The RFF Contest

[slim-jm]

This is a great idea and someone is going to be a very lucky person.

Will the article go to you Jorge or will it be posted for all to see? If it will be on the forum, for someone that posts their article early, then another person may be able to get ideas for improvements to his or her article. Then maybe the person with the early entry will see later articles and want to make revisions, etc. Iwould appreciate it if you could clarify that part of the process. Are illustrations allowed? Thanks.

Jim

 

[MP Guy]

That is a good point. Let me think about that one. In the meantime nobody post your articles yet. Save them up.

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

Jorge,

First, thanks for creating a great forum, both in terms of content and atmosphere. I really think it is the most friendly, civil and helpful forum around.

Regarding the contest ...

As this is a forum dedicated to photography (as opposed to writing), particularly rangefinder photography, may I humbly suggest that the contest be a photo contest?

Limited to one photo per entrant, taken on a rangefinder. Perhaps with a 500 word essay on why a rangefinder made the submitted photo possible or special as opposed to SLRs. Wouldn't that be more illustrative of the spirit of rangefinder photography than a technical essay? I've rarely read any truly awe-inspiring or sexy techical essays. A photo would be literally indicative of the possibilities of our beloved cameras.

After all, the end purpose of all our collective rangefinders is to produce photos, no? All the other rules regarding judging can still work with a photo contest as opposed to an essay contest. Just thinking out loud and out of the box ;-)

In short, I would suggest that the spirit of the forum would be more genuinely captured by a contest of our actual products rather than an ancillary technical description of our instruments ;-) Thanks for your consideration. Tom

 

[MP Guy]

So, are youguys thinking of what to write? It sure is a nice camera outfit that is being given away 🙂

 

[Gordon Coale]

I'm thinking! I'm thinking!

 

[MP Guy]

Go to the top and look at a picture of the camera and lens being given away. I just received it today. Good luck folks! 🙂

 

[shaaktiman]

In response to Flyfisher Tom...

I think everyone who visits this forum spends a lot of time and energy making the best photos they can, whether they focus on street, travel, studio or just taking shots of their family. It's nice that there is a forum like this where everyone can not only share their photos but also offers a myriad of techniques and advice based on the collective experience of its members.

That being said, I would hate to be a position to "judge" the "best" photo out of everyone's here. I think that the essay idea is perfect for this reason. Hey, we can all shoot. We all love shooting, and most of us are pretty good at it. (not me though, I suck. But that's besides the point.)

I think it is a unique thing though, to be able to successfully articulate WHY we all love rangefinders. There is some elusive, hard to define reason that so many of us have gravitated towards this common ground. And while we all love looking at great photos, I think it will really benefit the community if someone is able to succinctly write about the experience and benefits of rangefinder photography. I mean, at the end of the day, a photo is a photo is a photo. It doesn't matter if it's Nikon, Minolta or Leica. SLR or RF. And I can never tell anyway.

No disrespect intended by the way... we spend a lot of time examining photos here though and I for one am looking forward to reading about people's experiences. Judging photos is so lame anyway. The whole concept doesn't make any sense. But you CAN judge writing if it has to adhere to set standards and goals.

Good contest Jorge. I think it's gonna be fun to see what everyone comes up with.

 

[MP Guy]

I have my first essay submitted! Once we decide on the top 10, they will be posted as written by an annonymous author. Ha, you thought you could vote for your buddy 🙂 I may even disable PM's during the voting period. A prize like this can make us all act wild.

None the less, Dont forget to submit your rticle to "jtorral @ gmail . com" get rid of the spaces, I posted like this to avoid spammers.

 

[MP Guy]

Wow, I just finished reading this essay. Very impressive and moving. Keep them coming I am anxiously awaiting more reading material.

 

[Alex Shishin]

Contest

Contest

Hi Jorge and everyone!

Jorge, this really a great forum. Glad to be here.

A question about the contest. How many words maximum? This has been brought up but cannot find any answer.

The idea of an essay on rangefinder photography itself is exciting. It'll give me a chance to bring together thoughts of over 20 years.

Cheers!

 

[MP Guy]

Where are the essays? Only 2 so far.

 

[StuartR]

Didn't you say we had until the end of May? I intend to write one, but i want to make it worth reading. Also, again, is there any guideline as to how long you want these? Half a page? A page? 5 pages? Ten?? Or is it up to us?

 

[MP Guy]

length is up to the writer. If its good the word count makes no difference.

 

[MP Guy]

Only 3 essays submitted.

 

[taffer]

Were on it were on it.

But the question is, which RF camera to choose from the shelf !? Damn GAS ! :bang:

 

[slim-jm]

Can you submit more than one essay? Or how about more than one per family as my wife is a photographer too?

Jim

 

[MP Guy]

So many articles so far. Joe, you will have some reading to do 🙂

 

[MP Guy]

13 days left before the deadline! After that there will be 10 articles selected for everyone to vote on.