Your take on the RFF/Popflash contest...

[Todd.Hanz]

Well it's finally closed, no more entries, it's all up to the judges now.
Now that it's done I have a few thoughts and I'd like to hear yours.

At first I hated this contest because it meant we had to use a 50mm, not my favorite by far. I put myself through the paces, shooting this awfully "normal" focal length, always dreading developing the negs. After a while I got used to not having to be so close to the subject and actually enjoyed it enough that I bought another 50, a collapsible summicron to go along with my collapsible summitar. Did I shoot any winners with this setup, highly doubtful, but it was a hoot and I enjoyed myself immensely. BTW, 2 of 3 I entered were shot with a 50mm summilux I sold a year ago and now dread the sale!

This contest made me focus on Bresson's style of photography, I'll admit he's not a favorite of mine and I still don't understand what all the hoopla was about. I guess I identify with others like Capa, Winogrand, or Kertesz a little better. I think too many focus on his most famous shot, the "decisive moment" concept, who knows? Those who get him or pretend to, more power to you!

Lastly, there has been alot of talk about the demeanor of the forum as of late. People snapping at each other, alot of attitude being tossed about. I think this is in direct relation to the contest and the amount of attention it garnered on the web. I am sure the RFF membership skyrocketed during this contest, who doesn't want a chance at a free ZI and lens? Alot of great "newbies" showed up and I welcome them, but with the good come a few bad apples. I would be curious to see how many new members stick around, post contest.

All in all it was a great idea, and I'd like to think all involved, I've learned alot!

Todd

 

[boarini2003]

Interesting comments. Regarding the usage of the 50mm focal length for the contest, it was very easy for me, since 50mm is the only thing I use. It would be interesting to see myself forced to use a 28mm for example, something I am not accustomed to. In regards to HCB, I think he used the 50mm because he liked capturing the moment "as is" without any interference or interaction between subject and photographer. I think a wide forces you too close, and a tele seems too detached or mediocre. Of course, I'm only guessing on HCB's reasons, but I can say that for me the 50mm is ideal because for street shooting, it allows me to keep a certain distance without losing touch with the subject and the surroundings. I think the 50mm is the best precisely because the lens has no "personality" to add to the photo, leaving that task instead to the subject. By that I mean, it doesn't leave it's mark on an image like a wide angle or tele does. It's, well, "normal."

I discovered and joined RFF because of that contest, and now I love this site, it's inspiring and it's cool. So to all of those who submited photos... Good luck, and may the best win!
;-)

 

[back alley]

membership went up by over 800 since the contest was announced.

i too hated that i had to shoot with a 50 but i also kinda like it now, though i have to admit that the 25 has been attached to my shooting camera since i got it. i love that focal length!

the contest became a bit of an obsession for a short time...i wanted to win. maybe that sounds arrogant but i have never entered a photo contest before because i don't really believe in them but i got sorta crazed.
i doubt that i will ever enter another as it was too stressful and not enough fun for me.
fun is what i prefer to have, especially over stress.

i too now look forward to the final aspect of the contest, to see who will get the prize but mostly to see what people think is the 'best' photo. i don't think i could pick a best but there sure were some fabulous shots entered.

good luck to all who entered!

joe

 

[boarini2003]

I also want to add that I think it's really awesome of RFF and Popflash to sponsor and do a thing like this. It really is cool of them.

 

[taffer]

I've quite changed my sometimes reluctant opinon towards 50s, even though that could also be caused by the Summitar, a true jewel playing on its own dimension.

I've also learned that scale focusing a 50 can be done, but takes a lot of practice.

I also realized how an important role luck plays in pictures, my only 'new' 50mm pic on the contest is just a pure accident 😀

And over all, it has served me to value even more the 35mm 😉 I discovered that I interact with the world around me in a way that makes that FOV perfect.

And it's too late and I should be sleeping by now, yep.

Good night !

 

[DaveL]

About HCB- you can get tired of seeing the same classic HCB images over and over just as you do with a song you hear too much, but I HCB has a lot of lesser-known images that are really great.
About the site/contest- I found RFF while searching online for a Mamiya 6 to buy used. I entered the contest but I'm also hooked to RFF forums and viewing members' galleries. I recently moved back from Paris to the US, and one of the things I miss is the B/W rangefinder aesthetic that seems never to go out of style in Paris. In the US, comerical influences dominate discussions and frame the debate, so all we hear about is digital digital digital. I don't want to get long winded here but it kind of pisses me off that what passes for a film review in the states is often just how much a certain film grossed at the box office, not if it was any good or not. I was beginning to think street photography was dead so finding RFF kind of energized me. Keep the faith.

 

[kmack]

I shot a lot of film and had a lot of fun. The time of the year was not good. It is hard to find people on the street when it is rainy, cold and windy as it was this year.

 

[wrighton363]

Well it's finally closed, no more entries, it's all up to the judges now.
Now that it's done I have a few thoughts and I'd like to hear yours.

At first I hated this contest because it meant we had to use a 50mm, not my favorite by far. I put myself through the paces, shooting this awfully "normal" focal length, always dreading developing the negs. After a while I got used to not having to be so close to the subject and actually enjoyed it enough that I bought another 50, a collapsible summicron to go along with my collapsible summitar. Did I shoot any winners with this setup, highly doubtful, but it was a hoot and I enjoyed myself immensely. BTW, 2 of 3 I entered were shot with a 50mm summilux I sold a year ago and now dread the sale!

This contest made me focus on Bresson's style of photography, I'll admit he's not a favorite of mine and I still don't understand what all the hoopla was about. I guess I identify with others like Capa, Winogrand, or Kertesz a little better. I think too many focus on his most famous shot, the "decisive moment" concept, who knows? Those who get him or pretend to, more power to you!

Lastly, there has been alot of talk about the demeanor of the forum as of late. People snapping at each other, alot of attitude being tossed about. I think this is in direct relation to the contest and the amount of attention it garnered on the web. I am sure the RFF membership skyrocketed during this contest, who doesn't want a chance at a free ZI and lens? Alot of great "newbies" showed up and I welcome them, but with the good come a few bad apples. I would be curious to see how many new members stick around, post contest.

All in all it was a great idea, and I'd like to think all involved, I've learned alot!

Todd

Thanks for sharing that. It’s neat to read others experiences with the challenge of the contest.

I love/adore/praise HCB's work, that's what got me here and I hope to stick around, but my main website to hang out at is deviantART 😛 But I am an active member and contribute to the community...not just one of those typical teenage statistics.

And about this decisive moment, in my opinion, he truly captured it with pretty much all of his images- relating both the environment with the subject and in return making it visually pleasing accredited with high class aesthetics, not just with one particular photo. But I'd also like to remind you he died a couple years ago, and believe he deserves a proper tribute.

 

[CameraQuest]

HCB Dumpster Diving

HCB Dumpster Diving

How would you like to own 20 or so signed 16x20 HCB prints for FREE ?

It happened, at least once.

It seems HCB had an exhibition at a New York bank in the 1950's.

After the show was over, the bank wasn't about to waste their money shipping the prints back to France.

Into the trash bin they went!

The unwanted prints were discovered by an amateur photographer riding a bicycle thru the back alley. He rescued them, and shared the story with me several years ago.

Ah yes,

One person's trash is another's treasure.

Stephen

 

[fraley]

Maybe we could have a contest sometime with a modest camera as prize? Kind of an anti-contest contest? Or maybe contests are inherently evil..

 

[Doug]

Interesting commentary, Todd!

the contest became a bit of an obsession for a short time...i wanted to win. maybe that sounds arrogant but i have never entered a photo contest before because i don't really believe in them but i got sorta crazed.
i doubt that i will ever enter another as it was too stressful and not enough fun for me.
fun is what i prefer to have, especially over stress.

This really rings true for me, Joe. I'm not a gambler, nor do I enter contests. So I missed out on all the stress. 🙂 If the contest brought along a bunch of crazed RF enthusiasts to join RFF, then hurrah!

 

[DougK]

Great comments, Todd.

It's fantastic that we have sponsors willing to do this kind of thing and if it gets people out and shooting, well, that's really the whole point, isn't it?

Everybody wins.

 

[rbraun]

About 2 months before the contest was announced I started shooting mostly 50mm but before that the 35mm cron was my main staple. But I did shoot 50mm from time to time. So I picked three shots with the 50 and kept on shooting my stuff. So the contest wasn't at all traumatic. I like the contest and think it is fabulous to get a crack at shuch a nice prize. All power to the person who wins.

As far as HCB goes I like his stuff but many my favorite shots of his are somewhat nontypical HCB. I love his portraits of Matisse and love his shot of the prostitutes.

 

[RML]

I loved the idea of the contest, even though I'm not in the market for a film camera anymore. The prospect of winning a ZI with a fab lens made me participate anyway.

The 50mm requirement is fine by me.
The HCB requirement wasn't. I find most of HCB's photos boring, bordering on the tedious. I find most lack interest and tension. Most are perfect in an artistic and composition sense but I find them bland. HCB did have a good eye for situations and good timing, though.

If there's ever going to be another RFF contest I'd like to see it in the style of someone like Salgado (produce a short series of (3-5) photos like this concerned photographer), or Eggleston. IMO those are real challenges. 🙂

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

It's interesting to see how some had to "adjust" to using a 50mm lens. I shoot this focal length with my M6 or Contax IIIa almost exclusively; sometimes I use the 35mm or 90mm, and that is either due to reach or real-estate issues.

I don't understand why people have this general caustic reaction towards HCB. I think the only way I could ever understand it is if instead of photography this were a music forum (and I'm not a musician) and all you heard were praises about Frank Sinatra and F.J. Haydn. I don't particularly like either, but Frankie is an untouchable, and Haydn is, well... I don't like him. I'd rather listen to Ella Fitzgerald (now, there's a voice) or Mozart (now, there's a genius). Others would rather watch Capa or Adams (another groan-generator), or Koudelka or Salgado.

I think the idea of having the contest "in the manner of" was a good one. It lay down a guide, and still many questions were left unanswered by those who just wouldn't do their homework (what does "normal" mean, what do you mean in the style of HCB? etc), specially this theme because it was so versatile. I wonder how rigid a contest would have been "in the style of Ansel Adams"?

Anyway, I think it was a great thing. It would have been better if we wouldn't have been such slackers and left it for the last weeks to upload most of the pictures (I waited until the last week or so --my bad) and had seen the flurry of comments and feedback during these last few weeks throughout the duration of the contest.

So true Stephen, somebody's trash is another one's treasure. We may be experiencing problems; well, Jorge is. I'd like to see it as --I hope-- growing. In the positive sense of the word. All of us may be getting wiser.

Or not. I should be in bed; I know better than that. Instead, I'm posting an answer on RFF... 😀

 

[Avotius]

Thanks for sharing that. It’s neat to read others experiences with the challenge of the contest.

I love/adore/praise HCB's work, that's what got me here and I hope to stick around, but my main website to hang out at is deviantART 😛 But I am an active member and contribute to the community...not just one of those typical teenage statistics.

And about this decisive moment, in my opinion, he truly captured it with pretty much all of his images- relating both the environment with the subject and in return making it visually pleasing accredited with high class aesthetics, not just with one particular photo. But I'd also like to remind you he died a couple years ago, and believe he deserves a proper tribute.

what is your name on DA?

ok im a moron, I found it... :bang: its strange to see people on other sites sometimes. Usualy they have a whole different style and attitude about them.

 

[markinlondon]

Having spent 3 years or so "learning" to use a 35mm I had mixed feelings about a contest that called for a 50mm. I decided to treat it as a project and get some time in with my slightly neglected 50 'cron. Two months into the contest period I realised that 50 was my "best" (least worst?) FL after all, but the 'cron (current) was a bit bulky compared to its 35mm brother if I wanted to avoid carrying a bag. I am now the proud owner of an f2.8 Elmar (older version) which hasn't been off my M6 for over a month. It's my first collapsible lens and I love it. No, I'm not selling the 'cron, there's enough difference to make them both useful. Neither am I selling my 35, I just use the 50 more now.

So I just want to say thanks for getting me back to basics (and the chance to win a ZI, natch 🙂 )

Mark

 

[VinceC]

The contest sparked some interesting discussions.

I think the 50mm lens isn't as "normal" as it used to be. For decades, that was the main lens that came with a camera, plus perhaps a 135mm (that was my first SLR kit in the 1970s). Today, hardly any amateurs use a 50mm. All point and shoots, digital and film, are in the 35mm range if fixed. If zoom, the 35 is the wide end of their range. So we're no longer flooded with poor 50mm images.

The 50mm today strikes me as being a classic film lens, whereas the ubiquitous 35mm can get boring. I use mine mainly indoors wide open and at minimum focus, whereas the 50 gets more and more use in a variety of situations.

I think Cartier-Bresson probably used the 50mm mainly because it was the standard fast lens for much of his early career.

 

[kbg32]

The contest just made me realize even more why I hate 50s.

"The 50 mm focal length was chosen by Oscar Barnack, the creator of the Leica camera, as a compromise between the theoretical value and good sharpness, as lens technology at the time was such that slightly longer focal lengths were able to achieve optimum sharpness." - From Wikipedia

 

[Wayne R. Scott]

My take on the contest was that it just re-inforced my belief that I am not a very good photographer. Regardless of what focal length lens I have on my camera.

Wayne