2014 Pen Marketing Photo Contest

[toddlajoie]

2014 Pen Marketing Photo Contest (Click here for entry form)

Whether photography is your passion, your hobby, or just a necessary evil to showcase your pens, we invite you to participate in our 2014 Pen Marketing Photo Contest, celebrating the IAP's 10th anniversary!

All IAP members in good standing with the rules of the Birthday Bash are welcome to participate.

Please read the complete contest rules before entering.

OFFICIAL CONTEST RULES

No donation or payment necessary to enter or win.

Photo Eligibility:
To enter, you must be a registered member of IAP with your First and Last Name and home town and state in your profile. Judges and others participating in the administration of the Photo Challenge are not eligible to participate. Photos can be from any date and do not have to be taken specifically for the contest but THEY MAY NOT HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY SHOWN PUBLICLY HER ON THE IAP OR ANY OTHER SITE PRIOR TO ENTRY OR ANNOUNCEMENT OF CONTEST WINNERS.

The photo subject must be relevant to the category of this Contest, Pen Marketing:

Photos used to sell, promote, or exhibit your work. You do not have to be actively engaged in marketing and/or selling your photos, but the photo's ability to achieve this goal is what it will be judged on. Much of what is posted on the Show Off Your Pens and Pen Photography forums will do well in this contest, but again, the photos MUST NOT have appeared on this or any other forum previously or prior to announcing the winners of the contest. Any violation of this rule will disqualify the entry. Representing a professional image or brand identity will give you a great advantage in this image, and remember, this does not have to be just about a pretty pen, but a good environment or stage, theme, or other concept will work well.


Photo Formats:
Entries may be color or black & white digital images only. Images must be at least 600 pixels in height, and no more than 800 pixels in width OR height, and be in JPEG or PNG format.


Submitting Digital Images:
Digital images should be submitted using the Official Entry Form. Maximum width: 800 pixels, maximum height:600 pixels. Remember, small pictures will not able to be effectively judged so please give us the biggest picture you can within the limits. Images should be submitted in JPG or PNG format (file extensions can be *.jpg, *.jpeg, or *.png. MAC users, please put the .jpg or .png extension in your file name to help us out). File sizes must be less than 256K per image. ALL PICTURES THAT DO NOT MEET THESE REQUIREMENT WILL BE REJECTED WITHOUT NOTICE! (In reality, I will try and notify you if there is time, but I'm playing the role of the big bad official here... If your entry comes in at the last minute, you may be S.O.L.) Please ask before you submit an image if you do not understand this, and if you cannot meet these requirements for some reason, please contact me by PM and I will do what I can to help out. I don't want anyone to miss out because the cannot format the images as needed.

Image Modifications:
Minor digital enhancement is permitted (see below), but images that have been significantly modified or appear unnatural will be disqualified.

Permitted Modifications:

• Images may be cropped and rotated as necessary.
• Red-eye removal and spot editing
• One-step enhancement (such as "AutoFix", "QuickFix", "Auto Levels", etc.)
• Use of filters to sharpen, soften, blur, despeckle, or remove noise.
• Use of corrective functions to improve the natural appearance of the image, such as levels, contrast, brightness, curves, intensity, tone, hue, saturation, lightness, value, color balance, and tint

Not Permitted:

• No borders or frames may be added to images.
• No watermarks, signatures, or copyright notices may be added to images. All winning images will be displayed with the photographer's name. We do not want the images to be identifiable as the entrant, by name, logo, etc.
• Adding or replacing significant elements in an image is not permitted.

Photographer/Copyright:
Entries must be submitted by the original photographer. Do not submit a photo taken by someone other than you. You must be the sole owner of the copyright of any image submitted. Your submission of the photo is your guarantee that you are the author and copyright holder of the photo.

Ownership/Use Rights:
Photographers retain the copyright to their photographs. By entering the contest, photographers agree to have their submitted photograph displayed on the IAP website without any fee or other form of compensation. Photographers agree that IAP may display winning photos in a "past winners" photo gallery and retain copies of the photograph for promotional purposes. Photos will be credited to the photographer.


How to Enter:
Photos need to be submitted through the Official Entry Form ( The 2014 IAP Photo Challenge ) and ABSOLUTELY NOT POSTED HERE OR ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE FORUM. If it has been posted or otherwise shown on IAP, it is not eligible for this contest. Your IAP username, E-Mail address, and First and Last Name are required on the entry form but I highly suggest that you include the other fields so that it will make it easier to send you your prizes if you win! All personal information will be kept strictly confidential (even from me!!) and will only be accessible to members of the IAP Birthday Bash necessary to administer and distribute prizes.

Be sure to select the correct category ("Marketing") on your submission, as the same entry form is being used for several contests.

Entries must be received by Friday February 21, 2013 11:59 PM PST be eligible.

Judging:
Sunday, February 23rd a poll thread will be posted of all entries to be voted on by the entire IAP membership between the time it is posted and February 28th. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS CONTEST IS NOT OVER UNTIL THIS POLL IS CLOSED AND THE RESULTS ARE MADE PUBLIC!! As such you should not post your photo or any other information on this site or any others that would identify your photo to other members. Promoting your entry to other members in any way (in person, Private Message, E-Mail, Phone, posting pleas for votes) is strictly prohibited and will result in disqualification.

Prizes will be awarded as follows:
1st Place: Apron, smock, cap from Timberbits (valued at $115)

2nd Place: Honeycomb blank from Healeydays (valued at $60) & Sanding mill from rherrell (valued at $25)

3rd Place: Instant Glues from Satellite City (valued at $40) & 1 Box of Blanks from edman2 (value at least $25)

 

[edstreet]

Two problems here.

A) If I enter any photo here then everyone will immediately be able to spot my photo so the logo/name blanket is odd.

B) Any good marketing photo will show a name/logo/tm/company along with the example of the work in a easy to see manner. Since the rules state

No watermarks, signatures, or copyright notices may be added to images. All winning images will be displayed with the photographer's name. We do not want the images to be identifiable as the entrant, by name, logo, etc.

I would be very legit to have signatures, names, company, logo etc with in the photo say on a box, bag, card what not yes? After all the use of 'added to the images' but fails to say 'included in the images'.

 

[Haynie]

This makes sense to me Ed. They want your best pic without identifying marks. Seems simple to me.

 

[lyonsacc]

Two problems here.

A) If I enter any photo here then everyone will immediately be able to spot my photo so the logo/name blanket is odd.

B) Any good marketing photo will show a name/logo/tm/company along with the example of the work in a easy to see manner. Since the rules state

No watermarks, signatures, or copyright notices may be added to images. All winning images will be displayed with the photographer's name. We do not want the images to be identifiable as the entrant, by name, logo, etc.

I would be very legit to have signatures, names, company, logo etc with in the photo say on a box, bag, card what not yes? After all the use of 'added to the images' but fails to say 'included in the images'.

Ed,

I don't think you have to be worried about everyone recognizing your photo if you entered. The entry requires a small (600 x 800 or so) picture for pen marketing (which would likely be a pic of an entire pen). Your shots are recognizable as large format and extreme close ups of the details of a pen or component.

The thing that would give away the fact that you enter a pic would be that you would no longer be in a state of confusion

Dave

 

[toddlajoie]

Ed,

As for your first point, I could not with 100% certainty identify your photos, but there are MANY users on the forum here that I can identify right away by photo style, pen, certain props, and a number of other things. There is no way around that with a photo contest on a forum who's members love the phrase "No Photos... Didn't Happen". Photo style is what it is, and many users on here have developed fantastic and unique looks for their photos. Showing that work off here is the main intent of this contest. But the intent of keeping the entries free of names/logos/etc. is to keep this as even a playing field as possible and not a popularity contest.

I guess I had not considered the idea that people would think that putting something in the photo with their name/logo/etc on it was not something that was covered under:

We do not want the images to be identifiable as the entrant, by name, logo, etc.

I'm sorry for my failure to specifically exclude identifiable elements in the photos, these rules are ever evolving and this is the first time this has come up. Honestly, I'm thrilled at the prospect of people taking photos with sets and scenes, rather than just a pen on a piece of mirror, but since this is a "Pen Marketing" contest and not a "Brand Marketing" contest, we want to focus on selling the pen, not the brand. I would disagree that any good marketing photo will show a name/logo/etc. as that is often handled in other ways.

So, for the sake of clarity I am amending the rules to specifically exclude names/logos/etc from the elements in the photos also.

While (obviously) I am not that adept at seeing all the different ways that these rules can be interpreted, I hope I've made the intent of these rules is understood. Please don't hesitate to post questions here or ask me by PM.

 

[edstreet]

Ed,

As for your first point, I could not with 100% certainty identify your photos, but there are MANY users on the forum here that I can identify right away by photo style, pen, certain props, and a number of other things. There is no way around that with a photo contest on a forum who's members love the phrase "No Photos... Didn't Happen". Photo style is what it is, and many users on here have developed fantastic and unique looks for their photos. Showing that work off here is the main intent of this contest. But the intent of keeping the entries free of names/logos/etc. is to keep this as even a playing field as possible and not a popularity contest.

I guess I had not considered the idea that people would think that putting something in the photo with their name/logo/etc on it was not something that was covered under:

We do not want the images to be identifiable as the entrant, by name, logo, etc.

I'm sorry for my failure to specifically exclude identifiable elements in the photos, these rules are ever evolving and this is the first time this has come up. Honestly, I'm thrilled at the prospect of people taking photos with sets and scenes, rather than just a pen on a piece of mirror, but since this is a "Pen Marketing" contest and not a "Brand Marketing" contest, we want to focus on selling the pen, not the brand. I would disagree that any good marketing photo will show a name/logo/etc. as that is often handled in other ways.

So, for the sake of clarity I am amending the rules to specifically exclude names/logos/etc from the elements in the photos also.

While (obviously) I am not that adept at seeing all the different ways that these rules can be interpreted, I hope I've made the intent of these rules is understood. Please don't hesitate to post questions here or ask me by PM.

I am not trying to cause trouble here.

It's not interpretation, it's simple facts from the line. Verbage from the original entry would clearly state that similar shots to what I have done recently would clearly be allowed, as they should as they are marketing photo's. I don't read between the lines and I don't assume, sorry. So by having no names/logos/etc that would include the words dayacom (on various kits under the clip), parker, noodlers, scheaffer, visconti, waterman (ink bottles and refills), got it, thanks for helping to clear that one up. Use of the word 'want' is related to emotional value and not a mandate.


Examples of what I was asking about for real marketing:
http://www.penturners.org/forum/f211/big-updates-tonis-pc-artworks-117458/

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f218/toni-ransfield-blanks-le-roi-elegant-long-barrel-sets-117722/

http://www.exoticblanks.com/images/A/Toni%20general.jpg


I will also go one step further and say that any good marketing photo will indeed have something tied to it to reflect who makes it, where to get it at and what it is. Otherwise there is nothing to market as there is no direction to the source. Marketing is transferring goods and/or services from the producer or seller to the customer or buyer.

The last issue I have to address is this: If I take a marketing photo with the intentions of embedding (a name, logo, trademark item, address, wording or another image in a space) is that also going to be considered when you ask for votes for the best pen marketing photo? Or is this just another 'show off your pen' contest with nothing related to marketing?

 

[Nick]

Ed,
With all due respect, the contest deadline will come and pass before all of your objections are considered and resolved to your satisfaction.
Respectfully

 

[toddlajoie]

I included this line:

We do not want the images to be identifiable as the entrant, by name, logo, etc.

at the time as it seemed like the easiest, shortest, and clearest way to state that we do not want anything in the photo to scream out the identity of the photographer. I also still feel that unless one is looking for loopholes to exploit, this statement makes the INTENT of the rules very clear. For me, the Bash is a chance for some friendly competition, and I am very much a "spirit of the law" not a "letter of the law" kind of person, as I feel the latter is counter-intuitive to friendly competition.

I realize very well that this is a limiting factor in what you can do with the photo, but it is pretty clear if you look around, that there are MANY examples of fantastic Marketing Photos that do not include any identifiable marks (if you don't trust me, look through Exotic's Guest Artist Section and note how often there is something IN THE PHOTO identifying anything at all, let alone the guest artist. Maybe you can see the name stamped on the underside of the clips, but I cannot...)

Based on the original writing and intent of the rules, the photos in your linked threads of Toni's blanks with the pouches would certainly have qualified, if you were the photographer. They would not have qualified if Toni was the photographer. Based on the revisions, they do not qualify for either of you. The image on Exotics would not qualify for a number of reasons...

The photos, at the end of the contest, will be voted on by the general IAP community, as that was a key piece of feedback we got from last year's bash. As such, I will have no say on what people think when they cast their votes. The thread will state (as clearly as I am able) the goals of the contest, but there is not going to be any way to list specific intentions or desired use of the photos. The Description Field in the entry form will also not be included with the photos in the voting poll, as often times those descriptions give away the entrant's identity. Photos will be judged as they stand. You are free to leave space for things to be added at a later time, but I cannot guarantee that the general population will understand that. I very much do not want this to be a "show off your pen" contest, and have been actively pushing people to do more with staging sets and scenery, but it has to be done within the restrictions of the contest.

This is a Marketing Photography contest, not a Marketing Contest, not a Advertising Campaign Contest. Just Photos, Photos alone. As such we have had to place some restrictions on things (much like has been done in many of the pen contests) to limit the playing field. There is a "No Rules" photo contest that is open to all, and a great place to enter those photos that just cannot be shoehorned into these limitations.

 

[JohnGreco]

At the risk of inflaming the situation (but with the hope of adding clarity), I think what Ed is trying to say (correct me if I'm wrong) is that a Marketing Photo is different in that it can stand alone, outside of a website, and it performs the task of brand/product information or has some sort of call to action. A picture on a website is different in that the viewer is already on that site. A "Show off your pens" picture would be perfectly fine on the maker's website with nothing but a fantastic product shot, but not say as signage, a banner, or a billboard. At least that's what I understand Marketing to represent.

 

[edstreet]

Correct.

A 'market' is the link between a manufacture/seller and the buyer. What travels that link is goods or services.

To have a single stand alone photo and call it 'pen marketing' needs to have that triad link (seller, buyer and goods/service). With out just one of them is substandard and a very poor reflection on marketing.

I looked over last years entries and I found that all the images were 'show off your pen' entries and more glamor shots than real marketing shots. Not knocking anyone's entries or the like but only one of them had any type of link between what was on the pen to a person

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f201/winners-2013-turntex-woodworks-photo-contest-108174/

Other buzz words that would be more 'fitting' to this mismanaged contest would be:
Portfolio
Gallery
Product showcase
glamor shots

Maybe we should find a marketing pro and ask their input on this, someone like Mike Trobee perhaps.

 

[Displaced Canadian]

We have found that it's best to keep the rules as few and as simple as possible. If there are too many rules and explanations of the rules and the rule page starts to look like a contract drawn up by a committee of lawyers that used to be used car salesmen. People stop reading. If you think these issues are big enough to need fixing perhaps next year you could volunteer to fun the photography contest.

 

[edstreet]

We have found that it's best to keep the rules as few and as simple as possible. If there are too many rules and explanations of the rules and the rule page starts to look like a contract drawn up by a committee of lawyers that used to be used car salesmen. People stop reading. If you think these issues are big enough to need fixing perhaps next year you could volunteer to fun the photography contest.

You missed the points entirely. It's not about lawyers or used car salesman I don't know where you come up with that garbage at either. Are you trying to blow this up into something that is it not? The whole purpose of my first post was to get some clarifications, little did I know it was going to turn into a huge minefield in WW3.

The new rule clarification blocks all form of scrimshaw, decals, most segmentation, engravings, stamps, embellished clips, certain pen kits like marksman, emperor, lotus, statesman comes to mind. Also worth note is last years winners #3 and #2 place were logo branded pen kits.


OH and Nick, for the record I am already blocked from submission, so no need for the contest deadline to get this cleared up.

 

[plantman]

Todd: Simply change the name of the contest to Pen Photo Contest. Let the same rules stand as they are. I agree with ED that marketing involves the name of the maker, contact point, discription, and sometimes price. I also see your point of keeping the contest simple, anonymous, and fair to everyone. Jim S

 

[mbroberg]

To clarify, no one has been banned from this contest except for the people who have been banned from all IAP activities. Anyone who is willing to abide by the rules is welcome to enter this contest.

 

[edstreet]

To clarify, no one has been banned from this contest except for the people who have been banned from all IAP activities. Anyone who is willing to abide by the rules is welcome to enter this contest.

Perhaps you can take this a bit further and explain to me, probably others to, as to who you are and what role you are playing in this.

Likely you perhaps do have something to do with things as 'activity manager' as a title does indicate that so perhaps you could clarify things that I have brought up. Also while on the subject, why send me your phone number in PM after grossly insulting me?

 

[mbroberg]

To clarify, no one has been banned from this contest except for the people who have been banned from all IAP activities. Anyone who is willing to abide by the rules is welcome to enter this contest.

Perhaps you can take this a bit further and explain to me, probably others to, as to who you are and what role you are playing in this.

Likely you perhaps do have something to do with things as 'activity manager' as a title does indicate that so perhaps you could clarify things that I have brought up. Also while on the subject, why send me your phone number in PM after grossly insulting me?

As Activity Manager I am responsible for coordinating all activities on the IAP, including the Birthday Bash. I 'm the one who solicits feed back every yer at the conclusion of the Bash. I am the one who attempts to make the Bash be what the majority of the IAP members want it to be.

I wanted to discuss your concerns with you which is why I invited you to call me and provided my phone number in the PM. This whole thing has turned into an unnecessary spectacle. Nothing will be resolved by debating this further on the open forum.

There was nothing insulting about my PM. I PMd you to find out who barred you from entering this contest as you claimed above. Turns out that no one had barred you, you were choosing not to enter. I provided you with my phone number so that we could have an actual conversation. Since you have accused me of "grossly insulting" you have my permission to prove that I did just that by posting PM conversation unedited, in it's entirety if you think it will help prove that you were grossly insulted by me. Just make sure that it is all there. You can even include the phone number which, by the way is listed in my public profile.

I tried to handle this constructively. If you decide that you do want to discuss your concerns you have my number. If not, I assure you that feedback on the Birthday Bash will be solicited, as it is every year, at it's conclusion so that we can make the following years Bash better.

 

[toddlajoie]

Against my better judgement, I have decided to respond in entirety to this thread in the open, for all to see. I do not hold myself blameless in this whole situation, and I hope that others see that I have taken responsibility when issues have been caused by my own shortcomings. If I missed any of my own blame, please feel free to clearly state it in the open. I can take it. I want to lay this topic to rest, so this is likely going to be a long post.

Looking back, there were some potential holes in the rules for the contest that I had not seen, and a situation I had not addressed in the rules, and subsequent request for clarification, that I had not foreseen, and which I was not thinking of, as the request for clarification was not specific about what was being asked.

A) If I enter any photo here then everyone will immediately be able to spot my photo so the logo/name blanket is odd.

Apparently, I was not aware at the time that this was posted that EVERYONE would have IMMEDIATELY known that any photos posted of blanks created by another member of the forum here were the work of Ed. Of course, my not knowing this negates his statement that EVERYONE would IMMEDIATELY know who's photos they were. I'm sure that many people would, but I would bet that just as many would not.

B) Any good marketing photo will show a name/logo/tm/company along with the example of the work in a easy to see manner.

I have to professionally disagree with this. While good marketing photos MAY include these things, MANY good marketing photos do not even show the product being marketed, That role is often handled by the design, copy text, and other elements of the overall marketing piece or campaign. We are taking about Marketing PHOTOGRAPHY here, and it is entirely possible to have an excellent image to use in an overall marketing effort. Some may disagree with me on this point, however, I spend a significant amount of my time marketing colonoscopies, childbirth, and cardiac surgery services which rarely use images of those things. I believe it was said by a user on this forum once, if not many times, and I'm very sorry that I do not remember who it was, as it was a brilliant statement, but one way to market is not to sell the pen, but the IDEA of the pen. (And before you start typing, note that what was said was "ONE WAY" to market, not "THE ONLY WAY TO MARKET", as there is no such thing as the ONLY WAY, just as there is no absolute requirement for nearly any single element in Marketing OR Marketing Photography.)

No watermarks, signatures, or copyright notices may be added to images. All winning images will be displayed with the photographer's name. We do not want the images to be identifiable as the entrant, by name, logo, etc.

I would be very legit to have signatures, names, company, logo etc with in the photo say on a box, bag, card what not yes? After all the use of 'added to the images' but fails to say 'included in the images'.

So this rule was put into place to keep the images as anonymous as possible, so this does not become a popularity contest, and yes, it fails to say 'included in the image" which was an error of omission on my part. Again, me not being aware that Ed was talking about having signatures, names, company, logo, etc. of ANOTHER PERSON or COMPANY, I made the erroneous assumption that he was looking to take a photo with HIS logo/signature/name/etc. in the an element in the photograph, which would not be in line with the clearly stated intent of these rules. You can debate the emotional value of the word "want" all day if you would like but I, and many others in the Bash planning feel that this makes the intent of these rules clear.

I made a quick decision, in the interest of clarifying the intent of the rules for others interested in and potentially already working on their entries, and again, at this point I was operating under my mistaken assumption that Ed was looking to put HIS OWN name/logo/etc. in the photo, to exclude names/logos/etc. from the elements of the photo. Had he been clear on his intention of including logos/etc other than his own, I would have thought differently on the matter and probably gone ahead and allowed it, as the intent was to not have the entries give away the identity of the person who entered them as much as possible. I would have been fine with the idea that someone would show a pen with an engraved logo of another company on it, or a Coke can in the layout. In my haste to amend the rules quickly, so as to be fair to others who may be working on their entries into the contest, I inadvertently made an amendment that made this not possible. In retrospect, I feel that this error is actually a very good idea in the spirit of fairness. Allow me to explain:

Suppose that a user or vendor on this forum had a very unique, and visually striking product, and another member on the forum had a fantastic idea on a photograph using this product and it's logo/name/etc. Since it is not their brand, this would normally be allowed. Sounds great. Now since the user/vendor of the product is the owner of that brand, they have control over it's use. They may be thrilled that their product is used. They might not be. That would cause a bit of a problem. A much bigger problem could arise if the brand owner were to give permission to one user to promote their brand in this contest, but not allow others to. This could be perceived by the other users as giving one person an unfair advantage over the others, and this, based on other issues where members perceived others had an unfair advantage, would cause a HUGE problem.

At the risk of inflaming the situation (but with the hope of adding clarity), I think what Ed is trying to say (correct me if I'm wrong) is that a Marketing Photo is different in that it can stand alone, outside of a website, and it performs the task of brand/product information or has some sort of call to action. A picture on a website is different in that the viewer is already on that site. A "Show off your pens" picture would be perfectly fine on the maker's website with nothing but a fantastic product shot, but not say as signage, a banner, or a billboard. At least that's what I understand Marketing to represent.

Yes, you are correct in that that is what Ed is trying to say. Ed can say it all day and believe it for even longer, but he is still incorrect. Marketing pieces (i.e. the signage, banners and billboards you mention) can stand on their own, and often times do, but very rarely is a marketing piece ONLY a photograph, and once again, this is NOT a MARKETING contest (nor is it a billboard, signage or banner contest), it is a MARKETING PHOTOGRAPHY contest. Photographs RARELY stand on their own in any marketing endeavor. Remember, we have already excluded digital additions to the photos. I'm certainly not saying it is not possible, but it would be incredibly difficult to get everything needed for an effective and successful marketing effort in front of the camera to take a single exposure of.

Correct.

A 'market' is the link between a manufacture/seller and the buyer. What travels that link is goods or services.

To have a single stand alone photo and call it 'pen marketing' needs to have that triad link (seller, buyer and goods/service). With out just one of them is substandard and a very poor reflection on marketing.

Very true, however, we aren't calling it "Pen Marketing", we're calling it "Pen Marketing Photography". Photography is just one potential element of an overall marketing effort. You can inform everyone what a Market is, and what you feel is and is not good Marketing all day long, but I would ask that it be done in a location that is not limited to Marketing PHOTOGRAPHY.

I looked over last years entries and I found that all the images were 'show off your pen' entries and more glamor shots than real marketing shots. Not knocking anyone's entries or the like but only one of them had any type of link between what was on the pen to a person.

The rules are what the rules are. People enter what they want to enter based on the rules. I have repeatedly stated that I would LOVE to see more set design, staging, etc. done. I have much control over the wording of the contest rules and requirements, but short of rejecting entries for not meeting them (which for the record, at least for my tenure here up to and including today, has never happened…) I have no control over what people enter for photos.

Other buzz words that would be more 'fitting' to this mismanaged contest would be:

Wow, not even sure how to respond to this. I guess I will just state my impression on this as clearly as I can and hopefully with as little more effort to be polite to you than you have shown.

This statement is a direct and inexcusable insult not only to me, but to those who ran this contest prior to my involvement last year.

These rules evolve and are tweaked, added and changed a bit every year by whoever is taking over from those who came before. I inherited this as a "Marketing Photography" focused contest. I honestly don't remember if I was the one that added the restriction on logos or the intention to keep the images as anonymous as possible, but I believe it was part of the previous years contest at least in some form. Many of these rules come from issues that came up in the past. Some are ideas that sound good at the time, and after a year's contest, in retrospect did not have the benefits they intended or had unintended consequences and are amended in the next year.

The new rule clarification blocks all form of scrimshaw, decals, most segmentation, engravings, stamps, embellished clips, certain pen kits like marksman, emperor, lotus, statesman comes to mind. Also worth note is last years winners #3 and #2 place were logo branded pen kits.

Again, I would strongly disagree. Scrimshaw, decals, segmentation, engravings, stamps, and embellished clips that do not include logos/names/etc. are entirely permitted. I am not 100% familiar with the Marksman, Emperor, Lotus, or Statesman component sets, but I really don't believe any of them, from my memory, include logos/names/etc. but I am also not familiar with what the Dayacom logo looks like, so it is entirely likely that it is hidden in the detailing of the bands and finial decorations. If that is the case and it is brought to my attention, then if that part were visible in the photo, it would disqualify the entry based on a strict interpretation of the amended rule. I REALLY do not want to hear again about the word Dayacom stamped on the inside of the clip. I feel that the chance of an effective entry in this contest that is capable of showing that, considering the highly restrictive 800x600 image size, does not warrant any further discussion of the topic.

I also do not see any value in evaluating last year's entries based on modifications made to the rules this year.

OH and Nick, for the record I am already blocked from submission, so no need for the contest deadline to get this cleared up.

To the best of my knowledge, unless you have been contacted by anyone else on the Bash Planning Team and they did not inform me of something, you are ABSOLUTELY NOT blocked from submitting to this contest.

 

[edstreet]

Well, it's actually GOOD to have the person leading the contest to actually say something. It's commendable and should be encouraged. Never before have I seen, been in, associated with, or anything of the like a contest where the 'team' had such a hands off and back seat approach to things.

When people ask questions it's most often because they don't know something and seeking information, help, guidance or something else. When people ask about rule clarification it's most often because they are not sure if what they have in mind to submit is workable or not. At the risk of disclosing what I had in mind I posted some detail but not enough information to give it away, had that been in PM, phone or the like it would have been vastly different.

would IMMEDIATELY know

This keeps getting poked fun of, yes it's quite humorous to. All joking aside without me doing full disclosure on the origins of this the banned comment will have to remain a mystery and I am ok with being the 'bad guy' here. I have disclosed some parts of it already and that seems to not be good enough, there is plenty of information already posted in this thread that someone skilled in deductive reasoning should easily understand it with a high degree of accuracy.

Inexcusable insult, perhaps it was in one manner of viewpoint but then it's also not. The question comes down to how was it intended, for that truth see the first paragraph. I do regret not changing that but I also have to agree with what I said as well.

 

[plantman]

Scott; I think the key word here is "marketing" !! Having owened and run my own business for over 25 years, I can tell you that marketing is a process leading up to the introduction of a new product. It involves canvasing, phone calls, polls, and a lot of research into the demographics of the area you want to cover. Race, religion, gender, income, politics,and location are just a few of the things that must be considered in marketing a product. You aren't going to sell many Jet Skis to Nomads in the desert !! Photos on the other hand are judged on content, clarity, subject matter, focus, and contrast, to name a few. I think if I were to send you a photo of a carmel colored liquid in a generic clear bottle, that it would fit your rules. None of us would know if it was Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, or whatever cola it may be. Without a logo, name or distinct bottle shape, the subject matter itself doesn't realy make any difference, only the quality of the photo itself. Having run several contests for our woodworking guild, I know first hand that to cover all possible rule interpretations, you would have a volume called the United States Tax Laws, and even then there would be exceptions to those rules, or someone would be lookig for a loophole. The photo would have to be judged on it's own merit. I may be wrong, but I think that this is the point you are trying to get across. Jim S

Ed; Having known you for a while on this site, and through several PMs, I know you are a precise and letter of the law person. If we had more people in our government like yourself, who asked when, what, or why, and asked for clairvoyanse in the rules, we wouldn't be in the mess we are now trying to craw out of in this country today. I give you due respect for speaking your mind and sticking to your convictions. I think the problem we are seeing here is the internet itself. If you are not standing in front of the person you are speaking to, they have no real idea of what context you are trying to express yourself in. May be humor, anger, or some other emotion. Once this is put into the written word and sent over the internet, it's just black and white, no feeling or emotion is transfered to the screen. It can't be erased, taken back, and can be interpreted by the reader in any way they feel fit at the time, place, and their state of mind. You both have good points and I can see each of your conserns. Can't we all just be friends!! Jim S

 

[mbroberg]

This whole discussion should be tabled for the time being. Lets get back to just enjoying the Birthday Bash. All of this will be taken into consideration as we plan next years Bash. This year, lets relax and have some fun.

 

[toddlajoie]

Less than 2 weeks left...

... and we have enough entries to award all 3 places already!!!

If you think you can beat the entries that have already been entered (and even if you don't, but just want to say you entered), don't wait till the last minute and risk missing the deadline due to a freak power/internet failure....

 

[toddlajoie]

We're upping the ante on the prizes!!! It seems I missed one in the original post, so if anyone was REALLY trying hard for second place ( you know who you are, trying hard, but not too hard..... :biggrin: ) You now have EVEN MORE incentive to be NEARLY the best!!!

Prizes will be awarded as follows:
1st Place: Apron, smock, cap from Timberbits (valued at $115)

2nd Place: Honeycomb blank from Healeydays (valued at $60) & Sanding mill from rherrell (valued at $25) PLUS 1 sheet of precut sanding discs for the Sanding Mill from sylvanite

3rd Place: Instant Glues from Satellite City (valued at $40) & 1 Box of Blanks from edman2 (value at least $25)

(BTW, I dont' usually pay attention to this, but happened to look at myself, and besides being DAMN good looking in my wrestling mask, apparently this was my 1K post!!!)

 

[edstreet]

You know the difference between a large pizza and a photographer?


...


A pizza will feed a family.

 

[Dale Lynch]

joined in the fun.

 

[toddlajoie]

Procrastinators UNITE!!!!

I didn't count the breakdown, but between the 3 photo contests, 9 new entries were received between 5PM and 10PM (EST) tonight!!!

There is still somewhere in the ballpark of 4 hours to go, and as I said before, most photos are taken at around 1/60th of a second, so that gives you enough time to take roughly 864,000 exposures, then you have about 1/2 hour to pick the best one and submit it!!!

 

[toddlajoie]

The contest is now CLOSED!!!

The fish is fried, the safe has been cracked, and Elvis has left the building.

Thanks for all who entered!!! We've got a LOT of great entries, and it's going to be an epic battle royale for votes!!! I'll be putting the poll together later today and posting it either tonight or very early tomorrow morning. Voting will remain open until roughly the end of the month, so be sure to pop in and vote for the photo that makes you want to go out and buy a pen, even though you have 75 of your own sitting on your kitchen table...