Hey, it's about time for another contest, but first we need a topic. Suggestions?

I'll start off with one idea.

"Not my job" contest in which artists choose a medium that they have not explored (would need a secondary title like "draw a frog").

Wow! I've never seen so many bird pictures in my life b4!!! What would I do? Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, good art for a change? =P

*edit* Howabout a black and white contest? All fractals must be in blk and white, same with photos, manips, etc etc...no color whatsoever! Greyscale...

B&W...interesting thought!!

A collab...in B&W...makes you go hmmmm

oooooohhhhh yummy...*rubs hands together in delight* i can already think of a few possibilities there...and there's a few fractal artists i'd love to work with here...
nicely done, noah..you might've struck idea gold there

I think this site needs a B&W section btw...but thats a different subject.

i'd agree with you..on both counts...this sounds like the kind of thing we're supposed to be submitting in the dev site

In the actual DEV site? Good idea..let me check it out, never actually walked around inside.

to be clear, i meant thats where i think we were told to make any site change suggestions

~tips out via the bathroom window~

no need, randy..i just want to make sure i was understood as suggesting the right thing..no hostility, malice, or quarrel to be had..i swear

Well I'm sure caedes will read my comment up there, and i posted it on the dev.caedes.net too. That should do the trick. =)

cool :o)

Great idea Noah, B&W would be great, I am sure alot of folks have old photos they could scan and manip.

Thanks. :-D I still like the co-op and notmyjob contest just as much.

Oh, i was just was looking at the new images gallery, and found this picture...why not a "love contest"? ..of course they wont all be like that, but thats just what gave me the idea. Like, something/sum1 that you love, like food, =)

...hmm, this isnt a very good idea, i cant think of anything to take a picture of.

already been done.......

i like the idea of the B&W contest

So one of the partners gets to do the black part, and the other gets the white. :) he he.

lol.

What about say there are four or so sentences, poems, or word arrangements of sorts.
People can choose one of the statements and try best to communicate one through an art piece, prize going to best expressed with little explanation or at least most capturing of the artistic spirit of the sentence poem whatever. They could be around a theme or not around a theme (seasons, frogs, 19th centry poetry, music whatever). But random words or un-themed would be fun too (my preference). Just a thought......Call it "Words are not Enough" (LOL).......title meant to be cheesey........ Merci my friends.

I like your idea, Ladyprariefire . I think that that would be an excellent idea.

Possibly a thought-provoking quote or maybe something inspirational?

"Et tu Brute?" =) I can think of some savage ones for that.

i'd go more, "Don't shoot till you see the whites of their eyes."

lol. lets see....

The Journey of a thousand Miles Begins with a broken Fanbelt and a flat tire

"everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it"

"A ship in harbor is safe, yet that is not what a ship was built for"

I think Quotes and World Proverbs (not the book of the bible) would be a neat theme for this idea. There could be a list of ten good ones that all people can relate to (I mean they have probably heard them before and are easy to understand), but are very interesting and challenging still.

again - that has been kind of done in the In Print contest - so it's always more fun to try something different :-)

In keeping with the "Not my job" theme… how about doing Occupations? Teacher, Office Asst, Artist, Fisherman, Professional Lazybones, etc. Could show either work environment, related objects, or work in progress.

well, that would actually be a great B&W feature. nothing tells a story like black and white.

Or or! We can all do picture mosaics with all their [legal] images on their computer! That would look pretty good in my opinion. This would be more of a collaboration of at least 3 people.

That is an interesting idea...

Why thank you. Picture mosaics actually look pretty good even when you dont have that many photos. (But you will have to have a more general 'big picture,' like a plain flower).

I have read all the comments. I love the idea of a B&W photos, and also recently I have been thinking how I love challenges, pushing my limits, and I would love the theme of the contest to be that we submit work in a medium that we don't work in usually. That would be exciting to do and view results.

Anyone done B&W Photomosaics?

=) yesterday.

Oh, 1 request. Can this contest start at least 5 days b4 sept 5th [that makes it sept 1st]. School will start and I wont have as much time to spare.

My vote is in for...B&W [not many people post B&W but its fun] or Photomosaics [something that not many people have done...something new]. Preferably photomosaics...easy to do a collab with 2 or more people. =) ...and the software is free! =) For the ppl with slow internets they can partner up with ppl with fast internets and boss them around. ;-)

*note that i voted my own two ideas* =P *it was an honest decision*

omg, school cant start soon enough..5 days before sept 5th is Aug 31st...just thought you needed to know..ya know...for scheduling and stuff ;-)

-.- well, you got the idea. lol. "4 days before September 5th."

How about a challenge contest in B&W for using some sort of Special Effects from any program we have, such as Photoshop or PSP or any other ones...on one of our own photos, maybe a specific kind that is the suggestion of caedes.

I had one more idea, what about doing photos in B&W of some kind of architecture? Whether the building is old or new or one we recognize or not? We've all done some traveling, maybe we could take one of our architecture pictures and make it into a real bigtime ABSTRACT...

I rather like the black and white idea...I think the absence of color would place much greater demand on the composition itself which makes for an interesting and challenging idea.

b/w architecture...hmmmm...i have a ton of that, some just very recently shot, too...

Great suggestions thus far, and whatever is selected is sure to be fun! My two cent submission would be "something seasonal". Yeah, I'm lacking in the creativity department this morning, I know. But with Autumn, Halloween & Turkey Day approaching, you know there will be lots of visitors to Caedes seeking such wallpapers to display. So... if none of those other ideas pan out... this is a classic to fall back on. :)

We can do a B&W seasonal thing...yeah, that would work.

lol smoosh, that was actually the first thing suggested at the top of the thread, by yours truly..i guess great..and not-so-great minds think alike :P

I have to say that the B&W suggestions are all my favorites, as I'm in love with anything black and white (I actually just posted something in b&w). I liked the photomosaic one (tho I'm a bit afraid of doing it myself) and I think it would make it more challenging to do it in b&w to make the overall image stand out. And I liked the idea of expressing one of a predetermined list of words/phrases/quotes, as long as they don't turn out to be straight forward emotion-words (like love, hate, depression etc). Maybe we could expand that idea to pick your favorite novel and express it in one image? Almost like a book jacket design kind of thing....oh that makes me think of making your own book jacket for your own idea for a book too...
The co-op idea is also really interesting, though I think for that to work, it would have to be structured somehow because some people on the site may not know as many other people, whereas others would have an advantage by who they may know. A sign up of some kind and then a random assignment of a partner (by number of sign up or something) might fix that up?
I like the idea of the "job" theme, some kind of occupational thing (not the new medium idea...I'm scared of that one haha). It's got my wheels turning. Maybe something like, choose a hobby or a job you have outside of photography/digital art and express it?

I'm down with the b&w idea, either that or the collaboration idea. Either one would be cool..=)

I like Noah's idea of a collaboration contest, but black and white is good too. How about a "monotone" contest, so that entrants get artistic licence as to whether to use black and white or some other single-toned combination?

Monotone sounds like a better idea than B&W...

...in that case, fractals dont look too boring, and of course photographs have more choice.

what if, like myself, there are people who simply can't or won't put different programs on their computer...wouldnt some these ideas automatically exclude them?

A contest category that includes everyone is pretty hard to come up with.

ok, fair point...and not looking to argue here..but shouldnt some kind of effort be made to make it at least...somewhat inclusive?

and i'm done..promise

B&W is pretty simple to do, I think. I'm sure everybody who has a camera most likely got some software with it for B&W conversions. Then I'm also sure that many people also have photo editing software....maybe.

i do have an editing program, but it's just 'picture it' from msn...my computers not in any shape to load PS for now, which is where most of the whiz-bang effects come from, and thats more or less what i meant

Hmm, maybe i should find a 1kb BW converter program. ;) lol. Let me see what i can do.

Aha! About half a MB (dialup users can download it) i think: BWorks

Or here is another site (same program) that you can download from: Here

But still, many people probably arnt willing to download something like this, just for a contest...(The BW one I mean)

So, yeah, basically agreeing with 'third eye'.

If you look on the Freeware/Open Source thread, you'll find Photofiltre, an excellent freeware, Photoshop-pluggin compatible image editing program. It is also a lot like Photoshop, but more light-weight.

I'm gonna sound mean now… BUT… if you're not willing/unable to put other progs on your computer for the sake of your art… whether due to computer issues or money issues… then you're just s.o.l. ain't ya?

It's an art contest! No "dumbing down"! geez…

hmmm, sol huh? ok, so then this becomes a contest among those with financial means, instead talent...have fun..

Anyways...other ideas?

Hey… most people don't have the more advanced tools… I get that… it's a hobby here for most… but dumbing it down for people who have only the most basic of tools robs others of the option to show off portions of their talent.

It is by NO means a question of financial means vs talent, and I'm kinda insulted you took it that way. It's more a question of "If you want to explore your talent, you go out and buy the $20 paintbrush instead of the $1.99 one"… not "You can't get anywhere here unless you buy the $150 paintbrush"

On the other hand… that does raise another contest idea in my head… what about one that revolves around the basic shapes? Triangle, Circle, Square… what scenes/imags can you create using these building blocks?

I am sorry if I sound impatient. Contests shouldnt be this hard to produce. I can think of so many good reasons to have a monthly contest for Caedes that ties in with the seasonal Holidays, and themes for slow months.In Oct you do a Christmas theme so it will be ready to showcase by Nov. In Nov you do a New Years theme so it will be ready to showcase by Dec. etc. etc. The winner of each months contest is showcased in the Caedes calander. Because its a contest, that implies that everybody who wants to enter, submits their best effort, regardless of talent or equipement. And who cares how the picture is constructed, if its BW, CG, Fractal, etc. as long as it is germain to the theme, it is a valid entry. I know that if a five year old enters his crayon rendering, it more than likely stands a better than equal chance of winning compared to a 450hr CG Masterpiece. May I suggest we plan a whole years worth of monthly contests instead of repeating this same process of debate each time. And of course if you really think your theme deserves attention, you could volunteer to put up a . . .gulp! . . .CASH prize.

Opps! I almost forgot. For the month of Sept we should be doing Haloween stuff, so it will be ready to showcase by Oct.

Try organising one contest yourself before you suggest we should have one each month...

Rob (and others)...here's a site where you can download some free stuff...I often use the drawing program, the PhotoPlus program is similar to Photoshop, and there's a 3D program you can try too...of the 3 computers in our household, I get to use the crappy one but have had few problems with these programs...why not give it a try:

http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/

Just wondering, so I know how much I can procrastinate on other work, ;) when will this constest start? Like a general date.

FYI:
1) I may not participate, b/c I'm not a team player. =P
2) I'm just mainly curious of what the contest will be.

Oh, and do we still need ideas? If so:

1) A detail contest.
This is very vague, and could cause some confusion. I was thinking of well, just post a very very detailed something. But more expensive cameras would defeat the cheaper ones. So we'll scratch this idea of the list unless you have a way to make it better.
2) Scariest Wallpaper
Problem with this is some people (little kids, littler than me) may get scared and it may break some existing rules...but it's just an idea.
3) Time machine
Post something as if you took the image in the past or future. For fractals and other CG images...get creative? <-- Problem
4) Color Contest
Basically the direct opposite of my B&W idea. Post something that has soooo much color! Of course the winner will have a good looking post WITH a lot of color; a picture of an old tie-dye shirt won't cut it.
5) Quantity/repitition
Upload something that has a lot of the same thing. Like a few hundred candles lit, or a picture of a ton of chickens in one of those chicken farm/coop/hatchery(?) things. You get the idea. CG would get creative here, and fractals would make something that has a lot of repition.
6) I'm spent, there is no number six!

My old contest ideas were:

1) B&W
2) Photo Mosaic (I figured it would be more of a collaboration of 2 or more people)

Other existing ideas:

1) 'Not my job'
2) Fall/back to school
3) Show your area, places around you, local stuff, you get the idea.
4) Collaboration of 2 or more people
5) Street photography contest (no manip, etc)
6) Upload something that goes with the given statement
7) Architecture stuff
8) Seasonal uploads (I guess like #2)
9) Caedes calender contest for every month....errr
10) Did I miss anything on this thread?

Anybody got any more ideas!?

2 suggestions
1) Transport

2) 2nd time around

2nd time around could be where an image already shown on Caedes could be played with or multiple images combined (not necessarily by the original entrant)
This image could be chosen by the individual or perhaps from a group of images selected by Moderators

#2 is kindof like the 'Rework' section of Caedes, and also the 'Manipulation' contest that already happened.

Transport could be a good one, if you think about it for a second or two. I actually would like that contest. When I hear transport, I think anything that can take something from one place to another. So that could be anything from a skateboard to airplanes to wormholes to rivers...

...and night photography with car headlamps going to and fro. ;)

SUGGESTION: I was looking in the sef portrait gallery and there are some great creative images there. Has there ever been a contest with that theme? I like that idea. anne :-)

Anymore ideas or behind-the scene discussions going on about a possible theme or time frame for this contest?

here's a suggestion.. lets push the date on this "september" contest back a little...

How about pics of gravestones in the night, using flash. wal-la, black and white. Puts
four fingers over my eyes and my thumbs in my ears. Dwight.

Man, this new contest rocks!!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

...speaking of which, we could do a rather boring contest now. Theme: Boredom. =P

lmfao @ randy...ok, so it ISNT just me :P

Sorry, can't respond now....too busy crankin' out stuff for this new contest.

~face hits desk~

What about a contest where I win no matter what? no? well how about a contest for best tutorial?

That's not a bad idea, although it might be better as an unnoficial contest as it would probably limit the people who could enter. Certainly sounds like a good way to increase the number of quality tutes on the site though.

I have a gr8 tutorial!!! It's how to demolish a circuit board in 3 easy steps.

3? There's only one! It involves water, and power...

Anyway, haven't we too many ideas, and too little time to do this for September?

Maybe the Halloween Contest can be set up soon....? *hides*

Contest? Did somebody say we's gonna have a contest? No way! You sure?

~climbs out bathroom window and runs~

I know ! It's a contest for next September, right ? What a relief ! I have time :)

Idea: a contest about taking pictures of things, making them look like other things; i.e., a long time ago here I saw an image (sorry, can't remember who's) that had, as a part, something that looked like fanned brush bristles, but were actually the open pages of a book viewed from below. So maybe images of things that *look* like other things.

we could always just do a guess the artist number again while we think of something else :-)

What's this "we" business??? ;-)

the royal we meaning you, of course ;-)

Can we have a Card making contest...playing cards that is. A caedes deck would be nice...i would also make a bunch of members make cards for the little caedesdeck area. Hopefully after the contest every card will be done and then we can actually make a deck of cards. >_>

or - you could just volunteer for that already.....

...too lazy...plus mine wont look very good OH WAIT! I could use my little b&w caedes logo as a card...dashing idea

*edit* Ok..i looked at them...i dont think i could make a card look good.

ummm Noah hon... think there is already a Card deck thingo in progress has been for awhile now... cards

I know..but not many ppl do it...a contest would, give more, uh, publicity and more action...

That would be pointless, everyone already knows mine is the best.

Where have all the later ideas about collaborations or mixing styles gone? Or anyhting that has been considered as a good idea before. It just seems that everything that has been said before (like the never used ides for the previous contests) is forgotten... Or then I just don't read these threads carefully enough :P

How about a contest for natural design patterns found in nature like the spiral of a fern or the designs left by erosion on the earth. It doesn't matter where you live, you can find many designs in the natural world around you.
Russ

Good idea, Russ. The image manipulators/abstract folks could do things that mimic natural designs and patterns.

hmm, and with 'natural designs' we could employ the "Divine Ratio", which, according to some, is found in almost everything. That ought to keep all sorts of cross sections of the populus happy... the deeply religious, the math and physics people, etc

Great idea, unless you don't own a decent camera..=(

monotone/B&W sounds good and lets all artist types get involved if they are prepared to get the tools (from memory most fractal programs do B&W natively) divine ratio sounds good too

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Larry, you sort of reinforced a point i made, but from the other side of the coin. My point of contention was if someone didnt have the necessary software, or the funds to get their pc in shape in order to install them, they would be excluded from the contest. The same could be said for someone who doesnt own a camera. It's not as though one should have to spend money to qualify, so perhaps whatever we wind up doing...and whatever month (year?) we wind up doing it in, perhaps the guidelines should be more thematic in nature.
B&W, Collaborations, or whatever winds up being the final criteria, in order to be the most fair, and the most inclusive, should be something doable in various media. Caedesians and Mods, what say you?

Collaborations and B&W (especially that one) sound very good ideas and they both suit well for everyone. It would be nice to see who makes the best monotonefractal :P
(collaboration itself is quite wide as a category btw... the teams could just do whatever..)

I really think it's time for some great manipulation creations. Would be so interesting to see what everyone comes up with..V