Is this as bad as the voters say? I often do not get very high c-indexes and can life with it, but I can not see, why this is 15 (10 votes). The sky is perfect and even you might not like the motive, it is clear and sharp. Thanks for your comments.

It's not that bad, but it's not very good either. The most glaring mistake is that it's obvious the steeple is supposed to be vertical but it's actually quite a few degrees off. Other minor things are that there's a bit of noise, especially in the sky, and the contrast is a bit low in the part of the building that's in shade (bottom of the image).

Also the composition is not very good. The steeple is dead centre, one of the clock faces is obscured by a street lamp and the rooftops that are barely visible don't add anything to the picture (I would show more or none at all).

Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about c-index as it's not very meaningful. Also after day 1 it might change quite a bit, because even though it says you got 10 votes now, at the time the index was calculated maybe there were only 5 (I think that's the bottom limit) and as more votes come into the calculations they might change things.

And when I say the c-index doesn't mean anything, I really mean it. Think about it. In order to be able to upload an image to caedes.net you first need to cast at least 10 votes. This means that most of the voting is done by people who upload. Now if you look in the new images directory, you will see at least 80 or 90% of the images there are utter crap. And it's the people who upload this crap (myself included) that are the ones who determine the c-index.

So don't worry about c-index and keep doing what you're doing. You're on the right way (as far as I can tell, which might not carry much weight as I haven't arrived there yet either).

Okay, thank you. Thanks also for the hints about doing better. I know, that c-index is not the most important thing here, but it is still something, I look at, since it gives me a good feeling, when it is higher ... higher than 15. And since I do not think, I will make it in a galerie soon .... But thanks for your comments!

Yeah, admit it or not, that's what we're all here for, to get a c-index in the nineties. :)

Btw, here's the gallery of a girl that seems to be doing similar type of photography as you: poppaea. Might give you some ideas, although I've been looking at those Louvre shots myself for a while now and I still haven't got the slightest idea as to how to replicate them. :-X

Oh yes, I know her galerie. She is doing fantastic work.

Yeah, and notice how those amazing pictures are rated in the 70's! IMHO some of the most amazing night time architecture photography and the masses are rating it 7/10!

On the other hand if you post a pretty flower or a landscape (or a mushroom :-X), you're almost guaranteed a 75 c-index...

Will leave the city in spring and try, if this is true. Smile.

"On the other hand if you post a pretty flower or a landscape (or a mushroom :-X), you're almost guaranteed a 75 c-index... "

I apologise for interupting this thread but I have to disagree!! I don't do mushrooms but I do landscapes and 'pretty' flowers and I wish they were all in the 75 bracket !! As some people have publicly stated they automatically vote low on 'yet another flower picture' there is less chance of scoring high than in some other areas.

As for poppaea's gallery - it is amazing and I agree some of the scores are lower than I personally would have rated them.
In the end its what people want on their desktops, and often photographic skill is taken into account less than the x-factor which makes a picture stand out from the rest. I am not saying that is good, just the way it seems.
When you see a picture that combines the two - photographic expertise plus that elusive x or wow factor there is always a high score in the c-index for it, they can't help but be winners.

Sabine, I see your picture increased to 20. I would rate it higher. I do not see any noise in the sky but I do not have an LCD monitor and I know that can make a difference. It is a picture I would be happy to have on my desktop as I like the combination of colours. The comments that miran has made are all very relevant and would improve the overall composition immensely. Your picture "Only a stone's throw" I think is a perfect example of a good composition. Your uploads are always accompanied by a good description which is a bonus. I enjoy your work a lot.

if i can add my two cents..i just visited poppaea's gallery. Louvre II got a 72. nice enough, but i can't see where the other 28% of that score was lost. she got lowballed, and that's a shame.

About Poppaea's gallery, be sure that the Mods have an eye on it :-)
Gallery Lafayette was recently moved in the perms. The other night photos from the Louvres are too new actually...

Your Imperial Palace is interesting on the history point, but I've to agree with Miran's critics.
The bell-tower should have been verticaly set and more importance given to the body of the building, IMO.

Thanks a lot. I got a lot of answers, that dealt with horizontal and verticaly lines, so I try to take care of that more. But thanks for taking the time.