Site Feedback

Bob broached:

Can a photo be entered into more than one category?

No. Nothing prevents you from submitting more than once, but we delete the duplicate entries and put it into the category we think fits best.

Mark marked:

I would also like to congratulate you on the site. It has developed very quickly into one of the top POTD sites. It is very profesionally run and excellently presented. Your hard work is appreciated.

One minor point. Maybe there is a little grey area between the general and open/abstract categories. Abstract isn't a problem but perhaps the difference between open and general might benefit from a little clarity. Probably just me!!!

Wow. Thanks. Based on the quality of the work submitted, I'm glad the photographers think so and have supported us so quickly.

We have added the POTD About Page to clear up just this sort of category confusion. Give it a look and let me know if it's still unclear.

If it is, then it probably IS just you.

I was wondering, do you guys have a link to the photographers winning shots like you used to. That is an amazing feature (avoided double submissions alot). Thanks for a great website and keep up the cool work.

followed by:

I just found the links to the winning shots. Sorry to bug you guys. Thanks for hosting a great site. :)

Ah! A victim of the new menus. FYI, the archive is located HERE. Look for a few more improvements to that feature soon.

Lyn Winans whined:

Love this site ... it's great to have something new and different. I do want to ask (moan, LOL) about a couple of things though. Being a northerner, I'm finding some of the catagories/theme a bit challenging given the 90 day limit. Short of crawling around in the basement we will soon be devoid of "bugs" ;>) Also, colours and harvest may work well further south, but the colours/harvest won't cut it here after today, too late. Was wondering if you'd consider backing the theme up a bit and maybe extending bugs to macro at some point.

Thanks ... from the people in the igloos

I understand your concern. We recently got some feedback from folks in Australia where they schedule their seasons differently from the USA. Come on! Really! Seriously though, I think there are enough categories to allow anyone to submit anything throughout the year. Plus, there is always crawling around in the basement.

As for a macro category, it is something definitely on the list for future growth. Some very good macro-shutter"bugs" out there.

Also Kerry Haines complained:

Would it be possible to include a B&W category as part of your POTD contest? I suspect many enjoy capturing images in this format. Rather than using your diverse "Open/Abstract" category, perhaps a separate B&W option would prompt additional interest. Thanks for your time.

Thanks for your time as well. Another good suggestion and one that is on the list for the future.

And Peter posed:

Ever consider a category for sports/action shots?

We have now.

Karen Chappell posed:

Did you recently change the size of photos you accept? I tried uploading one that is 640x480 (that's how I resize most of my photos for entering contests) and it was rejected. But I had one win before at that size and the winning photos today are that size. Would you consider allowing 640x480 to be uploaded? If not it will take a lot of work to resize and process all of the photos I want to enter.

You may have noticed that 640x480 is now accepted in the posting form. We had it set to 600 minimum size as a rule from the beginning -- but like most rules, they were made to be ignored.

The new form helps with categorizing and eliminating some basic rule violations, but the 600 pixel size minimum we decided to relax. That said, I believe most sites accept 800x600 images so they will show better on the web today. So if you can, start sizing them accordingly.

Bill "Michael" Vickers scribed:

So far everyone seems to feel that you are much more objective and all the POTD's have been worthy. It might be a good idea if you did a paragraph on how the POTD's are chosen...if that would be to your advantage and would show your objectivity

I've been called objectionable before, but wow... Objective! Of course my objectivity is very subjective -- especially to those who don't win each day. I've added a new page to explain a little about the POTD competition. It can be found HERE or in the POTD menu at the top of the screen. It details a little about the judging of photos and descriptions of the categories.

Be sure to let me know what you think!

Tenspeed and Brownshoe wrote:

Just wanted to take a moment to say thanks for the site. It is very easy to navigate, make comments and find information. The potd's have been wonderful as well. Thanks again.

Thank YOU again. All of you. You have really made this site a great success in little over a month.

I'm glad the user interface has been well-received. Look for some more tweaks and enhancements in the days or hours to come.

Couple of interesting comments have come in on our age requirement for the POTD competition. Thank you everyone for writing! Here are some of them -- I'll leave the names out, however.

First there was this:

Your "Keep it Fresh" rule is one of the best things about this site, because it keeps us clicking on a daily basis. I also enjoy reading your blog. Cute pup!

I agree our puppy is cute, thanks. I also wanted to make sure the photos we feature are recent so the site is "fresh" and interesting to all. But this seems to have angered a few.

Ok so I just read the 60 days rule. No offense to your site but I think that rule is kinda out there. You have to realize that most of us are amatuers that have a daytime job as well, and this is not the only site we submitt[sic] to. In my case, I go on a trip, take a lot of pictures and sit on them until I have time to do some post processing. This website is great, that rule is not. I would really appreciate it if you would consider waiving that rule.

I do appreciate that most of us are amatuers. As I stated in my blog, I get busy too and cannot get around to processing stuff as fast as I'd like. So I can relate to this very well.

However, the counter to this is that we're getting a lot of submissions from well-known photographers (at least in POTD circles) who take some EXCELLENT photos. The downside is these photos have won on other sites, some of them many months in the past. So a few are submitting older photos from their collection and the rule was to prevent that. We've already picked several that turned out to be "old news" in the DP community and that doesn't do anyone good.

Another benefit of this rule is that newer photographers stand a chance against some of the better known folks. I know it's very frustrating on other sites to see the same names over and over each day.

So what to do?

What about changing to photos up to 90 days old....this winter the guys in Canada may not get out for px, but will be editing their collection and may be more likely to post given an extra 30 days.

An excellent suggestion and one I think will address the main goals of this rule without being overly hindering to those with limited time.

So effective immediately, the POTD age rule is extended to 90 days old -- so the photo should have been TAKEN within the past 90 days from the date submitted.

I hope this works for everyone out there!

What do you think? Take a minute to let us know via the Contact Us page.

The Unknown Comic writes:

Just wanted to let you know what a great site this is!!!

Thank you very much whomever you are! I appreciate hearing feedback like this, so anytime, feel free!

I'm glad the site is meeting with the approval of most of you. My background is in web design and development, so it was only natural to combine this with photography and voila! photographyoice.com was born. As the site grows, I hope you'll continue to let me know what works and what doesn't.

Joy is back again with a great question:

Um...just wondering...your rules suggest that photos be no more than 60 days old, and today's General photo was POTD at [another site] way back on 1-31-06. I thought it looked really familiar?

Are we allowed to submit old photos from our files?

Just wondering. Thank you.

The 60-day rule is an honor system which unfortunately, some have not been observing. However, we will not revoke a winner after it's been named. Because some people forget to save their EXIF information after post-processing and our current system does not allow us to see the hidden details of a photo until after it's been selected as a winner. So catching older photos isn't as easy as those with borders or size problems.

Good eye catching that photo and remembering from way back. Our memory isn't that good. Of course that photo in question IS a memorable one.

The full rules are on the POTD Entry Page.

David writes:

Hi, Having been fortunate enough to win 2 POTD's recently, I was wondering how many entries are submitted daily for you to choose from. ie What's the competition?!!

First, congratulations on your wins. We've had some phenomenal photos sent in and we really have a lot of cream (of the crop) to choose from. That said, it's hard to nail down how many entries come in daily per category. Some are sent to the wrong category and we have to move them. Also, as we add categories, some get moved from their original submission category to a more appropriate one.

In addition, each submission is kept for two weeks, so it's not just the current days entries you're competiting against, but a full two weeks worth.

Anonymous writes:

Hi
Just found the Archives spot to enter your name etc THANKS it is a WONDERFUL feature so Family and Friends can look at our winning pictures all on the same page much easier. THANKS AGAIN for giving us a place to submit our pictures.

Sure. If you missed it, the POTD Archives page lets you search by photographer, camera, and category to see all the winners in a single spot. As Anon said, it allows family and friends a chance to come by and see all your winning entries. And you ARE telling your family and friends about us, right? Right?

Joy writes:

BTW, [a friend] and I were both saying how we really enjoy the presentation of your site, and the ease of use for commenting. Very well done, Kevin. I like how you use a variety of photographers, as well. All my favorite people and new names, too!

Thank you.
Enjoy your day.

Wow... with feedback like that, I certainly will. Thanks Joy (and friend) for your kind words. I hope all of you know that you can comment on any photo that wins POTD honors. Just click the "COMMENT ON THIS PHOTO" link next to each picture, type your name and comments and let your fellow shutterbugs know what you think!

Site Feedback is where we will print the letters and comments we receive from our readers. We will also attempt to answer any questions posed or find people who can. You are always welcome to send us a comment or suggestion for the site via the Contact Us page. Be sure to send your email address if you want a direct reply.