No more competitions from me

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Flash In The Pan

Flash In The Pan

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Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter the two contests I have posted on TP, however this last one, as Grendel said, degenerated into a farce. I did not post these contests to then have to defend my choice of topic or the definition thereof.

My intention was to run a contest every month to give something back to TP, but thanks to the actions of one or two members I have taken the decision that this really is more hassle than I really need so there will be no more contests, competitions or prize draws from me.
 
At least you did give something to the forum Graham well done mate:thumbs:
 
Graham,

That is a shame but I completely understand. You shouldn't need to justify yourself! Good luck with the products in the future.
 
It is a real shame to lose a valuable community asset :( I understand your decision though, and having ghosted in the ever increasing debacle I can't blame you!

Thanks for the chance and all the effort you put in though :thumbs:
 
To be honest, I'm not at all surprised. It's a shame isn't it.

******s quite frankly.
 
Thats a shame, not been here long myself but liked entering as it makes me think about differant ways or types of photos (not that mine are any good lol).

After reading the threads though can't say I blame you there was no need for the ranting that went on
 
Seems that anyone that puts a post on TP is putting themselves on offer for grief lately and some people will try to start an argument over anything. Maybe it's boredom who knows?

Anyway it is a great pity but to be expected I guess and as others have said a good resource has now been lost.

Good luck Graham
 
:hug: chin up fella. There's a good bunch here who appreciated your generosity. Thanks for the time (and money) you did spend here :thumbs:
 
Sorry to hear that :(

Shame a few idiots have to ruin things for everyone! At the end of the day, it was your competition, your rules, it is a shame that people can't get this into their heads!

You've been very generous, and thank you for it!

And I was winning when I went out today :( would of been my first win.
 
I have just read this and the related threads with interest, and would like to add my penny's worth..

Firstly it is a shame that you have decided to withdraw your competitions, I know from experience that it is not any easy thing to do - great while they are going well but a right royal pain in the a**e when they are not.

I do have a couple of criticisms though, and I intend these as constructive, not to be argumentative in any way - so I apologise beforehand in case they are taken that way.

1) The wiki definition is rather poor stating that "People photographed on candid shots either ignore or accept the close presence of the photographer's camera without posing". True candid photography relies on the photographer blending in, being unobtrusive and not influencing the scene in anyway, and above all ensuring the subject matter is unaware of the camera - not simply ignoring or accepting it is there.

2) Rules on judging should have been stated clearly at the outset. I feel more control of the competition should have been taken, by accepting entries directly and then only posting shortlisted entries before making a final decision yourself OR passing it over to forum members to make their vote from genuine candid photographs.

3) Having chosen to allow everyone to enter and vote on the entries as received in the forum, I feel it is wrong to then even consider changing the rules simply because you feel one of the winning entries is not a true candid. (removing said entries or those outside of the top

In my opinion the organiser did nothing to prevent this competition becoming a farce. This is a shame as a little organisation and a few rules would have made this a good competition.
 
Airscene said:
I have just read this and the related threads with interest, and would like to add my penny's worth..

Firstly it is a shame that you have decided to withdraw your competitions, I know from experience that it is not any easy thing to do - great while they are going well but a right royal pain in the a**e when they are not.

I do have a couple of criticisms though, and I intend these as constructive, not to be argumentative in any way - so I apologise beforehand in case they are taken that way.

1) The wiki definition is rather poor stating that "People photographed on candid shots either ignore or accept the close presence of the photographer's camera without posing". True candid photography relies on the photographer blending in, being unobtrusive and not influencing the scene in anyway, and above all ensuring the subject matter is unaware of the camera - not simply ignoring or accepting it is there.
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Initially I thought that most people would know what a candid shot entailed, but it became apparant that this wasn't really the case, but any attempt at clarification just seemed to draw criticism

2) Rules on judging should have been stated clearly at the outset. I feel more control of the competition should have been taken, by accepting entries directly and then only posting shortlisted entries before making a final decision yourself OR passing it over to forum members to make their vote from genuine candid photographs.
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Once again, my intention all along was to run the competition exactly as per the previous one. In hindsight I should have just picked three winners, but I felt it would be fairer (and ironically to reduce complaints) to allow members to vote for their favourite pic.

3) Having chosen to allow everyone to enter and vote on the entries as received in the forum, I feel it is wrong to then even consider changing the rules simply because you feel one of the winning entries is not a true candid. (removing said entries or those outside of the top
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I made it clear that,"There are quite a few entries that don't really fit the criteria, but in the interests of fairness I've included everyone's picture in the voting, I'm trusting you lot to be able to vote for the funniest genuine candid shot.

In the event of a tie I'll choose the winner and my decision is final"

I made it clear repeatedly that I would abide by the results, regardless of my personal views.

In my opinion the organiser did nothing to prevent this competition becoming a farce. This is a shame as a little organisation and a few rules would have made this a good competition.
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There were rules, but quite a number of entrants chose to ignore them, my choice therefore was to either remove these shots from the competition (and risk getting berated on the forum) or leave them (and risk getting berated on the forum).

It was a no-win situation for me and it saddens me that there were individuals that seem to think that having entered the competition this gave them free reign to have a pop at me, especially when they also then decided to stir things up with the site admin.

The offer for a competition every month was there, so you can thank the individual or individuals that decided the best option was for them to scupper the competition by lodging a complaint. I hope you're pleased with yourself, you've ruined it for everyone else.
 
I don`t blame you one jot Graham.
 
Don't blame you at all. too many :dummy: and people who seem to think they have free reign to challenge the rules they agree to when they sign up :thumbsdown:

if people don't like it the can ask for there membership fee back......................
wait.................whats that.....................this place is FREE

If people don't like it they shouldn't bother to use the forum.
 
Aww :'(

I was gonna win the next compt too.

I voted but never entered any of your comps, they were fun to look at and I did not once question your authority on being in charge.

Please run the next comp just for me. :D







Flash is a real member here.
 
I missed the "discussion" thread that ruined it all. I would suggest a mod goes through that thread and removes all discussion elements and then re-opens the comp.

You need one rule and that is the organiser's discision is final. If the members do not agree with how its run then they will not enter will they? With the amount of entries posted I think we can see that they do agree. The members have put a lot of work into posting and do not deserve punishing.

Have a rethink Graham

stew
 
Graham,
Missed it all and just spent a while reviewing the original thread. Can's say I blame you at all. It's a shame but I don't think I'd want to run another one either.
 
Thats sad news, i'm new to TP and to photography and found the competitions an ideal way of understanding peoples perspective on ideas and subject matter and thus develop my own at the same time.

Understandable though if you've been getting a right royal headache over it.

Just to show i do understand and not just empty words, i have a similar experience:
At work i try to organise an activity for all my colleagues once a year, be it bowling, meal, bbq etc. and i made the mistake of giving people choice. It just proved to be a spring board to some to abuse an idea formed solely to help create a bit of cameradery (spelling? :thinking:). After 3 years of quite frankly, petty minded abuse i gave up on the idea.

still thanks for your efforts, i really enjoyed looking at the entries. :clap:
 
Blimey, I have just read the thread that resulkted in this and it seems to me like a lot of people spitting the dummy out.

I can't really see how different the comp that Flash ran (at his cost for the prizes!) is to the standard TP photographer of the year. Both name a theme and put the end result to a poll.

Ok, so there was some debate about the theme and its interpretation, but that happens every month in the TP comp. What happened to organisers decision is final?

Those who had a pop need to take a moment and consider that Graham was doing this for free, at his own cost, and should really be grateful for that.

Graham, its a shame this went south for you, twas indeed a nice gesture.
All the best with your venture selling strobist type kit, I hope that continues to be a success for you.

Rob
 
Thanks for you generosity Graham, shame the minority has ruled again and the good have lost out. I can understand the frustration of such behaviour as this country is full of it now in all walks of life. Chin up Bud and thanks again. :thumbs:
 
Well that's really a great shame. But I can fully understand as I've looked through the compo images and I can only see TWO that I consider true candids AND worthy of posting in a competition. The real horror for me is that those two entries received a total of ZERO votes :shrug: Some of us are obviously from a different planet. It's probably me :thinking:
 
Well, that really IS a shame. I've not entered at all but I did see it as a very useful and generous way of making life around here as inclusive as possible and, for that, you should be congratulated.

Just remember that he who shouts loudest is not necessarily right, just loud!
 
That's a shame Graham, though I can totally understand your point of view - I would be saying the same if I was you.

Hope those that ruined it will take a moment to review their actions.

Does this mean no winners are announced for this particular comp or will this one be completed?
 
2blue4u said:
Well that's really a great shame. But I can fully understand as I've looked through the compo images and I can only see TWO that I consider true candids AND worthy of posting in a competition. The real horror for me is that those two entries received a total of ZERO votes :shrug: Some of us are obviously from a different planet. It's probably me :thinking:
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Really... Only two?


It is a real shame the way it turned out I think a lot of entries were posted purely because of the great prize and although they didnt exactly fit in with the theme everyone had a equal chance of winning if they could get enough votes.

If the same or similar competition was started again without a prize I would be curious to see how many entries they would be...
 
2blue4u said:
Some of us are obviously from a different planet. It's probably me :thinking:
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probably ;)

I think it a great shame FITP feels he's had no choice but to do this, although I fully understand why

Hugh
 
Graham this is a shame mate..just reading through the thread completely I think my photo was not a true candid as they were posing for another guests camera but not mine?

All the best in just selling us the stuff instead of giving it away :)
 
I would just like to say a big thank you to all the children who spat out their dummies and chucked their toys out of their prams over this competition.
Yet again you pathetic, argumentative morons have rocked the boat on forum that is known for its friendliness.
Just lately there have been far too many threads with people moaning and bitching about the decisions mods make, the rules and now this.
Flash In The Pan has been very generous with these competitions; I don't see any other traders stepping up to the mark, do you?
I hope you are really pleased with yourselves but I bet not one of you muppets has the balls to try and push your luck on other forums where the mods are nowhere as easy going as they are here.
I hold no apologies for my rant, I expect along with many others, are growing tired of the bickering on this forum .
 
Flash In The Pan said:
The offer for a competition every month was there, so you can thank the individual or individuals that decided the best option was for them to scupper the competition by lodging a complaint. I hope you're pleased with yourself, you've ruined it for everyone else.
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That is not cool :nono:

Shame your not doing any more, but thanks for the chance of us winning some gear :clap:
 
hashcake said:
I would just like to say a big thank you to all the children who spat out their dummies and chucked their toys out of their prams over this competition.
Yet again you pathetic, argumentative morons have rocked the boat on forum that is known for its friendliness.
Just lately there have been far too many threads with people moaning and bitching about the decisions mods make, the rules and now this.
Flash In The Pan has been very generous with these competitions; I don't see any other traders stepping up to the mark, do you?
I hope you are really pleased with yourselves but I bet not one of you muppets has the balls to try and push your luck on other forums where the mods are nowhere as easy going as they are here.
I hold no apologies for my rant, I expect along with many others, are growing tired of the bickering on this forum .
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Jeez chill out it was only a competition its not the end of the world :gag: its friday guys... how about some smiles :naughty:

Those who are ranting and raving are just as bad as though who were complaining about the defination of "Candid"... I for one will be purchasing the full kit FITP entered in his competiton and other should follow suit if they really want the items that badly :thumbs:

Also I will be moving my image to in depth critque section as the reason I entered was to see how I ranked against the 40+ other entries. Instead I will just ask for a score out of 10 to see what I get and how I can improve.

Enjoy the forum, have open discussions its healthy for you but dont get caught up in ranting and raving about petty issues enjoy life, enjoy photography! :clap:
 
I wonder if it was pros or amateurs who were complaining.......ducks for cover :)
 
hashcake said:
I would just like to say a big thank you to all the children who spat out their dummies and chucked their toys out of their prams over this competition.
Yet again you pathetic, argumentative morons have rocked the boat on forum that is known for its friendliness.
Just lately there have been far too many threads with people moaning and bitching about the decisions mods make, the rules and now this.
Flash In The Pan has been very generous with these competitions; I don't see any other traders stepping up to the mark, do you?
I hope you are really pleased with yourselves but I bet not one of you muppets has the balls to try and push your luck on other forums where the mods are nowhere as easy going as they are here.
I hold no apologies for my rant, I expect along with many others, are growing tired of the bickering on this forum .
Click to expand...

:clap: spoken what a lot have been thinking methinks! :thumbs:
 
BalSanghera said:
Really... Only two?
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Yes. And one of those wasn't of great quality. IMHO, of those meeting the criteria, just one entry stood out head and shoulders above the rest.

BalSanghera said:
It is a real shame the way it turned out I think a lot of entries were posted purely because of the great prize and although they didnt exactly fit in with the theme everyone had a equal chance of winning if they could get enough votes.
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But isn't that exactly the problem. The competition criteria was ignored by some who wanted to see how many votes they would get. Unbelievable! The competition criteria is there for a reason. This year's biggest marrow competition was won - by a pumpkin :bang:


boyfalldown said:
probably ;)
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Yeah. Tell me about it ;)



hashcake said:
I would just like to say a big thank you to all the children who spat out their dummies and chucked their toys out of their prams over this competition.
Yet again you pathetic, argumentative morons have rocked the boat on forum that is known for its friendliness.
Just lately there have been far too many threads with people moaning and bitching about the decisions mods make, the rules and now this.
Flash In The Pan has been very generous with these competitions; I don't see any other traders stepping up to the mark, do you?
I hope you are really pleased with yourselves but I bet not one of you muppets has the balls to try and push your luck on other forums where the mods are nowhere as easy going as they are here.
I hold no apologies for my rant, I expect along with many others, are growing tired of the bickering on this forum .
Click to expand...
Spot on. Although, to be fair, I do think Graham should have stuck rigidly to the theme.
 
BalSanghera said:
Jeez chill out it was only a competition its not the end of the world
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I am chilled out but it needed to be said.
I agree it's not the end of the world, just the end of a generous offer and I have never entered FITP's comps but that is not the point.
The point being is that the minority are spoiling things for the majority.
This forum is supposed to be for photography and healthy debates, not bickering like 5 year olds.
 
I see the threads in question have been pruned a bit, but it is obvious what happened.

A real shame to see Graham's generosity being treated like this. A reminder of why so many competition rules these days include: 'The Judge's decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into.'
 
2blue4u said:
But isn't that exactly the problem. The competition criteria was ignored by some who wanted to see how many votes they would get. Unbelievable! The competition criteria is there for a reason.
Click to expand...

But votes = wins hence why polling a competition with a "Excecllent Prize" isnt a good idea because it is open to abuse.

It makes no difference now in any case, lets just hope this doesnt put off other members starting competitions with prizes or competitions full stop.
 
hashcake said:
I would just like to say a big thank you to all the children who spat out their dummies and chucked their toys out of their prams over this competition.
Yet again you pathetic, argumentative morons have rocked the boat on forum that is known for its friendliness.
Just lately there have been far too many threads with people moaning and bitching about the decisions mods make, the rules and now this.
Flash In The Pan has been very generous with these competitions; I don't see any other traders stepping up to the mark, do you?
I hope you are really pleased with yourselves but I bet not one of you muppets has the balls to try and push your luck on other forums where the mods are nowhere as easy going as they are here.
I hold no apologies for my rant, I expect along with many others, are growing tired of the bickering on this forum .
Click to expand...


+1 :clap:
 
hashcake said:
I am chilled out but it needed to be said.
I agree it's not the end of the world, just the end of a generous offer and I have never entered FITP's comps but that is not the point.
The point being is that the minority are spoiling things for the majority.
This forum is supposed to be for photography and healthy debates, not bickering like 5 year olds.
Click to expand...

I understand your frustration but with a forum with the number of members TP has your bound to have some people who just over react and love to debate just to get a reaction... They will soon get bored and move on or shut up :lol:
 
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