DSLR Version 3.0 - Project Synthesis

[colin_12]

We could possibly have an articles section. It would be something like our photographic journeys section I guess.
I find it interesting to read/hear how others are capturing their images and where they have been going to do this.
Some of us do this to an extent, I have not as yet, But I think this is another avenue to look at. This could quite happily be a great part of CHIMP.

I do like that we have some articles on photography in the tutorials section. Not really many but hey, it takes a fair bit of time and effort to get some of that up and a lot is discussed in other sections as well. Maybe another idea for Chimp?
(example) Andrews effort on various home made soft boxes for very little expense is awsome.

I like the 800 pix rule, for all the reasons stated. I do remember to check image Kb sometimes.........
I have noticed that the site has been very slow of late compared with what it has been. I hope it is not at my end.

I have sporadic attendance due to work like most of us here. It is only going to get worse for me next year. This makes checking posts and critiquing and posting sporadic also. This is similar to a lot of others.
This may be why we have luls in people offering critique and comment. It just means that when we can get on then we should be active in all forum activities that we can.

This thread has been a great read, and very interesting in scope, but there are still only a few making their presense felt.
I'm really just greatful that someone takes the time to set this up and keep it running for us.

[biggerry]

I'm really just greatful that someone takes the time to set this up and keep it running for us

Thats an interesting point, and I deviate alittle here from the topic at hand - the site owner and hoster are a crucial point in the equation, however, realistically, its the community that makes or breaks the forum / site. I am not only grateful to teh site owner, but also all those who participate here for I feel they make it what it is! This has become more prominent in my mind given the potential closing down of another Australian based forum, many here would be aware of this and can probably agree that irrespective of the person who founded/owns it its the active community that matter and should dictate the future of the forum - however I digress and its getting late after many a japanese sweet potato based cocktail....

[Nnnnsic]

irrespective of the person who founded/owns it its the active community that matter and should dictate the future of the forum

Which is actually the reason I asked for help from the community.

[Matt. K]

I think that there is some value in simply saying "I like that image". Sometimes it's enough to simply hear that and feel rewarded for going to the trouble to post in the first place. On the other hand, I would not normally say "I don't like that image" without giving a reason.

[surenj]

I think that there is some value in simply saying "I like that image". Sometimes it's enough to simply hear that and feel rewarded for going to the trouble to post in the first place. On the other hand, I would not normally say "I don't like that image" without giving a reason.

[Frankenstein]

I think that there is some value in simply saying "I like that image". Sometimes it's enough to simply hear that and feel rewarded for going to the trouble to post in the first place. On the other hand, I would not normally say "I don't like that image" without giving a reason.

And reading through this thread makes me realise how little feedback I've been giving to others' images, so I'm trying to extract the digit and comment more often.

Frank

[ATJ]

Leigh,

Here's a suggestion that may be worth looking into for Image Review and Critique. If you could set that forum up so instead of just showing a list of subjects, if it could also show a thumbnail of the first image in the first post it would make it easier for people to review the threads rather than just going off the titles (which are often misleading). This may not increase the number of comments but may decrease the number of views without comments. For example, if the images are of a subject that doesn't interest you, you don't have to open the thread. It may, however, increase interest in some threads where the title undersells the image.

Another benefit would be to make it easier to review images for Picture of the Month. You could just scroll through the list to remind yourself of images you had looked at over the last month.

Note that this is not a unique idea to me. NatureScapes.net does it.
Here are some examples:
http://www.naturescapes.net/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=29
http://www.naturescapes.net/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=5
http://www.naturescapes.net/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=4

[photohiker]

Also worth looking at is bushwalk-tasmania's competition system. It is probably nearest to the DSLRUsers bimonthly competitions in format (popular vote determines winner), but the coding and entry structure and rules is nicely done.

Agree with ATJ regarding the forum format for the image reviews. Some of the better marketers steal the odd click and others probably miss one through lack of effective descriptions in the post title.

Michael

[gstark]

Leigh,

Here's a suggestion that may be worth looking into for Image Review and Critique. If you could set that forum up so instead of just showing a list of subjects, if it could also show a thumbnail of the first image in the first post it would make it easier for people to review the threads rather than just going off the titles (which are often misleading). This may not increase the number of comments but may decrease the number of views without comments.

That's a very interesting mod. I see that they're running phpbb, but I cannot find the mod that they've implemented. Could you please be so good as to ask the admins of that system for the details of the mod that they've applied for that?

[gstark]

Also worth looking at is bushwalk-tasmania's competition system. It is probably nearest to the DSLRUsers bimonthly competitions in format (popular vote determines winner), but the coding and entry structure and rules is nicely done.

Michael,

I'm not so sure with this one. They appear to have a custom form or two where you upload your images for entry.

That seems to permit them to aggregate the uploaded images into a single post, with a poll, which is what I suspect we are seeing in the reference that you've given.

Please feel free to correct me if you believe I'm wrong.

[ATJ]

That's a very interesting mod. I see that they're running phpbb, but I cannot find the mod that they've implemented. Could you please be so good as to ask the admins of that system for the details of the mod that they've applied for that?

Bad news, I'm afraid. The admin let me know that it was a custom mod they paid to have written. It is not publicly available. Oh well, there goes that idea.

[photohiker]

Also worth looking at is bushwalk-tasmania's competition system. It is probably nearest to the DSLRUsers bimonthly competitions in format (popular vote determines winner), but the coding and entry structure and rules is nicely done.

Michael,

I'm not so sure with this one. They appear to have a custom form or two where you upload your images for entry.

That seems to permit them to aggregate the uploaded images into a single post, with a poll, which is what I suspect we are seeing in the reference that you've given.

Please feel free to correct me if you believe I'm wrong.

That seems to be about it. I think they have coded the process behind the scenes so there is less work for the admins. They require exif as verification of taking date. I haven't entered anything there but tasadam has, I think he's a member here he may have better info.

Michael

[gstark]

That's a very interesting mod. I see that they're running phpbb, but I cannot find the mod that they've implemented. Could you please be so good as to ask the admins of that system for the details of the mod that they've applied for that?

Bad news, I'm afraid. The admin let me know that it was a custom mod they paid to have written. It is not publicly available. Oh well, there goes that idea.

All is not lost though. That is a good mod, and it's given me a couple of ideas.

Implementation may present some issues: there must be some overhead in converting each image to a thumbnail - that would need to be done upon initial posting of the image. Are images actually uploaded to the site, or are they, as we do here, hosted at offsite repositiories?

[ATJ]

Implementation may present some issues: there must be some overhead in converting each image to a thumbnail - that would need to be done upon initial posting of the image.

They are. They appear in the forum index as soon as the thread is created.

Are images actually uploaded to the site, or are they, as we do here, hosted at offsite repositiories?

Both, I believe. All my images were hosted on my site, but I believe that some users upload theirs to NSN.

[zafra52]

Sorry, wrong thread.

[DVEous]

... Obsolete ...

[Potoroo]

It's taken me almost 2 weeks to stumble across this thread.

It's a shame you didn't actually read it.

I think you have some good points about the purpose of forums such as this, but you managed to over-shadow them by concluding with this:

Nobody seriously interested in photography would be running a 1024x768 display anyway.

That is staggeringly arrogant and ignorant. If you had been paying attention you would have noticed at one point I mentioned sometimes logging in here using my 15" laptop with its 1440x900 resolution. Gary similarly mentioned using a 13" MacBook and a netbook. No doubt there are others in similar situations. It is offensive to suggest we are not "seriously interested in photography" because we are not carting our 1920x1200 monitors around with us wherever we go.

[gstark]

An upfront and totally frank opinion.

Which we truly appreciate

Sadly, Adam, you added this little piece ...

Nobody seriously interested in photography would be running a 1024x768 display anyway.

As Potaroo mentioned, this indicates that you have simply not bothered to read this thread.

Certainly, for most photographic processing tasks, you are probably close to correct.

However, most tasks that many of us perform on our computers have little to do with photographic processing.

I do software development to earn my meagre living. For that I use my desktop system, with its wde screen 1600+px display. That is but one of four computers in my living room that I use on a regular basis.

Most of my email and websurfing - which includes viewing this site - happens on my 13" Macbook. That system also travels with me on many occasions.

When I'm at the radio station, my broadcasting is done on my 10" MSI Wind. Great system, dual boots into OSX or XP, and serves up my radio programs' music needs effortlessly. I also use it for email and websurfing while I'm at the station, because I can. It also travels very bloody well, being small, lightweight, and powerful enough to handle most tasks I throw at it. I've even used it for in-site PP at a pinch, just so I could get images resized and posted up to the internet.

I even view the forum from my iPhone on occasion, and I know that many others do as well.

And there is no way in the world that I would dare to suggest that I know how others might use their systems to access the forums.

What I do understand is that 800px seems to be a universally acceptable and workable width for images ...

And it's what we're currently stuck with, because of the forum software limitations. You might have picked up that detail too, had you taken a few moments to read the thread.

Cheers.

[biggerry]

It's a shame you didn't actually read it.

being a bloody long thread I cannot blame you, I am struggling to remember some the first posts in it, however, given that is is calling for opinions, thoughts and the like from the community, it is certainly worthwhile to sit down with a coffee and spend the 10 mins to read through the whole thing.

Some forums insist on EXIF data be included at the bare minimum. Using that, viewers can learn from your settings, see the result you achieved, and comment on that.

whilst insisting might be a bit too much, I think it should definitely be encouraged wherever possible, I know I regularly look at the exif data to gain clues on the images....good idea.

If you want to discuss the nuts and bolts of photography, great.
If you want to continue down this track of being nothing more than a picture gallery, then ok... that might appeal to somebody else.

probably a better way to phrase this might be; to have a better balance between image postings and techie stuff. I think both aspects are particularly important, a forum without user images (of any calibre) and full of gear reviews and howto's would be just dead boring for me. On the flip side, looking at photos only (of any calibre) on a forum is also dead boring - maybe not as bad as just techie stuff though I guess what I am saying is maybe a better balance would be better?

This is fine, but most of the posters aren't actually seeking C&C at all.

Then make it your problem to get in and critique them! I have very rarely seen images posted with any indication that they do not want critiquing. I know when I look at the images, even if it is just a cat, baby or whatever, I try and critique it and give feedback, even though I might not be at all qualified to do so - thats where I have found I have learnt stuff... I appreciate that seeing images posted with little or no explanation or comment is frustrating and even more frustrating when numerous critique is given but the OP does not follow up...it is then is just a 'look at me' gallery/post....

I know I like to see some explanation, even if its only about the location or people in the image (tech stuff is great tho). When you go to the trouble of resizing images for the web and uploading them then posting, I would have thought one would like to provide some details - i know I do..but thats me.

dull pompous forum

comparing this forum with other local ones, do you have the same opinion on the other ones? I find that numerous other local forums are dominated by image posting and are not all that different to this one, so I am interested to know more about why you think its dull and pompous, is it just because of the excessive images? the members? not enough techie stuff?

VK4CP, all said with due respect since you have been here substantially longer than me, however I believe you could show respect (to the people in this thread anyway) by reading the whole thing.

[Reschsmooth]

It's taken me almost 2 weeks to stumble across this thread.
That offers an indication of how frequently I visit here now.
It didn't seem that long ago, when it was several times a day.

So what, you're thinking?
A dull pompous forum is still going to be a dull pompous forum, no matter how you re-skin it.

...blah...
...blah...
...blah...

While you're at it, get rid of this ridiculous width limit that the forum resides within.
Let us get some benefit out of our modern, and often wide-screen, displays.
Nobody seriously interested in photography would be running a 1024x768 display anyway.

Or, you could have said you prefer to see a better balance between images posted for critique and technical discussion for education.

[zafra52]

I am still not sure if this the right thread...

It is a great idea and one that can become very popular, if done correctly. The question is how to implement it in such a way that it is transparent to all and it doesn't create any more work for you guys (those of you behind the scene making this site work).

I would suggest a system of voting per picture (1 = good, 2 = very good and 3 = exceptional) next to each picture published. Then a clever script adds all the points either showing the total votes collected or a graph as a percentage, may be in a different page altogether.

Problems are:
1) I have not idea of programming and I can be of very little help.
2) I would not know how you could prevent people from voting for their own pictures
3) Or voting twice for a friend.

However, the key thing here is that to make it successful a you cannot rely simply in the memory or notes of members. Many pictures are erased soon after they are critiqued. Above all, you need to make it as simple as you can for yourselves.

[bago100]

Hi All

I've read this thread and have discovered that it is a very complex topic indeed!

Here is a couple of points from me;

1. I love the forum because it is familiar, simple, clean, well moderated and if anyone abuses the rules gentle chiding always follows.

2. People these days seem to be increasingly time poor. I know that I just don't have the same amount of time that I once did to pursue my interests and thus I have become one of those occasional visitors and a very occasional posters, mostly because by the time I read a post, someone has said pretty much what I would have said anyway.

3. With respect to critiquing the photos of others - I have to say that I, like many other forum members do not feel confident that I can make authoritative comment that might assist the poster or the thread reader for that matter to improve their photography. Sure, I can say whether or not I like a photograph, and that hopefully might make the poster feel good about their photo - Surely, there is no harm in that.

On the other hand, I have not commented on photos that I don't like because it's been drummed into me from an early age that if you don't have anything pleasant to say, then don't say it and besides, I don't like causing possible upset or negativity anyway. It does take time to prepare and post a photo for comment, so that is appreciated anyway.

Still, I nearly always learn from the experienced member photographers and always read their critique views carefully even though there is often disagreement between the views - points of view are always interesting to the thinking person.

This forum is great and it is the one forum that I always feel that I belong to. Most of the long time posters are like old friends and it is therefore a warm and fuzzy place to visit and one that I recommend to any person that I meet who is interested in photography.

However, I also recognise that change is constant and necessary, and if Gary and Nninsic feel that change is the way to go, you won't hear a grumble from me.

Cheers as always

Graham

[aim54x]

I have to say that this thread has given me a kick to stop lurking and start posting!

[Nnnnsic]

I haven't read the thread for a couple of days because my system has been sort of shifting to a new install of Windows, but...

I do get what you mean with the size restrictions. The point of 1024x768 isn't the right one to make, rather the argument is about fixed vs. fluid, not about resolutions.

At a fixed size, it is how you see it. At the time we put this up, it worked and we were able to use a selection of random images that gelled with forum. We didn't have to shift much from the phpBB templates and just added some simple and subtle changes. In version 1 of the forum, I can remember creating a black theme called "brokenLCD" that no one used. Or mostly no one used. It had taken me a while and it felt like sort of a waste because no one even knew it was there, so that sort of gave me the reason to not go ahead and make something from scratch for Version 2 (what we're currently running).

What we now have to wonder is if we want a fluid design. A fluid design is sort of how it sounds: like a fluid, it can expand or shrink and is dependent on the resolution and width of the browser you're using. Traditionally, there's a width limit in a fluid size so if the page say has three columns and your browser is squished to 500 pixels wide, you might find that you get a horizontal scrollbar because you've tried forcing a resolution too small for the website to conform to.

However, we have had enough comments for the past year to suggest that fluid is what people want. It wouldn't matter if you were using 1024x768, 1440x900 or 1680x1050 because it will always stretch to the width of your browser.

There is, however, a catch.

Going fluid tends to throw design completely out of the window, and it is for this reason why most websites are using fixed sizes lately.

[Potoroo]

Going fluid tends to throw design completely out of the window, and it is for this reason why most websites are using fixed sizes lately.

The Web, of course, was never intended to use "design" (clients were always intended to be able to override the server's markup), but that's an argument for another day. My issue is the larger file sizes that come with larger image sizes.

[gstark]

The Web, of course, was never intended to use "design"

Nor graphics.

Nor markup, truth be told.

Originally, it was pure text only. And there are still text only web and email clients.

[Mr Darcy]

Originally, it was pure text only. And there are still text only web and email clients.

Ahh. I have fond memories of Charlotte!

[biggerry]

it was pure text only. And there are still text only web and email clients.

ascii prOn forever!

Ahh. I have fond memories of Charlotte!

I bet you do and I am sure we are not talking about the pretty girl down the road....

[SteveGriffin]

If I can pay rather than have my screen cluttered with advertisements count me in for some cash. I have really found it hard to come to this place since the ads begun!

[colin_12]

Where as I feel that Gary and Co, have managed to keep the advertising to the minimum and very unobtrusive.

[CraigVTR]

I like the new full width style. Although some area of the dark grey writing on a light grey background are a little hard to read.

[CraigVTR]

What happened, the forum has gone back to the fixed width style. Did I stumble accross something I should not have this morning.

[Mj]

Some forums insist on EXIF data be included at the bare minimum. Using that, viewers can learn from your settings, see the result you achieved, and comment on that.

whilst insisting might be a bit too much, I think it should definitely be encouraged wherever possible, I know I regularly look at the exif data to gain clues on the images....good idea.

For those that know me (I've been fairly quiet these past couple of years) you may remember that I've been quite keen that we include in image posts, details of how the image was created, pp'd etc etc.
At least the inclusion of EXIF data in a ready to read manner (i.e. I don't want to download each image and use a special program to see it) would be great.
There are times when you sight an image and you'd really love to know how it was done (at least technically). Also it can help, when people post an image asking for help, if some technical detail of the image was provided, so you have some clue where to start providing advice.

I'll go back to sleep now...  btw... whatever happened to that mascot?

[mozzie]

Where as I feel that Gary and Co, have managed to keep the advertising to the minimum and very unobtrusive.

I have been reading this thread and haven't had an aweful lot to say. But I totally agree. I have barely (more like almost never) noticed the ads. I wouldn't mind paying to be on the forum. I love what it has to offer. A lot of the times I just read rather than comment but none the less very worthwhile.

[biggerry]

Any updates for Project Synthesis slated for 2010?

everyone needs to jump on board.

anything we as members can do? It would be great to see some new stuff for 2010, member nominated and voted picture of the month maybe? gallery of POTW winners?

[aim54x]

....what is happening with Project Synthesis?

[surenj]

I had forgotten about this thread.... I am sure something is brewing in the background...

[Aussie Dave]

It's only taken me 6 months to come across this thread - how embarrassing.
I, too, haven't been very active on this forum for a while now...mainly due to other commitments etc.

If I could add my $0.05 (as I believe $0.02 is no longer valid currency on this forum )

In terms of the Image Review & Critique debate, I agree that it can sometimes be OK to reply with a simple "I like it".
But this should depend on what the original poster is looking for (which should be clearly communicated in their post).

Some OP's may say "what do you think ?", which to me means they would be happy for any kind of review/critique.
Someone who takes the time to explain what they did (or tried to do) with their photo should be given a more detailed review, and short & sharp reviews should not be given.
Of course this doesn't mean that detailed critiques shouldn't be given to those that don't necessarily ask for it, but I feel that if someone intentionally asks for honest review/critique the least the community can do is to give it (in a constructive way - of course).

As I haven't been around a lot lately, I'm not sure how much of what is posted in this thread has/hasnt been implemented.
I really liked CHIMP and thought it was a great idea. I hope this will make a comeback (if it hasn't already).

As for the 800px max. I don't see a problem with this....particularly as I am typing this post on my BlackBerry (which is running 320 x 240px ).
Even at home on my 24" monitor, I think 800px is a good compromise between being big enough to view as a large thumbnail (of sorts) and keeping the filesizes small enough so threads don't take long to load.

This forum is great and I often drop by to have a look at a few recent posts, even though I haven't posted much.
This is something I want to change in 2010, so I look forward to being more of a "community player"

Looking back on earlier days, I really enjoyed the monthly comps and remember the time Leigh broadcast from the AW (I think this was the 2nd anni). Those were the days...

Keep up the good work guys. Gary, Leigh and all the Mods do a great job keeping this forum going and free from trouble.

[Nnnnsic]

There's a term we have in screenwriting called "development hell"

That's basically where Synthesis is.

We come up with several ideas, work on all of them, but can't decide whether we should migrate or not.

*sigh*

And now that I have a job.

*double sigh*

I'm trying to find some way of making the forum better, more accessible. Trying to find the trend that will replace forums or at least improve them. I already have the contacts for making the forum more knowledgeable (how many people here as of yesterday - before announcement - had played with a 550D? ) but it's a time and exhaustion issue.

Luckily, my brain never sleeps.

[Steffen]

I'm trying to find some way of making the forum better, more accessible.

Would you consider supporting tapatalk? That certainly has made many forums more accessible to me.

Cheers
Steffen.

[losfp]

Agree, Steffen. I have just discovered it, and it makes viewing forums on a phone much easier!

I believe it is free for forum admins to download a small plugin for their forum.