Hi there everyone!

I posted a thread about the c-index being a bit off with many of us because of the voting system, but it got taken down. And rightly so, because apparently there had been a heated discussion on a another thread right before mine.

So I started trying to think around the problem. Why do pictures get bad votes when they are really not THAT bad.
Or why do bad pictures get good votes that they don't deserve?
Or mediocre photos, why don't they get mediocre votes?

The answer is pretty broad, a mixture of many things, one is personal opinion. Each one of us evaluates photos in a different way. One likes color, the other BW. Some like a single hue all over the picture, and the others want a rainbow of colors.
One reason is the voting routine. Some of us only vote when necessary to get our own picture in the voting booth. And some of us really just browse thru quickly without giving the necessary time to really be able to give a good vote.

These are things that cannot be helped now, or maybe not at all. And in the case of personal tastes, do not need to be helped. =)
So I tried to think further. What common denominator we have that could vary so much as to cause incorrect votes and comments across the system?

I opened my Caedes Control at work and it hit me. Me own photos looked TOTALLY different. I mean, they were too dark, did not have enough contrast, or looked.. well, not live in color at all.

My screen settings were right for the programs I work with, not bothering the eye at all, but the pictures of caedes did not draw well on it at all. If I cranked up screen brightness, the pictures would look like they look at home, but everything else would be too bright.

So there it is, there is the common denominator that I am sure plays a part in how we view and appreciate photos here. Our displays, their setting and their quality (my work monitor cannot compete with the one at home).

I dunno how this denominator could be removed either.. Maybe there is a site that offers a screen set up picture, with the grayscale for contrast and the color bars for color balance and warmth?

Anyways, If a picture looks too dark for you, maybe the uploading person has their brightness way too up, or your screen has brightness too down.
If the image does not look sharp, maybe your contrast is low, or the uploaders too high.

Not trying to get you people all fussy about your monitor settings, just wanted to bring up my brainfart.
Thanks for reading, and thanks even more for your feedback. =)

This is certainly an issue with some images. There is a physical device that you can buy which will calibrate your monitor as well as is possible, however the fact is that not all monitors will be able to reproduce an image the same way. In particular, there is a big difference between most CRT and LCD screens.

I was thinking this further, and realized that obviously there are also differences in our fotosensitivity (sensitivity to light).
People with a high FS have to have their screen brightness down or risk getting a splitting head ache. People with a low FS can have their brightness up and no problems.

I have been looking at those monitor calibrating devices -- was wondering how much of a difference they would make. I did get headaches several times recently when comparing the same image on three different computers! I call them the three bears... one is too pale, another too dark, and the last one is just right (one hopes). The problem with the 'just right' one is that the screen is back-lit, and that tends to make everything look beautiful! Then you come down with a real bump when you view the pictures on the other two monitors.

In addition, one screen is matte (the darker one) and two are glossy. But it does make it very difficult to come up with a picture that will look beautiful on all three monitors.

Yeah, my point exactly. And I think I know the bear at hand. =D

LOL, a very blue bear! :P

Surely monitor calibrating devices can only really be useful if everyone else is also using them??

I did read a comment on an image here recently suggesting that "99% of people have their monitor screens to light"... to me that is rather similar to saying that everyone drives on the wrong side of the road except me...

Most of my compositions are made on my old dinosaur desktop, which incorporates an old CRT along with a vintage graphics processor as opposed to my laptop, which uses LCD and graphics chipset technology, so there IS a noticeable difference...

And Samatar also has a point...calibration devices/programs can only be useful if everyone else is using the same type, with the same settings...

Yeah, that is very true. And even if all people used them, it still remains, that different screens produce STILL different qualities.
So, like I said, it's no to be solved, just to bring it out there.

I believe many people give bad votes without a second thought when they see something that is "too dark" or "too light", and some maybe see these often, but don't realize it is actually their screen thats the reason.