We Name Names

...The photographers' names have been added to Batch 1 of the "People Working" contest semifinalists. Have a look!

UPDATE 5:20 p.m.: The names have now been added to the photos in Batch 2.

UPDATE 6:40 p.m.: The names have now been added to the photos in Batch 3.

It's rather slow, painstaking work to match the pictures back up with their names, and I hope I've spelled everyone's name correctly. If I haven't, a) my apologies, and b) please shoot me a quick email so I can correct it.

By the way, I don't know if I mentioned this yet, but we got a lot of really nice submissions that didn't make the semifinal batches. I would say there were about three times as many photos as we selected that could have plausibly made it into one of the three batches. Also, there were six or eight submissions that I never was able to see. I tried to alert every sender if the JPEG didn't come through, but some we never got.

So—as always with contests—don't be discouraged if your picture wasn't chosen. Judging isn't arbitrary, but it is a matter of each judge's taste and discretion.

We'll post the six finalists early next week, along with the judge's explanation of why each selection was made. (Until we do post the finalists, please don't comment about your own picture.)

The way we picked next week's finalists was that the judge and I both picked our own top six, and the three pictures that were on both of our lists made it in. Then we each picked three or four we really wanted to see on the list. I conceded one of his choices, he conceded one of my choices, and then he let me pick the sixth—which I did, but I chose it from among the choices he'd already indicated.

As you might expect, I'm hoping that it's the discussion of our choices that will be the more rewarding part of this exercise, as opposed to any hard ideas about "better and best" to which such judgements pretend.

Mike
(Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest!)

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Comments

[Marty]

What's chances we could see every (judged) entry all in one place, as opposed to in three batches? I'd love to see a gallery.
Still I'd probably like the turkey guy the best.
My criteria is "oh man. I wish I made that frame."

[Gene Lowinger]

Hey Mike! What about that pic that youCOULDN'T publish?

[Nigli]

I've just spent a very enjoyable hour looking up some of the contestants to see more of their work online. Well worth the effort.

[Rowan]

It's interesting to note that the shortlist is almost entirely male.

I'm not saying, at all, that this is anything to do with your judging. I guess it's more likely down to the fact that photography is probably skewed a little in favour of male participants anyway, and I guess that reading about photography on the internet is skewed a little that way too.

Anyway, like I said, I'm not accusing anyone of anything, it's just interesting to note.

[Marty]

I'm impressed with the way some of the older photographs arrive with detailed caption information, the B/W photo from Troy, NY, in particular. Having lived for years in Troy I feel like I want to go back one day and see that doorway he was in front of. I don't even know if that building is even there still but it would be cool if it was.

[toto]

Just curious, do the comments and ratings influence the final decision in any way?

[tde]

"Anyway, like I said, I'm not accusing anyone of anything, it's just interesting to note."

Generally anytime there is any list of photographers, artists, authors, etc. published, someone will comment that the list skews male since that is almost always the case.