Photo Forum Guidelines

General Forum Posting Guidelines can be viewed [URL="http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/faq.php?faq=vb_faq#faq_postingguidelines"]here[/URL].

Please review the following guidelines for the BMW MOA Photography Forum:

Specific guidelines for the photography forum:

1. The photography forum is for learning about all things photographic—especially, though not exclusively—as it relates to BMW motorcycling, and the experience should be both fun and rewarding. Posts must be photography related.

2. No provocative content, period. The internet is full of places to post and view provocative, gory, or pornographic images. Our photo forum is not such a place. Our mission is enjoying the hobby of photography and improving techniques. We seek to appeal to a broad audience. Provocative or extreme content cannot be posted here.

3. All photographs must be property of the individual posting them. Respect other photographer’s rights. No cross posting or linking to someone else’s pictures. If you see a photograph of interest that you may have questions about or you think may be relevant to a given topic, then post a link to the entire page on which it appears, so the originator gets credit for his/her work. However, let’s keep it to a minimum; this forum is for your work

4. Please, no “my camera is better than yours” or such-and-such brand sucks. Do discuss what you like or dislike about a particular product or brand, but be informative and don’t engage in brand-bashing.

5. Exercise discretion when discussing anything that could put a rider at risk, e.g. which hand should I hold my camera in while riding? Simple enough, right? Think about what you are asking about before you post.

Guidelines for photography assignment threads

1. Keep your posts relevant to the topic of each post. This is not to say that joking and kidding around is unacceptable, but let’s try to limit it when requested within the guidelines of a particular thread. We’re still experimenting here, and one solution we are trying is to have one thread for photo and one for comments for each assignment. Please read and follow the directions given in the first post for each.

2. Photo criticism: When people ask for C&C (comment and criticism), please give it to them; however, "that's a great picture" or "that sucks" is really not very helpful. Try to give some substantive advice. If you like the photo, say why specifically. Conversely, if you have a problem or suggestion, be specific.

3. Even when asked for, criticism can be intimidating or even threatening. When critiquing another member's work, remember to critique the work and not the person. A good way to do that is to avoid the word [I]you[/I]. We also suggest that you balance your criticism in a given post equally between constructive and positive. When pointing out areas for improvement, don't overlook the opportunity to point out what's good. One tried-and-true approach is the "sandwich method." Start with a positive, then make a suggestion for improvement, then end with another positive. While this may seem "touchy-feely" to some, it really does work well and is often necessary. Too many of us take criticism personally when that is not at all the intent of the critic. Basically what we're saying is, play nice.

Final Words:

Again, we want to stress above all: HAVE FUN, EXPERIMENT, and EXTEND YOUR LIMITS. You will quickly discover a whole new way of looking at photography, motorcycling, and the world around you as you explore this medium.

Thanks for your consideration. Post early and post often!

Your moderation team.

Tom,

Thank you very much for spearheading this forum. It will be fun and educational.

Your guidelines above are right on the money.

<center><img border=2 src=http://bmwdean.home.att.net/jeff.jpg></center>

Tom,

Seconded. This could be a lot of fun.

[QUOTE=bmwdean;283543]Tom,

Thank you very much for spearheading this forum. It will be fun and educational.

Your guidelines above are right on the money.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Jeff and Doug. Much appreciated--we have a great group starting this up.

The guidelines above were written by Rocketman with a few additions from me and substantial editing by username. Like most worthwhile enterprises, a decidedly group effort.

let me just add that I'm looking forward to working with [B]everyone[/B], not just the other moderators, to make this a fun and informative place, remember, this is [B]your[/B] forum, just as it is [B]your[/B] club. I see my role simply as guide and to help ensure it provides the maximum benifit to the greatest number.

I hope you will grow with us and that we will see many new faces/avitars in the coming days. Please feel free to PM either Tom or myself with any thoughts, conserns or ideas you may have on how we can improve your experiance. Tom and I plan on remaining very much in contact, so look for new ideas down the pike as we get our feet wet.

But for right now, lets see how things fall out, and enjoy your time here.

RM

Oh, yeah, I forgot to add..Jeff Dean, I must insist that posting pictures of machines that induce serious bike-envy in the hearts of the Moderators will NOT be tolerated!:laugh

What is the desired image size when posting to this forum? Does cropping constitute image modification in terms of the weekly photo assignments? I am very interested in participating in this, but shoot most of my stuff at 3008 x 2000 px. This is huge for most forum users, especially those with slow or dial up connections.

Beyond that, Kudu's to the moderators for their dedication. For me, this forum is a wonderful mix of two of my favorite toys!

I'd also like to suggest an idea for a future assignment as the weather starts to warm up: A One Day Get-Away. Where will you go on the first nice day after a long spell of not riding? A favorite road? Maybe a good destination or just great scenery. It should be a fun slice of local riding.

Art
aka Kartcon

[QUOTE=kartcon;283675]What is the desired image size when posting to this forum? Does cropping constitute image modification in terms of the weekly photo assignments? I am very interested in participating in this, but shoot most of my stuff at 3008 x 2000 px. This is huge for most forum users, especially those with slow or dial up connections.

Beyond that, Kudu's to the moderators for their dedication. For me, this forum is a wonderful mix of two of my favorite toys!

I'd also like to suggest an idea for a future assignment as the weather starts to warm up: A One Day Get-Away. Where will you go on the first nice day after a long spell of not riding? A favorite road? Maybe a good destination or just great scenery. It should be a fun slice of local riding.

Art
aka Kartcon[/QUOTE]

I suggest resizing them down to 800 pixels max. Perhaps even 700. It annoys people (don't ask how I know) when you post photos that cause the post to widen beyond the screen's width. If you can't resize, then use the html code (< bracket)img width=xxx src=name.jpg(> bracket) to get them sized down.

[QUOTE=kartcon;283675]What is the desired image size when posting to this forum? Does cropping constitute image modification in terms of the weekly photo assignments? I am very interested in participating in this, but shoot most of my stuff at 3008 x 2000 px. This is huge for most forum users, especially those with slow or dial up connections.

Beyond that, Kudu's to the moderators for their dedication. For me, this forum is a wonderful mix of two of my favorite toys!

I'd also like to suggest an idea for a future assignment as the weather starts to warm up: A One Day Get-Away. Where will you go on the first nice day after a long spell of not riding? A favorite road? Maybe a good destination or just great scenery. It should be a fun slice of local riding.

Art
aka Kartcon[/QUOTE]

A: What Jeff said.

B: Thank you. As Rocketman has said, this is your forum. We're grateful for your participation.

C: That is a great idea. Look for it in early spring.

[QUOTE=kartcon;283675]What is the desired image size when posting to this forum? [COLOR="Red"]Does cropping constitute image modification in terms of the weekly photo assignments? [/COLOR]

Art
aka Kartcon[/QUOTE]

To answer the question of [B]cropping[/B] for the photo assignments, the consensus seem to be that no, [B]cropping[/B] of the image is not done. Note this is not the same as [B]resizing[/B] where we are simply changing the height and width of the image not removing any part of it. And I think 700-800 pixels for the width is a good rule. Let the height fall where it will. Also consider changing the DPI to 75 to improve loading times, both for viewing and sending if you use the "attachment" method.
While the resizing using the forum img tools will work, I would imagine you are still pushing the entire, larger image across. Every digital camera maker that I have seen includes some basic editing software, and there is a number of free tools available on the web. Look for this type of information in the coming days, a "Useful Links" type thread may be just the ticket for such.

RM

I'd like to say that the advent of the photography forum has been a significant value add to the MOA Forum. Thank you to the individuals who are taking the extra time to make it work and those of your contributing.

Yesterday I went out with my camera and tripod for the primary purpose of capturing some better quality pictures. I've already learned a lot from people here. I like to lurk in other photography forums, but would never post my amateur work there, nor do I think they'd be receptive to the heavy motorcycle content.

:thumb :thumb

Agreed with Gail, this is a nice addition to the forum. I hadn't bothered to post anything in the MOA forum for months and months, until the photo area was added.

A question on submitting photos if I'm using film.... I saw that Exif data is required. I don't have any, since I'm just scanning film, unless the scanner creates some Exif data. But even if it creates some for itself, that would still not capture aperture / shutter info, nor camera info.

:scratch

I guess I'm asking what to do about Exif data, or are film users exempt, or disqualified?

[QUOTE=DougGrosjean;296420]Agreed with Gail, this is a nice addition to the forum. I hadn't bothered to post anything in the MOA forum for months and months, until the photo area was added.

A question on submitting photos if I'm using film.... I saw that Exif data is required. I don't have any, since I'm just scanning film, unless the scanner creates some Exif data. But even if it creates some for itself, that would still not capture aperture / shutter info, nor camera info.

:scratch

I guess I'm asking what to do about Exif data, or are film users exempt, or disqualified?[/QUOTE]

[B]Filmers get out![/B]

I'm sorry, I never should have said that. I can't back that up. You can come in, too.

We would like the EXIF date to be available if possible. Those shooting film can't provide it. Some shooting digital don't know how to access it. So far, it's only been used to answer questions such as "what shutter speed," etc.

So, in answer to your question, no biggie. Please DO submit anyway.

[QUOTE=SNC1923;296441] We would like the EXIF date to be available if possible. Those shooting film can't provide it. Some shooting digital don't know how to access it. So far, it's only been used to answer questions such as "what shutter speed," etc.

So, in answer to your question, no biggie. Please DO submit anyway.[/QUOTE]


Cool, thanks for the reply.

I usually have a pretty good idea of what shutter / aperture I shot at, so that's not a biggie.

And I can scan a little bit larger than the neg image for you, so you know there's no cropping going on.

Time for a decent used digicam, eh Doug? :D

[QUOTE=KBasa;296469]Time for a decent used digicam, eh Doug? :D[/QUOTE]

All in good time, Dave.

Actually, the latest rev. of the weather-resistant Olympus Stylus has really caught my eye. Submersible and droppable and IIRC about 7mp. Perfect..!

But no hurry, as SO and my son both have P&S digi-cams that I can borrow, and sometimes do.

Funny numbers below, related to my current film vs. digital use. My most recent trip, down Route 66 with my son in the Jeep this past summer, I prepared a slide show for a presentation at the local library. On the trip we had a Minolta Dimage, my son's Nikon digi P&S, a Rolleiflex TLR, and 100 y/o Kodak Panoram (120 film, 4 shots per roll), and a 35mm Widelux. Total slideshow images: 123.

Rolleiflex: 27
Kodak Panoram: 7
Widelux: 35

Nikon digi: 4
Minolta Dimage: 50

Film 69, digital 54.

OTOH, the only prints I've enlarged and framed from that trip came from the panoramic cameras. And of the 7 I've had matted and framed so far from that trip, 4 were from the 100 y/o Kodak Panoram and 3 were from the 50 y/o Widelux (1 was a Photoshop merge, a 360 of 4 images at Meteor Crater). The Panoram has a big edge on big enlargements.

I'm not quite at 50-50 on film vs. digi, but getting there. On one hand, the rechargeable digi batteries died at inconvenient times. OTOH, I ran low on film at times, too. So I think the ratio is about right above, for me.

Tonight I may shoot some film at Unicycle practice with my son. Probably use some medium-format b/w film, just because I can avoid digital P&S shutter lag (most riders, myself included, aren't real smooth in that little gym) and then soup it myself, and end with a BIG neg.

I guess what I'm saying, in way too many words, is that at this point I'm grabbing whatever camera will work well for the situation I'm going to be in.

The Route 66 presentation, I'm sure I'll be asked if my pics are film or digital. Would love to reply "If you can't tell, why ask?" But that would be rude. So I'll prolly just tell the truth and say it's a about a 56/44% split, film vs. digital.

Edit: Oops. Correct answer is they're all digital, since you're seeing them on a computer. But about 60% were shot on film.