What is the purpose of PaD projects?

[jaxtion25]

What do you think are the purposes of a PaD project?

I've just started here on pbase but have been viewing the pbase PaD gallery for years. It has been a great source of inspirations & ideas for me. Since starting a PaD project myself, i discovered something that really annoyed me. Some PaD gallery aren't PaD at all, they are more like users posting series of best shots from a single shoot or some people aren't actually shooting everyday. The only reason i can think of why people would do is it to publize themselves. By posting in PaD gallery, their photos will double the chance of public exposure since the gallery shows up in both 'recently updated galleries' and 'pad galleries'.

For me, that's not the spirit of doing a PaD project at all. PaD is a training, aside from honing technical skills it's also a training of perseverance, determination and endurance. It's the same reason why music students are encouraged to practice everyday, even for a short amount of time. A routined practice will make certain skills become reflexes in the future (eg. piano players can eventually play with eyes closed, photographers change settings without thinking). Now i've been doing PaD for a month & a half and am proud to report i have yet to miss a day. Even though 9 out 10 photos are mediocre or down right bad, but it's still practice and it keeps me trying. It forces the photographer to look for novelty in the routined weekdays. Challenging? yes, but that's kind of the point. I suspect we'll see the rewards of our perseverance in the future.

So please, if you have a PaD gallery then make it a PaD gallery.

[imorozoff]

I think you'll find that the vast majority of the folks that post in this forum, do take and post a photo each day.
Likewise, most participate in the monthly themes and post freshly taken photos.

Why not stick around and join us for the May theme? We'd love to have you on board.

~Inga

[jaxtion25]

well looks like im ranting in the wrong place then. Though i'm talking about PaD galleries, not postings in forums. Still, feel free to contribute your feelings on this.

[emmelafoto]

You are right, Jeffrey. Some pBasers use the PaD possibility only to get more exposure. Sad but it can't be helped.
Luckily, Inga is also right. The majority is sincere.
We all would like you to join in the monthly themes.

[jaxtion25]

Surely whoever runs pbase can. It can be something as simple as not displaying images that aren't taken on the day for PaD gallery updates. Of course, the way around it is to change the date taken in EXIF data, but those inclined to do that should do some serious soul searching...

Oh well.

So where's this monthly theme? i see the 'ideas for May' thread, is it that one? the one using wide focal length?

[imorozoff]

Yep. Since I don't see any other ideas, "wide angle" will probably be it.
Then again, we're quite flexible in this group, so if a few other folks want to do a different theme, that's perfectly fine.

This place is not a popularity or voting contest, it's simply a place so showcase your work, share your love of photography, learn new skills, and meet great like-minded people from all over the world.

[maire]

Thank you Inga and Maaike for your positive contributions to the relevant questions put by Jeffery. For my part, I think there are slightly different criteria for the monthly challenge themes. I like to think that all of the photos for the theme would be taken on the month in question, and posted as closely as possible to the time they were taken.I stress as possible because not everyone can organise themselves to deliver the quality they might like to on a daily basis. Most of us lead fairly busy lives, and while the faithfulness to daily padding for the challenges can be very worthwhile it can also become something of a tyranny.Keeping the challenge topic in mind at all times when one totes one's camera about gives regular opportunities for shooting on-theme, and often getting more than one good shot on the same occasion.

I have valued greatly my participation in the monthly challenges since I started becoming active on pbase, encouraged originally by Carolyn Rasmussen and Maaike. I learned about composition, abstracts, macros,landscape work, illustrating ideas, concepts, works of literature from the monthly challenges.They, and the Thursday Challenge, have motivated me to think and see things a bit more creatively. A stimulus for creativity that can be sustained is something really worthwhile, and has given me much satisfaction. The daily padding is being fulfilled wonderfully by some pbasers, and can be a joy to them and to those who view their work, but there are some very fine photographers who have dropped out altogether.

I'm still not sure if I'll participate in this "Wide" theme. It is a form of photography that I have not been very strongly drawn towards, but then perhaps that is the challenge I should be prepared to meet! I like the notion of keeping your eyes wide open but I fear I'd be drawn to zoom in closer to check for details!!

[johnwaine]

I'm sure PAD has been a hugely beneficial learning process for so many of us, Jeffery

However, amateur photography for me is about enjoyment and maybe not about rigid rules. Why is a photograph any less valid for being two days old?

I agree that there is occasional cynical abuse, but in general it's an individual choice how you use the opportunity.

Relax, learn and enjoy! The important thing is that you will be a better photographer at the end of it.

[emmelafoto]

Well. to me there is a huge difference between a few days or weeks old and years old.
Like Máire wrote: most of us lead busy lives. So do I. It is not possible for me to go out and shoot very day.
What I can do is: take pictures -with the theme in my mind - on the days I can (for me wednesday and weekends), and use them for my PaD.
So: don't be too rigid. But do no use pictures that are taken years ago, not knowing this month theme at all!

And keep in mind: it is supposed to be FUN!!!!!!!!!!!

[amoxtli]

This is the definition I gave my "PaD Zuihitsu" Gallery:

"Zuihitsu is a genre of Japanese literature consisting of loosely connected personal essays and fragmented ideas that typically express the author's feelings with respect to their surroundings.
Sei Shonagon's "Pillow Book" is a perfect example.
I have decided to apply this idea to my photo a day gallery. One image for each day. A little story, one for each image. A little discipline for me. I will do my best."

I have posted an image per day since Jan. 1, 2008. I strive for variety and to show what I see in my world. Probably 2/3 of the images were taken the day before I posted them (I post my PaD in the morning) and the other 1/3 within a few days of the posting date. For me it's about enjoying myself and as the gallery gets a lot of visitors others seem to enjoy it too. Keeping a PaD does get me out shooting more and I never go anywhere without my camera bag anymore. It's made me a more observant person and probably a better photographer too.

The PaD should be what you want it to be. I don't believe in rigid rules for photography. There are many ways to take a photo. I organize monthly photo shoots here and am always amazed how each photographer has a unique way of seeing things. I think that applies to PaD projects too. If you go to the "Recent Photo-A-Day Uploads " you'll see what I mean. Enjoy yourself!

[jypsee]

You missed the era a few years ago when this sort of NON-issue was hashed out. Here's a news flash: you have your notions of how you want PAD to be and so do all sorts of others who choose to designate their gallery as a PAD gallery. My suggestion is that you do what you like with your $23 a year and the rest of us will do the same.

Mary in SW Florida, USA (been PADing for 5+ yrs now)

[clickaway]

A Picture-a-Day project can bring all sorts of learning advantages, and technical and compositional skills have been mentioned.

But I have certainly learnt to be more observant of my surroundings, and I'm very much a "watcher". I've also been very fortunate in meeting some lovely people through this project and that is especially important to me.

In all walks of life you'll get those who abuse the system, and I think in this case it is not worth stressing over - there are bad apples in every basket and always will be.

ray

[jaxtion25]

You missed the era a few years ago when this sort of NON-issue was hashed out. Here's a news flash: you have your notions of how you want PAD to be and so do all sorts of others who choose to designate their gallery as a PAD gallery. My suggestion is that you do what you like with your $23 a year and the rest of us will do the same.

You missed the point.

First, i should elaborate: This is mainly about people posting their best shots instead of photo from the day. That's exploitation of the system purely for publicity. i probably made the opening sound more serious than i actually feel. It's just i've been in other photo gallery sites (flickr, myshutterspace, etc) before i settled here and most if not all, never focused enough on photography. Also, never have i seen a usergroup that consisted mainly of passionate photographers with the right attitude, intelligence & knowledge to photography like pbasers. I guess i expected the perfect crowd here, but after all this is the internet. I have no beef about missing a few days or late postings. I seriously doubt i'll complete my PaD without missing a single day myself (exams coming up!).

I'm not telling people what to do, but encourage them to follow rules. People should do whatever the hell they want, and sure if photography is your hobby then relax have all the fun you can. But when you voluntarily join a project called 'Picture a Day', then why not commit to the goal of the project? otherwise what's the point? The 'rigid rule' here isn't applied to your approach to photography at all but to how you practice. The whole point of PaD is to force apply a rigid practice routine. Obviously, the rewards of discipline are very valuable. Think concert pianists, these guys practice couple hours a day everyday with a dead serious attitude, but this dead-serious attitude isn't applied to how they play.

[tedparkins]

Perhaps there is a problem of definition. PaD can be taken to mean an image must be posted within a fixed period,say,24hrs. from it being taken or it can mean an image is posted every 24hours and with no restriction on when that image was taken. The first definition might be used as a discipline for meeting deadlines and repeated daily postings with/without a theme.The second definition can apply when a monthly theme is specified and when,in my opinion,the important criterion is the relevance of the image to the theme irrespective of the age of the image. You may have noticed two very good themes for May have been suggested.One has a restriction of 'freshly taken' the other is open. My preference is for the latter.
If you photograph for a living then deadlines may be more important than image qualities but if you take/make pictures for your own pleasure (and hopefully that of others) then a more circumspect approach might be preferable.

[johanops]

Hello

Just one thought ...

Some people work every day, have families, are engaged in all kind of social and other things, and aren't able to take pictures really every day, but they do as much as possible.

Is PaD only for retired people?

In my case, the subject inspire me a lot. I try to take fresch pictures, and when I go out to take pictures, the subjects are in my mind. Then I take some pictures that fit for the theme ...

I post them in the coming days.

But in picture-poor periods, I have no recent pictures and then I post sometimes older ones, because I don't like to break the chain.
Is this a crime?



greetings, JOhan