# June Photo Challenge - Discussion



## StormFeather

Well, the theme is up - obviously inspired by current events, but hopefully broad enough to be inclusive of everyone.  

Have fun everyone!

http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/536666-june-photo-challenge.html


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## alchemist

Hooray! (see what I did there?)

Let's party!


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## Talysia

Interesting theme, Stormfeather!  Looking forward to seeing what I can come up with.


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## Tiffany

A very topical subject. Good one Stormfeather.


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## hopewrites

was at a graduation party the other night, wish i'd taken picts of the food now I see the theme. ah well. 
maybe this is the motivation i need to finally go through the wedding picts I took a few months back and (aside from dumping them onto my mom's comp so my brother could have them) havent looked at yet.


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## James Coote

So it doesn't have to be a photo taken recently?


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## alchemist

Nope. As long as you took it, it's okay, although if it's taken specially for the comp people may grant you extra brownie points.


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## Mouse

I always try to do at least one specifically for the challenge. Nobody wants to see my holiday snaps, after all.


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## hopewrites

though the subject is the same in both photos there are a handful of summers between shots. the first was taken one summer we were down here at my moms and she set up a slip n slide we call it his "summer add" though it never advertised anything except a love of life to me. the second was taken this spring at my brothers reception here in town. it is appropriately titled "thank you for the cake"


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## Parson

I love the splash picture Hope. It is pure joy!


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## hopewrites

I wish you could have heard the laugh that goes with it.


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## anivid

Those upturned eyes really are celebrating 
Celebration below, celebration above


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## Alex The G and T

Spectacular opening entries, Hope.  Tons of joy there.  Those'll be tough to beat.

My deuce-in-the-hole, for this theme is coming at the end of the week.  Youngest daughter graduates high school Friday; celebrates her 18th b-day Saturday.

I have high hopes; but I'm going to have to be quick, and lucky.


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## hopewrites

I never can get fireworks to turn out in my pictures, yours is spectacular David. And the carousel is one of my favorite rides  nicely done.


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## alchemist

Damn you, DEO!  I just had the idea of fireworks a couple of days ago but you beat me to it.


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## Tiffany

A very nice selection for June so far. The subject does give a lot of scope, but I had to search my files for a suitable photo. I'll try to actually take one for my second.


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## David Evil Overlord

hopewrites said:


> I never can get fireworks to turn out in my pictures, yours is spectacular David. And the carousel is one of my favorite rides  nicely done.



Thank you, Hope. The carousel was the one I had the most trouble with. I took about ten photos, and in nine of them the pole was between me and my son's face.



alchemist said:


> Damn you, DEO!  I just had the idea of fireworks a couple of days ago but you beat me to it.



Us Evil Overlords always beat you to the fireworks. Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!


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## alchemist

Well, this one is proving a little harder than it seemed. I'm just going to have to get desperate.


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## Alex The G and T

Eddie!     };-}


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## alchemist

Alex said:


> Eddie!     };-}





Took me a couple of seconds but then I got it.

Looks somebody was over-celebrating just a little in yours


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## David Evil Overlord

That's a very interesting red glowing tree you've posted there, Alc.


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## alchemist

Yeah, should have gone for a daytime shot so you could see the purple leaves.


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## David Evil Overlord

I saw an article recently on weird-coloured alien plants that might evolve under stars with different light from our own Sun. Have you gone on some sort of (exo)botanical expedition?


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## alchemist

*cough*

I told you, me must not reveal our plans, even here. Now, resume cover.


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## David Evil Overlord

*hides under cover of plant life that isn't really purple and alien*


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## Tiffany

A few more for June I see. I like the fireworks & the carousel & the skeleton & the big fish.


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## Mouse

It's my mum's birthday today. Would've been an opportunity to take some photos, had I had my camera on me.


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## anivid

Mouse said:


> It's my mum's birthday today. Would've been an opportunity to take some photos, had I had my camera on me.


Hilarious 
But I know the situation - often been there 

It's "Feux de la Saint-Joan" tonight - I'll see if I can keep awake to take some ... something ... celebration ...


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## hopewrites

Happy birthday mum of mouse.


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## alchemist

Happy Birthday Mrs Mouse from here too.

Last week I walked past the presentation after a car rally. Cheering, flying champagne; the works. An hour later I realised I'd missed the perfect opportunity. And I had my phone on me too.


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## anivid

What can I say ??
We don't eat much cake around here when celebrating - instead we put fire on things.
(but we wasn't that excited yesterday, even we'd put our best white dress on to look good on the grass )


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## David Evil Overlord

Many Works of Fire have been celebrated. Is there a Pyromancer in the house?


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## Talysia

There are some great entries this month.  I don't think I'll be able to enter anything this time, though - I just haven't had anything to celebrate recently (all the birthdays in my family are close to the end of the year), and pretty much all of my other attempts haven't come out right.  Here's hoping I can do better next time!


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## Alex The G and T

alchemist said:


> Looks somebody was over-celebrating just a little in yours



Hah!  I hadn't, yet, had time to over-do it.  that's my "contented" look, and I was leaning back to... _snuggle_.


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## alchemist

And that's a pretty ugly fish too.

Not long to go now, if anybody has any last minute entries. Unless somebody will volunteer to be up at midnight GMT (that's 1 am BST), I'll put a poll up in 37 minutes. Which will be an hour early, I'll admit, but I can them programme it to close at an appropriate hour.


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## David Evil Overlord

Went to the Poll thread, but it didn't want to let me vote.


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## alchemist

Poll's up!

http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/536977-june-photo-challenge-poll.html

Oi David, give me a chance! You have to post the thread first, then add the poll options.


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## David Evil Overlord

I thought it was a cunning plan to rig the voting...

Just voted. Anivid's fireworks are winning by a small margin of 100%.


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## alchemist

Not any more!

(it appears we have anonymous voting this month. Whoops!)


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## Alex The G and T

alchemist said:


> And that's a pretty ugly fish too.



Ling Cod.  Tastes amazingly better than it looks.


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## anivid

Sorry mighty Alchemist, but it seemed your former plan leaving the closing DTG blank was a better option, try looking what the Poll says about the closing DTG 

In the past we could in the poll scheme see WHO voted for the different contestees - I always liked that - great fun 
That feature seems to be gone now ??

Best from Anivid


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## alchemist

Yes, I'd prefer to have the voters visible too. I must have ticked or unticked the wrong box.

As for the closing date, there's only a five minute difference between the automatic close and what it says in the post. So unless somebody's planning to vote in those five minutes, we'll be okay


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## anivid

alchemist said:


> Yes, I'd prefer to have the voters visible too. I must have ticked or unticked the wrong box.


You tick the wrong box ?? - Impossible 
I was more thinking in the lines of the automaton having changed it's habits (systematic change) 




alchemist said:


> As for the closing date, there's only a five minute difference between the automatic close and what it says in the post. So unless somebody's planning to vote in those five minutes, we'll be okay


Right - am no good in all those a.m. and p.m.s - always sitting calculating - with sometimes very funny results


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## Talysia

Good entries all, but my vote goes to anivid this month.


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## Starbeast

Alex said:


> Ling Cod.  Tastes amazingly better than it looks.


 
Mmm, fish.  You got my vote Alex.

Great pictures everyone.


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## Parson

I voted for *Hope.

*The pictures of your son (I'm assuming he's your son) just caught the celebration perfectly. It's hard to imagine a happier picture than the splash one.


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## Mouse

I voted for anivid.


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## Alex The G and T

Ooohhhh tight race.  Very exciting poll.

I love the fireworks. Especially nice shots, anavid.

I loved the irony (Iron Maiden-ry ?) of the Eddie pic.  I had to google the Northern Ireland connection; so I learned something interesting.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_the_Head  (scroll down a bit)

Hope's kids  are so exuberantly joyful; there's my vote.


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## Vertigo

And now I've made it even tighter! I've voted for Hope's kids.


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## anivid

*We did it Stormfeather – even we were just a few*
*– and you, SF ? - was the theme too tough for you ? **J*


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## alchemist

Thanks for the vote, mystery voter (well, that bit's my own fault). Just a day left and it's all to play for at the top.


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## Gary Compton

Mystery voter revealed. Thanks for the heads up Alc


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## alchemist

Just in case anyone was wondering, that was not Gary voting for me  (nice parrot, Gary)


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## Gary Compton

I'm sick of repeating myself!

**I am a good writer**
**I am a good writer**


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## hopewrites

Thank you all for the votes, yes that's My Beloved Son. About two years between shots.

Voted for Alex's lovely daughters. Showed my dad the fish and he was immeditly jealous, thought it was rock cod though. (He fishes up here at the norther end of the pacific though, and sadly been a few decades before he's been out on a boat. mostly river fishing where we are. [yes there are fish in the desert. dont ask me! I think _I'M_ crazy to be here]) oh and I showed it to him on my phone. so...


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## Alex The G and T

If you really want to drive your Dad nuts, Hope, and he has facebook... (Or not, it may be mostly public access)  Hook Dad up with the http://www.facebook.com/pages/Humboldt-Area-Saltwater-Anglers/183500155019618?ref=ts

A ton of great pix there, out of Humboldt Bay; norther than northern California. (About a dozen of those pix are mine.)

And the discussion board for HASA is here: http://humboldttuna.com/smf/index.php  A wealth of info, fish stories and pix.   Oddly, a login may be required to even read the thing.  It used to be public... not sure what happened.  Tell 'em "Cactus Jack" sentcha.  (How I became _Cactus Jack_, on the ocean, is a whole 'nother story)


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## anivid

Good thinking, Alchemist - planting link to our poll on the 75 words challenge - they need to think on other than themselves


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## StormFeather

anivid said:


> *We did it Stormfeather – even we were just a few*
> *– and you, SF ? - was the theme too tough for you ? **J*



I'm afraid that even with the best of intentions, I was just too busy to do anything decent.  I had an idea, but didn't have time to execute it, and the photos that I did take were not just of my own kids, so I can't really share them here (think 200 school kids waving flags whilst having a red-white-and-blue themed tea party in the playground).

As I was, I nearly forgot to vote, with yesterday being the school fayre - I was there from 9:30 to 6pm, and by the time I got home, I was exhausted.  I remembered, just before stumbling to bed - and voted for Hope's pictures.  The sheer unadulterated joy in the water picture makes me smile every time I see it!

Looking forward to the next theme, with more hope of taking part this time!


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## anivid

StormFeather said:


> I'm afraid that even with the best of intentions, I was just too busy to do anything decent. I had an idea, but didn't have time to execute it, and the photos that I did take were not just of my own kids,


Glad you brought it up, I always wonder when somebody post family pics, whether they actually bothered asking the familymember(s) in question first – before publishing on a (semi) public site.
I surely wouldn’t be exuberant finding out later that all my childhood/youth were surfing around the net – we’re having pseudos here without disclosing our names, but people seem to having no problems disclosing their childrens ID.
Would’nt it be better turning in some more neutral pics for a photo contest than one’s own family, neutral like something out in the nature/society – belonging to nobody or all ??



StormFeather said:


> so I can't really share them here (think 200 school kids waving flags whilst having a red-white-and-blue themed tea party in the playground).
> As I was, I nearly forgot to vote, with yesterday being the school fayre - I was there from 9:30 to 6pm, and by the time I got home, I was exhausted. I remembered, just before stumbling to bed


 
Take care SF – else you’ll end up doing more school work than your kid(s) 



StormFeather said:


> - and voted for Hope's pictures. The sheer unadulterated joy in the water picture makes me smile every time I see it!


 
Yeah, SF – but joy isn’t exactly the same as celebrating, is it ??



StormFeather said:


> Looking forward to the next theme, with more hope of taking part this time!


Hear-hear


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## Alex The G and T

Congratulations, Hope.  Looks like you took the championship this month.

Enjoy the hideous onus of trying to invent a theme for July.

I'm excited to see what you come up with.  };-}


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## StormFeather

anivid said:


> Yeah, SF – but joy isn’t exactly the same as celebrating, is it ??



Ah, but to a parent, such unrestrained joy on the part of any child is a cause for celebration!  

Congratulations Hope!!  Now, I promise to make more of an effort to take part this month, now that many other pressures have reduced, so am eagerly looking forward to the theme . . . .


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## anivid

Congrats Hope – ENJOY what is to be enjoyed


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## anivid

Thanks to those voting for my person as photographer : Alex, Mouse, Taly, Deo, and XX ??
Photographing is a fairly new discipline to this specimen - only had a camera for app. 5 years - and as always the target was the exquisite, the beauty


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## alchemist

Congratulations hope! Let's see what you come up with now.

Commiserations to anivid and Alex. That was quite a battle you all had.


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## Vertigo

Congratulations Hope. 

And commiserations to the rest; it was a very close decision for me.


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## anivid

alchemist said:


> Commiserations to anivid and Alex.


Thank you - and commiserations (if that's the word, sounds sort of something poor and depressing  to you Monsiour Alchemist, you're a good sport, and your "Inner Warrior" made quite an impression 



alchemist said:


> That was quite a battle you all had.


Yeah, glad I was just an innocent bystander


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## Talysia

Congratulations, Hope!  Looking forward to seeing what the next theme is.


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## hopewrites

Thank you all *blushing bow* I have about three ideas so far, just a matter of picking one! lol. I'll try and have something up by tonight.
(First I have to call and congratulate my son for being the winning subject)


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## Parson

Congrats Hope! I thought your picture hit the theme spot on.


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## Alex The G and T

Art is not allowed to have an emotional compnent?!?

Now, _that_ is the most _bizarre_ statement, yet; on this thread.

Are we making mechanical drawings or art?


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## anivid

Hi Alex, you're in the June thread - but that's perhaps where you planned to be ??
We talked about when JUDGING a pic, judges should preferably judge the technical aspect and the artistic aspect which can be done objevtively - own emotional aspect is subjective .
I don't know if you're old enough to have been watching ice skating competitions in the Tele - or whether they're still there, but you might remember the judges holding up a card with a score for the technical quality, and after that a score card for the artistic quality - no score card for the emotional quality.
Best from Anivid


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