September 2024 POTM - Vote Now!

[Fishman Dave]

Maybe I have shown great niavity here but we are after all a fish keeping site.
If so many people felt that this was always about a truly professional shot with the right lighting, a manipulated image and an expensive looking setup and camera, why have so many of us average jos been submitting photos month after month on the off chance of someone liking them. I hadn’t realised we had such a big SLR community to have sufficient photos to rely on on a constant bi monthly basis.
I really did believe that it was voting for the photo I liked best. Whether that was a fish caught doing something unusual or something it didn’t normally do, or a good clear in focus photo, or a stunning looking shot, OR …………. My choice

Not a manipulated one though, even wildlife photographer of the year has those rules.

 

[esoxlucius]

A few years ago I entered the competition, my one and only time. The picture I took was with my phone and it was a high clarity, unblurred close up shot of my lemonfin barb, see below. I came 3rd or 4th if memory serves.



I honestly thought I was in with a shout that month because anyone who's ever owned lemonfin barbs will know how active and lightning fast they are. To get a picture like the one I took is a rarity imo, it took some doing I can tell you.

But of course the only people who would appreciate that photo would probably be other lemonfin keepers, and let's face it, the voting "panel" that month would probably not be familiar with the species at all, let alone actually keep them.

I thought about my "loss" for a while and quickly realised the whole competition can only be looked on as nothing more than a bit of fun. We have amateur pictures being assessed by amateur judges, with the odd "pro" quality pic thrown in once in a while, and those entries stick out like a sore thumb.

The competition is nothing more than a forum filler, and some of the excitement than some may feel has all but been taken away now that the "prizes" situation has changed.

We may as well stick it in the lounge and run it side by side with an "arse of the month" competition imo.

 

[Fishman Dave]

Well, I for one still like seeing all the photos you guys take of the fish(I won’t say “your fish”) and I would still keep voting. Probably less so for arse of the month (although I would probably have more chance winning that one!).

 

[esoxlucius]

Probably less so for arse of the month (although I would probably have more chance winning that one!).

I don't know about that, there is stiff competition, the forum's full of arses, lol.

 

[AR1]

A few years ago I entered the competition, my one and only time. The picture I took was with my phone and it was a high clarity, unblurred close up shot of my lemonfin barb, see below. I came 3rd or 4th if memory serves.

View attachment 1550032

I honestly thought I was in with a shout that month because anyone who's ever owned lemonfin barbs will know how active and lightning fast they are. To get a picture like the one I took is a rarity imo, it took some doing I can tell you.

But of course the only people who would appreciate that photo would probably be other lemonfin keepers, and let's face it, the voting "panel" that month would probably not be familiar with the species at all, let alone actually keep them.

I thought about my "loss" for a while and quickly realised the whole competition can only be looked on as nothing more than a bit of fun. We have amateur pictures being assessed by amateur judges, with the odd "pro" quality pic thrown in once in a while, and those entries stick out like a sore thumb.

The competition is nothing more than a forum filler, and some of the excitement than some may feel has all but been taken away now that the "prizes" situation has changed.

We may as well stick it in the lounge and run it side by side with an "arse of the month" competition imo.

I agree with esox on this one. Taking pictures of fast-moving fish is one of the most difficult tasks. I've been trying to get a good shot of my tinfoil barbs for about a month now, but all my attempts have ended up as blurred flashes

 

[DawnMichele]

A few years ago I entered the competition, my one and only time. The picture I took was with my phone and it was a high clarity, unblurred close up shot of my lemonfin barb, see below. I came 3rd or 4th if memory serves.

View attachment 1550032

I honestly thought I was in with a shout that month because anyone who's ever owned lemonfin barbs will know how active and lightning fast they are. To get a picture like the one I took is a rarity imo, it took some doing I can tell you.

But of course the only people who would appreciate that photo would probably be other lemonfin keepers, and let's face it, the voting "panel" that month would probably not be familiar with the species at all, let alone actually keep them.

I thought about my "loss" for a while and quickly realised the whole competition can only be looked on as nothing more than a bit of fun. We have amateur pictures being assessed by amateur judges, with the odd "pro" quality pic thrown in once in a while, and those entries stick out like a sore thumb.

The competition is nothing more than a forum filler, and some of the excitement than some may feel has all but been taken away now that the "prizes" situation has changed.

We may as well stick it in the lounge and run it side by side with an "arse of the month" competition imo.

GORGEOUS picture!!!

 

[esoxlucius]

GORGEOUS picture!!!

Thank you! I certainly thought so too at the time, but I soon had the wind taken out of my sails, lol.

I must have taken about 40 or 50 pictures whilst trying to get that near perfect shot. I took them over a 2-3 day period so a lot of time and effort went into that entry.

But like I said, unless the voter is familiar with the species, then they can't really factor in the difficulty level of getting such a shot.

Maybe I took it too seriously at the time, after all, back then there was a shiny camera emoji for the winner, lol.

 

[Fallen_Leaves16]

I have found that the best time to take pictures of skittish fish is sometime around 3:30AM; they stay still for a good few seconds if you shine a light on them. Unfortunately, they're typically rather washed-out, and flee quickly. Still a nice potential opportunity, though.

 

[jjohnwm]

That is a terrific pic, Esox; the competition must have been stiff for it to come in only 3rd!

But your suggestion for an AOTM competition has me wondering: if the prize for POTM is a camera icon that nobody ever actually receives...what on earth is the prize for AOTM?

And...we should probably be thankful that nobody will receive it either, as I'm not sure I want to see whatever that icon would be...

 

[Cal Amari]

I'd like to see the terms and conditi0ns, specifically does it have to be your ass in the photo, or just your photo of....... oh nevermind this whole contest is startng to sound sketchy