P3D Re: Cleveland Meeting Review - II

["Dr. George A. Themelis" <DrT-3d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A few comments on judging...

Mark indicated some unusual scoring by the judges... I have been there...
I have been a judge and it used to bother me when people talk about
"the judges" as if they are one body... The judges are three individuals
who might have totally different opinions... However, I must agree, that
something was not working well the other night.  Some scores were very low, 
without any clear reason.  We use a system from 5 to 9.  The instructions 
say that "an average good slide" gets a 7.  Half the slides (or more) 
normally get a 7.  If a slide is seen as an an-exiting snapshot or has 
technical problems, it gets a 6.  The lowest score (5) is reserved for
rare occassions of slides with fatal flaws with combination of total lack 
of interest.  On the other end, an 8 identifies a candidate for award and 
a 9 is given to rare masterpieces.

>My first shot entitled " holiday ranch" -a small, warm, and inviting
>home with a christmas tree visible through an open front door....is
>certainly not the same image the judges saw! 

The total score for this was 16 points, which translates to 5, 5 and 6.
In the lack of gross technical errors I fail to see how this is justified... 
Another shot, of a red building, an Italian restaurant, was maybe not 
the most interesting stereo image of the night but was technically 
well-done (the maker is a perfectionist mounter and experienced photographer).  
It got a 17 (6, 6, 5?)  Finally, another picture that was praised by the 
critiquing judge, pointing out all its virtues and no problems whatsoever.  
Score for this was a low 18 (6, 6, 6 or maybe 5, 6, 7?)  

I think judges in their comments should point to flaws or concerns that 
lead them to score low.

On the other hand (and this is a personal opinion only) I thought that
some slides scored unusually high.  

My third entry was of a well-known statue of soldiers at the center of 
Cleveland, framed with a tall building, a bank, in the background.  
The angle was such that it appeared as if the soldiers were marching 
right to the bank!  Pretty darn creative, if you ask me :-), definitely 
more creative than my other two entries, but it got only 20, indicating an 
average snapshot.  I was pretty happy at that point with the other two 
entries doing well, so I did not jump to join Dennis :-)

Judging and competitions is a delicate game... I have learned to trust 
my judgment and gracefully accept that of others...

>My psychic advisor was wrong again.....

Don't trust those women! :-)  Just light a candle and pray...

Amen brother!

George Themelis


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