***The 4th Monthly DU Photo Contest: Round I***

[RagingInMiami]

Poll question: ***The 4th Monthly DU Photo Contest: Round I***

It's that time again for the photo contest. This time we got 20 entries in the running. We're breaking it down into two semi-final rounds.

Today is the first round. Tomorrow will be the second round. The top two winners from each round will square off in the Final Four Photo Contest over the weekend.

The titles for each photo are BENEATH the photos, so keep that in mind when voting to prevent any butterfly ballot fiascoes.

EDIT: The polls will remain open until midnight tonight.





Northern California cow pasture



A slug's life



Trees



Dragonfly



Backstairs



Nature shot



Flowers can be green too



Selby Tree



Park



Spiderweb in the grass after a shower

[Longgrain]

1. Congadulations for get the contest up and running Raging

Nice thing to see at the top of the Lounge page as soon as I logged in...not to mention a nice to see so much green on a snowy Massachusetts day...

[RagingInMiami]

2. It's been up for only a minute

[Catchawave]

50. Keepin' it Kicked !

[GOPFighter]

3. Great Photos!!!

I really had trouble making a choice.

[flamingyouth]

4. Beautiful photos!

I had a hard time choosing just one.

[fluffernutter]

5. wow, those all are amazing!

great job, photographers :thumbsup:

[crispini]

6. I'm voting for the slug.

I like slugs. The dragonfly and the spider web are both tres cool though! As are they all!

[Psst_Im_Not_Here]

7. Terrific Photos!

How do you submit one for voting? I have some nice pics from Colorado too!

[RagingInMiami]

10. We have a photo group

Come check it out and show us your photos. We have contests once a month. The winner of this contest will host next month's contest. He or she will probably start discussing themes next week.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=280

[Psst_Im_Not_Here]

11. I never knew there was a photography group!

Huh...the things you learn every day! I'm no professional or "avid" hobbiest, I just mess around with my old cheap digital every once in awhile. I live in Colorado and get inspired by my surroundings quite often. Sounds like a fun place (the photo group) to hang around!

[RagingInMiami]

12. we're all amateurs down there so have no fear

[intheflow]

47. It is a fun group.

Very active. I live in Colorado, too. I'd love to see where you've been that I haven't. :hi:

[Psst_Im_Not_Here]

76. What part?

I live in "Fundieville" Springs, but, it sure is gorgeous around here!

[mcscajun]

8. So, are "Ent" and the Frog pic in the Second Round?

I sure hope so. :)

[RagingInMiami]

9. No, the frog croaked

[intheflow]

16. WHAT?!?!?!

The frog croaked?!?!?!

[RagingInMiami]

24. that's what frogs do

[intheflow]

38. They also leap.

And I hear theFrench think their legs are tasty with mayo.

[DS1]

13. .

:dem:

[Freebird12004]

14. Selby Tree is awesome

They're all great! :toast:

[intheflow]

15. Raging, two things:

First, maybe you should mention that the contest theme was green? I don't see tht in your description of the rules.

And then, is there a link to the second 10 photos in the running? I don't see my entry here (she says very nervously).

[Longgrain]

17. Your's will probably be in part 2

I don't think he's posted it yet...

[RagingInMiami]

18. Yes, I forgot to mention the theme. The theme is green and it's too late

for me to add anything.

And yes, of course your entry will be in tomorrow's batch. I was only kidding with the above poster.

[Schema Thing]

19. This one was easy... But that's all I'm saying :-D

[DS1]

20. Hey, somebody else nominate this thread so we get more votes

[Misunderestimator]

21. Your OP should explain that the subject is "GREEN"

definitely makes a difference in choosing which one most captures the subject... ;)

On edit... I see you can't edit it... :)

[RagingInMiami]

22. kick

[Longgrain]

25. Thanks for the kick sir...

here's another...

:kick:

[Longgrain]

23. Kick...

To keep this on the first page a while longer...

[alfredo]

26. Kick

[DS1]

27. back to the front with you

[Longgrain]

28. I'm surprised my entry has as many votes as it does...

And of course, another kick...

:kick:

[BlackVelvetElvis]

29. What wonderful talent Du'er have! nt

[Samurai_Writer]

30. Kick and look for my entry in thread #2 -- "Steam Train"

Shameless self promotion, what can I say?

[F.Gordon]

31. May the best GREEN win

Gee, I never thought I'd say that. :crazy:

[ralps]

32. Kick for the evening crowd

:kick: :hi:

[Catchawave]

33. Absolutely Beautiful.....

..very difficult to choose just one, they are all works of art!

[alfredo]

34. Kick

[GCP]

35. Kicky

:kick:

[Blue_In_AK]

36. Kick it. n/t

[Nothing Without Hope]

37. Wow, what fun! But I think the dragonfly one is misnamed

I don't think dragonflies can fold their wings the way this guy is doing. He's something else, and an entomologist could tell us what.

Neat picture, though!

How does one enter these contests? Next time one comes around, I'd like to submit a photo too!

[ralps]

39. There is a Photography group here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=280

The contest happens every month.:hi: :hug:

[Nothing Without Hope]

40. GREAT!! Thanks for this - I'll see about setting up a web page so I can

post a photo next time around.

I have been talking here and there on various DU threads about the value of starting a Group for posting links to sites with especially gorgeous photographs of natural places all over the world. Some photos of such places by DU members would fit right in. It could be called something like "The DU Nature Preserve" and its purpose would be to feed the souls of frustrated, tired, angry progressives. Keeping our spirits up is serious business, and the wild places of the world connect us back to the earth in a very healing and calming way. So it wouldn't be a photography group, it would be, well, a Nature Preserve, like a park that is there at your fingertips when you need it. We could have threads on underwater photography, on astronomy, on mountains, on rainforests, on enlargements of beautiful small wild things...

What do you think?

[ralps]

41. That sounds like a cool idea

:hi: :hug:

[Nothing Without Hope]

43. Should I bring it up in the Photography Group?

I'm overcommitted to a bunch of other projects at the moment, but I do really think this would be a good thing to have.

Gardens and "tame" park pictures would go in some other Groups, as would pictures of animal pets. This "DU Natural Preserve" would be for WILD places, where the earth is still free of the touch of Man. There is special healing in images of such places, and we progressive activists could surely use it in keeping our spirits energized.

In addition to photos taken by DUers, there are so many links to sites with gorgeous photos that would be perfect for the Preserve Collection. I'm betting people in the photo group would know a lot of them. By posting links with comments rather than the pictures themselves, copyright issues would not be an problem.

Another conceptual difference from the Photography Group itself: the "DU Natural Preserve" would be intended for everyone, whether they had a special interest in photography or not. And the subject matter, of course, would be of a special kind. No cityscapes, manicured parks, cute puppies.

[ralps]

44. Why don't you start a thread about it in the Lounge, the Photography

group, and maybe ask about making it a part of the Demopedia?:shrug: :hi: :hug:

[Nothing Without Hope]

45. The Demopedia! Now THERE's a thought.

We could collect neat sites and member photos in the Photography Group and then later transfer to the Demopedia.

I'll PM you when I start those threads - it will be either late tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for your ideas!

[ralps]

58. Longgrain has a thread about the Photography group having a section

in the Demopedia. Here is the thread.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=280x2202

:hi: :hug:

[Nothing Without Hope]

59. Thanks! I'll read through the thread before I post. n/t

[intheflow]

63. Thanks, ralps!

I hadn't seen this thread. :hi:

[intheflow]

46. I'd love to hear this idea discussed

in the Group. I'd like to explore something like this. :hi:

BTW, if you're interested in some great photos of wild places, do you know about MyParkPhotos.com?

On edit: I just read ralps response to you, above. I was thinking Demopedia, too. :D

[Nothing Without Hope]

48. Hello intheflow! I'll PM you too when I post the idea

No, I didn't know about that site and am delighted to add it to my small collection. Did you know about this one? It's not exactly a photo collection, but there are some stunning ones:
http://www.notesfromtheroad.com/pacificnorthwest/pacificnorthwest.htm

Once I post about the concept and get the discussion going, I'd be happy for someone else to step in and go through the process of getting the "DU Natural Preserve" group actually started. I'm behind on several other projects already, and I have a feeling there are others in the Photography Group who would be more natural choices as a spokesperson on this than I am anyway.

I'll PM both of you (and anyone else who asks, of course) when I start the suggested threads on the idea.

And thanks for the great site!

[intheflow]

49. No need to PM.

I'm in there every day. It's an active group, new posts all the time.



Okay, I'm an addicted to the group, what can I say? :smoke:

[Nothing Without Hope]

51. Sounds good to me. See you later! n/t

[DS1]

55. Shit, wait until I scan the rolls I took in Gloucester, MA the other day

/braggart

;-)

[Nothing Without Hope]

56. Sounds good to me! Lots of gorgeous places here in MA! n/t

[noamnety]

52. Technically you are right

It's a damselfly, because it's got the slender body and can fold its wings. But I tend to lump them together and call them all dragonflies.

[Nothing Without Hope]

53. Hello lwfern! I recognize your avatar from the KOEB!

Yes, that sounds reasonable to me. I absolutely LOVE dragonflies and so have read a lot about them. I don't think anyone else around here would quibble - they're quite closely related after all -- but somehow I just HAD to speak up. As if the dragonflies, which have been around since before the dinosaurs, needed ME for a spokesperson!

[montana_hazeleyes]

73. When I first saw it

I thought it was a praying mantis. But The wings aren't right for`that. Anyway Even though all the entries are wonderfulI voted for this one because it just stuck me the most.

[barackmyworld]

42. uhh, how big is that slug??

It looks really huge. Please tell me that's a photo trick.

[Nothing Without Hope]

54. I am guessing that might be a Banana Slug

At least I hope so. You see a lot of them around Santa Cruz, where they are a univerity mascot. They are big and more yellowish than that guy/gal (hermaphrodite) does, but that could be the lighting.

[JimmyJazz]

57. These are incredible photos.

But I have to say that one or two really stand out. Wow - great job to all entrants :toast:

[Longgrain]

60. WHAT?

This needs a kick!

[Catchawave]

61. Kick for the pretty pictures and Mr. T. !

[Longgrain]

62. Kick again...

[intheflow]

64. Mr. T?

You scare me, sometimes! :scared:



You nut! :silly:

[Longgrain]

67. You're not the only one....

and a kick, since there seems to be less than 10 minutes of judging left..

[auntAgonist]

65. such talent

I cast my vote :)

[Catchawave]

66. The polls are about to close *kick*

[Longgrain]

68. Kick since...

You seem to have a tie...

Sudden death overtime here...

[DS1]

69. No, the tying entries both move on

There's no single winner in the first two polls.

[intheflow]

70. These are all beautiful.

I want to move to the cow pasture. I want to picnic among with trees and become enlightened under the Selby Tree. I've actually been to the Park. When it's warmer, I want to drink margarita's on the Backstairs.

I want to avoid the banana slug, but it's an evocative photo nonetheless! :P

[alfredo]

71. a late night kick

:kick:

[imenja]

72. I thought this was going to be a DU version of are you hot

so while I was disappointed in that, I selected the grasshopper. Spiderweb would be my second choice. There are many nice ones, though I don't care for the slug. Nothing against the artist, just my own prejudice against gross creatures.

[Samurai_Writer]

74. VOTE!!!! nt

[alfredo]

75. nuther kick

:kick:

[Midlodemocrat]

77. Locking.

At the request of the original poster.

Thank you.

DU Moderator.