Amy, i 100% agree with you.
w/ photoshop software i can sharpen and soften focus while using a PS camera.
while at the same time maintaining the true color of my chameleon.

too bad, many people don't see editing software as a medium.
and more see it as a "cheating" tool.

O well.

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Yea but where do you stop the editing...you can enhance anything on a computer. Anyways, I haven't replied in any of the former threads. This is absurd, if there are "professional" photographers I don't think they are competing in this contest, they are probably doing their profession somewhere else. And if they are working with chams they aren't putting their pictures on our forum...I don't see any Bill Love or Zig Leszcynski on here. I mean there will never be a purely even playing field and that is what makes it a competition; everyone does not have the same species, color, maturity, locale, number, settings...I mean people in FL and CA have more opportunities to have their chameleons outside...does that make it not fair. This isn't communism, you are never going to find a completely level playing field. This is ridiculous, if people keep complaining I am sure that the contest will be scratched from this forum and that would truly be a shame.

Now look I have only entered maybe once or twice and have yet to win and I honestly have lots of photos that I think may have a chance, even with my point and shoot. I think that OldChamKeeper hit the nail on the head saying "A great photo involves a few things....framing the picture...lighting..shadow...distance...holding the camrea steady as you depress the button....and don't forget the subject has to be immobile." and also with a little bit of luck. Anyways I think no matter what camera you have the key is taking tons of photos and picking out the best, plain and simple.

-chris

hahaha yeah.
I don't know why people start resurrecting old threads (this thread and the other one was started wayyy back then).
I am pretty content with whatever result there is. Honest.

I took a simplest way to solve this.
If you don't approve the contest, then don't bother to enter.
(like what i did).

PS SLR PS SLR, seriously i don't care anymore. plus, it's a free contest anyway. Now, if i have to pay to enter.. it's a different game altogether (lol).

I understand both sides really.
ludicrous or not, i think both points are valid.

To me it's a bit weird that people can use fancy mediums such as magic lenses and state of the art camera) and all but are afraid letting others use editing software. After all, they are just another medium to create a wonderful photography. What the difference, really?

I think the line is crossed when we start to see a rainbow veiled chameleon..
Sorry if i offend anybody. No intention to make others mad.
but seriously, let's move on from this old topics.
I (the one that start this thread) have resolved my issues

merci,

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i think this is a very controversial topic.
i don’t know nothing about taking photos or even what SLR means,
but i do know that its as fair as it can get.
you cant really complain much if some people can afford great cameras,
spend the time to use the great cameras, and even take the 29385283756278584375 photos it takes to get a winner.
i have a point and shoot and for every contest that ive entered there are
clear differences with the pictures i take and the ones the winning 10-12 take.
theirs are much better. they might not have a super camera, but i can see
why i didnt get into the finals. im not mad because everyone that does
usually get into the finals deserve it.
i bet if i spend the time getting great shots and all that jazz i could be a finalist.

you have to remember we are getting to post a picture for free, and if
you win you get $50 towards something.
you cant argue that things arnt fair if you dont have to pay to participate.
if we did split it up i bet it wouldent be two separate $50 award, and how
would it split up anyways? 30-slr 20-pas? that wouldent be fair.

there really is no way to do this where everyone has the exact same chance
as the next. some peoples chams are regular bland chams that we see
all the time. then you have some amazing fired up panthers. even some
parsonii. if you have a more expensive or rare cham then the other doesnt
that make it a little unfair? if we split it up by cameras then we would have
to split it up by chams too. a veild contest, a panther, and so on. then
you would have to take out the way people vote. you cant vote for yourself
you only vote for the clear loser. all this crazy stuff.

it was meant to be for everyone as a whole to have a chance to post a pic
of their cham and maybe win some prizes.

what i think is simple. spend the time taking good photos of your cham,
and dont worry if you win. be glad that people are spending the time
looking at the great photos of your cham. if you win that is just a
bonus.

im happy with not winning as long as you all look at the picture i submit.
i look at everyone that is submitted.

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!

Agreed! Like what i've been saying again and again...

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I agree there should be diff comps. my photo wasnt originally excepted due to "quality" even though it wasn't poor

I can't really call myself a pro photographer since I actually make very little money with my photography, but I am a very serious photographer, so I like to tell important people that I am a pro . I can see both sides of the argument so here is my 2 cents; it is just my my opinion and I don't want to insult anyone. This is a contest. If the contest has a standard, and you do not meet that standard, then you need to raise yourself to the standard, not have the standard lowered to you. This does not mean that you have to get a better camera! If you really do think that your camera is holding you back, there are excellent point & shoots available for very reasonable prices, but to be honest, odds are the problem is not the camera, but the person using it !!! I have sold AS MANY OR MORE photos with my "ancient" Nikon Coolpix 4300 as I have with my Nikon D300 ! Why ??? Because I had it with me all the time and I really took the time to learn everything about that camera so that I could push it to the limits of it's abilities. Yes, if I had had the D300 with me all of the time (and if it had been released 7 years earlier) I may have gotten better photos, but I have no regrets because I still love my little 4300, and I developed the skills using 4300 that now allow me to use my D300 to the best of its abilities. If you are having problems taking good photos with your P&S, post your photos with your questions on the general photography forum and I do what I can to help you, as will many others who could possibly be even more experienced than me ! Lol... So, as I said, if you want to be able to win the contest, than work for it and you will feel much better about winning. But now that I am going to be getting my first cham soon, don't bet on winning a lot cause I intend to dominate the competition !!!

Camera makes no difference really...sure it might help with depth of field and such, but in all, it's the eye the photograher has. I'm a photographer and I work with a Nikon D80. Now that being said, I can take pretty much the same picture with my point-and-shoot.

One thing to be considered though, is use of such things as photoshop and other editing programs which can be used to enhance colours and such.

I think Gesangs contest entry that won the "tails" theme further proves you don't need a professional camera to win.

__________________
1.1 ambilobe, 0.1 veileds, 55 veiled eggs and months of waiting.

I used a Fuji digital camera set on automatic , with focus on macro. Not much skill there, I'm afraid. The photo wasn't edited, or even cropped, for that matter (thought I probably should have cropped it). Just resized. But I did spend 4 different nights taking photos, throughout the month, and probably took about 100 photos, before settling on that one. My subject got so bored he fell asleep .

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