*** PICK THE OCTOBER CONTEST THEME! ***

[regnaD kciN]

Poll question: *** PICK THE OCTOBER CONTEST THEME! ***

The following topics have been suggested by the Group membership.

I'll be keeping the poll open for the next 48 hours, or roughly until midnight Pacific Time on Tuesday.

As I wrote before, because of the short time-frame of this month's contest, you may wish to make your choice in light of which images you already have on file, since there may not be all that much time to shoot new material.

Now, get those votes in!

[intheflow]

1. Whoa, this is sinking fast!

:kick:

[regnaD kciN]

2. Early morning...

:kick:

[NV Whino]

3. kick

Yawn. Not the topic... just morning.

[regnaD kciN]

4. Late night...

... :kick: .

Less than 24 hours to get your vote in!

[Samurai_Writer]

5. Could someone describe what a photograph of 'surrealism' might be?

I have no freakin' clue what that is...

[TahitiNut]

9. Melt a pocket watch over a log in the desert.

:evilgrin:

[Samurai_Writer]

11. Oh yeah, that's an easy shot to compose...

not... Guess I will sit this one out if surrealism wins.

[insane_cratic_gal]

12. Here's an example

It's a juxtaposition while it can be done without photoshop.. I get the feeling that photoshop will play a big part in this contest. Surrealism wasn't my first choice, I went for cats and dogs lol.. easy enough and I have both species laying around my house!

[regnaD kciN]

13. Nice shot, but...

...I don't see any melting pocket watches, logs, or deserts!

Actually, I'm a little worried about surrealism right at the moment. As you mentioned, it seems to be very much about juxtaposition -- and remember what the theme was the last time I hosted the contest, back in April? You guessed it..."Juxtaposition."

Hmmm...since surrealism is keenly tied in to a sense of the absurd, maybe I should make surrealism-via-absurdity the keynote of the topic selection process and, when polling closes, announce that the choice with the least number of votes is the winner.

(Heh, heh, heh...this should make the rest of the voting period real fun. :evilgrin: )

[JeffR]

14. I'd love a theme that relies on Photoshop, but

since there's already been an Extreme Processing contest (or was it a challenge? - anyway, I missed it) wouldn't it be best to specify no Surrealism-via-processing? Naturally that toughens the task at hand.

Take heart, regnaD kciN. At least you won't have to come up with a submission for this one!

As for me, I have a feeling I'm going to like your Fall contest more than I will this one...:shrug:

[regnaD kciN]

15. I've got it...!

For this month's contest, we'll explore the theme of "surrealism" through each contestant making up a four-panel story highlighting the experiences of, respectively, joy, stillness, rhythm, and pain, loss, and sadness. Each of these should feature a motif of cats versus dogs on a path or pathway with the boys of... When each contestant has completed their work, they'll burn it in a fireplace, and then submit a photo of the resulting ashes. Most aesthetically-pleasing arrangement of ashes wins. Now, is that surreal or what?

Take heart, regnaD kciN. At least you won't have to come up with a submission for this one!

At the moment, that's qualifying as the Understatement of the Month.

[JeffR]

16. Now THAT is High Concept!

André Breton would be proud.:rofl:

[insane_cratic_gal]

17. Hahaha

and it all has to be down with some sort of melting watch as the center piece?

[regnaD kciN]

18. Easy...

You melt the watch in the fireplace along with the four-panel story.

[intheflow]

22. If "surreal" wins, I vote no photoshopping unless

the named theme includes the words "extreme" or "photoshopped."

Of course I'm not talking about tweaking color, or even removing color. I see that as more like traditional film developing. I'm talking about no photoshopped photos that force a surrealism, like these two photos I've played with in photoshop:





There are two reasons I want the photo contest to remain as untouched photos. First, not everyone has photoshop, and second, not everyone has the time, talent, or inclination to play with photoshop beyond color correction. If we had a photo-driven contest (as opposed to a challenge), I'm afraid it would discourage participation rather than encourage it.

/rant

[Eurobabe]

19. I second that motion

What are we thinking of when we say surrealism?

[JeffR]

20. Since I invoked the Father of Surrealism upthread...

I'll let him speak for himself:

From Breton's Surrealist Manifesto:

"SURREALISM, n. Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express -- verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner -- the actual functioning of thought. Dictated by the thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern.
...

Surrealism is based on the belief in the superior reality of certain forms of previously neglected associations, in the omnipotence of dream, in the disinterested play of thought."

More here. How helpful this is is debatable, but hey, it was this guy's brainchild...

[intheflow]

21. Here's a surreal shot of mine:

Only the words are photoshopped. :(

[Placebo]

23. The whole point of that theme...

is that it would be elastic and allow people room for lots of creativity and originality.

[superconnected]

6. If anyone wants to share photos on fire please do.

I have no idea what shooting fire would be like.

[regnaD kciN]

8. Or, people could try...

...working fire into surrealism.

[regnaD kciN]

10. A photo of fire...

Oh? You wanted a good photo of fire? That's another matter... ;-)

(That was one of the first pictures I took with a digital camera. Handholding at 1/4s in ISO 800 mode on a camera known for noisy low-light performance isn't exactly the way I'd go today.)

[Touchdown]

7. Well...I can tell you my love for you will still be strong.

...after the boys of summer have gone.:D

[regnaD kciN]

24. Polling is now CLOSED

"Paths/Pathways" is the winner!

[varkam]

25. Locking.

At the request of the OP.

Cheers,
varkam
DU Moderator