DPOTY24 Themes

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lindsay

lindsay

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As I mentioned in the DPOTY23 Chat thread, I want to start considering themes for DPOTY24. I'm happy to continue to mirror the FPOTY themes, but I think it would be god to diverge slightly now and then, so for say 3 out of the 12 months we can have a Digital-only theme. So I'd be interested to hear people's views on:
a) do we have a few Digital-only themes that are not mirrored from the FPOTY24 themes?
b) suggestions for the Digital only themes if we go for that?

Thanks
 
I think it would be good to have some digital only themes, I'm not exactly sure what, but maybe some stuff that can only be done with significant editing afterwards. Blending multiple images etc.
 
I guess I had in mind themes that suited the capabilities of digital cameras better than film. Eg something that takes advantage of the C-AF feature that most DSLR/Mirrorless digital cameras have, or the ability to heavily crop images without too much noise/grain impact, or maybe that take advantage of the ability to instantly see if you've caught something in the image. I'm just trying to seed some ideas here, and very much open to suggestions. In fact I've just thought of one theme myself which I'll hold in reserve.
 
Personally, I like the way it is, once we start messing about with fancy digital imagery, we move away from [what I call] real photography. I have no interest constructing multiple images or other digital trickery that can only be produced courtesy of electronics. Film or digital, it doesn't matter to me, it's a photographic image. My preference would be to call the challenge POTY and have the resulting images based on communal merit, so long as it is produced on a camera (film, digital, phone, pinhole et al.)

I don't want to spend hours 'blending multiple images' but if people do then fine, that's their entry into the challenge, but I don't want to have to do it just to get an entry because for me it's not fun and it's not interesting. Better to have a separate challenge for the 'digital manipulators'.

So in answer to the OP questions:

a) No, and therefore...
....b) Not applicable

Keep things as they are or combine the digital and film into one challenge, those are my preferences.
 
How about: a stacked photo, a multiple exposure image, a colour-channel swapped picture, an HDR image, 2 or more images blended/mixed together, a panorama of at least 4 stitched images (different from the last option) a hand-held very low light image without blur. Most of this can be done with film, but with far more difficulty. Almost all editing software can manage these.
 
ancient_mariner said:
How about: a stacked photo, a multiple exposure image, a colour-channel swapped picture, an HDR image, 2 or more images blended/mixed together, a panorama of at least 4 stitched images (different from the last option) a hand-held very low light image without blur. Most of this can be done with film, but with far more difficulty. Almost all editing software can manage these.
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That would be me out.
 
Not really, doing things like that just doesn't interest me, it's the result, not how it's done that's important to me.
 
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ancient_mariner said:
How about: a stacked photo, a multiple exposure image, a colour-channel swapped picture, an HDR image, 2 or more images blended/mixed together, a panorama of at least 4 stitched images (different from the last option) a hand-held very low light image without blur. Most of this can be done with film, but with far more difficulty. Almost all editing software can manage these.
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That’s what I was thinking, but mainly because they are digital specific techniques.
 
Another vote for the multiple expo', stacked images and colour selecting.

I don't do any of these, might give me the kick to try, the same as seeing B&W here has made me use it in my work now.

Continous AF with multiple images stacked to show how a subject moves through a frame could be a fun, wild animal, bird, person, pet etc..
 
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I think the idea of the technical production processing - editing for HDR. Stacking, etc suggested above, is a good one, but dare I say belongs in a separate challenge series. The reason I started DPOTY was that I think we need a parallel to the FPOTY, and I'm not in favour of merging them as that to some extent takes away the point of the FPOTY, which is explicitly about using film cameras, not the final image per se. It's both. So DPOTY is about just using digital cameras to achieve the end result. Which is why I am now wondering about there being a case for a further challenge series that focuses on post-production techniques that can use any base image (Film, digital, photogram, etc), but probably allowing longer - say two months - for each topic.
As regards DPOTY themes though, it's just a question of themes and whether there are any that are particularly suited to digital more than film.
 
Gav. said:
Continous AF with multiple images stacked to show how a subject moves through a frame could be a fun, wild animal, bird, person, pet etc..
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That is something that I have always wanted to try, but never got around to.
lindsay said:
As regards DPOTY themes though, it's just a question of themes and whether there are any that are particularly suited to digital more than film.
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Maybe I was reading too much in to it, and you were thinking of the type of subject where it can take many images to get the right one? For example water splash, or action photography.
 
Spot on Lewis, that is exactly what I was thinking of.
 
Gav. said:
Digital - remembering to charge to battery or pick up the SD card again is sometimes a challange .. :p
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Been there, done that too many times. Although I've started using my camera as the SD card reader, so it also charges the camera at the same time. Now I get caught out by forgetting to clear the SD card before shooting again.
Gav. said:
I always fail as the habit of tracking takes over :headbang: :LOL:
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Exactly what happens to me.

Panning is another one that would work well for the theme, but another one where I think, I'll do some pan shots, but when bike riders are hurtling down a hill towards me I always stick with a fast shutter speed to capture the action. Then kick myself afterwards that I didn't get any pan shots.
Gav. said:
JPEG straight out of camera, no crop or edits allowed? May be a open theme but based around a FL that most have or can cover, 50mm 80mm etc..
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Another good shout. I always look forward to the nifty fifty challenge on week 50 of the year, so that is sort of covered.
 
lindsay said:
I think the idea of the technical production processing - editing for HDR. Stacking, etc suggested above, is a good one, but dare I say belongs in a separate challenge series. The reason I started DPOTY was that I think we need a parallel to the FPOTY, and I'm not in favour of merging them as that to some extent takes away the point of the FPOTY, which is explicitly about using film cameras, not the final image per se. It's both. So DPOTY is about just using digital cameras to achieve the end result. Which is why I am now wondering about there being a case for a further challenge series that focuses on post-production techniques that can use any base image (Film, digital, photogram, etc), but probably allowing longer - say two months - for each topic.
As regards DPOTY themes though, it's just a question of themes and whether there are any that are particularly suited to digital more than film.
Click to expand...
FWIW I agree the F&D POTYs should remain separate. I kind of liked the challenges this year being on the same themes and I tried to do each theme at the same time on both but I'd be happy to see different themes in the 2 going forward.

Maybe in next year's DPOTY there could be something for animals/birds etc (as opposed to pets which not everyone has)? Also a vehicle related theme or maybe panning (which could involve vehicles or animals or even people?
 
I'm getting a feel from the above posts, thanks. I think we'll wait and see what Chris puts up for the FPOTY themes for next year, then I shall make an executive decision as to how to proceed. I am, however, tempted to do a separate series of challenges on the post-processing aspects, which can then be indulged in by both F- and D-POTY'ers. Food for thought.
 
The list of themes for F/DPOTY24 is in the mixer but any fresh suggestions are welcome. I'm hoping to post them over the weekend.
 
Sorry I am late with this Lindsay,

I was happy with 2023 themes maybe shuffle them around to different months. I found some easy to do and others more difficult but have managed to get one for each month, knowing what resonated and what didn't I can re-look at my approach and for 2024 I won't be trying to do the same shots for each challenge (film and digital) so for me it will be different enough with the same as last year.

Other themes could be;

Things on Wheels
Animal Kingdom (not including pets)
People
 
A couple of suggestions Lindsay.
A day out.
Horror.
Monochrome. (Already suggested)
Nature.
Transport.
Large.
Winter.
Bokeh.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this DPOTY, thank you.
 
Yes thanks Lindsay. I too have enjoyed the challenge. The voting idea/system has worked well.
 
Right, I'm going to make a decision on the themes based on ideas submitted here and elsewhere:

January theme is Winter
February theme is Monochrome (not necessarily B&W)
March theme is Seen from Afar
April theme is Worms Eye View
May theme is Nature
June theme is Industry/Industrial
July theme is Street
August theme is Things on Wheels
September theme is Old
October theme is Horror / Ghosts
November theme is Big
December theme is Open subject, but one technique from: Panorama, or HDR, or Multiple-exposure, or Continuous AF with multiple images stacked to show how a subject moves through a frame
 
Closing this thread now, any comments can go in the DPOTY 2024 Chat thread please
 
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