn't (i uploaded them on the 8th). Will try to be a little more patient....

I have uploaded 3 entries but didn't edit the dimensions, they are in the gallery...

I only realised now that I didn't change them, is there anyway I can have them removed and re-upload them at the correct dimensions??

Worried.

Hi, after looking at the photos that have already  been uploaded I realised that many of my ideas have already been done. I have now done a whole new set of photos that are original (so far). If I upload them now and other people upload photos similar later down the track, how will they be judged. Will my idea be classed as the original idea??

Wow, i just had a look in the gallery and i am amazed/ shocked how many amateurs there are entering and how few professionals. Is that normally the case?

I've got my box, charged the camera, read the rules and now can't quite decide which concept to shoot first! What delicious fun...

Where are all the professional entries in the gallery?

to Janus above...i did exactly the same thing, i did not find the gallery until after i shot...never mind at least you know that they are your own, as will i!!

I know there are almost no professionals. That isn't really fair though is it?

looking in the gallary ive noticed many people have "taken" my ideas as well. which jsut shows it wasnt really an original thought. ill be uploading mine soon. fingers crossed. i really want to buy a 50D but cant afford it

I've been trying for over 24 hours to upload photos but it keeps failing. Does Canon have a problem with the site or is it at my end. I'm using Internet Explorer and have tried with Firefox. File size etc is well within limits.

Hi Nicole, in the interest of fair competition we cannot remove and replace your images. However your images will still be in the running and won't be disqualified for having incorrect dimensions.

maybe the Pros are waiting till the death nock to place their entries so as we mear Amateurs cannot copy their ideas ?

Hi Janus, all images will be judged independently and uniquely, regardless of upload time.

Hi Kerstin, this is actually the first year that professionals have been eligible to enter the Photo5 competition so we don't have anything to compare it too. I'm sure we'll see more professionals uploading their entries between now and the competition closing date.

Hi Judi, you can see whether it's an amateur or professional image by clicking on the image in the gallery.

Hi Bob, can you check that the file name of your entries adheres to the file name restrictions? i.e. no spaces or punctuation. If it still doesn't work, please send the image to photo5@canon.com.au with all the required upload information and we will upload it.

Hi everyone, we've been receiving lots of queries in relation to formatting your images for upload. To help make it clearer, we have updated the Photo5 site upload page to include more information about this.

And just to clarify requirements;

You can only upload a JPG file (*.jpg or *jpeg), minimum file size 250KB, maximum file size 10MB, maximum dimensions 3000 pixels wide x 3000 pixels high, minimum resolution 300DPI (print resolution).

Please use your local image editor to adjust your resolution and dimension if required.

i asked to have my display name as just, angela , so the other 3 letters need to be taken off, how long does it take to have this alteration made. i did go through the indicated channels. i would like to upload but i need this alteration first

I am having so much fun with this comp..(my first)

So i'll be looking forward to next years one.

Hi Angela, have you had confirmation that this change is being made? We are generally not able to action such changes at this late stage but if you have received confirmation, it would be best to email photo5@canon.com.au to follow up on the progress.

I just noticed one of my photos has some people in the background. They are quite small and you couldn't tell who they are by looking at them, however they are standing in their place of residence which I assume would make it possible for people to know who they are. Do I need to get releases from them? Or should I just try to clone them out?

Hi Dale, yes, you would need to get release forms from them so by the sounds of it, it would be easier to remove them from the image.

Hi there i was just wondering there is quite a few people that have used different ribbons altogether without having the actuall canon 5 object in the picture (wider ribbon etc), same with the bubbles. There are some that have taken bigger and different bubble blowers etc without having the canon 5 one in the picture. Is that allowed?

Are we able to look at the finalist photos in a larger size than the entries currently in the gallery. Thanks

I can't see the gallery any more: the site asked me to upgrade to Flash 10 and now the gallery does not appear in the web page. Annoying.

I'm disappointed by the amount of photoshop being used.

I thought this was more a photographics competion, but appears to be more a of LOOK at I can do in photoshop.

Im am rather annoyed at canon, as in there FAQ for the competition it says that the item must be placed in the photo, therefore according to my legal advice it means that the item must be there, not what the item contains which is the bubble liquid, and canon said in another post that its O.k. to just have bubbles, which is a contradiction to there FAQ, i beleive all entries with just bubbles should be removed as it does not meet the requirements in the FAQ which states the ITEM must be in view not what the item contains

I can't seem to find where to put the camera settings when I submit an image.  What am I missing here?  Do I have to include the settings?

HI

I have to say thank you Canon for this opportunity as I know now more about photography than i did before the competition. The competition opened my eyes for the possibilities and encouraged me to look outside the box. I went many places around Queensland looking for the perfect spot, so I got to see new beautiful areas in Qld.

Also, I know now more about dpi, lightning and photostudio than I did before. Unfortunately i learned on hard way as three of my entries were with wrong dpi, but a mistake that I will not be replicated in the future.

Thank you again....

Note: I would hate to be judges as the selection of photos in the gallery so far are very creative.

Keep having fun everyone, and good luck.

Angelita

Hi Anna, how do i determine if my picture is 6x4 inches in dimension? I can see the dpi on the windows picture and fax viewer but it makes no mention as to the dimensions of the photo which seems to be the most important factor?

I just realised that 3 of my images are below the 300dpi (I only just figured out how to check and change this) I know I can't change my uploaded ones for ones of the correct dpi so will I still be able to have those photos in the competition?

Hi Kerstin, you're right, that is the rule - a Photo5 object must be used in some capacity within the image. All images will be eligible if we feel that they meet this T&C.

Hi Robert, unfortunately it's not possible to view the entries in a larger size.

To ANNOYED!!!...I understand what you are saying, but in relation to the bubbles..BUBBLES is the item, not the bottle.

the bottle is there to ship the bubble solution to you, so you can blow BUBBLEs for your shot submittion.

Hi Luke, this issue has been fixed so it should work perfectly now.

Hi Judi, no, you don't need to include the camera settings.

Hi Bec, yes, definitely! Your images won't be disqualified for this.

Hi annoyed, apologies for the confusion here - in the FAQs we mention that 'the object either needs to be utilised or seen in some form in your image' - most have interpreted this to mean that the bubbles represent the object 'in some form'. Thanks for the feedback - we'll be taking this into account for next year's competition.

Hi Alex, don't worry too much about that. Just ensure that each image is a minimum of 300 dpi and between 250kb and 10mb in size. Good luck!

How long does it take for images to appear in galleries. I uploaded 4 hours ago but still not showing in the gallery. Thanks

I have noticed that some images (eg. bubbles) show bubbles that are definitely not the ones that were provided by Canon....and no part of the wand or container in the image.  To me this says that they didn't use any part of the Canon object....they are visible in the gallery.

Also what is the ruling on using images that do not belong to the photographer????  I have noticed at least one that breaches this rule.

Hi Bob, there isn't a set time but they should be up soon - they'll just be awaiting approval.

Judi,

This is the result in allowing extensive photoshop editing.

I recall reading that post editing was allowed but only to extent that is possible with film, but i can't seem to find it now.

(I'm not the only one whom recalls seeing this note in the rules)

I hope that this won't be allowed in next years comp.

Hi Judi, all entries are uploaded and Canon will validate them when they start to pick out finalists, ensuring they fit within the T&Cs. Feel free to email photo5@canon.com.au and flag with them the image that does not belong to the photographer.

Hi there again, i had huge fun doing this competition and want to say thanks to canon.

I have finally downloaded all my images Sunday evening. However even though i note that it takes some time for it show in the gallery, i just wanted to make sure that i don't need to worry about the fact that it is still not showing up in the gallery??! Many thanks

I believe this is absolutely disgraceful of Canon, what is the point of having terms and conditions if they are not followed.

The T&C states the ITEM must be in the photo, hence for the bubbles the item is the container not the liquid and all photos that are in the gallery with just bubble and not the container should be removed,

Also if Canon do no honor there T&C i may be looking at taking this matter to court, as i read the T&C and it clearly said the item must be in the photo, and if there is a single finalist or winner for the Bubble category who doesnt have the bubble container (item) in the photo i will be taking this to court and will fight it, not just for myself but for all others who read the T&C and photographed the item meaning the contianer, if the T&C had stated that you could use the liquid contained in the container is may have been a different story!

I've uploaded some of my shots and can't see them in the gallery.

How often is the gallery refreshed?

Ta.

Bubbles Issue.... I not not agree with Canon with the object issue here as even the photo gallery says Bubbles not bubbler maker ....like crayons or tea light candle....

        its very confusing for US AS WHAT IS IN TERMS AND CONDITIONS IS DIFF AND WHAT IN AT THE SAID IN GALLERY IS DIFF. I have already uploded my final image with bubble now if its not qualified as its not according to the rule then

   WHY CANON SAYS IN THE GALLERY BUBBLES AS ITEMS ??????? NOT BUBBLE MAKER....NOT HAPPY !!!

I am having trouble uploading my photos, when I click on the upload photo link it just takes me to the gallery. Is there something I'm doing wrong?

Judi, when reading the paperwork that came with the Photo5 box, it clearly stated that the *bubbles* were the item.  You can't send a bubble in a box, please be realistic and a little less childish.  It is just a bit of fun, and most of us won't win... and you know what?  It doesn't matter.  Please refrain from throwing a hissy fit and spoiling the experience for the rest of us.  So maybe some people used a different brand of bubbles.  Some people Photoshopped their images to within an inch of their lives, and I don't altogether agree with that method of creating an image, but having a tanty about it won't change the fact that they did it, and will continue to do it.  Show a bit of maturity, please.

To Judi.

I think you may be going a little overboard here. To take legal action against Canon for not adhering to your interpretation of the rules is being quite silly. By your interpretation all Crayon entries that do not have the whole complete crayon would have to be banned. Any lit or burnt tea-light photos would also have to be banned. Opened umbrellas could not be used as you would need to take the securing ring off them to do so and all ribbon entries must have the same bow tied in them as they came with the box.

The rules allow flexibility because not doing so would seriously restrict creativity, which to my mind is what this competition is all about.

I'm sorry you feel hard done by with your bubble entry but I can't agree with your desire to pursue legal action over this. It is to me a complete over reaction to the situation.

Hi Judi, thanks for your honest feedback. It appears that people have interpreted the T&C (that the item “needs to be used by the entrant to create the photograph”) and the corresponding FAQ 17 (“You have to use one of the official Photo5 objects to create your image. The object either needs to be utilised or seen in some form in your image”) differently.

It was our intention that people could creatively use the object in any way or form, whether that was to photograph the container of bubble solution or the bubbles themselves.

We do apologise that you felt you had to use the bubble mixture container. Photographs that feature the container or just bubbles themselves will both be judged equally and none disqualified. We would hate to disqualify anyone that has gone to such time and effort creating their images.

Hi Kerstin and chikabelley, it can take 24-48 hours to upload. Try searching for your image title or user name. If your image still doesn't appear after this time it would be best to email your images and image descriptions to photo5@canon.com.au and we can help you out.

Hi Jason, that's strange! There may be an issue with your entry so it would be best to email your images and image descriptions to photo5@canon.com.au and they will figure out what's going on.

Hi, I uploaded a pic on Sunday and it still isn't showing up in the gallery.  How do I know if there is a problem with the content?

I would like to note that I am not the Judi that has been talking about taking Canon to court for whatever reason.  My name is Judi Liosatos....I was the Judi querying earlier about Professional images and camera settings.  Please be aware that there is obviously another Judi that has now entered the forums.  

I do not wish to be associated in any way with the other Judi comments.  Could I please request that commenters full names are added to the comments in this forum so as not to confuse my name with other commenters opinions.

Thanking you.

On a side note....I am very grateful for this competition and am enjoying seeing the entries very much.

I would also like to note, that after doing a search in the photos gallery, I am the only 'Judi' with that spelling that has any photos entered in this competition.  I certainly DO NOT want the other Judi's behaviour in the forums to reflect on how my entries may be treated.  

I would also like to add that if anybody queries if I am telling the truth on the two different Judi's in this forum thread, please click on all the forum entries under my name that are in red.  This shows that my name is linked to my website.  The other Judi DOES NOT have a link on her name.

It seems to me if you're going to take legal action on this then you might as well just go out and buy $5000 worth of gear.

Hi Anna,

The gallery doesn't seem to be updating correctly, if we have uploaded our images yesterday but they don't show up before tonight in the gallery, would they get disqualified?

Hi Craftybird, double check the image isn't there by searching your image title or user name in the gallery. If your image still doesn't appear after this time, email your images and image descriptions to photo5@canon.com.au and they can sort it out for you.

Hi Judi Liosatos, we welcome open discussion on this blog so anything said here won't affect entries in any way. It's good for us to receive this feedback. Thanks for the clarification.

Hi Roy, if they are uploaded before 11.59pm AEDST on 22 October 08 they will be included, regardless of whether you can view them in the gallery at the time.

Thankyou Anna.

Hi Anna,

Does the upload period end at midnight on the 22nd?  So do we still have another day for uplodaing or does it end at midnight on the 21st?

I'm unclear as the info on the webiste doesn't say October 2-22 inclusive.

Hi

I submitted two entries on Sunday night (red ribbon & bubbles), and three entries yesterday, and as yet no entries are in the gallery. I have done a search under my name and I am not finding anything.

Thanks!

I have just been told that 4 out 5 of my pictures are awaiting approval. Does that mean that the size is wrong (is the same size then the first one and that got approved). Oh it would be such a shame if after all the hard work (and fun :)) i would only get one approved??!!

When it comes to Photoshop or photo editing, it's obviously an issue that calls for much debate. Some look upon a PS'ed image with disdain, as I used to. Back when the competition was just underway I sent in an enquiry regarding photo editing and how much was actually allowed.

That is, could we actually edit images in a way that distorts reality and scale? This was the answer I got, word for word,

"It is an impossible question to answer. Look at last years finalists, the purpose is to be creative?"

The photos of last year's finalists are just tiny thumbnails on my screen and I could glimpse only some of them in the video, but looking at those, it's fairly obvious to me that editing to distort reality is not a problem and the resulting image would still be acceptable.

If, as the answer that I received states, the purpose is to show creativity, then do whatever you can to be creative. If you don't need PS, good. If you use it to fulfill the purpose of this competition, then all the better. Just an opinion.

Anyway, best of luck everyone...time's almost up. Granted that most of us will not even see it to the finalists, but I have this competition to thank for forcing me to dust off my camera and exercise the right half of my brain.

I know there are probably a lot of people out there that have left things to the last minute to upload their images which is more than likely slowing things down a bit but can anyone tell me how long it should take after uploading before i can expect my images to be in the gallery?

To all of the canon staff,

Thank you sooo much for all the support that you guys have given us throughout this competition. I was also one of the ones that was worried for a second that my photos might not approve as they have taken 48 hours to show up in the gallery. But it is impressive that with that many people uploading at the same time , you still manage to get it all up in time. So thank you.

Oh and to the ones that are still waiting to have their photos approved, be patient they are only human and i am sure it is only because there is a bid of a back log.

Hi Xanthe, yes, the upload period ends at midnight tonight (Oct 22), or at 11.59pm to be exact!

Wish you could send a pic link to more than three friends at a time! Also wish the number of the photo appeared on the page so it can be clearly identified.

Do canon take into consideration that the people who uploaded there photo's first and then someone else copies there idea?

its just a query?

i noticed that some photos were in the gallery  and now they are not it is 4.08pm on 22/10/2008 does that mean they are allready disqualified, rejected or is my computer playing up?

Did the rules change for the dimensions?

I've made all of mine 6x4 inches but when I uploaded my last one I just read that the maximum dimensions are 3000 pixels wide x 3000.

If so I'm disappointed because I could have made mine bigger or cropped them differently. Hope there's no disadvantage for those who stuck to the 6x4 sizes.

Otherwise, all done for me now. Shots uploaded but not showing on the gallery yet so I hope they'll go through without a hitich.

Great competition Canon. Thanks for the fun.

Well here's hoping I loaded them all correctly and they get approved!  ;)

It might be last gasp, but it was great fun and I'll be trying again next year.

Constructive feedback for next time?  It would be good to have all the entry conditions in one place.  While it is fun to read the blogs/posts, if I want to hop on and check for amendments, it'd be great not to have to troll through pages and pages....

Still excited and Good luck everyone.

hi i entered my image pritty much in the last possible second as my description went over the limit so i was fantically trying to reduce it. i got to the confirm stage and i clicked that but i cant see my image in the gallary. how long will that take? also is there something like a myphotoes page were u can view the images u've entered? or did that section of the site close as well at the dead line?

Theresa you can still search via the gallery search function. Just enter your name.

It seems to take 48 hrs or more to come into the gallery. I'm hoping my last 3 will get there soon.

Some photos also seem to move position in the gallery. Not sure why though. Perhpas Anna can enlighten us on this. ;)

Hi Bobby, all images will be judged independently and uniquely, regardless of upload time. Good Luck!

Hi chikabelley, no need to worry about the dimensions, 6x4 is perfect.

Hi. I uploaded my images on 21 October.  I know the FAQ says it will be uploaded within 48 hours pending approval but I was just reading through the blog and read Anna's reply to Bob on Oct 14, 9:40 am telling him to check the file name of the entries have been adhered to ie. no spaces.

I didn't read this rule on the file name anywhere and the photos I uploaded have spaces in the name.

They seemed to upload ok and were showing up in the objects I uploaded, but I still haven't seen them in the gallery.

it's great there is a competition like this.

there should be more photography competitions, more opportunity for the photographers :)   i hope i did a reasonable job with the objects.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! :)

Hi Theresa, it can take up to 48hours, especially as we're trying to process such a large quantity of entries. As chikabelley has mentioned you can still search the gallery using your entry name.

Hi!  I uploaded the last of my photos yesterday evening; all done and just in time!  Just wanted to say a huge THANKS to all the people at Canon who have made this a great experience for all.  I had a few questions which I emailed to Canon and I received prompt and helpful replies.  Now it's time to bite my fingernails and wait!!!

Is there any way to know if your image has been rejected other than it not being in the gallery? I uploaded all of my images two days ago and only four of them are in the gallery. My bubble one is missing, i'm pretty sure it met the T&C's so hopefully i'm worrying for nothing.

Hi beata and chikabelley, yeah the photos were reshuffled slightly as our web guys updated a couple of things, but definitely no images have been removed.

Hi femmefeline, entries with spaces in the title generally don't upload but it sounds like yours somehow did which is great! Double check that they are in the gallery by searching your entry name. If you can't find them, please email photo5@canon.com.au with your details so they can help sort it out.

anna i tried seaching my name but nothing has come up yet.... hopefuly by tomorrow it will come up.

Hey Anna,

I might have the same problem with spaces in the title.  All my entries have spaces in the title however I can see 3 of the 5 I have uploaded when i search the gallery with my name.  I cannot see the 2 I uploaded yesterday evening.  I presumed this was because they hadn't been approved yet but it sounds like I am mistaken.  I'll send an email...

Hi Jason, yes, you'll be notified if your image is rejected with a reason why. By the sounds of it, your bubble image is probably still being approved.

Hi Anna I uploaded my tealight shot last  night at about 11.40, saw it displayed on my entrant page but now when I do a search it seems to be missing, would this be  a result of a sudden burst of entries and it's taking time to review them. Cheers

hey anna ^_^

this is the first year ive entered and i loved it, though i have a few questions, which have been mentioned above but didnt see answers to...my entry titles have spaces in them but 2 out of my 5 have been uploaded (which is a relief!)..maybe they're still pending aproval? and i can now (today) search my name when i type megan, but not my full name...sorry to ask all these questions,

thanks, meg.

Hi Mark, that's exactly right, it could take up to 48hours to be approved.

Hey guys, just to clarify, it looks like I haven't been that clear when referring to the use of spaces. You are not able to include spaces in the actual file name (you can in the title of your entry) - it won't let you upload the image if there are spaces in the file name. Hope this clarifies things!

Hi Megan, glad you've enjoyed it! Yes, your images will still be pending approval. Once your images are approved you should be able to search them using your entry-name - if you only called yourself Megan, this is what your images should be filed under. If this isn't the case and you're still having problems feel free to email photo5@canon.com.au so they can get some more detail from you. Good Luck!

Thanks Anna, all of my images are in the gallery now. Good luck to everyone, there are some great images that have been submitted I would hate to be one of the judges and have to try and choose 5 good ones for each category.

I have sent an email requesting an explanation on what grounds my image was rejected on, in comparison to a number of other entries.  I await a speedy reply, and hope to see my image accepted.

Thanks again Canon ! Its great fun and definitely makes you put the thinking cap on !

Can't wait for next year ! (this is my 2nd year!)

Hey! Back again. I hate to complain, but... lol.

I am just here to ask if possibly next year the gallery could be set up differently?  Maybe a grid of thumbnails that enlarge as you mouse over? (Thinking like a Cooliris type set up)The scrolling through over 1000 pics in a category makes it really hard to take in and compare pics. After a while they all blend together which is awful for those that put a lot of effort in but were unlucky enough to have the pic at the end of a gallery.

It would be really cool if there were a way to save our favourites to a panel or even to just be able to have a little icon we could put on it so as we flick through it would be noticeable.

I know this would take a lot of work and would possibly be too much to implement, but I just wanted to offer some suggestions =)

Thanks if you got through all of that lol.

I am mystified by the non acceptance of an image that I believe makes a historical statement. And I wonder why there are so many other images that I find way more graphic and offensive that have been accepted. I would like clarification on precisely why my image hsd been deemed inappropriate, and I wonder why these other images have been accepted.  I would be more than happy to supply Canon with the links to the fourteen compartive images that I have found so far.

Cheers

Barb

Hey anna, thanks for the help, my images are now all up in the gallery, :)

and i will email photo5 about the full name search thing.

thanks again, and good luck to everyone!

my image was finally acepted! thanx canon. and i agree the outline of the gallary needs to be readdressed. also how do i view my entry but no through the gallary? is their a my entrants page?

Hi Barb, sorry to hear that. I don't have access to your image so I can't offer much explanation but by the sounds of it you have emailed photo5@canon.com.au or a similar address and they should be able to shed more light on this for you.

Hi Dee, that's great feedback thanks. We'll definitely take that into account for next year's gallery.

the search photos numbers do not coincide with the image no.in the gallery. so if you are looking for your photo you have to go through all the pictures, that is how i had to find mine.

i just read what judi wrote.  I totally support Canon. How can anyone try to stifle people who are used to living in a free society, do we have freedom of expression?, My interpretation of the t&c definatly do not align with Judi.This competition is supposed to be fun , which it was for me.. Lighten up judi

Hi Theresa, you can only view your entries through the gallery but if you search for your entry name, it will find all of your own images.

Yikes, I thought I knew where I was up to with looking at new images but now the order of images seems to be all mixed up and there must be some I have missed...but where? And some of the images stay blank but when you click on them you can see the images??? things seem to have gone crazy.

When the finalists go up, will we still be able to see the current gallery or will they all be replaced by just the lucky 50?

I can't recall - was I ever asked if I was amateur or professional? I'm an amateur, but I can't seem to find any "professional" work? Are there any?

Just wondering when the finalists will be announced.

Hey Frances, I noticed the same thing.  

Thanks Canon for a great competition.  

Wow  some people should have read ALL the details on any of the canon 5 pages and read the  CREATIVITY TIPS SECTION ..

I assume that there will have to be some revision to the original intention of how professional entries are going to be treated/selected for the finals - since there are only a handful of 'pro' entries and thousands of 'amateur' entries...

(There may not even be 5 pro entries in some of the categories??)

But I have not heard any mention from Canon yet on what they now intend.

I have submitted all my photos on 21/10 and 22/10. However, I can't see any of them published. Why is it taking so long to publish them.

Is there a limit on the number of photos published???

I have a couple of shots that would have been better cropped as squares rather than 6x4s. I hope the judges are advised that the format dimensions changed and don't penalise photos for cropping in a way that's sub-optimal.

Hi chikabelley, once the finalists are announced you'll still be able to view the current gallery.

Hi Peter, when you registered you would have identified yourself as an amateur or a pro. There definitely is professional work in the gallery - click into the actual image to view these details.

Hi Robert, finalists will be announced on November 3.

Hi David, we cannot change the rules of engagement because fewer people have entered the category than predicted. It will be something we take into consideration for next year though.

There are certainly enough professional entries to shortlist the five finalists per object. Then it will be up to the public to decide.

Hi Carlo, there is no limit. If you still can't find your images I suggest you email photo5@canon.com.au with your entry name and details - they should be able to sort it out for you.

With the pro entries, there are actually more than I would have predicted. These days, with the boom in digital photography, interested amateurs vastly outnumber the pro ranks, and I had expected something like 300 amateur entries to each pro one. The actual ‘pro’ entry level, averaging about one to each 100 ‘amateurs’, is rather higher than I thought it would be.

I expect the original intention was to boost ‘amateur’ chances by subdividing the entry pools – rather than the actual result of reducing most people’s chances of finalist selection.  I am pretty sure that none of the pros that entered would have expected any special treatment – especially this bonus of 100 times more of a chance of winning a major prize than the general public!

(I have even heard some semi-pro photographers say that they had originally wanted to enter the pro category, and therefore boost their finals selection chances – but that they had not made the specified $20000 solely from photography over the year.)

In fact, one pro has stated that it might be better if the pros had been competing simply for a certificate – given the vast disparity in the entry pool sizes. Now I do not begrudge any pro a decent chance of winning a nice prize - I just think the competition should have been arranged somehow so there was a level playing field for all entrants.

Photo5 is a great idea for a photo competition – and (as I have publicly stated many times) Canon should be commended for holding it. With the category selection rules, I am actually not all that fussed either way; I raise this issue more out of concern that if inequities such these contribute to Photo5 being less of a PR success than optimal, then its chances of becoming on ongoing annual event could be dampened.

Further to my previous post, I realise that suitably addressing the pro vs amateur category problem is probably too late for this year (though technically, item 26 of the current Terms and Conditions allows Canon to modify the competition whenever and however they want).

But something to bear in mind is that perhaps a better way of framing the selection terms, that still allows for pro entry, might have been two categories: ‘Amateur’ (same definition as this year, with 5 finalists and 1 major prize) and ‘Open’ (with 5 finalists selected from all entries, both pro and amateur, and again 1 major prize).  This prevents amateur entries from being crowded out of the finals if there are scads of great pro entries, yet still gives pro entries a roughly similar chance of a major prize as a general entrant (especially if the Open category is judged a bit more tightly on photographic technique, as well as on creative content, than the Amateur category).

Cheers,

David

David, really ease up. This is a competition for a bit of fun for all photographers, pro and amateur. The point of the two categories was to ensure that the everyday hobby photographer wasn't up against photographers who potentially have a lot more experience and resources than the average Joe. You seem to have a bit too much time to worry about the nitty gritty. You've made your opinon clear now leave it to the Photo 5 officials to deal with it as they see fit.

Just been looking through some of the photos. There is some excellent talent out there amongst you. Keep up the good work and have fun. Thank you Canon for the opportunity to enjoy someonelse's creativity.

did the dimention rule change? i thought imges had to be 4x6? but ive seen alot that arnt. i had my image cropped differently originally but i had to crop it down because of the 4x6 rule and now it seems a too cropped  but if there wasnt that rule then i could have left it.

Cat B .. well said re David and his sour grapes...  

You didn't have to crop down your image, all you had to do was resize to 4 x 6 so that your full image can be seen.  The details regarding this were quite clearly stated earlier on in the piece...

THANKYOU Canon for this wonderful opportunity to have LOTS of fun with my 450D.  It's been a blast.

Barbara said:

"You didn't have to crop down your image, all you had to do was resize to 4 x 6 so that your full image can be seen.  The details regarding this were quite clearly stated earlier on in the piece..."

& then realy late, the dimensions changed to 3000 pixels!

Hi chikabelley, the initial rule was that the entries had to be 6x4 in size. We found though that a lot of people just didn't know how to change their image to 6x4. However, these people were familiar with how to change the pixel size of an image so to help the process, we added an alternative. Hope that clarifies things!

Hi, I submitted four photos, but now when I search under my name my ribbon photo does not appear and I can't find it when scrolling through the albums. (it says 'four photos found' but only shows three)

It has previously been up on the website, but is not there now... Is there a reason for this? Thanks, Fernando

hi guys the judging period has ended and the vointing period begun... but i cant find the finalist images! where are they? do i have the wrong date?

Congratulations to the finalists. Good luck. Just wondering what the judging criteria was as I'm confused.

I can't believe how lame the finalists of the pro's stuff is.

Some of the chosen photos are very surprising.Interesting to here the judges reasons for there choices.

Just tried voting and it worked ok for the amateur images but I can't vote for the professional images.  I have spoken to another person who also tried to vote for the professional images and it did no work for him as well.

Hey guys, the entries were judged on a range of elements, in particular creativity in terms of the idea and execution.

can you please explain why the judges were allowed to select two entries from one artist (in different categories)?  this happened in both the amateur and professional sections.  this gives them double the chance of winning, and in fact they might end up getting twice the prize!  i think this is quite unfair to other entrants, especially considering the quality of submissions.

If that is what the Judges think..than you need to choose new judges...seriously.

there are a lot entries that deserve to be ahead of the entries chosen.

Oh..and congrats to the finalist.

Hi Theresa, the finalists images can be viewed in the gallery on the Photo5 site. www.canon.com.au/.../default.aspx

The coloured dots are incorrect in the voting.  It states that red dot is Professional and blue dot is Amateur...but it is coming up the other way.

BTW....some great entries across the board.

Hi Graham, voting for the professional entries is working now.

And Judi, thanks for the heads up on the coloured dots, we will try and fix up.

Hi Fernando, I'm not sure about that but do you want to send your entry details to photo5@canon.com.au and they can look into this for you?

Hi Nico, the categories were anonymously judged on their creative merit - everyone had the chance to be a finalist in multiple categories.

I am actually quite disappointed in the photographs chosen. Some of them don't even include the object in it. There were so many creative entries and instead they decided to choose cliche and less creative photos. I think the judges should write why they chose the photo because right now, i think that they got lazy and randomly picked photos.

Hi Anna,  

Er, please totally ignore my question. I have been able to find my photo today! :) Thank you so much for your reply though, and also thanks to Canon for such an awesome comp. It was an incredible to get the creative juices flowing! I had way too much fun doing this!

I hope Canon takes on board some the suggestion and comments posted on this blog.

The key one being photoshop usage .. this should be kept at minimum as I it is mainly a photographics comp.

And I think allowing duplication on the items should not be allowed, after all, the idea of the comp is it utilise what canon have sent you, incoprating it with other objects is one thing but duplication of the item is another.

In all I would like thank Canon for this comp, I had great fun with it.

Even if I didn't make the cut.

Thanks again..till next year.

I had loads of fun participating in this competition but am very disappointed in the results. Even though I never expected to make the finals I was looking forward to voting for some stand out photos. Unfortunately there were many outstanding and creative photos entered into the comp but very few of the finalists show either of these qualities. I think I may just vote for the photos that stand out to me and leave the others categories.

Have voted 9/10 photos but the one in the Professional tealight section that I want to vote for won't let me? Is this a problem other people are finding?

Hi again - a suggestion for next year's comp concerning FAQ/Blog/T&C

eg: the duplication rule was overruled and announced only thru the blog format ½ way thru the comp, perhaps Canon could email registered entrants stating such, that way ANY changes to the comp EVERYONE receives.

I have voted, though I would have liked to have seen a little more imagination from the judges. Yes they picked a couple of goodies, but I was disappointed in the judges selection. Of all the many entries, I was surprised that so many well thought out, creative images went unnoticed.

Looking at the judges choices there was really no point having an amateur and professional category. I think the Amateurs produced photos of a very high standard. Up against the professional I am sure you wouldn't know the difference.  

To all that entered, you did some awesome work...the talent is mind blowing.

Good luck to the finalists I hope voters at least get the winner right!

In my humble and honest opinion the amateur finalists are, by and large, way better than the professional ones. Next year I think I'll enter as a pro!!

Just a couple of quick questions, how is it that the many excellent photographers who have taken the time to enter this competition can only choose the few photos the judging panel deem suitable as finalist? (they're telling us who's going to win before we've even chosen). This makes me feel, and I'm sure others feel the same way, that the majority of "amateurs" wouldn't know which photos are good or bad.

Also, having just five (5) prizes for amateurs where 99% of the 1500 or so entries are not professionals seems very disproportionate, perhaps this could be addressed in next years competition. Like many who have made comments here, I'll be officially a professional for next years.

.

Can someone explain how you can enter both amateur and proffessional catagories as is seen by finalists????

I had a great time entering my photos in your competition and spent many hours taking the shots that I entered. I was awe struck with the many great entries in each section.

I can't believe though some of the choices made by the judges in each section for the finalists. Although I did not expect to win, there are not many shots in my opinion that were as outstanding as some of the ones that did not receive a mention.

Perhaps next year there could be a public vote for ALL photos of ALL entries with a prize for those also?

what do others think about this?

Canon I would like to congratulate you on a great competition.  It was fun participating and thinking of ways to use the objects.

I have to agree with some of the comments already made - the amateurs did a better job than the professionals - in fact it seemed in some of the categories the professional images were chosen because there was nothing better.

Anyway I have placed my votes, good luck to the winners and I look forward to next years competition.

For whatever reason, when I log on to vote the "vote now" button doesn't do anything.  Everything else works, and I am no longer getting the message about using the wrong version of Flash.  Anyone else having problems voting?

Just a couple of quick questions, how is it that the many excellent photographers who have taken the time to enter this competition can only choose the few photos the judging panel deem suitable as finalist? (they're telling us who's going to win before we've even chosen).

Also, having just five (5) prizes for amateurs where 99% of the 1500 or so entries are not professionals seems very disproportionate, perhaps this could be addressed in next years competition.

As i went to vote for my top 5 in both the amateur and professional categories, imagine my surprise when it dawned on me that in both the umbrella and bubble professional categories I could not find one worth voting for. In fact one of the bubble shots in particular is surely a joke? There were so many fantastic shots this year how could this have happened? I'm sure i'm not the only one who feels like they are wasting their time with this competition?

very disappointed in the photographs chosen to be finalists - don't understand a lot of the choices at all... a couple of good ones but overall a very poor selection.

Thanks to Canon for a great competition again.  some very creative ideas and great fun trying to create out of the box ideas into photos.  I do have concerns of the use of Photoshop on the images

Just reading that people are disappointed in the finalists that have been chosen.I agree, although they are all great and congrats to them I didn't find any finalists that really jumped out at me,like some did in the gallery.

A suggestion for next year; pick random entrants out via e-mail and get them to choose the finalists.Then we only have ourselves to blame if were still not happy with the end result.I'm sure it would be no easy task....and maybe we won't pick on the judges so much knowing it was some of "us".

i voted on 4 and am not able to vote on the 5th one, why?. should i have voted on all at the one time?

i am able to view only 5 professional ones, is this all there is?. i dont like any of them. some of the amateur finalists and there are more than 50 of them wont allow to be voted on , why?. where are the 50  judges choices?

i have found the 50 judges choices

( this is not clear at first)   and it appears that we can only vote for these and not all the others in the gallery as the system will not allow. so as i see it the judges do not allow the public to voice their opinion in what is chosen. and both categories can't be voted on , something wrong in your setup

i have just re read the faq's it states that you can vote for your own image. but how can you if the system will not allow? what point is there in people voting if we only can vote on what the judges choose? can you come up with a better system or tell us how to work what you have set up. i'm dissapointed

I wonder what the finalist photos would have looked like if there was no photoshop or duplication allowed? Hmmm ... food for thought and, perhaps, consideration for next year.

DannyBoy..do you evidence of this ??

I have inspected the finalist but find any matching.

[quote]Danny Boy said:

Can someone explain how you can enter both amateur and proffessional catagories as is seen by finalists????[/quote]

I agree with what others have said ... I thought there were better photographs in both categories that didn't make it to the final 5. Picking the best of a crap bunch really

I agree With Karen. I was surprised at some of the finalists.I was disappointed duplication was allowed. I thought the idea of the competition was taking a photo of the 5 different items sent to you in the box. One item per photo.

I'm dissapointed in the amount of manipulation used and some of the judges selections - I thought we'd have more choice, 50 images altogether seems like nothing! There were so many good entries in this comp that users would vote for. There's been so much confusion with the rules, I hope next year will be clearer.

The 50 judges selections are all there, but 50 is the number altogether, not for each category. This is about Canon promotion, so they've only picked ones that they want for advertisement.

I have read several of these posts around the place with disappointment at how people can suddenly turn sour when they don't make the shortlist. At first I thought I won't comment at the risk of losing valuable votes from the Flickr community but then I thought, I can't just let this all happen without speaking on my part and other finalists who I am sure worked hard to arrive at their end results. That's right hard work! countless hours of brainstorming, narrowing down ideas, pre-visualising, testing, shooting and post-production to get 5 results that I could be proud of and have some confidence of getting at least one in.

It's interesting how one minute you get nice comments from fellow competitors and the very next they are into ripping into you... shows a lot about ones true character... If you are angry, frustrated or whatever use that energy into doing something creative rather than ruining it for others.

As it turned out I was rewarded by being selected as finalist twice - in two categories, which according to Canon were chosen anonymously by distinguished and highly regarded judges. This was not luck - this was blood, sweat and tears - late nights and a lot of effort!

It seems like someone will always have something to complain about like using photoshop, using multiple items, doing this and doing that. I mean what's the big deal, it was allowed under the rules and if it wasn't then I'm sure people wouldn't use it. Photoshop is a large part of digital photography these days in fact I was using it back in 1999 with version 4 to edit scanned negs or slide film. To some degree all photo's are manipulated (with the exception of photo-journalist work), whether it's in camera, with filters, flash and lenses etc, or by hand - snapping branches, moving objects out of the way or adding interest to the scene e.g a branch or even software.

I get sick of hearing things like 'No Photoshop was used' like people expect a pat on the back or something. If that is the case you know what 'I do use Photoshop, not all the time but I do' so can I have a pat on the back too? I get the feeling if people actually got to grips with what digital photography and software could offer them I'll bet they would be a lot more supportive and understanding. It's always different on the other side of the fence isn't it?

So yes Photoshop was used but to 'realise my vision' and to me that is what being creative image maker is all about. It's how you view things and how you present it to the viewer, not what tools you used. At the end of the day a good image original, photoshopped, manipulated or whatever will still be a good image as chances are it will adhere to design principals and that is the formula for success.

As a Graphic Designer I witness photo manipulation all the time - it's nothing new and it's certainly here to stay. Without photo manipulation you wouldn't get half the quality and effects on many photographic-based images that surround you everyday. It's the reason why camera companies, computer companies and software companies continue to create tools that allow us to push the envelope with creativity so that your imaginations can turn into reality.

I myself have entered countless competitions, somtimes you might win but more often you lose and each one provides a learning curve, something you can take and build on and hopefully fuel you for success next time round. I've entered many with no results but it's all about building up your skills and creative vision/thinking... I know in some larger international comps I didn't even get a look in with some of what I consider my best shots but I don't go on about how it is so unfair or let it get to me etc... By undermining the judges opinions and decisions you undermine your very own work.

I remember an international logo comp I entered once where thousands turned sour once the winner was declared and all of a sudden chain mails were going around venting all types of frustrations, everyone wants to blame someone or something for missing out. I had a choice, to get involved and vent my frustrations as well or simply remove myself from the mailing list and accept that the judges had made the right decision. I made the latter decision and was happier for it, and looking at the winner I was able to look at it from a different perspective and appreciate why it had won.

Also I believe that Canon split it up into the pro and amateur categories to provide an equal playing field for both sides. It's not Canon's fault that some of you believe that not enough pro's entered. It's about initiative and those who did make effort should have a chance in being rewarded equally as well whether it hit the mark or not. Here's an example if you ended up winning from a small pool of people, increasing your chances dramatically, would you complain? If the show was on the other foot I bet not.

Instead of focusing on what you have missed out on, look at what you have gained - the experience, the exposure, the connections and the knowledge to go one further... Anyway I wish all the finalists all the best and to everyone else a better go next year!

If this post costs me votes so be it, at least I'll know I have said what needs to be said. But I know one thing is for sure I won't be on these forums complaining on who won and who didn't. I'll be happily congratulating the winners

So let's wait and see who makes the grade hey, I've got a feeling that these rumblings are just the beginning and the winners will generate yet more complaints...

Anyway enough said, lets see what the people have to say...

It was disappointing when the rules changed regarding multiple objects. I think they should have stuck to the rule of using only what came in the box. This change somehow destroyed the specialness of sending the box. I think this also diminished the creative nature of the competition. The discipline of using only the object was part of the fun, but I felt the effort was wasted when the rule was changed. I don't think Canon should bother with the box next year. Rather, nominate a category of object to be used and provide a little book with one example shot using each object and written rules which cannot change.

Perhaps the objects can be a bit larger as the small size of the objects became a bit restrictive. Nothing wrong with using photoshop in my opinion, I liked the some of the photoshopped images. But there is the debate, if you are allowed to use photoshop to create duplicate objects why should you not be allowed to use real duplicate objects?

Didn't a couple of the winners from last year use duplicate objects photoshopped and real?

Enrico, I think you are being a little unfeeling. What is wrong with people expression their feelings about confusion surrounding the rules. This is the official competition blog and appeared to have the authority to clarify the rules. People had been persistantly asking for clarification on this rule from the start of the upload period. On the 25th this was posted

Kylie said:

Hi

Just wanting to get absolute clarification on the duplication question.  It has been stated in previous blog answers that duplication of the object is not allowed, but looking at the winners from last year I see that several boxes (for example) have been used.  Is this a new rule for this year, or have I misunderstood what you mean by duplication? I was hoping to use more than 1 candle in my pic.

Thanks

Sep 25 2008, 03:12 PM  

Anna said:

Hi Kylie, yes, it's a new rule this year - we ask that you don't duplicate with more of the same object and instead, just stick to the objects that have been provided in the box. Good Luck!

Sep 25 2008, 05:13 PM  

Anyone who read this and did not return to the blog until after shooting and uploading their image was misinformed. I agree with the person who said all entrants should have been notified by email of rule changes. There should be tighter control over the Blog next year. This is a very important and exciting competition, a bit like the olympics of photography in my opinion and one can expect a bit of controversy, similar to the debate about whether using advanced techology to create better swimming suits constitutes a breach of the rules.

What is wrong with stating no photoshop was used? It is a simple statement of fact, exactly like stating the shutter speed. what is dissappointing these days is if you take an amazing shot in camera some people will look at it and say "nice photoshop job", and if you say it was not photoshopped they even look at you with disbelief. Not to worry technology will soon be such that major digital alteration will register on a file the same as the shutter speed does

Hi everyone, thanks for all your feedback! There are some really great suggestions there.

Sorry to hear that not everyone loves the judges choices. As I'm sure you can appreciate, the judges spent considerable time mulling over the thousands of entries and we are thrilled with the finalists - there were some extremely tough decisions though!

The comments about opening up the voting next year so that you can vote on all of the entries are interesting. We had received previous feedback that voting on all the images would be too time-consuming because of the sheer number but by the sounds of the feedback, perhaps this is not the case! It'll definitely be something we reconsider for next year.

Hi DannyBoy, maybe there was just a bit of confusion when you were flicking through the finalist images? You definitely can't enter both the amateur and profesional categories - if you think there is something we have overlooked, please feel free to clarify. Thanks!

Hi Frances, I didn't say I say that I thought there was anything wrong with people expressing their feelings about confusion surrounding the rules. I myself made sure that I kept checking back, re-reading the FAQ and emailing Canon direct to get the answers I needed. Sometimes we need to take a little initiative or responsibility for ourselves and yes maybe Canon should have handled it better but my main issue was all the negative comments against the finalists this year. Do you think It makes us feel great hearing all that sort of stuff... it seems as though we don't deserve to be in the top 50.

I'm sure that the judges would have had a tough gig and it would have been hard for them to pick something that would please everyone...

Hi Beata, you can vote for your own image if it is chosen as one of the finalists. As mentioned in my comment I just recently posted, we are definitely hearing your feedback about the opportunity to vote for a larger number of entries and it will be something we consider for next year. Thanks for the comments.

I have just tried to vote and the voting system is incredibly user-unfriendly.

when I voted in the amateur section a red note came up in the top right corner of the page saying "voted", but this did not happen in the professional section. Eventually ater I had clicked on the photo many times in frustration trying to vote, a note finally  popped up in a completely different position in the middle of the page, under the photo story saying "you have already voted". The note then disappeared!

I'm finding it really hard to verify which photos I have voted on and the page keeps expiring in the middle of my attempts.

Enrico, if people feel passionate about a topic they are going to feel a bit miffed if they feel they did not have the maximum chance to express themselves. Look at the bun fight that erupts over every judging of the Archibald Prize. The mud slinging is part of the whole event, it drives the publicity machine and stops the general public from yawning and ignoring art completely. So don't take it personally.

It's good that your hard work paid off, but I know some of the other finalists took only a minute or so with no post processing and it does not make the photos any worse comparitively. It's the concept not the time taken that counts with me.

Some photos are epic poems and some are haikus. Seems to me the judges have included one epic in each batch of five, to recognise the virtues of hard work and perspiration  and at least one shot to celebrate the joy of capturing a spontaneous moment.  

enrico, winners can be grinners & losers can blog themselves to death, a couple of comments: 1) photoshopping comes with the digital age, if you don't like it, vote with your feet 2) what about an order of merit for the next best 50 who missed out in each section (at least we would know whether to keep trying or take up rock-climbing) 3) frances, agree with the spontaneous shot vs the post-production epic, also the cliched shot vs the road less travelled 4) with such limited opportunity, would like to see finalist spots limited to one per person, with all respects to enrico, with another set of judges, there would be another set of finalists, plus how embarassing for canon if one of the pros ends up winning 4 cameras?

5) agree with alex, some of the pro choices are surely a joke?

as i said, losers can blog...

Hi, this comp has been lots of fun and it was good to get the creative juices flowing. I really enjoyed the experience and i am really impressed by the high standards of this year's entrants.

However to be honest (no intentional disrespect to the finalists here) i was surprised at the judges choices. While i didn't expect to win, i did pick out 30 or so shots which i thought was absolutely amazing and most were not picked by the judges... i guess photography is just one of those things where it's quite subjective to the viewer so everyone has different taste. Maybe next year Canon could also include a 'People's Choice' category too?

That said, congrats to the finalists and to everyone  for doing such a good job!

When will canon reply to a email i sent them on monday the 3rd nov in regards to this contest and how mixed up the rules became?

Are the judges serious?

I did not enter this competition so I have no vested interest.

But seriously there were some VERY good entries, and NONE of them seemed to make it into the finalists.

Next year can we please just have community votes!

Frances, I'm all for people expressing what they need to say... and I understand how they would be miffed. I'm just trying to stand up for myself and other finalists who seem to be copping quite a bit for one reason or another. If it's not Photoshop, it's multiple images and if it's not that then it might be it's not creative enough... Canon allowed this in their rules and by the sound of it, unfortunately not everyone knew. But the finalists who did get selected have adhered to the so-called rules even if they were modified over the duration of the competition and now we are the ones copping it too.

As for images being creative maybe the judges could have provided a short description as this may help others understand the thought process. I entered a competition where the judge gave comments as to why each image won and it probably prevented flair-ups like this.

I work in the design industry and I know all too well how art and design can be subjective, what is great for someone may not even get a second look from another. I have also entered many competitions and am very used to and aware of the so-called 'mud-slinging' that can go on.

I don't have anything against non-photoshopped images in fact some of the best images made have very little software manipulation if any. But in saying that there are many others that have been manipulated that are also great images. This is a topic that could be argued for ages, at the end of the day I think that a good image is a good image and it should be based solely on that.

Also your last point goes to prove that there was some thought that went into selecting the finalists.

Hopefully the competition rules will be clearer for all next year and that all the feedback will result in an even better photo5 2009.

What were the criteria the judges were looking for when selecting the finalists? I have been showing the finalists to friends and their almost unanimous response is "They're a bit boring, aren't they". Not exactly the desired response to be associated with a product of creativity.

It's a shame really, there were really a lot of entries that grabbed the viewer's attention that were more than worthy of being a finalist. It would be interesting to find out why they did not make the cut.

Anna, in response to:

>> The comments about opening up the voting next year so that you can vote on all of the entries are interesting. We had received previous feedback that voting on all the images would be too time-consuming because of the sheer number but by the sounds of the feedback, perhaps this is not the case! It'll definitely be something we reconsider for next year. <<

Please see my post in here...

www.flickr.com/.../72157608657535700

...for a voting system I believe will allow large numbers of images to be voted for fairly.

After reading all these blog entries maybe canon should send out a survey or have a online one for this years registered participents or voters ,and get some sort of uniform rules from it and how the voting could be better next year if contest held

After this years fiasco.

And Enrico the judges erred in a few ways by not sticking to the rules canon set out, take this for example ,some did not even show the item(s) we were all sent how do we the voting public know those photos used the items in question? we don't if they had one bit of doubt about any images and use or none use of said items it should never had made the final -list

What does this rule state?...

17. Do I need to feature one of the Photo5 objects in my image?

You have to use one of the official Photo5 objects to create your image. The object either needs to be utilised or seen in some form in your image. Incomplete, indecipherable, or illegible entries will be deemed invalid. Please refer to the terms and conditions for full details.

I could name individual photos if you would like to go into it further I'm happy too and will cop any flack that comes my way for doing so I'm sure I'd have a few to back up my argument too.

And heavily manipulated photos(thats different to editing where we adjust colours,hues and sizes) should be banned fullstop ,cloning objects is a cop out and not very creative at all.it wasnt a digital photo manipulation contest was it ?

I totaly enjoyed entering the contest I hope its help in 09'as I would like to enter then too and see how I go .

And to the canon employees who read this maybe next time there could be judges choices and public choices ,to make it a bit more balanced and both the judges and public should state why we like or voted for certain pictures.

I have not voted yet as I'm waiting on a reply to an email I sent canon5 before I do

Mark

Dark Orange,

Canon's comment about full public voting being time consuming is certainly true with the voting system that is currently in place most of my intelligent friends and family are finding it hard to work out how to vote!

They seem to open the system ignore the buttons announcing the finalists and go straight to number 1-25 in the general gallery, look through all the shots and then try "search" which of course does not work as the finalists have now been removed from the general gallery. I am wasting time replying to people I have announced the contest, trying to tell them how to vote. What a mess. Could Canon make it easier to vote please.

What I find annoying is that I cannot tell others which shots I liked. I think I will pretend I am a judge and post a list here of my favourites that did not make the finals so the photographers I liked can feel someone liked their work.

Hi Mark, are you able to resend your email to photo5@canon.com.au? It seems that we have missed it!

Mark,

Re: Rule 17.

In my opinion the 'bubbles' are just as much if not the object itself, and the actual 'light' from the tealight is just as much the object. I would have thought that it is just common sense to assume so and if one was unclear then they would take the initiative to check it out, I know I did. Being creative is thinking left-of-field and thinking 'hey what if I just use the light... hmmm it's still technically the object' isn't it.

BTW. Manipulation is allowed in the rules Mark so you can't discount people people who used it, they had every right to do so.

And yes maybe a public vote may help to keep some people happy... or not...

Anyway, this is just getting ridiculous - it really is...

OK here is my comment on the judges decision for the Red Ribbon section Professional. I'll do one section at a time so it does not make for a boring long post.

I liked "in one ear and out the other" by Poppy Smiles. A few people did this concept, so it was not very original but she did it the best. The colours in the shot were really well set up and the composition and expression were great.

"Kool Dude" was a great shot. Really original use of object. Great casual feel to it. Fun story!

"Don't forget" by Honey Atkinson was well taken and a good concept,very simple and somewhat in line with some general zeitgeist/fashion/whatever for using only the bottom half of people. It would not have been my choice but I think is a valid representative of a common genre/style and I think it's there partly for that reason.

"My personal stylist" by Amelia Soejijono was one of the better examples of very manipulated images. Not really in line with my personal taste but I cannot argue with its selection as the representative of a very popular genre. This competition IS like an art competition including oil paintings through to chinese brush artwork. the judges must have had a couple of late nights deciding.

" Don't forget your heart strings" by Hanrose was a shot I thought was rather trivial at first sight but got to like it more later especially in combination with its little story.

This competition is interesting as the name of the shot and the little story all add to the effect. I loved this aspect of the competition. Previously I had participated in an online copywriting for photography competition related to tourism in Western Australian and found it really exciting, A lot of creative interaction and learning went on between the participants. That comp had weekly finalists and public voting and though I made the finals several times did not manage to win dammit!

Unfortunately I cannot run a search on only the category Professional to find out if there were other professional shots I like better than, or as much as these. I think the other ones I liked were all amateur.

Maybe someone else has managed to short list some other professional shots they liked. If so let's hear it and your reasons and I for one will take a look.

BTW.

I just re-read your posted rule regarding using the object and it clearly says that the object needs to be 'utilised' OR 'seen' in 'some' form in your image.

Dictionary meaning of 'utilise':

"put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose"...

And besides as I mentioned before the light from the actual tealight and the bubbles from the dispenser are just as much the object.

Anyone else agree?

As a non participant, I must say I have never seen this amount of whinging and carrying on, you all sound like children that didn't get their way. As a designer I enter awards, sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. WHY you ask??? because it's all subjective to the people judging. Just because you are not a finalist doesn't mean its not good (yes there are some dodgy ones but good on you for having a go!!). It's just means the judges felt another one appealed to them more. Having a teary like this is just going to make Canon not run a competition like this again, because they are not going to want to put up with all the BULLS**T complaining you grown-up children are doing.

Do you think canon are going to give a rats ar*e if a few of you don't enter next year? You should be god damn grateful they run competitions like this with the prizes they have, because alternatively they could pull the pin and none of you would win anything at all.

And Mark. Judges Choice, public choice, cat and dogs choice, mums choice. Why don't canon next year just give a silver spoon and a certificate to everyone who entered so everyone's a winner baby, that’s the truth.

And im not just targeting Mark but i think you answered your own question mate, the rules state the object must be either seen or UTILISED. I think that means that as long as the element you were given is being used in some form, in the shot or not. It still counts.

As for some of the people gloating about how good they think they are but didn't get in... well I checked you flickr pages, you all are fantastic photographers, absolutely amazing (some of the scenic shots blew my mind), but this was a creative competition, and these people just didn't push the creative side enough.

And whats with all the people complaining about the use of photoshop? if your idea is good enough im sure there are ways to greatly execute it with or without the aid of photoshop.

Everyone needs to just chill out, it's over now. Build a bridge, and practice by taking a photo of it.

Rule 17:

"utilised OR seen" not one or the other, so using the light of the candle instead of displaying the candle would fit in with this rule.  That's how I read it anyway.

Well sorry it is not "over" Paul. The final exciting vote is yet to come! Competition accompanied by blog is a relatively new phenomena and I am rather interested in it. There have been a few ill considered comments lately but that is just part of the emotional landscape in my opinion.

Over all the conversation is now more interesting than before the finalists were announced. Some of the official bloggers  didn't seem that interested in blogging.

I wouldn't mind reading a blog featuring the finalists for the Moran prize for instance. I imagine that it might get feisty but it would't be boring.

Excuse me but I think I am doing a great job of injecting some reasoned content aimed at learning more about how to approach such a competition and finding out what others think. Others on this blog are doing the same so I don't appreciate the phrase "you all". Hopefully everyone is feeling less emotional now after a stressful wait so lets keep hearing what's going on in people's heads.

Exactly right Nicole... I'm glad others read it like this as well... No offense to anyone but that is what it says and I doubt you could argue with that.

Firstly I want to congratulate all the finalists and secondly a BIG thank you to all participants.

You gave us all a chance to enjoy some wonderful creativity.

Reading through this blog there seems to be some issues (not big ones) that CANON may need to address in the future. One suggestion which someone has made, and I believe has some merit, is to publish the next 50 "best" in each category. This would perhaps satisfy the curiosity of knowing whether one has made it in the top 50 or so.

On the subject of judges and voting, I would be in favour of simply having judges pick the absolute winners, no voting. The reason why I am not totally comfortable with any kind of voting is that, in the end, the voting might in no way reflect the artistic merit of a photo but, would decide a winner purely on the number of friends one can get on the voting list.

Cheers to all

I totally agree Carlo... Merit awards with some smaller prize packs could be the way to go... I too would rather just have the judge vote the winners as it can become a popularity contest instead.

Well said...

I agree with the system of judges picking the finalists and the others voting for them. There is no way that I would want to wade through thousands of images trying to pick the finalists and I doubt whether many people would want to either. Then again, I would also not put my hand up to judge and pick the finalists - it's a tough and thankless job.

Maybe I'm asking Canon to sell us lovely cameras and teach us how to use them, but it would be hugely helpful if the judges could give a few reasons why they chose the photos they did. I'm afraid I'm at a loss to understand how photos that appear to have poor exposure got there . . . after all the argument about image manipulation.

Just one more for Canon - I too find the voting very difficult to work out - haven't been able to register one vote yet.

And finally, the items in the box are a novel idea, but I'd really like to enter photos in categories . . . maybe I should enter some other competition.

CANON CANON CANON To the team at Canon

This competition is a fantastic way to promote your brand. And at a relatively low cost. The amount of blogs, controversy, and interest you have created is to be congratu lated. Please tell your boss that the increase in sales is directly attributed to the Canon Photo5 competition.

Therefore, we, the public would like to recommend giving each and every Canon employee a bonus for their involvement in creating a name synonymous with quality, value, and precision.

Thank you Team Canon.

Enrico and Carlo, its been clear from the start what kind of contest this is. Its a contest of skill up till the finals and a fun contest with more chance than usual to observe the event as a work in progress than a traditional competition where one never gets to see most of the entries. I have participated in similar things before, made the finals and lost out partly because I don't have a supersonic mailing list.

We have all had fun and now its time to say thanks to Canon for hosting the party, by telling them about all our friends who are interested in photography. They want to sell more cameras so they can put some of the money to developing better cameras for us to play with in future.

All the finalists have artistic merit, its an honour to be a finalist and as the website says its "Vote for the photo you LIKE BEST"

Who knows if the people I have notified will actually vote for the photo I have drawn to their attention.

Did anyone else get mailed a new password from Canon without requesting one? I got one and wondered why? Was someone trying to hack into the voting system?

Agree with much of the above. In particular announcing an order of merit for the ones that were in top 50.

I also feel pictures which have been edited using Photoshop / post production software should be in a separate category. We all know and like it or not that Photoshopping now seems almost expected. However it needs to be kept in mind that taking photos and using Photoshop are two very different skills. I have only just started entering competitions and quite a few dont allow editing for this reason. This provides a much more challenging task in taking a good picture.

Anyhow great competition and heres hoping it will continue next year.

I hope that Canon have the mind to change things next year and NOT show entries until after submission closes. No matter what folk say, it does sway a persons thoughts somewhat. Most comps that I know of don't show entries before the closing date.

Well said Paul :-)  I agree with your every word.

Seems I don't have to say much here as its already all been said.

But one last thing is that I too would prefer to have the judges selecting the winning images from start to finish.  Otherwise, as Carlo said above, it becomes a popularity contest.

you can see this if you scroll up this blog...quoting anna here "Anna said:

Hi Kylie, yes, it's a new rule this year - we ask that you don't duplicate with more of the same object and instead, just stick to the objects that have been provided in the box. Good Luck!"

Now if you look at the finalist for both amateur and professional you will clearly see at least 4 finalist entries that have multiple umbrellas....one even describes to you that it has 550 cocktail umbrellas used in the photo...Come on Canon...that is clearly a breach of rules!

Firstly, congratulations on those that made it to the finals.

Personally I felt there was a bit of misleading on Canon's behalf, I was of the impression that the public made the initial votes then the ones that had the most votes from the public were then judged by the judges. Especially when one reads in the frequently asked questions 'Can I vote for my own image?' and the reply is "Yes. You can allocate one vote only to your own image." I didn't read anywhere that the public were only allowed to vote for the ones the judges selected.

Like to agree also that the top 50 would be a idea with perhaps a voucher or small prize, even if it be a certificate.. comon a little acknowledgement and I hardly think it's fair that one persons images be it approx 3 or so all up there in the finals..

Theres a so called professional pic of a person with the umbrella holding up over their head, now I ask.. how is this unique? Stupid is more the term I'd use and hardly creative.. The judges who chose some of the work need their heads read, otherwise I will put this question to them, who's kissing who's butt???

Anyway you get where I'm coming from, I'm not a sore loser by any means just appauled that some of the worst ideas make it whilst others more deserving miss out completely.. sigh

What a poor excuse for a competition, some of the most ridiculous images made it, including a guy with melted wax on his head.. uhm.. where's the candle?

A person with a cocktail umbrella held up in the air looking like a nimwit.. erh .. hardly creative..

I also took note that some images submitted were copied from previous entries.. hardly surprising..

The main concern was that here we are the public expecting to be able to make the vote on OUR choice and the judges up their choices and we are left scratching our heads wondering how the hell some of these even made it?

What becomes of the other submissions..?

Not even a mention, not even a public vote.. that is bad P.R..

I won't bother entering next year, it's a disgraceful butt kissing exercise to promote CANON, I'll stick to my OLYMPUS anyday.

Totally agree with Nico how the hell was it permissible for 2 entries from the same photographer to be allowed to be in the finals.. that's just B.S!

Either one of the judges knows them or we've all been taken for a row.

I have been reading with interest comments posted and what comes to mind is that old saying;

You can't please all of the people all of the time.. you know the rest.

I also think that some of the comments and attacks on individual entries is way over the top, uncalled for, mean spirited and shows sour grapes (sorry guys, but build a bridge and get over it).

For me I had a ball with the comp and really enjoyed the creative process.

The only observations I would make are

1) In selecting the finalists, I think a fundamental criteria in judging should be, was the individual object used in the image. Lets keep it simple and pure, whats in the box is what you should photograph. No multiples, no objects that asimilate to the orginal item.

2) Without being negative I was also left wandering what the judges where thinking with some of their choices.

Anyway all in all thank you Canon for a great experience and great fun. I look forward to next years comp.

Don't know about the others here, but in addition to what's been said, I've found the amateur finalists to be almost on par. With the professional finalists there's this great divide. A select few of the images are absolutely astounding while the vast majority are very so-so.

In a moment of whimsy I considered going pro next year but doubt if I could beat the best of the entries in each category.

Hey Kaz, I somewhat agree with you about not being able to see the item that was sent in the box, but you can vote for the photos you think comply with the rules as you interpret them if you like and I expect many people will do that.

If you only use the candle as the light source the candle itself is hard to see. many arguments could be constructed about the use of the objects.

About ideas being copied. Numerous people did the "crayon as a lipstick" idea. One person did that idea really well and she's made the finals. Lots of people would have had that idea without seeing someone else do it. Look at how many people did the "ribbon as a shoe lace" idea. They just kept on coming.

I am sure the judging was anonymous but it is a fact that when one's photography becomes really good one of the symptoms is that it becomes visually distinctive in style and it is possible to tell whose work it is without a name attached. Many entrants put in the same style of shot in each category and even I could tell it was the same person without reading the name.

Cheers,

Frances

Addressed to the grumpy bloggers:-

Didn't you have fun taking your shots? Didn't you find the creative process enjoyable? Didn't the competition give you an excuse to do something different for the sake of stretching yourself? Aren't you just proud of the images you created?

Isn't this the point?

I agree you need to be careful with public voting to prevent it from turning into a popularity contest. Perhaps the judges should pick the finalists, then the public vote should be restricted only to those who submitted photos, I guess more of a 'peer vote'.

I also like the idea of an additional 'people's choice' award (for those who disagree with the judges) chosen by participants, from all photos submitted.

Regarding the photoshop issue, perhaps next year there should be two extra categories, 'Minimal Photoshop' and 'Unrestricted Photoshop'. I don't think it is an even competition to have photos with only basic adjustments to contrast, saturation (or less) etc up against 'digital artworks' with cloned objects, merged images, multiple layers, filters etc. I have nothing against the latter, I love what you can do with photoshop, I just think these are two separate genres.

Finally, if this runs next year, please email all registered participants with any amendments to the rules / T&Cs, because not everyone can spend hours reading through blogs.

For the record, I love this competition. I entered last year as well. I wasn't expecting to make it to the finals (which I didn't) as I wasn't confident in my efforts, so definitely no sour grapes here. I just enjoy the challenge and will continue to enter as long as this competition runs.

David, I take it you may be referring to me in your post. It's not B.S! and grow up will you! If a particular style attracts the judges eye, chances are that they may get more than one image selected. and if there aren't enough images to select from in the Pro category then that is just good fortune for that person. Yes some images probably don't quite hit the target and some may be seen as not as creative to some but that is what is up there and that's just how it is... If you don't like anything then don't vote for it. It's not like it was 'permissable' - it's just how it turned out and that is the result.

As an example of fairness do you think that the Brisbane Lions should have stepped down and let others have a chance to win a premiership during their 3 year reign? Just because some people would see it as unfair? If they are good enough then I think they have every right to be up there, and same goes for this competition. That in my opinion is only fair.

BTW. No, I don't know the judges! Get some facts together before you start making assumptions.

Some mighty sour grapes have arrived this morning...

hi, i just logged in to vote (leaving it to the last minute, i know!), but although the voting info is still up and running and each photo has a little balloon attached to it telling me to click on it to vote, when i do so there is no way for me to vote! is there a problem, or has voting finished?

I hope you got to vote Nico. I found it quite hard to work out the voting system myself. I also find it strange that there is such a long delay in posting blog notes. this hardly makes for a raging and informative discussion. I guess this was not really meant to be a forum. Perhaps next year they can have a forum open to registered entrants and post what they like, when they like, to a public blog.

regards,

Frances

Seems to be a lot of bitterness floating around lately.

Now a bit of venting is predictable, especially with a competition of this size (and relative arbitrariness) – but I find complaining too bitterly is hardly productive.

Anyone who knows me, knows I never really complain about anything – which some might consider is too lenient on poor service; but I reckon life is just too short and precious to waste any on needless grumbling.

I was pretty sure there would be a fair bit of extra protesting over the results this year, given the problem of how they framed the two entry categories (which the organisers have conceded will have to be revised for any future competitions). I even tried to be constructive earlier, and start a discussion here over possible better ways of subdividing the image pool – primarily forward looking, but also in case the organisers decided it was worth trying to address this year (after all, the sizing specifications and the rule about duplications had already changed mid-competition).

This was partly aimed how the category problem had led to a relative shortage of finalist spots for the amateur entries; partly as an attempt to head off the grumbling and PR kerfuffle that does seemed to have eventuated; but mainly to address the rather discriminatory state of affairs with respect to young professionals starting out, who if they did not yet make enough money, did not get the same numerical advantages that other pros above the chosen salary cut-off received.

Despite typing being a slow and difficult process, I took some time trying to properly lay out the issue and possibly canvass opinions – but whether my argument was inadequately presented or whether some did not even read my actual words, that attempt seemed to get regarded as a pointless tirade…

Oh well – much of what appears in forums like these is probably ultimately pointless…

But we should all still try to be civil – even when venting our frustrations – and consider other people’s feelings, before typing some comment that may seem rather innocuous in your own mind, but might be hurtful when read by other eyes…

I voted for one photo I liked in amature, not much of a choice, several are quite boring actually. Loved last years selection.

hohum....I sugest to those who did an awesome job, stick to the international comps in the future, they choose from good composition, technique and style. If you enter next year, Just put little to no effort in, oh and enter as a professional you might just stand out.  

Sour grapes? na just disapointed that I wasn't able to pick from some great photos that really made the grade!

Thanks to Canon and its employees for all their behind-the-scenes work and running such a fun competition -- loved it and had a blast trying to think of photo ideas and attempting to realise them.

Looking forward to the results and enjoying this blog with all its varied opinions and feedback :)

I tried to vote for ‘A sign!’ in the Umbrella's Professional category, and the information appeared stating “Image is not a finalist” so I chose again and got the same thing, and it happened to all pictures in the same section. If I missed the deadline sorry, but if not please feel free to register my vote for this one. And thanks for a brilliant excuse to play with my camera, not that I really need one! Cheer's!

Oh and also, for next year, I would prefer it if the gallery wasn't opened until after all photos had been submitted. That way there's no chance of anyone copying someone elses idea, I know it still may happen by chance, though. Perhaps the previous years photos could be available for viewing for inspiration?

On the topic of Photoshop – not sure why so many were complaining about its use.

There are plenty of competitions for straight (i.e. largely unedited) photos – whereas this comp is primarily about ‘creative images’.  The rules have always clearly stated that any post-editing is allowed.  If the image is done all in-camera, great; but if your artistic vision of the final product also requires a lengthy PS session, well for this comp that’s fine too.

Though for the purists, note that all of last year’s winners were close to straight shots – with only one having Photoshop as a more than minor element. And it appears that again, all but one of this year’s winners are fairly direct shots…

For someone like myself, with only limited use of my hands, this comp is quite good in allowing substantial editing.  I would not typically be able to enter photos requiring complex and elaborate physical setup, but since I can still use a mouse, can thus use post-editing to suitable creative purposes.  For people even less mobile than myself, who cannot easily get out and about, this element of the comp would allow much more lee-way to be creative than if no editing were allowed.

Enrico’s entries were not only well-edited, but also creative compositions – and (esp. since there is not currently any rule against multiple finalists) he should not be slurred with any innuendo. (Though, given the problem of the category definitions, I can understand that 7 of the pro entries having multiple finalists, and one of the better entrants actually getting picked for 4 finalist spots, would provoke many of those who missed out entirely…)

Getting picked in these sorts of comps is hardly like winning a tennis tournament – where typically the best player beats all comers and gets the trophy!  It is a very subjective thing, even at the best of times, with judges’ tastes generally varying from our own – and coupled with the enormous number of amateur images submitted, meant even getting noticed amongst the throng would probably have taken an element of luck.  

I regarded myself as very lucky last year to get a finalist place – with an image that I thought looked quite good, but which I personally considered less creative than many other images that missed out.  I suppose it just happened to catch a judge’s eye.  

Each year, some finalists will tend to put in a lot of effort, others might just take a quick snap – while some entrants will have put enormous effort into creating their images but not get chosen by the judges.  So, if you can live with getting picked for the finals tending to involve an element of luck (esp. in terms of getting your image noticed, and whether it happens to suit the judges’ unknown frame of mind) as well as effort or talent, then enter again next year – and if you can’t bear that, then find something else to do you would enjoy more… (Or campaign to get the voting/judging arrangements changed in the meantime if you really feel strongly enough about the current rules! Some here have already suggested that they would prefer the public vote to be on all entries, shortlisting a set of images that the judges then pick the winners from…  ??)

If I am still physically able to take photos next year, I imagine I will enter this interesting comp yet again.

Cheers,

David C.

For what it is worth, I think that allowing the public vote to determine the finalists is not such a great idea.

Popularity contest anyone?

Change the gallery set up definitely, but leave the narrowing down to the judges.

Even thought the finalists are not the images I would have picked, the point is that they worked just as hard as the rest of us to get that entry in.

All this whinging and moaning is not going to change this years competetion; maybe next year the rules will be set in concrete and clearer.

Until then, don't crap on the winner's work. They didn't break any rules and don't deserve sour grapes over a decision they didn't even make.

Congrats to the winners too.  Enjoy picking out your new gear!

Congratulations to winners, it seems like a lot has been said and I hope that Canon do rectify the comp for next year... enjoy! :)

I would like to know why Canon hasn't checked the professionals to ensure they do actually earn more than 20k per year from their photography.  I realise that un-be knownst to me the winners may be checked....but as a finalist...I have not had any correspondence from Canon whatsoever....even with any of my emails from weeks ago.

This is a concern to me as I read so many people in this forum have said they will now enter the Professional category next year.  I would like to make sure that Professionals are actually competing against Professionals and that the category isn't being used purely as a 'better chance' at winning a prize.

Wow, sorry to be rude but i'm shocked at some of the winners for this year! some are just plain woeful ('professionals' in particular). Last year's winners were much better...what's going on judges??

First of all would like to say congrats to all the winners. Also to all who entered, bad luck, better luck next year ppl! Hope to see you all back here.

I must say it was lots of fun participating in this years competition! I'll definitely here doing this again next year. Maybe Canon should taking notes from this blog so they can change the structure of the competition for next year.

They should reconsider about have 2 different classes (amateur and professional) I know Canon are trying to be fair to everyone. Also they should pick the top 20 images and have prizes for the top 3 in each of the 5 categories next year.

I think I wrote too much already.

Once again good work everyone!

Just a bit confused about the top 100. I just get directed to the gallery.

Are they in any order now?

it says on the email we can view the top 100 finalists...where is that???

after reading through most the comments, i agree with some of the final images chosen, i could not vote in some categories as there was nothing there worth my vote...loved the competition as it is my first year, but dont know if i will bother next year...put in too much time as did many others in this competition to not be able to even cast a vote as judges selection was very poor.

Congratulations to ALL winners in this years comp.  All very well deserved in each category.

And for those with a mouthful of sour grapes .. try chompong on something a little sweeter next year :-)

And to Canon.  I loved the comp.  I had so much fun.  It took over my life for a couple of months.  My suggestion for improvement for next year would be to NOT show entries before the comp closes.  Too many people pinching ideas.  But apart from that, perfect.

Thats all.  

Thats my twopenceworth.

Have a lovely day :-)

I got an email from canon announcing the winners, and in it, it states  that you can view thwe TOP 100..

Can you please direct me to the top 100.

The link only takes me to the complete gallery which has the winners, finalists and all the other entries.

Has anyone else received this email

Hi Judi, Canon validates entries when required, such as when submissions don’t meet category criteria (i.e. professional or amateur, or correct use of the object). Thanks!

Hey guys, apologies, there was an error in the email you received - instead of the 'top100' it should have read 'top50'. Sorry for the confusion!

Congratulations to the winners of photo 5 2008. Some very creative images well done.

With the thousands of entries across all catagories that showcased some very creative and beautiful images it must have been a difficult job to narrow it down to just a few finalists.

Also Thakyou to the team at Canon who have put this comp together, I loved the creative experience.

A shame that a handful people chose to turn the experince into something negative.

Again Congratulations and thank you.

Martha, what I noticed was that last years selection seemed more object oriented. as a collection of finalists it was more like something you would see as a final year art college exhibition. This year the judges chosen were clearly people oriented and their personal work concerns people. Not surprisingly they seem to have chosen in general photos including people,even if only one or two limbs rather than photos of objects unless the objects were actually plastic people! After all the majority of people who buy cameras end up using them to photograph people not boxes crayons or coctail umbrellas.

Rather than looking to this year's finalists for stylistic inspiration next year I think I will be looking a the judges personal work more closely to see if I can second guess the type of work that will be targeted next year.

Last years finalist looked good and unified as a group. This years finalist are altogether more stylistically varied and as a result the look a bit piecemeal together. However I think that this was an intentional choice to try to present a wider range of styles in finalists this year. Suppose unless Canon lets us in on their secret thought processes we will never know what went on behind the scenes!

Bring on next years comp! Or how about one every six months. It was fun!

Nice idea Me, I wouldn't have minded a small prize or something for making it as a finalist :)

Anna,

May it wouldn't such a bad idea for canon to post the top 100 photos

Pingback from  Photo5 Results, Recognition and Reflections

I've posted about my thoughts on this year's Photo5 competition and the results. If you would like to read, you can find it here: neil.creek.name/.../photo5-results-recognition-and-reflections

Tell you what would be a cool idea, posting a video blog of the judges voting process so we can see who missed out, who was close etc.

Hey Neil, I didn't realise that the entries could be changed up until the closing date. I thought once you uploaded that was it! I suppose this explains why things I went looking for seemed to no longer be there and new things popped up unexpectedly. I just thought it was something wrong with my brain!

What a cool idea to make a TV show about this competition next year.

It's a competition of individuals but also it seems competition of communities like the FLICKR and Red Bubble communities for instance. Seems the FLICKR community stimulated each others' creativity and made a pact to vote en masse for whoever in their community made the finals.All power to them, it was not against the rules.

I'll be trying to put together my own creative community next year so I can have even more fun.

Some observations:

DO NOT open up the voting to the masses – that way lies madness and popularity contests.  I like the idea of a selection of finalists by a panel, and then restricting voting only to those who submitted an image.

I too have trouble understanding some of the judges selections. For ‘finalists’ I want to see images that make me go ‘wow’, not ‘?’.   Precious few did that.  I am sure there is a reason for each selection - but in quite a few instances I just don’t get it.  And for that reason, and to assist our education, I think a short commentary on each image and why it made the finals is a good idea (great idea, perfect technique, great colour, made us laugh / cry / take to drink, ‘it spoke to me’ - whatever).  

For god sake, do not use that ‘gallery’ set up for images again.  There were (legitimate) complaints last year about how clunky and useless that format was.  Do something different next year, please!  

I see no reason why the rules (should they change) could not be amended on the competition ‘rules web page (it’s not that difficulty to do, really).  The blog was the wrong place, and the notice got lost.

BTW Francis:

There was no pact to vote ‘en masse’ by the Flickr community if one of the group made it to the finals.  We certainly supported one another, and had fun doing so.  But as it happened a number of the community made it to the finals in the same category, so choices had to be made.

I would recommend that you join us next year, and not create your ‘own’ community, and benefit from the exchange of ideas and critique of work in progress.

Above, some posters have talked of an email from Canon listing the top 100 (or top 50) finalists. I have not received this mail. Would anyone be so kind as to post up the link here so that others could access it?

And they could do it on the new 5D MkII, Now that's promotion! :)

To everyone who entered the contest - good on you for having a go.  As the old saying goes - you have to be in it to win it.  Chances of being shortlisted, let alone winning are very low.  As a member of an amateur photographic club affilliated with the Photographic Society of Queensland, I find it annoying that some entries without a lot of either WOW impact or photographic merit made it to the finals & this includes the 'professional' entries.  I commiserate with those who entered and were not successful in being selected. I have entered many 'art' competitions and continue to find that merit is in the eye of the viewer/judge and what I see as rubbish, another will see as creative and unique - C'est la vie - see entries in other competitions eg International Colour Awards -particularly in the Fine Art segment.

If the competition T&Cs changed after the rules were posted, entrants should have been notified by e-mail.  Perhaps there should also be a section for viewers choice on the whole range of entries - probably be just as controversial - but more people would be happy.  I will try again next year anyway!

I like the Photo5 concept so much that I am submitting to my local photo club that we use a similar structure for one of our monthly competitions next year - great concept.

I have a few points to raise and comments to make:

1. I agree with bruce-p, votes should be restricted the entrants who have registered. I'm sure every other finalist like myself was not leaving it to chance and tried to get every man, woman and dog to vote for them, I know I did. Sadly, it can turn out to be a popularity contest. It would be interesting to know how many people who actually registered voted. I still believe that selecting the finalists should be left with the judges and voting by the registered entrants.

2. Top 50 finalists should get something for making it that far, even if it is a small Canon gift voucher or certificate signed by the judges, that alone would make people proud of their achievements and efforts.

3. I agree with a some sort of top 100 or highly commended category, at least that way people will know they weren't too far off and have something to build on next time. Maybe a peoples choice could be integrated at this stage.

4. I agree with the idea of judges comments, as this will help to explain to some people how someone made it as a finalist or winner. Again this will help ones learning experience and what better way than for Canon to be seen as a 'creative partner' allowing photographers to forge an intangible long-lasting relationship with the brand.

5. It seems as though the pro category didn't quite work out as planned and many saw it as 'unfair'. Maybe next year the categories can be A. Amateur and B. Open so that people can try their luck against the pro's.

6. The upload system should allow users to edit their details or resubmit images if they need to. It seems as though many people had their original ideas copied.

7. The title of the photo should be seen without having to click on it, I believe this adds substance to the image and can lead people to actually click and read it and potentially win their vote later.

8. The physical dimensions of the uploaded entries should all be kept within the 6x4 format, either horizontally or vertically, giving everyone equal canvas space and exposure.

9. The order of images uploaded should remain sequential as to not confuse people viewing entries, especially come voting time.

10. State the rules at the beginning and stick with them, it seems as though many weren't too happy about this and whether this affected voting for my bubbles finalist entry as it didn't have the actual bottle/blower in it I'll never know.

11. Show the percentage of votes afterwards Big Brother style so that the finalists can see how much they lost by.

12. State on the Rules/T&C's that the finalists are chosen anonymously as I copped a bit of heat and very sour grapes for being selected twice and in some ways I think this probably hindered my chances rather than improved them.

13. I don't get why so many people complained about the majority of kids blowing bubbles photo's when the end results showed that this is what the majority people wanted to win anyway.

14. I don't think using photoshop has affected the competition at all, if you look at who actually won there seems to be little to moderate use. Next time I'll just leave Photoshop out of my description. So please allow image manipulation to continue next year.

15. I've learnt not to comment until after the comp as it may have cost me some votes and disappointed some, but it had to be done.

16. I would like to not only have a peoples choice but also a judges choice that way people can't complain. So in some ways you could say it is like a wild card where there is still a chance at a 5K product prize taking the total winners to 12. Surely Canon can manage to shell out an extra 10k worth of it's product range and keep everyone happy, and therefore stop people from switching brands. So to re-cap 50 finalists and 12 eventual winners.

17. When displaying the winners and finalists to promote next years comp it would be good to see larger images and to know which one actually won.

18. Keep it fun and keep cool people, don't go abusing, accusing other contestant, finalists or winners, take it up to Canon. As far as I know I have stuck with the rules for this year and seem to have copped a fair bit.

19. The systems should allow users to add images to their favourites panel or folder so that they can keep and track should the entries get reshuffled.

20. I saw a crayon entry that had a green totem pole carved out of it and was very surprised it didn't get selected. I'm sure many others had this experience with what they considered to make the grade. Unfortunately these comps are judged by the judges tastes and not ours.

If I think if anything else I'll let you know... :)

Hi Bruce-p, I had no objection to any voting agreements. BTW, I was just commenting on a remark Enrico made about "risking losing votes from the FLICKR community". Probably I took this comment the wrong way sorry.

The way I see it becoming a successful photographer/artist whatever involves lots of self promotion and getting yourself out there in the public eye and persuading your friends to vote for you is all legit. If you have a gallery exhibition and don't invite all your contacts, art buyers etc get yourself in the press and the works, then what is the point?

I might just join you over there. It looks like fun. I've been watching some of the members work for some time.

If only people who enter images can vote on the finalists then where is the benefit to CANON in terms of increasing the amount of exposure they are getting to new customers and also new entrants to new year's comp?

You have to give CANON credit for creating a form of publicity which is way more entertaining and eco friendly than full page colour advertising, but this is still a publicity excercise. I would be very disappointed if the gallery were not opened until the end of the comp. Most of the fun would then be gone. It's fun checking in for the new images every day, and as for people owning ideas and having them "stolen", I'm sorry you just cannot own an idea.

See ya on FLICKR soon I hope

Hi Frances, I agree that you should try to promote yourself wherever possible but if an entrant can get anyone to vote e.g. friends & family these votes are going to be biased towards the entrant and not necessarily what they would pick if they had their own choice and didn't know who created the image. So it can be unfair to others who don't have a large network of friends, family, Facebook/Myspace friends, Flickr/Deviant Art/Red Bubble contacts etc... as they have to rely on people who registered but missed out to make the effort to vote.

It would be like being promoted in a job just because you have the most people behind you voting and not necessarily because you are the best person for the job or deserve it.

From what I can see I think that Canon do enough advertising and could integrate a little photo5 panel when it gets near to that time again, rather than an actual ad dedicated just for the comp. Just imagine a nice big glossy full page ad showing the new 5D MkII and a little teaser below that links to the comp. I think that would definitely get a few people interested and register to enter. Yes, at the end of the day it is about Canon getting exposure and publicity but there are ways of doing it that could make the comp even better and dare I say it fairer.

Enrico, Yes but isn't being put in a job because you have the most people behind you voting what's happening with Obama and isn't that called democracy! Perhaps CANON need congratulating for promoting democracy within art.

Whatever Canon choose to do you can always tell your friends and family about it even if it's full page ads. If you scan and email the full page ads to your friends and family is that still unfair?

They must have some reasons for choosing to promote by designing activities creating culture and community. May be that's the direction "advertising" is going.

Cheers Frances

Frances, Yes you are right in some ways and i do think that democracy is a great thing, but in that case i think it was in the best interest of the American public that they vote for who they wanted to win as it was an important decision that would affect them all. Where as this is merely a creative competition where as extra people who get involved with voting don't necessarily gain anything from their votes.

If you wanted to use your example it would be like Obama having extra friends in Europe and Australia that he could call on for extra votes where as say McCain didn't. Those extra people voting don't have anything to do with the outcome and as a result it would be unfair for McCain. (BTW I don't support McCain either). Do you see where I am coming from?

Anyway I'll leave my comments at that and hope that Canon takes everyone's feedback into consideration for next year. It's a great comp and it gets most of us off the couch and taking pictures and also creates a buzz in the creative community. Thanks Canon, hopefully I can go one better next year :)

Enrico, this is one of the tragedies that result from a competition that involves voting. Not only does the event have the potential to turn into a popularity contest (or the winner determined by the one who has the largest amount of contacts), but it's impossible to be honest.

Say the wrong things, or say it in the wrong way and make like you're sitting on a high horse, and votes will be lost. Personally I don't like the idea of public voting being involved. In a way I'm glad for not even hitting the finalists because I was worried about how I should go about to amass the necessary votes to win.

Moreover, it would be even more painful to get this far in the competition and lose out to someone who had for example, their whole school to vote for them. That would be just wrong.

Anyway, if Canon does this again next year it'd be interesting to see what the regulations are like. This time, may the best picture win.

Andy, provided the photographer is sufficiently proud of his or her work in the finals, this "tradgedy" of public voting and the terrible chore of contacting friends, relatives and business contacts should simply result in a great deal of publicity and indirect advertising for the unfortunate photographer. Perhaps they will get a lot of work as a result....tragic!

(sorry about the hint of sarcasm OK)

Sorry one more thing... I think that maybe one judges choice per category could keep everyone happy as this way it will be fairer to people who don't have a massive contact list to vote for them. Yeah I think I might have ruffled a few feathers standing up for myself and other finalists, but at least I did it and I can be happy knowing that I did instead of keeping quiet like most. BTW I might have to go under a pseudo name next year to have a clean fresh start at this LOL! :)

Enrico, why not just proudly use your own name? What is wrong with making comments. All the comments were valid. As far as I can see you have been getting your name out here for a couple of months. This is great publicity. I looked up your work and I liked it.

I cannot understand the people who want everything kept secret until the judging. It's a great publicity excercise for all participants, even the ones who don't make the finals. I'll be using my name again next year.

Good point Frances, thanks for the compliment... maybe I should hey, hopefully all this will be done and dusted by next year and we can all start fresh. I guess the extra attention/publicity could be seen as a good thing in the end.

BTW, if Canon has checked out my work, like what they see and would like to loan me a 5D MkII *permanently* to continue to push the boundaries I could be open to that - LOL! :)

I've thought about this a bit and the issue of public voting and fairness etc and I thought of an idea.

Why not have the general public and the entrants allowed to vote from the beginning and people can send any number of the public to the site but when they vote they must attempt to second guess what the real judges will decide.

That is to say the member or maybe two members of the public (including registered entrants) who come the closest to what the real judges decide on for the finalists will win prizes. They win prizes for guessing who the judges will pick as finalists.

The registered entrants are regularly notified during the upload and voting period about how many votes they are getting from the public so they can feel good (or bad if they are not getting any votes!)

The real judges are not informed of the state of the public vote. They pick the finalists how they chose and then the registered entrants only vote to decide the final winners.

This way an registered entrant can actually win by not voting for themselves. If they think the judges will not vote for them in the finals they can vote against themselves in the public pre vote and then if necessary vote for themselves in the final vote if they do get into the final.

So entrants and public vote before release of the finalists and registed participants only vote after the release of the final selection.

It might sound a bit confusing but it might work. It might mean having a semi final selection just to cut down the raw number of entries for the public vote. This would also seem to satisfy the desire some people have expressed to know if they are up the top of the heap even if they didn't make the finals.

Any Comments?

After reading many of the comments post winners, I am relieved to know that I'm not the only one who has become disillusioned by this competition thanks mainly to the poor judging, changing rules and quite frankly what I can only gather to be straight out cheating. In the professional finalists, (which didn't affect me at all as I entered as an amateur and hence am not expressing sour grapes) there are 4 entries by the same photographer, Poppy Smiles, who just happened to win the ribbon competition. I think someone had a friend amongst the judges. And Enrico, why do u feel the need to justify yourself? You were a finalist, you get the contacts and exposure not the rest of us, do you want to rub it in a bit more? Let people express what they see is wrong with an "apparently" unbiased competition. I personally cannot imagine how the professional finalists were chosen in the first place, the quality of the pics is deplorable and then to realise that so many great entries were ignored in place of one mediocre entrant! Disappointing.

I had a ball and will be back next year.I dont know why my pics wern't in the winners circle as they were much better than everybody else's :).Having oganized events myself I know you cant please everybody ever but I think the secret to it is to keep it simple.The only thing I think needs to change is to group every body in together and to separate photoshopers from the straight out of the boxes.I think that they are two differt art forms one being photography and one being photogrphic art. I have no fears of going up against pro's with my little S3 but I cant match it up against computer wizards.Imagine the fun of being picked over everyone not just amatures who in my opinion are just brillo. And when it comes to picking the winners let the judges pick them simple.You can have a people choice if you wish but only for bragging rights that way your family and friends can vote.

Someone said this comp had poor judging?  I hardly think so.  

Everyone has differening opinions on what is good and what is not.  The judges for this comp did a fine job, and becasue some folk don't agree with their decisions doesn't make them bad judges.

Come on folks, lets put the sour grapes away.

Have a good day :-)

Sandra,

So far I've got nothing! So unless Canon want to offer me something for my achievements it's the old case of 'Close but no cigar' which in IMHO is probably in some cases worst than not being a finalist at all... at least that way you fall by the wayside like most... Public voting for creative comps is just wrong as for the various reasons mentioned above. It should probably be called a popularity contest instead of a creative one - full stop.

I don't mind the public voting whatsoever, and agree with the what should be an unbiased judging committee. And I agree, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But if the masses are disagreeing with the finalists then perhaps the organisers can look into why (and yes BrittyBabs, if u read most of the criticisms above which can be viewed as constructive and not sour grapes, there are many who disagree with the judging).

Enrico, I meant no harm in my comment. I just couldn't understand why u kept justifying yourself against non-personal criticisms. I think most of the unhappy commentary is very valid, especially the change of rules which I wasn't even aware of until the end of the competition. And being one of the entrants who had been misled initially (I was refused the right to change an entry) I would like to see the criticisms looked into seriously. I don't understand why so many consider an opinion sour grapes?

Overall the competition was amazing - I had heaps of fun playing and wasn't concerned with winning (the hope was there! :-) but that was not the driving force). And it was great to see so much talent in the amateur entries. So yeah, I'll be entering again next year with the hope that the competition is a little better organised and fair.

Ps, I love Martha's comment. It sums up what I think perfectly.

Enrico,

How things change. Prior to the final outcome you spent a lot of time defending the comp and your work. Now That you have nothing it would seem you also have a touch of sour grapes........ Get over yourself.

Be greatful that your work was accepted as a final group. I think that is an achievement and honour in itself.

Photo5 is behind us now, but if anyone is still visiting here and would like to stay in form and get some practice in before next year's competition, you might like to know about a project I'm running on my blog.

Essentially the concept is the same as Photo5, but I call it "Iron Chef Photography". I've run these projects since before I was aware of Photo5 so it's a nice coincidence.

Basically there's a secret ingredient for the project that participants must photograph in an interesting way - this time it's a paperclip. Anyone can participate, and everyone can vote on their favourite. There's no prize, just the satisfaction, and the fun of participating.

Read all the details here: neil.creek.name/.../project-iron-chef-photography-paperclip

So if you'd like to stay in top form and have some more photographic fun till next year's Photo5, please participate in the Iron Chef Photographer project!

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