So being almost Easter already and to get TOTM rolling again, we decided that January will be decided upon the TOTM winners from last year. Giving you all ample time to get your fish bowls in at least half decent shape for the month of love, so vote...then go trim your displays. So please, make your vote count...vote (think of it like this, you can't cock it up more than the Americans did last year and then bitch because you didn't vote) 1. Feb '16 - @Ivan 2. Mar '16 - @wearsbunnyslippers 3. Apr '16 - @AdrianT 4. May '16 - @Roflcopterza 5. Jun '16 - @Linxie Voting will be open for 2 weeks to give you all enough time to click on an option (challenging for some I know)
I think we need to agree on standards for photographs for judging. I suspect that with a better photo I may have voted otherwise.
Not everyone on here are professional photographers, I for one, dont even own a camera. So all photos are taken with my cellphone...and I'm not going to touch up my photos, then I might "create" a tank in photoshop. I'll play with the light a bit, but that's about it...lol
my photos are usually cellphone pics too.. the idea is just for someone to nominate a tank that they like or wowed them that month, doesn't have to be a professional photo..
I don't think we need professional photography equipment just a few simple guidelines: 1. make sure your photo is of the fishtank and little else (in Ivan's case, the photo with overhanging lights make his tank look dull due to excess light). 2. Make sure other lights in the room are off. (Linxie: you had the room lights on, correct?) 3. Don't use a flash. That should provide enough consistency of lighting to get a good idea of what the tanks really look like.
WBS: Just a quick question. How did you manage to get such a great photo of your tank? Mine always turn out crap - specially with the leds glaring into the cellphone camera.
pretty much like tyrone said above, make sure the lights are off, make sure you not using the flash, make sure you only capturing the tank. i pick a dark section in my tank for the camera to focu on, and then drag the light slider down a bit until the highlights aren't blown out anymore.. i also take my photos from slightly above and then correct the perspective in a photo editing tool. and lastly make sure you scrape the glass and do a water change the day before you take your photo for the clearest water.. if the leds glare into the camera then put a piece of card in front when you take your photo to block them out.. here is one from the same day that hasn't been corrected and cropped:
Thanks for the tip, I'll do that next time. It just makes my pictures look quite blurry (and looking like bad quality) - used to be able to take really nice photos of my cube in the dark and now the camera's just picking up on the glare instead of focusing on the tank.
Thanks for the photo tips. I am sure it makes a big difference to the final product. While I dont think you need to be a professional photographer to get a good picture, posting a bad picture detracts from the tank and just makes it not feel right.
If the goal is about learning and conversation about the winning nominated tanks - cropping past the glass or non-full tank shots should probably not be allowed. Same goes for leaving the kit in - you must. If the goal is to do a picture perfect shot - then pass the TOTM and go straight to http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/guidelines.html , http://en.iaplc.com/about/application.html and http://www.apsa.co.za/xenforo/threads/apsa-aquascaping-rules-and-guidelines-2014.10097/ When we stop learning from TOTM people stop improving and we get where we are today. Seeing all sides of the tank allows for better true view - nobody only sees the inside of the tank without seeing lights, glass edges etc. What you probably want is min image size so that we can zoom it and create our own view inside theTOTM tank. My$1 ROE applies Later Ferdie
Guys and Girls...remember, roughly a week (or so) to go to finalise your votes. Thank you for all that have voted, quite a few already which shows there is an interest Just remember to keep your personal threads up to date as well...as you'll need to be wearing brown pants if I cant find enough contenders for next month's TOTM. Big or small...we love them all (tanks I mean...and in my case a few other things as well)
I don't think my tank should be on this list as it won in April 2016. It's a bit foolish to have posted that photo and does not give the other people a chance to "win".
