P3D Re: PSA judging

[roberts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (John W Roberts)]

>Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1998 12:17:16 -0700
>From: boris@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Boris Starosta)
>Subject: P3D Re: PSA judging

>Here's a "new idea:" let's judge entries for their innovativeness and
>artistic content!  Technical excellence should be a given - it is qualities
>beyond technical excellence that should matter most among the highest
>scoring images.

I *mostly* agree, but if there are technical errors that ruin my appreciation
of the photo, I would take that into account, and I might forgive some
technical errors in a photo that's especially good for other reasons.

>>A judge is not supposed to consider personal preference when judging -
>>period.  ...          ...  It's fair to judge on
>>stereo effect, composition, lighting, etc.  Please leave your
>>personal preferences at the door when you enter the judging room.

>Technical merit and artistic content are two different things.  The first
>can be judged "automatically," that is, by application of rigid guidelines.

For most criteria, but not all. For example, I have heard it claimed at
PSSP that using a fast shutter to freeze the motion of moving water is
a *technical* error, as opposed to an artistic issue. I happen to
disagree - I think a photographer might want to freeze motion for artistic
purposes, and that shouldn't automatically be regarded as a technical error.
There are several other issues for which there will not be 100 percent
agreement as to whether they count as artistic issues or technical issues.

>The latter is far more subjective, and so relies upon the
>personal reaction that a judge may develop with the image - I believe a
>judge cannot leave personal preferences at the door, and still be able to
>judge artistic content.

I agree. If personal preferences were not important to judging artistic
merit, there would not be a need for more than one judge.

>As I have written before in this forum, sometimes when I look at what has
>won awards in the PSA, I just have to shake my head, and I wonder what were
>they thinking?!   I had the same experience judging at the PSSP Salon -
>during discussion of the stereo cards in particular.

In the photo competitions I've seen, while I've generally liked the
winning photos pretty well, they're often not the ones I would have
selected to be the winners. But having seen some competitions, I now
think they do serve at least one basic purpose very well - they entice
people to bring in more photographs, so the rest of the club can sit back
and enjoy a nice picture show. :-)

John R


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