SummitPost.org

mrchad9 wrote:

Baarb wrote:The highest rated images on SP for example don't appear to use these tactics much as the photographers / voters have gone for relatively small features being framed within the context of much larger landscapes.

The highest rated photos are the ones that are purple or orange scenery, or spectacular snow/ice climbing action shots.

Well there's an example of 2 people finding different themes (merits?) in the same things. One identifies shape and contrast as the defining features while another identifies colour and people's activity. Anyway, the issue is the same, even if there was a 'rule' saying "take a photo at this time of day for the best light", good light on something wholly unattractive doesn't make for a good photo.

ExcitableBoy wrote:For a great example of well executed, purposefull panoramas, check out Steph Abegg's work http://c0278592.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspac ... 642897.jpg

I hate it when people put advertising in their photos.

Obviously I am a fan of the panoramic shot...

My apologies that I don't have time to surf SP and vote on more of the good panoramic contributions.

mrchad9 wrote:
Bottom line… do not get too up in arms over how many votes a photo gets. And everything else is secondary to that point.

Gotta agree - votes are usually based on emotions. When you become emotional over votes, it blurs the logical side of your brain, and can
get you angry over NOTHING.

Release the Anger. “Remember, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware. Anger, fear, aggression ... The dark side are they! Once you start down the DARK PATH, forever will it dominate your destiny ..."

Ah, but same goes for comments. Putting votes aside I get more people saying good things about my 4:3 photos. Perhaps it's my panorama techniques that are flawed? A big collection of mine can be seen here:
http://www.summitpost.org/josh-lewis-s-panoramas/698180

(and no I'm not looking for votes, but rather critiques) See a flaw in one? Feel free to let me know so I can do better next time.

IMHO, panos are much better with the camera held in portrait position. For example:


Dingboche by radson1, on Flickr


Kumjung by radson1, on Flickr

Why I don't vote on many panoramas: Most appear tiny unless you click on them. That is apparently something to do with the SP format unless one changes code manually, but it still makes me disinclined to click on the full-size version. Why? Because I like reading the caption while looking at the photograph. Thus, a labeled panorama is far more likely to get me to go back again and vote.

I have voted on many of mrchad9's panoramas because they are not only well done but also because he incorporates them with his new mountain pages. I like to vote on beta photos for mountains and routes, but with trip reports, the pictures are often part of the story, so there's less need to click on the pictures in order to read the captions (and vote).

And I don't much care for the panoramas with the scroll feature. I want to see the whole thing at once to appreciate the scope of the scenery.

Just my opinions and preferences, not my explanation for why panoramas don't get as much attention in general.

And seconded on not liking pictures with ads or links to personal websites. I do not vote on such pictures, no matter how spectacular.

+1 for Mister Chad's pans. Not only does he incorporate them into his page, but you immediately KNOW what you're going to get when you click on the
photo - an overview of all the peaks (properly labeled) and you end up learning more about geography, geology, and logistics for tackling a certain peak in the future ..

Most people are fairly impulsive and a bit lazy (the instant gratification of the internet makes us that way). Many votes for photos take place when people are just scanning the "Best New Stuff... Photos" summary; panos appear as tiny square fractions in this summary, often missing the most appealing portion, so few click on them.

It is also harder to make a pano with good light balance, unless you always shoot to the north before summer. At least one frame of the composite typically gets sun-washed, if you include any southern exposure in the winter (of the northern hemisphere).

I'm intensely oriented toward things that are useful. Panoramas can be extremely useful on mountain or route pages, showing the relative positions of major features. However, most people vote on pretty things, not useful things (or they just vote everything 10/10 in a vain effort to fight back the forces of darkness).

MoapaPk wrote:Many votes for photos take place when people are just scanning the "Best New Stuff... Photos" summary.

While some people count on this for their POTD/W quests personally I can occasionally find it a little annoying as it can lead to 'over voting' on one's submissions. Recently while updating a page I added a bunch of new photos. One of no great consequence happened to get a couple of votes after spending a lot of time in the 'New Images' section due to lack of other traffic. That propelled it into the 'Best Images from the Last Day' section from where it attracted even more attention. What's the problem with this? Well that photo is now the highest rated photo on the page it was submitted to even though it's one of the least interesting, so the Mountain's image page looks degraded and the images on my profile page look collectively worse because it's worked its way in there too. If all the other photos on that Mountain page were voted in perhaps it would work itself out but that's not the way it works. For all the old stuff about avatars and people voting on their own photos it would be nice if one could down-vote one's own photos where appropriate(!).

Very good one with annotation and great caption, definitely worth a look and a vote: http://www.summitpost.org/annotated-panorama-from-west-of-campa-pass/765702.

A personal favorite (disclosure-- it's by a friend, but it's a photo that is very useful): http://www.summitpost.org/north-absaroka-panorama/597478/c-463147. (For this one, click on the image and then click again to magnify.)

Bob Sihler wrote:
A personal favorite (disclosure-- it's by a friend, but it's a photo that is very useful): http://www.summitpost.org/north-absaroka-panorama/597478/c-463147. (For this one, click on the image and then click again to magnify.)

Magnificent shot ... but just realized that (my computer) took 30 seconds to "blow up" the image.

Might be another reason WHY the panoramas aren't as popular ... folks are looking for instant gratification, and a vast majority purchase GUIDEBOOKS ..

I was hoping for a GUIDEBOOK for Christmas, but all I got were some warm socks and a new vacuum cleaner ... hint, hint ...

Good panos need to be high quality and have closeup mountains not far away ranges. 14ers.com does a great job with them on the homepage.

I think panoramas are better suited for informational/peak labeling purposes rather than 'pretty' pictures anyways.

Computer monitors fail to allow a fair comparison between the two. A high quality print does make for a more objective comparison. That said, I see panos as better suited for documenting a landscape, as where artistic conveyance is better served with a single frame. But that is me. It is a matter of style. Generally speaking, from an artistic perspective, I am of the opinion that less is more.