Ghostpipefish said:
different judges have different tastes and different sort of bias.
it's all pretty much very very subjective....you look at a photo and you think it is smashing but someone may think it is crap, but to churn out smashing pics with a crap camera beats churning out smashing pics with a super cam.
Don't fret over issues like these and enjoy what you shoot.
For me the best photographic contest would be or should be one where...I am not interested to know what camera you use, or lens..etc. Just submit the shot base on the given theme and then get judged base on the pictures' merit like creativity in delivering the theme to the viewer and a smaller percentage toward quality of the work/technique used. Only after the winning picture is selected do you reveal what camera, setting..blah blah..etc is then tagged to the picture as an after-thought.
But most important, 90% of contest are rarely judge by qualified photographers. Most are really who? MPs? The main sponsore of camera or camera manufacturer's representative who might selling camera or something related to it but know nuts about shooting themselves, some invited guests who are celebrities...etc. Even if you have a panel of 6, if only 2-3 are qualified photographer/creative heads and the other 3 are just businessmen throw into the mix, do you think the photographic contest WILL really be a Photographic contest? Sometime, you just can't take all this contest too seriously. And if you are one of those with all the best possible equipment to hog along for your shooting project and still can;t win? Well..live and learn and come to understand that a carpenter should not blame his tools. For this folks...well..even if you were to downgrade your equipment, you will still be shooting what standards you are shooting now. For those witl less costly equipment and you managed to win some praises or win a few contest or one contest...well...pat yourself on the back but that does not mean you can now justify to go out and buy more espensive equipment thinking with more better equipment you can improve on your chances of winning even more or bigger contest still. Well that is only two way of looking at it and there are definitely more ways of looking at it lah hehe... Life's too short. This is a free world of choice, if you can buy the best because you feel like it...fine. If all you need is just a basic P&S..that is fine too. I think everyone still can afford to stand a good chance win something. IT could also be said if you saw some one won a contest and he was using some super equipment and you lose becasue you were using a D70 with a kit lens or a P&S...then do you go out and buy more? I think you can improve and yes you should upgrade....not by buying newer better camera equipment but by buying more books to train your mind to appreciate art, learn about composite, learn to use your mind;s eye better...etc. You might be surprise that the reason you lost out is not due to a better taken picture with better equipment but a picture that score high on creativity that send a more powerful message about the theme across to people. Sometime, like me in the creative line, we try to be too clever sometime and we can end up with a sophisticated design but it can all be lose on a target audience that is not geared to think like you and thus a simpler creative idea would have won me more sales looking at my advertisement. Same thing can apply to photograpy too. I have seen some really great photography... caught my attention but as I look at it longer..it was just a themeless greatly shot picture..just like the many thousands I see online and in books...nice but no message or story.
Well no easy answer lah hehe...SO many reason why you did not win. No use dwelling on it too much. Learn from it and then move on and try again. Hey...I am sure even Picasso or Adam had done some really bad work themselves not just during their begining but during their career too. You may have seen their masterpieces..but really..how many is that? 10? 50? They live for a long time and if that is all they painted or shot? wah..they damn free man! heheh To perfect your craft you have to have done alot more ulgy bad work before you start to improve.
MOst of us are hobbist..yes we try to do what we can to improve our ability to fully immerse ourselves in the hobby but it is also suppose to be a relaxing gig...why add so much pressure and stress in to it. Creative ideas can never come from stress and pressure. It comes to you when you are realistic, calm and willing to let it flow freely from you using what tools you have at your disposal to do it. I think most of the best work were done not to enter or win contest. They might be picked for it later but when that photo was shot..you are in a difference mindset and world. Picasso and Adam or all those other masters did not do what they did to win or earn money. Those just came base on their own merit of excellent and passion of work.
Opps...think I am going OT now hehe...well sorry...just consider this my ranting on the subject.
Oh btw..I am sure there will be days those with very expensive equipment will win contest too!.