Commenting on others won't add any votes to yours.
I took the time to comment on every entry because I'm genuinely interested enough in what folks send in to look at all of them, so why not leave a comment. I appreciate every comment I get. I know it couldn't add points, no one knows which entry mine is at that point anyway. I guess the only reason I mentioned it here was to encourage people to take a little time and give some feedback if they would care to.
I've seen time and time again people saying "oh I could never comment, I'm no expert". Well if you vote, I think that qualifies you to comment. You are just letting the person know what you liked or disliked. Offering advice is not mandatory, neither is accepting it. If Dan said experts only can comment, then I wouldn't.
And what were
you looking to pick up from the past winners? Tips to help you
realize your own vision, or were you trying to get some sense of
what seems to be popular?
Exactly. I was looking to see what folks liked in general. And I read the comments people left for the winners. I definately was not looking for a "template" if you will. That would never work.
Please take a little time to help me out. Don't worry
about offending me! If you think it, say it!
Look at the thumbnail version of it. Does that really look
interesting to you? I very nearly didn't bother to look at the
large version because I could tell from the small version that it
was a simple showerhead photographed centered and flat. All the
pattern and composition was inherent in the showerhead design
itself rather than being the vision and work of the photographer.
In the large version, I could see that focus, color, exposure, etc.
were all superb, and the image has a wonderful poster graphic feel
to it, but you didn't
do anything with the repetition except
capture it--albeit attractively. (If you ever want to go into
commercial product photography, you should definitely include this
one in your portfolio. But be sure to make it large.)
Point well taken.
The thumbnail didn't do justice to the detail quality in the larger
version, but on the other hand it didn't lie about the shortcomings
of the overall composition either--too simple, too flat, and too
much of the real credit goes to some industrial designer somewhere.
If I had to rank all the entries, I definitely would not rank your
entry anywhere near as low as it wound up, but even having given
yours a hard second look, I don't think I would have bumped any of
my favorites for yours. But I'll also say this, if your entry was
exactly the picture you wanted to produce, then you should be happy
with it no matter what anyone else thinks--unless, of course, you
do want a career in commercial product photography.
Trog
Thanks very much. What you just gave me is information I can't get anywhere else. I think I've learned a thing or two in the last couple of months. I've had an interest in photography that started some 30 years ago. But except for what underwater video I've done, it's been dormant for probably the past 15 years.
I bought this Fuji camera thinking it would be great to have around as my nieces grow up, vacation, etc. And I could actually produce color prints of higher quality than I did in a darkroom in high school.
But from the time I pulled this camera out of the box it sparked an interest that I haven't had since I got my first 35mm back in the 9th grade. By coincedince it also was a Fuji. That was TOTALLY unexpected. And then I found this forum, and anyone can see why a person would stay here with all these great folks. And the challenges, well that's a great way to have fun with this fantastic camera. But again this was a total shock to me. I expected to use it a few times a year, but I take it with me everywhere I go.
Now I know this will come as a shock to everone here, ;-) but I've never competed in for lack of a better phrase, photo contests. If they needed a picture of the baseball team or the chorus, they lined up and I took the picture, developed it and turned it in. And it was never challenging to capture high school kids doing something stupid in the hallways. And EVERYONE was ready to do whatever it took to get their picture in the school newspaper or yearbook. I loved it.
I'm still not sure if your tounge was in your cheek when you talked about industrial product photography. I mean I guess there are photographers who do that kind of work but it sounds boring. But then so does taking pictures of kids at KMart. My chosen field is medical imaging. I can look at an xray image be it video or film, analog or digital, and tell you right away with great detail and accuracy what the problem is, if any. Not bragging I've just been doing it a long time. I've always been a "techie". While I've taken my share of photography classes and read a lot, I have always been better at telling you how the camera works than how to use it to produce a good picture.
This is just a new adventure for me. Maybe the skills I lack can't be learned. It's possible that it's a God given talent that I don't posess. If so thats fine. But I would like to take a shot at it, and thanks again for your help.
--
Duane Miles, Fuji Medical
PBase supporter
http://www.pbase.com/13miles/root 
