LAUPS & NCUPS & beyond

Hi all,

I was just chatting with my wife and we had some interesting conversation about the competition that is leveied in the recent LAUPS and NCUPS. The reason I am posting this is not "who will win" but rather what will win. As I spoke with her one thing came to my mind. Since the digital world is so dominant, do the judging guidelines change? Do the judges consider criteria differently having to now judge film versus digital? Afterall, digi is technically easier to get a winner. I wonder how, aside from Mr. Church's email to me, judges consider this new technology in the face of competing with film. Jim gave me some pointers, but he is unfortunately gone and technology is not, and in fact moving on.

The question is, should judges interpret digital as easier than film to the the same shot?

FYI, Jim told me the how damn tough competitions were becoming and how digital was making it more tough.

Just seeking input, not adversity.

Joe

It's interesting to see how the competitions are evolving. LAUPS and NCUPS handle the slide vs. digital dilema differently. LAUPS judges slides and digital side by side in the major categories while NCUPS has seperate digital sub-categories. Personaly, I would prefer the LAUPS approach but I think that slide entries will dwindle down over the next couple of years to the point where it becomes a non-issue.

I certainly don't think that slides should carry extra weight based on diffficulty. An image should be judged strictly on photographic merit regardless of the capture media.

That being said, I aggree that the quality of entries has vastly increased and I attribute that mostly to the introduction of digital camers. Having a well composed, properly exposed, and sharply focused image is no longer good enough to reach the final cut. You really have to have an image that has that hard to define quality that will grab the judges attention. I quess that's reason enough to keep us workng it

Joe, Larry and all,

There was alot of discussion about digital this year when putting the rules and regulations together. It was decided to judge the two media (slides & digital) separately. This may change next year. I don't know about weighting slide entries because it is more difficult to get a good shot. I'll add that to my notes for discussion for next year. :-)

We have not changed judging guidlines due to digital being easier. Larry is correct in that although it is easier to get a technically good photo using digital in camera tools, it is that extra special quality that grabs the judges attention. The image that tells a story, shows a behaviour, or the environment of an animal will catch the attention of a judge.

That being said, I'll let you know how it goes after the judging is done.

Best,

Kathy Mendes

NCUPS SEA 2005 Coordinator

Larry: That was extremely well put.

Cheers

James

This is a general comment, not really directed against these competitions.

I personally think that the two formats should be judged together in all competitions. Afterall that is the way that all images are judged in the market place. And if you want to judge on photographer skill - then limit digital post processing to RAW conversion - with no touching up in Photoshop. Similar adjustments can be made to slides in the duping process.

I disagree that it is easier to get a winner on digital. Shooting film was very easy too! I do think that digital allows you to get more good shots on a dive and also allows you to gain experience more easily and to take images that are impossible on slide. But shooting with a good film SLR with TTL strobes on a macro subject is hardly difficult.

Anyway I would like to re-state that this is a general comment, not really directed against these competitions, about which I kow very little. I have never entered these competitions, but if they are amateur only, then to some extent my argument about the marketplace does not really apply here.

Alex

This is an issue that South Florida UPS has been dealing with for about three years now. During that time our membership has gone from about 5% digital to about 50% digital.

Each month we have competitions in both film and digital which are judged by projecting the images for club members to vote on. It is very clear that the images from the digital projector as a whole look much better than those from the slide projector.

This has nothing to do with the quality of the image itself, but of the projection device. As a result we had the option of having all images (i.e. film or digital) digitalized for projection or separating the media. We found that many members did not have scanners or a photoshop type program and that entries would have declined if all digitalized images were required. Other considerations regarding points for photographer of the year and digiital v film technique were also considered by the board.

I would strongly agree that for state, national or international competitions that both film and digital be judged together and that film users be allowed to submit digitalized images if they want. I have judged in several such competitions and found that the judges always lean towards digital images over projected slides and prints competing in the same category.

I agree that as UPS members shift more and more towards digital this will become a non-issues.

Phil Rudin-SFUPS President

If memory serves, (and it may not ) didn't someone here submit a digital photo that had been converted to a slide and win a photo comp last year? Don't remember if it was Laups or Ncups but I'm pretty sure that was the case.

My general feeling is, once you become proficient at U/W photography, then it's a matter of opportunity as much as skill and less the media capture method. That Shark shot of Doug Perrine's during the Sardine run for instance, slide or digital file? Who cares. My vote, judge them all together.

Rand

Phil's comments are very close to our experiences on the other side of the Atlantic in the B(ritish)SoUP.

We have the same problem of wanting to judge slides and digital together - but some members complain that slides don't stand a chance against the brighter digital projection. My feeling is that alot of the time the slides lack the polish of digital entries. But if both images are of top quality then both look great.

Interestingly, our macro competition attracted some of our very best slide photographers - and on that occasion the best slides were more than equal to the best digital shots. This certainly left me with the impression that a good photographers pictures tend to look good in either media.

In our society many of our most sucessful photographers now shoot digital.

Alex

One answer to Rand's question (although I am not sure it was the one he was thinking of) was that in 2003 one of BSoUP's members, Charles Hood, won our most prestigious competition The Open Portfolio, with six slides that had begun life as digital files.

digital certainly makes getting an image technically correct much easier. Who can argue with the fact that you can review an adjust settings as you go, and take as many shots as you want, depending on the size of your card. having the ability to take more shots in an action , or behavior situation, is a big plus. Anyone can get a good macro shot with digital. What doesnt change is creativity, composition, and the intangibles that makes you say that shot is special. Most contests seem to reward what i would say are technically good id shots. i see similar shots and subjects over and over. How many pygmy sea horse shots place, altho they are often the same thing over and over. I not saying i have any answers, but id like to see more new, and creative shots rewarded. If creativity wins it shouldnt matter how you lump or separate the catagories. my 2 cents