Hello everyone.

 

As you know well, 1x is a curated photo gallery. We submit our photos, the curators look them over and select which to publish. But apart from that, I personally don't know much else about the curation process. Which is why I've started this thread.

 

One area I'd like to discuss is the technical side of things. It would be nice for someone who knows how the process works to explain it in detail. We know it starts with us uploading our photos and sending them to curation. What happens between that and them coming out the other end of the curation process? Don't be afraid to get technical, we're smart people.

 

On the other hand, I'd really like to hear from the official curators in this thread. How do you select which photo to publish and which to reject? What do you look for in a photo to publish? What are some common mistakes you see in submissions? Do you take into consideration the popular vote or who the author is? Do you have any advice for people submitting photos? And whatever else you consider you should say. I'm really looking forward to your thoughts.

 

Oh, and if anyone has some idea as to how the curation process might be improved, feel free to add your thoughts.

 

Let's begin.

Alex.

Thanks Alex for raising this discussion. As a very new member I can say the process is obscure and not well documented. As a background to my post, I came to 1x as a result of a web based review here:-

http://andyhutchinson.com.au/is-1x-com-the-serious-photographers-last-best-hope/

 

I came to 1x for the same reasons discussed in this review i.e. dissatisfied with the race for Views and Favs on Flickr, not impressed by the elitism of 500px and hopeful that 1x would provide a much needed alternative to these two popular photography sites. I guess it's early yet to draw a conclusion but it would seem there's significant dissatisfaction in the ranks here over the 'black box' of curation for publication and a good deal of suspicion surrounding the selection of images from a supposedly small group.

 

Not sure how the owners see themselves but it would appear they have some work to do to establish the kind of credibility and transparency the site now needs to become the photographic community's first choice.

 

regards - in hope ......

 

Mike

Hello Alex,

I have notified the Head Curators that you would like to have them answer these questions.

 

Let us give them a couple of days to answer.

 

I would also point out that some of your questions are answered in the current

FAQ.

 

As far as improvement - we have a topic called Feature Suggestion which is read on a regular basis and you can feel to paste your suggestions there.

 

Thanks much,

Phyllis

Moderator

 

I too have been keenly curious what the 'magic sauce' is that the curators use to select images. I took a crack at 'reverse engineering' what I think their main principles were that they seem to be using as principles and criteria, but it would indeed be useful to the artistic pursuits here on 1x to crack open the conversation. I'm in the camp that says that nothing is really useful until it has been ruthlessly tested.

 

Here is something I wrote a while back for Yvette as a possible article for the eZine that digs into this subject.

 

Selection Criteria, the keys to the Galleries

 

The back story of the journey to distinguish the missing visual principles:

 

A while back, I stumbled across 1x.com and was thrilled by the highly expressive images on the site. Being inspired, I set about picking out and polishing up a group of what I thought were my 10 best images in my portfolio to submit for curation. After a good long wait, nine of the ten were shot down. Wow. What a blow to my ego, but the far more maddening thing was that there weren't any explanations to help me learn and grow as an artist.

 

Trying to figure out what the missing criteria were drove me crazy. I searched around the site and elsewhere on the web to see if there were any criteria listed to explain what 1x was looking for that would provide a key to the galleries. Nothing, Nada. Zilch.

 

It became clear that my goal really was to figure out what makes an image "highly expressive". (Good, bad, right or wrong are not very useful judgments). So with no other better options, I started doing critiques in the critique section myself. Hundreds and hundreds of them; it became an obsession. I was determined to figure this out! I also studied thousands of images that did make it into the galleries here.

 

One of the things that was becoming apparent is how our minds work and what the implications are. First of all CONCEPTS occur in Language. Yet when we are out photographing, the visual/spatial part of our minds that manages capturing images has absolutely no language at all! Let that really sink in for a moment; it’s both a major disconnect and an opportunity. That in a nutshell explains why photographers struggle so hard to explain whatever it is that we do and why so many images don't have any conceptual basis. After critiquing for a good long while some concepts were emerging that could be refined into visual principles.

 

I. Visual Story

Most would probably say that capturing the beautiful, the interesting, moody/emotional images or the provocative is sufficient to be expressive. It may be personally satisfying but is that really sufficient on the global stage of the internet? I read a few years ago it was estimated that there were 68 Billion images a year posted on the web and it is rapidly increasing. If you do the math that was a mind-numbing 1,600 images a second, 24x7. The web is awash with beautiful, interesting and provocative images; sadly it’s the vast numbers of them that render them common and ordinary. An image needs something MORE to stand out and to hold our impatient attention spans. It becomes useful to go to Google images and type in the nature of an image. Sunset, Pier, Antelope Canyon, etc. Prepare to be humbled. It used to be that it was only daunting to shoot in Yosemite, the Grand Canyon and the Eifel Tower; then we knew our shots have already been taken a zillion times already.

 

Premise:

A Visual story is compelling and engaging; it’s like reading a book where the paragraphs weave a more developed and rich story to engage in. Most images we see are really only fragments and statements; they don’t rise to the level of being a complete sentence. (I have found that it is actually very powerfully to state what we see in some form of language to work out what we are trying to express in clear concepts before even taking our cameras out of the bag).

 

Definition:

A visual story is generated in the RELATIONSHIP between a primary subject and the context that holds it.

 

Without BOTH a clearly defined Primary subject and a rich Context (the environment) to hold it, a visual story will fizzle out. There are probably a lot more images without Primary Subjects than those that don’t have well defined contexts, but BOTH are needed. Many will insist that in Landscape Photography that the PLACE is the primary subject. Consider that the role of the place is to hold the primary subject, not to try and be it. If we capture just the PLACE then it is 100% context, and a then visual story can’t be generated because of the missing primary subject.

 

Where it gets really interesting is to then ask the exquisite question of what exactly makes something a powerfully expressive primary subject? Here’s my take on that:

 

• The most important distinction is that the composition needs to reinforce the primary subject and not compete with it. That requires a solid understanding of how our perceptions work.

• Perceptual Order. We perceive visual information in a set order as follows:

• We see the brightest areas first.

• Secondly se see edges of high contrast.

• Thirdly we see areas of bright, saturated color.

• Ideally a Primary subject wants to be the brightest object with the most edge contrast and with the strongest color. If there are other things that pull our eye away for the same reasons, then those other things become distractions and the primary subject struggles to maintain its status.

• The Primary Subject needs to dominate the image. That can be by relative size, area in the image, meaning or significance.

• A primary subject can be reinforced by comparing opposites. A more interesting small object can be a legitimate primary subject if it is contrasted by a less interesting bigger object. A primary subject will struggle if it is competing with other objects or if there is more than one object that is too similar in visual interest. To be a PRIMARY subject, it needs to be, well, primary or dominant.

• It needs to be clearly defined. Boldness counts; don’t be timid.

• Primary subjects have inherent meaning and significance. A leaf on the ground doesn't pass that test.

• People are unique in that we will automatically nominate them as the primary subjects in images.

• "That which is different" can be a primary subject. The danger is that if it isn't significant enough, it gets demoted to being a counterpoint.

 

For the record, I have shot more than my share of pretty landscapes that don’t have well defined primary subjects. This concept has caused me to rethink a lot of things that I previously held sacred and inviolate. For instance, why can’t a landscape have a person in it?

 

II. Expressive Coherence

Basically this is achieved when there are no distractions of any significance left; they have all been mitigated, managed or processed out. This is a hallmark of the images in the galleries here.

• A distraction is defined as anything that pulls our eye away from the primary subject that isn't part of the primary expression. That can be a bright spot, a high-contrast or colorful object in the background that demands that we go investigate. It can be an object that intersects the perimeter frame. Distractions are the biggest example of what erodes the expressive power of images.

• There is a coherent message that is clear and doesn’t have inconsistencies, incongruities, isn’t fighting itself and it isn't ambivalent (the opposite of being clear and taking a stand).

• The image has powerful meaning. It’s worth considering how we can express meaning. Most tend to want to reinforce meaning with more of the same. Actually that dilutes meaning. As an example, standing EXACTLY on the axis of symmetry to shoot a highly symmetrical building is a common habit. Meaning is more powerful when we compare opposites that define each other. We understand visual meaning by making comparisons. We understand age when contrasted against youth. A model’s curves and smooth skin is more viscerally understood when we place them against something rough and angular. To get bright we need to have darkness to define it. To express and even define symmetry, take an off-axis or asymmetric point of view.

III. Uniqueness and Originality

This is both the “Holy Grail” pursuit and the hallmark of 1x.com. It’s also without a doubt the most vexing, challenging and difficult filter there is to get a shot into the galleries. The following can be a personally challenging and even painful question to ask, but a very important one:

 

Is the image unique or is it an original interpretation of something that is not unique?

 

It is human nature to jump on the bandwagon and copy each other’s ideas, especially if it is something cool or popular. By definition, repeating variations of what everyone else is doing is the polar opposite of being unique. Being unique anymore is a daunting challenge with so many photographers with so many high-quality digital cameras.

 

Originality is interpretive. It plows fresh ground. It takes a stand and is never ambivalent. Ambivalence is the opposite of being interpretive. Being interpretive has a coherent message and is understood. Original images have something to express. Interpretation is what makes an artist and artist and it is the basis of creating highly expressive images. Without interpretation our cameras just document or copy what we point them at.

 

arrrgghhh..

 

HTML translation issues strikes again...

And there is no way to edit the typos...

Thank you very much for a thoughtful, cogent post on this subject.

I appreciate the time and effort; it is very helpful to me.

so every time you get a photo you are looking for in those photos is a "summa",more or less, of the points and concepts described by Zane, right?

I am wondering if the Curator Crew get to look at the full resolution images or do they make their decisions with the depopulated images?

 

Norm

"Zane's secret sauce" doesn't depend on which of the categories an image can be enrolled. Are there different criteria for each of the different categories?

 

Norm

Hi Norm

 

Yes they do access and use full resolution images.

 

al

Forum Moderator

 

Great post, Zane. You make some very well articulated and documented points. Thanks!

Alex,

Thank you for starting the thread. I think many of us are curious about the curation process. Like many others here, I've had my best, my most 'important' images rejected. Each one stings, and makes me feel like quitting - but like Paul Simon's ♫ Boxer' ♫ . . . . I still remain. :-))

To Zane - thank you for your insights. You have obviously spent a good deal of time thinking about what makes a good photograph. I've read your post several times, and taken much of it to heart.

What separates a great photograph from a good one? About 800 years ago, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that the requisites for beauty were "Wholeness, Harmony, and Radiance". How does that relate to photography? I think Wholeness and Harmony are about choice of subject, viewpoint, and compostion - the mechanics of making a picture. The last is elusive. I believe it's the 'Radiance' that the curators are waiting for. It is there, in some photographs. We've seen it. We know that rare, indefinable quality when it comes - we just don't see it that often. I have scoured my 'best-of' folders for it, and I recommend that as an exercise - look at the best you've ever done and ask yourself honestly if any images there are glowing with 'Radiance'.

. . . . . Steven T

 

Your suggestion to review those images that have made the cut, is one of the best stratagems to knowing what makes a successful photograph. One thing that I like to do is to go to Lists and review the favorites of our most successful photographers, some of the curators are included. Then, the objective is to take the essence of that knowledge and create something new, interesting, dynamic, even radiant. When it makes your heart soar, you know it is right.

 

I appreciate your taking the time to write and hope that for you, me, and every one else who searches for photographic excellence, we will some day find the glow.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Evan Oz

Moderator

Hello,

 

I have also some words to tell about the Curating Process.

 

1- Rejected because of what ?

Rejection is so irritated word. Saying, "I don't like it", is easy. Lets make challenge !

Who is evaluating, maybe can not take such kind of photo. If you don't know, how hard is it, how can you say a word : Rejected ? Also, rejected because of what ? Technically or composition, or which reason ?

 

We need to know the reason. Also, curating process is so easy to click just "Published" or "Rejected" button. Lets improve it. Put some stars for "Technic, Composition, Originality, etc" You can not reject them totally, maybe photo is technically perfect, how you can deny it ??? Lets make an average of them.

 

2- Where is the encouragement ?

Rejection is not an encouragement. I don't thing that I am a bad photographer. If, it will going like this and every submission goes for rejection, of course I will not continue to add any photo. Because, seems that who evaluated my photo, didn't look through my eyes and could not see what I see. Because they NEVER shared their feelings about our submissions. Tell a word, say something ! What is wrong with our photos ?

 

3 - Suggestion from the Crew is totally unacceptable

I really ask them, what you are looking for ? the answer is : "look at what is published and that will give you some idea what they are looking for" . Guys. where is the originality ?

 

Regards,

 

Volkan

 

When a curator "rejects" ... just says:

His experience does not match mine. Only that

Photography is the memory of life.

Life is time. Life is remembrance of what we live, I remember that we acquire knowledge and memory of the experience.

 

For me, photography is a means of personal communication that allows us to express how we see the world around us according to our empirical knowledge

It is possible (can occur) to one of our curators think that feelings of "silence", "loneliness", "sadness" ... not be represented by "dark" His judgment and his opinion is valid and respectable .. . their experience with these feelings is probably different…

 

A curator can determine if you have used the photographic technique correctly.

You can never determine your feelings, your personal experience. You can not suffer like you, nor can rejoice as you.

 

The best curator for me ... is the "time"

The creations that lasts through time ...

Those creations it becomes "timeless"

Those creations that make us shudder ... regardless of the elapsed time.

There are great works of authors magnificent community 1x. Some photographic works, certainly, will remain in time.

These creations remain in time: its art, its originality, its sensitivity, its convey a message .. will remain. Or maybe ... for all these factors combined together.

 

Personally, I have some experience as a judge in photographic contests.

I always try to separate the objective part: Assessment of the correct application of photographic technique. And then I value the subjective part: this part always corresponds to my own vital empirical knowledge. In this case, try "arguing" the sentiments that inspire me reading the work.

 

There are many authors in 1x. It is a big job.

The curators do Their job and show us - According to Their knowledge and experiences - one a selection for us to enjoy great images.

Photography is a visual art. Art is free, for their freedom is indefinable.

 

If "we define" the form of expression of each author ... freedom is lost. The author becomes SLAVE ... then the photograph stop being a wonderful "visual art".

 

Thank you very much for your time

All the best

Sol

I'm also curious about how the curation process works. But I also want to say something that I think is important for people who are feeling a bit frustrated about images not being published.

 

For who are you taking photographs? For you or for 1X?

 

What do you like more about photography? Do you like creating an image or do you like to be sucessfull?

 

Don't forget why you started photography in the first place, when you only think of what has been photographed before, and if it's good enough for 1X (or other websites) or that it has to be original, etc. you might end up taking no photographs at all. Just go out with your camera and don't think about it to much, the most important thing is that you love what you are doing. It's nice to get recognition for your work, but what is it worth compared to the joy photography itself brings? Just try what you want, it doesn't matter if the outcome is a not so good image, in fact I think this is the best way to create something that is original, but it happend while having fun and not because it had to meet certain criteria.

 

And so it is !!

 

For me ... photography began as a "curiosity" (at age 9)

After ... as a "challenge"

Later as a form of "experimentation"

And a long time as a form of "liberation"

But always ... in each of these phases .. "fun and satisfaction" was the most important

 

Supposed a liberation:

My heart is filled with feelings

My feelings are transformed into ideas in my brain

My brain must release "space" ... and transforms these ideas, expressed ... in pictures or words ...

My soul gets calm ... through this process . It is a "egoistic" act ... but true

 

I'm human ... and to satisfy my own "vanity" I'm curious to know if what I do ... it is accepted by others

But honestly, I do not worry too much. My process will remain the same. (I do not want my words were misinterpreted)

I am "chaotic" and I am "eclectic" ... unable to muster a coherent collection! :-( :-(

All interests me ... And in every moment of my existence, I feel differently. I have no script. Each image is a different expression. Sometimes my soul feels its existence full color. Other vesces, my soul is monochrome. Sometimes you feel that your dark environment ... other feels his world full of light.

 

Therefore ... my work is my reflection.

 

I write poems ... and Quickly I break.

Capture images and discard soon.

I am self-destructive

I am very variable, indecisive insecure.

My photographic work ... is my best self-portrait

 

There are some psychiatrist curator? :-) :-) :-)

I do not claim anything…just continue to enjoy the photography!! :-)

 

Thank you very much for your attention

Sol

 

 

I feel it the same, it's beautiful how you describe it Sol!

 

Leoni, I've just looked at your work and noticed that they are all in the Gallery. Well done - excellent and innovative images. It also tells me that 1x is not the place for me.

Only a very small percentage of the photos submitted to curation get published.

 

Second, just because a photo didn't get published, that doesn't necessarily mean there was anything wrong with it. It only means that it didn't get published. Look through the portfolios of some of the members. You will find a lot of really great photos that were never published. Such is the nature of the publishing world.

 

And last, the curators don't have the time to write critiques. They just don't. If you would like a critique on your photo, please use the critique section.

 

Thanks,

 

Leigh

Head Moderator

 

 

Hi Michael, thank you! Only six of the nineteen images in my portfolio are published, and I also deleted some not published images because I didn't like them anymore, so most of my images were not in the gallery.

Hi guys

 

Well, let me explain you the curation process from a curator's point of view.

 

As you can read in the FAQ: How does curation work? We can curate pictures which reached at least 60 members votes. Only then a picture appears in the curators Screening room. Pictures can get even more members votes untill the final decision is done. Once a picture was published or rejected , it will no longer gain more of members votes.

We are receiving hundreds of pictures to the screening each day, but there is published about 10% of them only.

We ( curators) are searching for those pictures which are artistic, creative , showing a different point of view, aesthetics , telling a story, showing nice mood, having an impact . In short, we are searching for special shots. 1x is intended to show mainly artistic pictures what makes 1x stand off those plenty around the internet.

 

I would like to highligt the fact that having a picture rejected doesn't really mean that a picture is not good, it just means that it did not fit to 1x gallery at the moment.

 

It's not so easy to give any specific advice following which would make a picture published, because each artist has his own artistic approach and vision. This is why each picture is judged as single piece of art work considering the style, composition, appeal, quality, technique ...etc due to posted category.

 

Regarding the members rating, it's always good to know how the picture was popular nevertheless 1x is not a popularity contest based site. There are many pictures published with low ratings only or on the other hand a picture with a high score can be rejected. We are often receiving members concerns about rejection of their very popular pictures. I use to respond that the popularity doesn't really mean that the picture will be automatically published, just tells the member about how popular a picture was during members curation.

 

What are the most common mistakes ? Especially pictures containing borders and signatures which are not allowed on 1x, also very small size of uploads (less then 1000 px at longest side) . Personally, I suggest pictures size exceeding 1200 px.

Members should also pay an attention on the right category. We often see manipulated and composite pictures posted as Landscapes, Architecture, Macro, Wildlife..etc.. We recommend to post such a Photoshopped pictures as Creative edit, Conceptual or Mood category.

Sometimes we can see bigger sensor spots or badly cropped edges of the picture.

 

Regarding curators final decision, the judging may vary from case to case. Final decision can be done within a few days, but can take a few weeks in case we have to judge some borderline cases and we need more time for consideration. Each published picture will wait for Front page presentation in the Publish queue for a few days. Each rejected picture dissapears from curators screening room once it has been rejected. We never give any explanation about why the picture was rejected, we do not give any suggestions about what should be improved. There is so much of workflow that it's really impossible to write members Why. Sometimes we just contact members to fix something in the picture ( sensor spots, border, signature.. )

 

I'd like to assure all members that we are judging each picture very carefully and we always stay as objective as we can, and only image itself is what counts.

 

Hope my answer helped a bit :)

 

Good light and keep on taking good pictures!

 

All my best

Peter

 

Hi Michael,

 

Isn't it a bit early to declare 1X is not a place for you?

You are a member since a few months, 4 photos in portfolio and if I remember well at least one which you have sent to critique for advice.

If you are determined to learn from experience, sending photos to critique, learning from others, "stealing" with your eyes, getting inspired by what so see on this site.... you will improve your skills, and you will end up having photos published.

 

Having your first photo published is an event you will not forget.

I don't know how deep you are involved with photography. I can't tell from the 4 photos you have in portfolio today. For sure, the more you present to higher the chance to have one published. Also, the more rejections you receive the more little scars on your photographic ego you will have, but it will help to be more critical for your work and to improve gradually.

 

Comparing the number of published photos to the total number in portfolio is not a good measure to see how successful other photographers are. Most of us delete a part if not all from their portfolio after being rejected.

 

I always keep in mind what Henry Cartier Breton said: the first 10 000 photo's you make are garbage (I may be wrong about the number, but the message is clear).

 

So, welcome here, we will be happy to see you grow.

 

Good light,

Luc

Moderator

 

 

 

Like you said Leonie, the most important thing is to have fun with it.

Thanks a lot for your opinion, very much appreciated !

 

Marc Apers

Moderator

So there you have it folks! The curator has spoken. Many people have expressed their opinions and it has been a good discussion. But consider this: being disheartened can be a good thing. It can cause you to look inside and draw upon reserves of strength and resolve and cause the creative juices to flow. Analysis is fine, it works great for solving technical math problems, perhaps on the psychiatrist's couch, but the best thing for photography is to simply do it. So grab your cameras and head for the hills, the studio, the streets. Consider this a challenge. And I will be so excited to see your photos published. But if not, it is the doing, the stretching of creative muscle, that makes it all worth while.

 

Thanks for your participation, 1Xers!

 

Evan Oz

Moderator

It's been an interesting discussion so far.

One thing has always puzzled me. When a photo makes it to the Curator's 'Screening Room' - do all tweve Curators vote on it, or is the decision to publish or reject made by a single Curator?

Does anyone know?

. . . . Steven

hi all

I have never been a curator but I have edited pictures and can only relate my experiences and any perceptions with of a crossover into curating. There are two main observations that of technical excellence and subject treatment with the subject choice being open in 1x.com. Any preference of subject choice would be covered by personal preferences of both the creator and curator and could not really be validated by a third party. Like the world's unfairness the subject choice advantage is largely a form of nepotism unlike the first two choices which are largely predictable and calculable.

The technical aspects of a picture have a general acceptance and can be largely observed by those with knowledge, experience and a keen eye. They can be thought of as a set of rules that can be knowingly broken by the wise or fortunately used by the naive for a better subject treatment.

This would give the curator less leeway to reject a picture on technical merits than subject choice. As is the case with subject treatment which also has rules but are more difficult to learn largely originating from graphic design and painting. Popular culture emerging as a form of nepotism because of geography if not different cultures.

This is just an afternoon analysis but I think the point is that pictures can be predictably rejected or accepted because of universally accepted criteria with grey areas decided upon by whoever is curating at the time. The idea is to break the rules for a reason and communicate clearly visually in a language your audience understands. When I was a student reverting to diatribe was often a way to justify breaking rules or conventions I did not know existed. When I break them now its either laziness or for what I perceive as a good reason. That subjectivity may mean someone else is right the carelessness means they are!

Peter,

 

Thank you for the quick reply. So, if I understand correctly, all 12 Curators will look at each photograph submitted?

If one Curator votes 'Publish', and the other 11 vote 'Reject', is the photo published? Do the head Curators have the final vote?

I only ask because I'm curious about the process. I'm sure it's efficient and fair. It must be a big workload to view that many photographs every day!

Thanks again, Steven

 

 

Steven,

Peter is probably sleeping now.

 

Your questions have all been answered by Peter, who has been generous with his time. He has explained the process with such clarity that no more questions are necessary at this point.

 

However, I can answer you questions from reading Peter's posts.

 

l. No all Curators do not look at photos. Any curator can publish a picture based on their own independent decisions.

 

2. There are rare occasions when they might want to discuss a photo with another curator or more then one. When this occurs they talk. The important point here is not 'how many' curators talk, but rather that they take the decision making process seriously. When they talk they are doing so to get other ideas and opinions. No majorities are needed.

 

3. The process is efficient as can be, but still as you yourself point out - it does take a dedicated volunteer to devote their own personal time to helping out at 1x.

 

Peter you have been very helpful, and we all thank you and must move on now.

Peter has gone above and beyond what was expected.

 

The Curator process can appear more complicated than it actually is. What I can say from knowing some of the Curators is that they are truly dedicated to photography, and to the members at 1x. A profile has been written about them. Go and have a look. Sometimes you can learn so much about someone from reading about their values, what they like and what photography means to them.

 

Thanks everyone for your input and ideas, and your thoughts. I have to agree with a passion for all those who wrote about photography as an Art...and how making pictures that you love and enjoy is simply the most important thing to consider.

 

I will end once again with Robert DeNiro's talk on the arts - he included photography.....and how we all have to understand the process of the artist. It is warm hearted and friendly.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE_9yXAJlxs

 

Enjoy the talk and good light to all.

Phyllis

Moderator

Great to hear from everyone here, I like reading your opinions on what makes a good photograph and your experiences with photography.

 

Also great to hear from a curator, thank you Peter for contributing to the discussion.

Thank you, Alex.

 

Evan

 

Hello Luc. Many thanks for your encouragement but actually my remark is not about dissatisfaction related to the publication of images. It's just about the general 'style' of the images that are published. As far as I can see, and yes, it may be a bit early to come to a conclusion, the kind of images that seem consistently to get published are not the kind of images I make. The four images I've put up are just trial pieces to gauge critical reaction. I'm more interested in 'story based' street images. I'm not making any claims here about the 'quality' of my work that's not what I'm saying at all. I just don't think the picture I make at the moment are the sort that will be of interest to your members and curators.

 

It's a good site - some really good images here - which is what the founders wanted - right?

 

Mike

Hi Michael,

I am generally of the same opinion as yours. If you look at pictures that were published in the early years of 1x, I think there were generally more styles included.

There seemed to be more editorial and story line pictures published. I think 1x has narrowed down their definition of "fine art" photos.

I think if some of the early photos that were published were sent to curation today, they would not be published.

Have a nice day!

Al

Hi Al,

It's also the 'style' of the images here. Monochrome images on this site, which is what I'm most interested in, seem to be much more 'processed' and many seem to me to be 'over-processed' to a degree that I find unattractive. Personal taste, of course, but nevertheless, not the kind f image I would create. My expectation of being published here is even lower for that reason. So, the 'editorial' style of 1x is also part of the equation for me, so I don't think that 1x will offer me what I was personally looking for, and I can't see me renewing my membership.

Mike

Hi Michael,

I am going thru a similar thought process as you. I do minimum post-processing on my pictures only because I would rather spend the time taking pictures than in front of a computer.

Once my membership term is over, a may drop down to a nonpaying member and use my created album portfolio as a link to viewers.

Best of luck! Al

 

 

After several years of paid membership with only two published images I decided not to renew the Pro status. I also think that the style of pictures here in 1x is developing away from my own style even more. Nevertheless, I still find al lot of inspiration here.

 

Thanks to an autodidactic course in portrait photography, my ratio of time spent out for taking pictures to the time spent for processing has much improved in favour of the frist. We are a class of eight amateurs and we are given challenging tasks by independent professionals we hire for several lessons.

My "advice" is to pursue what you really like in photography, and join with others (if you didn't already) who share your ambition.

 

All the best

Thomas

Hi Thomas,

Thanks for the advice. I take various types of photos, unlike most photographers that I have looked at on 1x. I don't like to concentrate on one theme or style. For this reason maybe I will always be the master of none.

Photography is more than just about being published.

Have a nice day!

Al

Before Curation, there's submissions. I'd like to know if there is a new policy that if submissions are rejected, there is no response from the Curators. On the last four or five photos I've submitted, I've received no response.

Thanks,

Larry

Hi Larry,

From what I understand, rejection notices are no longer being sent out.

Leigh

Head Moderator

 

I get that the curators have a challenging task to cull through so many images. However; one of the most common and biggest issues that stands out is the utter frustration in not getting ANY feedback of ANY sort. Zilch. Nada. Zero. Then we are all left puzzling over what to make of it, bruised egos, frustration in not having any idea what to do differently, etc. I have a few suggestions to consider that could start to address this and improve the site's teaching possibilities:

 

The GENERAL APPROACH could be to start to build a visible part of the site where the Curators type in the GENERAL concepts, principles and criteria on an ongoing basis as a habit and indeed, discipline to conduct. Then collect them over time (it gets better and better). Personally I find it easier to write them down when I'm engaged in evaluating an image in front of me. Examples of useful concepts, principles and criteria could be like the following, with the goal to be clear what is more expressive or things to avoid.

 

Images that are split into halves are weakly expressive because it is not clear which half is driving the expression. The lack of clarity erodes the expressive power of an image.

 

Uniqueness is more expressive than things that are familiar.

 

Originality is based on a powerful interpretation that has not been done before (or much).

 

Etc.

 

After a while there could be a very powerful set of guiding concepts, principles and criteria that would define the site and create something to embrace or refute. This is of course aimed at a vision/mission around artistic growth and development as well as learning. (my two cents on what the vision and mission should include. By the way, what exactly is the site's vision, mission and objectives? All great and enduring organization get really, really clear on such guiding principles and post them prominently).

 

The more specific approach, that could enable curation and critiques as well would be to create some sort of easy to use checklist or rating system with a shorter list of primary concepts, principles and criteria. Maybe a 0-5 rating.

 

Genre (from a pull down list).

Do we agree with the genre? (Yes/No).

The genre we think it really is. (pull down list)

 

Does it tell a Visual Story? (0-5)

Distractions (lack of them is Expressive Coherence): (0-5)

Technical Processing (does it support the expression? (0-5)

Uniqueness: (0-5)

Originality (does it interpret?): (0-5)

Clarity of meaning and message: (0-5)

Etc.

 

Ideally, the people submitting the image would fill in the check boxes first. It would be a "learning opportunity" to get such direct feedback.

 

Then there are the same check boxes to check off in both the Critique and Curation sections. Then make all of that input visible on the site to everyone. Show the averaged results by category and an overall score.

 

Then the curators could see what the general consensus is or isn't and sort them accordingly. In theory, it would make their lives easier to sort and then review only the highest scoring images. Part of the concept here is to:

 

Spread out the effort

Get everyone more involved

Get a more detailed feedback system in place that can evolve over time

Enhance learning and artistic growth by being clear as we can about how to measure such things. No one can progress until we can first measure it.

 

Thoughts?

 

Zane

 

PS: Did I mention that it would be great to get clear on the site's Vision/Mission/Objectives? and how important artistic growth is? ;-]

 

Thank you, Leigh. I appreciate your response.

--Larry

 

I really like your ideas, Zane.

You have my support.

 

 

While I agree with your points (in a general sense) at the same time I'm still not sure (as you point out below) what exactly is the objective of 1x. Is it about art? If so is it even possible to quantify or describe the principles of art? Isn't art necessarily an absolutely free flowing expression of ideas which cannot be limited to a specific agenda? Or is 1x more about stock photography? The more convincing argument to me is that 1x fits the second story better - maybe because the curators make that specific choice ... or maybe simply because the majority of submissions are aligning to that specific interpretation. (Unfortunately) I also believe that 1x is doing the best it can in this regard. After all ... if it starts publishing images that are highly artistic but not visually appealing or "perfect" in some sense ... it will surely either not appease the members to submit more or fail to entice 1x buyers. In general my "personal" observation is that there are other photography sites where the top level of artistry is better than 1x and very frequently I find images which make me think "Wow! I've never seen anything like that before". But when it comes to 1x it seems like its more of "Wow! This is a great example of something I've seen before". The difference is very clear. Personally my believe (and wish) is that if 1x wants to be at the forefront of artistic photography it should find ways to encourage and reward different styles of photography and not just the mainstream or "same old same old". If nothing else at least that will give me reason to come back to 1x more often as a source of inspiration.

 

It is really a very interesting and helpful discussion and it shows how difficult this process of curation is. It is really a lot of work to do for the curators. Maybe it is not always the question "what separates a great photograph from a good one" as was written before.

It is also in some times the question of popularity of a photo. If I send a photo for curation and it is not published with a low popularity let's say <35% I do not have a problem at all. And of course it does not mean that it is a bad photo, that's the game.

But our heart and soul lies in every photo which has been send to curation and of course everybody compares his photos with some others which have been published. And I admit (and maybe everybody, if he is not deceiving himself) that I am in some cases it is a bit frustrating if your photo with a popularity of 60% or more has not been published but one with 30% was. And in some cases I would like to know why it was not taken. But and this is the most important thing to me, in reality it will never be possible to discuss neither every photo nor every special case (btw what is a special case?). That's why the critique section is a very good tool if you want to discuss your photo, if you want to hear remarks from other photographers. I think that you can improve your style because of the discussion with other photographers (but for sure it does not mean that you will publish more).

Peter has written that it is difficult to hear a specific advice what makes a picture published, but to be honest, I do not want to hear it. I take photos for myself and not for 1x.com. This is the wrong way. When I take a photo I never reflect whether it will become a good photo for 1x.com. I admit that in some sections there is a certain style which you see more often published but it should not influence our style.

Marc

 

I wonder if you would share the name and url of the 'other photography sites' I am very curious as to which they are.

 

Regards

 

Mike

 

Gerard, your comments are the most accurate to describe the curator's decisions I have ever read.

 

From your post: "There are two main observations that of technical excellence and subject treatment with the subject choice being open in 1x.com. Any preference of subject choice would be covered by personal preferences of both the creator and curator and could not really be validated by a third party. Like the world's unfairness the subject choice advantage is largely a form of nepotism unlike the first two choices which are largely predictable and calculable."

 

Amen. I hope the curators read this and understand that is the point I have been trying to make about subject bias.

 

I am a landscaper and I have been some discouraged by the curator's subject preferences. A prominent one I have seen is the fog and sunrays through trees in a flat landscape. Then there are the Iceland shots. But maybe I will get the chance to go to Iceland for the mountains and the black sand beach and the grass tufts shot. Another example if we all went to the Namib desert like Antelope Canyon would almost every Namib shot get published? No. So getting an Iceland or Namib shot may get me published but it would still be cynical moment for me.

 

And, I have been with 1x for six months and it so valuable for me that I really don't care about publication anymore. I want to become a better photographer but I have my style and I don't have the money to travel the world or buy a spot on the best photography group trips. I have a small camping trailer and guide books for the American West.

 

Again, thanks Gerard for best analysis and to all the others that wrote long and thoughtful comments that I will be rereading for a long time.

 

Cheers everyone,

 

Rob Corkran

 

 

Hey Mike,

 

I joined 500px in late 2014 and 1x in August, 2015 so my experience is limited but I intend to stay in 500px although 1x is the more valuable network. The editors there and the curators here have biases and I have quit worrying about that level of recognition. I have started a career in landscape photography now and the most valuable aspect of both communities is the support from the other members.

 

So I use the two as a pipeline. I upload a shot to 500px and boom, within 12, 24, or 48 hours I know the reaction of viewers. If it got enough likes then it gets uploaded here. And a week later I decide if a shot is appreciated enough here that it goes to my website.

 

1. Curation = personal call = same concept in every art gallery (web or physical) in the planet earth

2. Not positively curated for publication is not = to bad in every art gallery (web or physical in planet earth

3. 1X = curated web art gallery

4. 1X main page publication = hand picked image by curators

5. Physical gallery exhibition = hand picked image curator(s)

6. 1X publication = physical gallery exhibition

Just some guide lines one can take by reading the site FAQs about the criteria and heading of this comunity.

 

Many thanks Alex for posting this thread.

 

It brought a lot of clarification for me and helped me to stay longer here at 1x.com.

 

Nevertheless, I would like to add another topic related to the curation-process.

As far as I can see, it is very much desired here at 1x.com to expand your “piece of art” by adding an original title as well as an interesting background-story.

 

Since I don’t want to add descriptions I can find a red “No” in the respective part of my editor making me think that I don´t meet the expectations of the platform. And this again makes me think that my pictures have a lower chance to be published.

 

In my opinion everything here is about photography, about one special picture / shot / photograph / piece of art which should be “assessed”.

I think that adding an original title and a “thrilling” background-story CAN influence the judgement of us all – users as well as professional curators.

 

What is your opinion about this point?

 

(Another) Alex

 

1. Curation is an activity that only cares about the picture itself = only the picture and nothing else more than the picture.

 

2. Curators are NOT curating titles, descriptions/narratives and photographers. They curate just the picture inside a certain category.

 

3. So, for the curation process it is completely unnecessary to look and to know:

a) titles (many don´t even have a title)

b) narratives/descriptions (this is not about beautiful writing, technical narrative, poetry, etc.)

c) photographers (who is who..., etc.)

4. All things beyond the image are just optional, and have no influence in the process, just because it is all about "the" image itself.

In search of novelty and originality in photos curators remind me of those hunters that are carefully looking for a black cat in a dark room, especially if it's not there. ... And often find her :-)

@ Alexander

 

The only genre that traditionally uses a text description with the image has been photojournalism. Then all other genres need to rely on the expressive strength of the image on it's own. That is the grand challenge and perhaps a key in how we TRANSLATE our what our 5 senses perceive into a purely visual language.

 

I do not agree, estimated Zane Paxton :

The title that an author decides for the work ... It has much to do with the inspiration that motivates you during the creative process.

Personally, I love the work with title.

I always title all my work, for me it is an important part.

I never do in order to test the five senses of the spectator ....

I always put title for my own satisfaction during the creative process, and set free my five senses ...

The images and the words "cohabit" with no problems.

The photograph is a personal medium of free expression, should not "exclude" all that the author considers that enriches its creation.

 

Thank you very much for sharing your personal opinions, subjective, valid and respectable ... as all personal opinions ... when we talk about art.

All the best

Sol

Hey Paulo,

 

Unlike Sol, although I agree with him on titles in general, you eased my worries about titles and descriptions. I worried that my shots were being rejected for unromantic titles of my landscape shots which often are as simple as the name of the mountain. I used to write descriptions but I worried that if I was not writing a poem for each shot (as I was told once) that might hurt my chances. So I gave up on descriptions as I saw few published shots writing a description.

 

As I have said in other posts I don't worry know if my shots are not getting published for reasons within my control and outside my control. Just being a member of this community and the interactions with others is good enough for me.

 

But I would like your reaction to what Gerard Ferry wrote about the curation process: "There are two main observations that of technical excellence and subject treatment with the subject choice being open in 1x.com. Any preference of subject choice would be covered by personal preferences of both the creator and curator and could not really be validated by a third party. Like the world's unfairness the subject choice advantage is largely a form of nepotism unlike the first two choices which are largely predictable and calculable."

 

I don't think he or I mean to be negatively critical. I am a recovering social scientist so he nailed the way I think about it.

 

And if I went through the last year of published landscape photos I could find many repeating subjects, like Lofoten, or the biggies in Iceland. There there is the fog through trees with sunrays as seen from a higher point. I also remember reading in the FAQ's that the curators were just looking for new things.

 

I know most of the curators are working as volunteers and they do the best the can with the limited time they have but as this community grows I wonder if the current process will be feasible going forward. I think the hybrid curated and voted contests are a good hybrid system and of course curation was the reason most of us joined.

 

Anyway thanks so much for all the crew's participation in this forum. I think it is the best discussion on the topic

 

Rob Corkran

 

Hi Rob,

Sorry my friend, but in my just humble opinion, I can not agree less. I tried to as much objective as I could, in my two previous posts and I think the answer you want from me is there already, in those posts.

What is to discuss...? :)

- What curators do...? They curate.

- What do they curate? They curate pictures.

- How they curate? They curate by their personal criteria, of course...., not by my criteria, or not by your criteria. It´s their call/decision.

It´s like this anywhere where there is curation: a) international photo contests, the same; b) art galleries, the same; c) museums, the same - the list could go on.

In the end it´s just what it is: a decision or a personal judgement call from someone that actually have the knowledge to do it.

You can disagree, you can think that you would do different, you can think a lot of things and different things, you can have a different approach/model/criteria/etc. but it´s not your decision, it´s their decision. I think this is very easy to understand :)

Wishing you a great weekend ahead,

Paulo

 

Paulo,

 

You don't need to write me back so to the weekend we go and if we want we can start this up next week.

 

I apologize if I made you feel that you had not answered Gerard's point in general. Yes you have and we all agree the curators are humans and photographer humans.

 

And I don't know if there is a better way so no worries. The community is very valuable to me in many other ways.

Rob:

My best advice:

Enjoy photography with all senses.

Use all your life experience, all tools available, everything that makes you feel good everything you think is good for the result of your work.

 

when a curator "rejects"...it's just a "reader"

We all know read, but each of us interpret it differently, Errors of grammar and spelling in each reading, can be assessed.

 

The formulas exist for the technique.

There is no formula for feelings

 

1x is a gallery the world.

Just enjoy and share your work with the world.

The rest ... only time will tell!! :-)

 

The reader of the work always has the last word

 

Good weekend!! :-)

Sol

Hello all,

Sorry if this is not relevant to this topic, but i could not find where I could post the question. I have made a mistake uploading the file with the copyright, and only noticed it when it was in curation... I wasn't able to delete it and couldn't find the reupload button so just left it there.... anyhow... i was contacted by a curator asking me to change the image as it is against the rules to have a copyright on the images.... fair enough i new the rules...i apologised and was guided to how to reupload...all well there... i did reupload. But that made me look closer.... i have noticed A LOT OF images that are published with the copyright.... Maybe there are other rules that i do not know? Maybe other "animals" are more equal than others ...?

Sorry i do not mind no copyright.... i think it is a good idea for curation process and i probably would not have minded that at all if i was not contacted personally...

have a good day

regards

Greta

Hello Greta,

 

This comment would be appropriate to the Off-Topic section of the forum.

 

If you go to the Settings tab on your profile page and scroll down towards the bottom, you will see some choices you may click or unclick. One of these is the option to have your name appear at the bottom of your photos (best if the image is in sRGB mode). There is a short time-delay to activate the action, but once in place will create a uniform copyright signature in the lower left of each image. The look is consistent and not as disturbing as individually-designed copyrights which can appear in any size or any location. It may be too late to apply to the photo currently in curation, but could be applied in future.

 

Hope this helps to answer your question.

 

Evan Oz

Moderator

Hi Greta,

 

It's easy.

Uploads in your portfolio and sending to curation has always to be without copyright notices or watermarks.

 

If you wish to have the 1X copyright in your photo, go to the settings page (dropdown under your profile avatar on the right side of the screen) and choose "Append my name ..." in the "Features" tab.

 

That will automatically show "copyright_name" in all your photos in your portfolio, but not in the curation process.

 

Cheers:)

Luc Vangindertael

Moderator

Thank you very much for such a fast respond :) have a lovely afternoon.

Greta

Hello everybody,

 

I would like to thank everybody for participating in this forum, your contributions helped me understand better not only the curation process, but also the "DNA" of 1x.

 

I still have a few technical question to whom it may concern:

 

- Curation by members:

1. What is the algorithm assigning a particular photo to a particular member for voting - is it purely random or are there any rules / constraints (e.g. category affinity such as portrait photos being more likely presented to members uploading namely portrait photos, etc. etc.)?

2. What is the formula for the popularity score - is it just number of "publish" votes divided by the total number of votes?

 

- Curation by curators:

1. What is the algorithm assigning a particular photo to a particular curator? I assume there might be rules such as "street" photo is assigned to a curator "specialized" in street category, etc. In particular, is there a rotation of curators for deciding about photos a particular member? (Assigning always the same 1 or 2 curators to a particular member posting only mood photos might be a bit "unfair", or maybe not :).)

2. I have read in the discussion that the curator sees just a photo, i.e. does not see the title, the author name, etc. Still, I assume the curator sees popularity score and category - is it right? And is there any other information available to the curator?

 

Very many thanks in advance for answers, kind regards,

 

Marek Boguszak

Hello Marek

Hope you are doing right.

 

Maybe I can help something:

 

1. Curation by members:

That´s only a "tool" (maybe it´s just a way of calling it) that 1X provides to his members to receive some "blind" (not completely) feedback of the pictures submissions. There are no influence at all (I mean, zero) of this "curation" in the "curation done by the curators".

The math formula or algorithm maybe is something that 1X can not become public..., like all the "secret sauce" (math algorithm) of every photo web site (with no exception, that I know).

 

2. Curation by Curators:

There are no algorithm at all..., like it is said in the FAQs..., the pictures are hand picked by the curators..., meanning: human picked..., one by one...!

 

3. Please be kind and read my 3 previous posts (just 3 or 4 posts above yours), because I think they can answer many or others of your doubts about this issue.

 

Best Regards,

Paulo

Every time one of my images gets accepted by curators, I feel a little like a fraud.

Every time one of my images fails to get through curation, I feel I know why.

Whilst I never shoot with 1x in mind, I know that submitting here has upped my game.

Dear Paulo,

 

very many thanks for your very prompt reply. Just to avoid misunderstanding - I do not have any doubts about the curation and I fully understand and completely accept and respect the ultimate authority of curators and I am not unhappy about it. And I am overall very happy to have a chance to get a great inspiration and learning at 1x!

 

I have read your previous entries into the discussion even earlier and I understand it (at least I hope so). I was just curious about the internal logic and procedures - and I understand that some of my questions remain without answers and that some parts of the process of curation - not the decision by the curators, it is clear and OK! - remain a black box.

 

Thank you so much again, have a nice day, kind regards,

 

Marek

Hi Marek,

You are welcome.

Glad my help was somehow useful.

Cheers, and wish you a great week ahead,

Paulo

 

Ken I just glanced at your portfolio and wow! You should not feel like a fraud. The quality of your work is very high and consistently very high from shot to shot. There is in any curation system, curators with their own subject biases. This is human nature. So enjoy your position within the subject bias.

 

Cheers,

 

Rob Corkran

I am a member of this 1x.com website since 2007 with 1016 uploaded pictures.

Only one of these many images has been accepted by the curators.

Does it mean that my way and style of photography is inferior to other photographers here ? I leave it up to you to judge.

 

Cheers,

Gustav

"Does it mean that my way and style of photography is inferior...."

 

Inferior, superior, good, bad, right, wrong, etc... are all personal judgments and I'd suggest that they just aren't really very useful for personal growth and learning in an artistic conversation.

 

What I'd suggest is far more useful is to focus on distinguishing what makes an image highly expressive (or not). Is this an easy task? NOT!

 

I too only have ONE image that has made it into the galleries. The useful thing about that is it set me to work on a (lifelong) quest to distinguish what makes imagery more expressive, based on a deepening understanding of how our perceptions work, visual story telling, visual metaphors for meaning, message and emotions, etc.

 

"Courage to frustrate the blows of fate." Heraclitus.

 

Without any jokes I admire your fortitude and courage, Gustav !

 

I suggest to those who send in the curation 1,000 photos allow to publish 3-5

 

photos of their choice. :-)

Good morning Zane and Vladimir,

 

thank you very much for taking your time commenting on my note.

Your words are very much appreciated.

Best wishes and always Good Light,

Gustav

I have been on 1x for a few months now and I am very frustrated and disappointed with the process.

I feel like I am posting my pictures in the twilight zone i.e. the chances of being seen, let alone "discovered" seem to be about nil.

I understand that curators look at pictures and decide which ones get published, but do they really look at EVERY picture that is posted? I doubt it. How many pictures a day would that be by curator?

 

And how can I gain in popularity (in the sense of getting people to at least look at my work) if they are not seen by anyone, which in turn means low popularity rating, which is probably taken into account in the decision to publish a picture or not.

 

I have had a few comments on some of my pictures from people who say they think such and such picture deserves to be published because of its quality, originality, etc., but in the end, it is not.

 

I like the quality of the pictures on this site but I feel like I don't exist. Posting a picture on 1x and hope to get at least seen is like posting a picture in my bathroom with the lights off and the door closed.

 

There is not even a thread of people I follow so that I can support them. In a similar fashion, no one who follows me knows readily when I post a new picture, so of course, my pictures just sit there and hardly get comments or likes.

 

I think that I have something to contribute to this site but it seems to me to be pointless because of the obsurity into which I post my pictures.

 

Hi Lucie

Maybe your doubts can be cleared just by reminding some of the heading lines of 1X:

 

1. Like you say - no..., 1X is not like other photo sites.

2. It´s different and have it´s own heading.

3. The priority in 1X is not to be popular, like in other photo web sites.

4. The main goal here is to be published in the main page or/and just to participate in the site activities beyond the main page publishing (contests, monthly theme, etc...) or/and just to see some high quaity published work.

5. The curators actually not only see all the pictures submited to curation but they also curate each one of those pictures..., curating is different than just seeing.

6. If you don´t believe that..., well maybe you just have to reconsider..., the way I see this issue, it´s not possible to be in a non reliable / trustworthy place - imho, the opposite view just transforms all the work of so many people in a bad joke.

 

Please be kind and take some time to read my 2 or 3 posts just above yours, maybe they can clear some more of your doubts about 1X.

 

Best regards,

Paulo

To Sol Marrades .

{re your comment: My best advice:

Enjoy photography with all senses.

Use all your life experience, all tools available, everything that makes you feel good everything you think is good for the result of your work.]

 

A great philosophy to follow Sol.

 

And re your comment {Just enjoy and share your work with the world.] I would say that that is what I am trying to do but I do feel that I don't get to really share my work here because hardly anyone sees it because of the way it is set up.

 

But I'll definitely keep your advice in mind.

Cheers

Lucie

i

 

Thank you very much Paulo for taking the time to reply and try to help me understand the process better.

 

I did take the time to read all your posts and they did clear some doubts but not all of them! Thank you for all your help.

 

You are always welcome, Lucie, and if you need somenthing more from me, please say.

Regards,

Paulo

 

Lucie, dear friend:

 

If you enjoy photography ... all the rest is irrelevant. (It is a personal opinion)

The photograph must serve me ... just for my own personal satisfaction. Later, secondarily, it is possible that sometimes the result of my work likes the world; when this happens I will be happy about it and nourish my "human vanity"

But honestly I do not worry too much.

 

Thank you very much for your kind words!

 

Good luck ... to find good light!

 

All the best

Sol

One day when Marie Antoinette was informed that the peasants are protesting

because they have not bread, she said

 

"Let they eat brioche» ( «Qu'ils mangent de la brioche»).

Hello,

how is it possible that the curation process finishes even though the photo has less than 60 views?

Regards

Elke

Hi Elke,

 

60 votes is not a magical number, it's a guidance. The curators will look at your photo anyway, can be after 40 views, can be after 140 views.

 

I have similar experience, the length of the curation process varies with the number of photos presented, in other words with the workload of the curators.

 

Best regards,

 

Luc

Moderator

Thanks for replying, Luc

Regards

Elke

I keep hearing 60 votes, but when I have an image in curation all it show is popularity % no votes? Can someone shed some light? Thanks

Hi Richard,

 

In the "manage photos" section of your portfolio you can read the statistics for each of your photos. There you will find the number of views on your photo. This corresponds roughly to the number of votes. It's not a 100% match, people can view your photo in your portfolio without voting (example people who follow your work). The actual number of votes is not shown in the statistics, only the percentage of positive member votes.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Luc

Moderator

Thank you Luc

Hi,

I am very grateful to the participants of this discussion to help me taking the

 

decision to leave in several months the site and delete the uploads.

 

I even looked

 

at the other discussions and found some interesting information as 50% of the

 

published members having a free membership and 99% of the published

 

photos are made by the professional cameras .

 

Since my inscription in October, I was in a pleasant delusion : Ix.com

 

send me the e-mails " your photo was not published, do not delete, it can be

 

reconsidered".

 

So, I was working hard to attract attention ( I took part in critique, got some

 

favorites, features...) and

 

now I understood that it was a waste of time.

 

As Lucie Gagnon wrote, I felt myself found in the cave. IF YOU ARE NOT

 

PUBLISHED , NOBODY SEES YOUR PICTURES. Example: on of my last "

 

Romantic park"- 7days, 6 views. I have 3000 at facebook.

 

But that was the goal - to show the result of my 10 years work and receive the

 

recognition. 1x.com says in search for the new talents. And I have some not bad

 

pictures. I feel myself deceived and disappointed.

 

Sol Marrades wrote a lot about a sense of life and photography, but did she

 

look at my work ( I really admire her work) as I followed her ? No.

 

A famous Shenshen Dou and a wise Jonahes Januar did.

 

Besides the high values, there are the vulgar things like money. It is expensive

 

and extremely difficult to expose and market yourself when you are unknown

 

and you survive.

 

In conclusion, my photographs are rejected, so 1x.com does not interest me

 

anymore. Nowadays, the art sites appeared as the mushrooms after the rain,

 

let's look for the

 

others...http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/may/10/artworks-for-sale-online-gallery-market-talent

 

Many published photos to everybody,

Sasha

 

Alexander,

 

I am sorry that you feel disappointed with your experience at 1X.

 

Being an artist is not easy. Remember Vincent Van Gogh made more than 2000 drawings and paintings, but sold only one in his lifetime. One. The curators of the time didn't approve of his work either.

 

This was the painting he sold for 400 francs just a few months before he died. 'The Red Vineyard'.

 

http://www.vangoghgallery.com/catalog/Painting/466/Red-Vineyard,-The.html

 

1X is not a perfect place, but which other one is?

 

. . . . . Steven

Vladimir,

 

I understand your frustration completely but I have some good experiences that I could share. When I first got frustrated, Phyllis was nice enough to explain how to get more attention to your shots here.

 

Of course, like any site, the more followers you have the more views and likes you will have. But the group (forum) participation is now what I count on. I can post my shots in the landscape monthly gallery. In this way I have found new friends and mentors. And several of my shots have been selected as one the three shots per week by the curators of the landscape gallery. To me that is as satisfying as publication because it is just landscape folks judging landscapes.

 

So I am enjoying some macabre humor about publication and it would take a while to get to Gustav's number of shots but I just might beat his record by getting to 1017 shots with anyone being published.

 

Courage, mon ami, courage.

 

And cheers,

 

Rob Corkran

 

Sol Marrades wrote a lot about a sense of life and photography, but did she

 

look at my work ( I really admire her work) as I followed her ? No.

 

Dear alexander:

If you will allow me, with all due respect:

 

The sense of life is very delicate and dangerous ... you not have anything to do with the passion that you can feel for photography.

 

With regard to monitoring of their work:

On several occasions I have seen his work;...however its "empirical-vital" knowledge is very different from mine; this means that one is different. This is not bad.

You express "their world" their way ... I my way: It is not better; It is not worse. just different.

Would be bad if I deceive you with words that do not feel, just to satisfy his "ego" Do not you think?

Do not be discouraged; continue to work, and above all continue to enjoy ... first of life ... and then photography.

His work must be sustained by itself; ...no forums, no galleries as "1x", "facebook" "flickr" ... ... it must be consistent and have sufficient strength not need any of this.

All this is only complementary and casual...

I do not practice "photographic discipline" thinking about the number of visits; and I do not practice photography thinking if the result of my work will like the world.

Just I enjoy photography, in the same way that I enjoy of poetry and the music ... and through all this, I get enjoy life. :-)

 

Try to understand this.

"A thousand viewfinders" ... "A thousand visions" ... "Thousand versions" ... "A thousand readings": all different always.

I wish you all the best

Sol

 

Dear Rob! At my age, can not be any frustration and I do not make any illusions peculiar to you. I understand what is 1x, the motivation of the organizers and the many members. This site has given me a lot of good and the publication is not paramount for me. On the site, there are other equally important and more general problems and curation only part of the problems.

And I advise you as a relatively young member of 1x to listen more and not to comment and give advice to those who is not waiting them.

Good luck to you, my young friend !

.... Van Gogh was supported and loved by the brother and his wife, besides, who compares the different epoques, for what reason.

 

.....we discuss a concrete subject - the membership, the invisibility, the curation which is unfair, not the persons and enjoyment of life. There is a proverb - a person who has eaten a good dinner does not understand a hungry one.

 

....I found the discussion taken 3 months ago...

 

https://1x.com/forum/572/3260/1457988365

 

and absolutely agree with Inna Blar

 

bon weekend, enjoy photography but not 1x.com

 

Sasha

 

I often find that these curation threads contains two limbs:

1) My images are not being published

2) I don't value images that are being published.

 

If both points are put forward, then surely, you have the answer?

Thank you very much Sol for your comment.

Of course I enjoy photography very much for my own personal satisfaction, but perhaps like someone that would write a novel, I like to think that my work gets seen.

I am not sure that if someone wrote a novel and no one read it, that that person would feel fine about that.

 

That is why for me, being seen (and published) has a certain importance besides the act of photography itself.

 

All the best to you too.

Lucie

Is it just my computer or the result of the discussion? If you look at the published photos and go into photo info, you can see the number of views but not anymore the popularity in %.

Is there a reason why??

Everything is important to me ...

However, always I try my "well-being and my satisfaction" does not depend on others.

Sometimes I get it ... other times; not

If the photograph does not bring me "well-being, joy and satisfaction" ... makes no sense to me.

 

There are people who write an "intimate diary" every day of your life, they feel good ... and are happy doing so, do not need anyone to read... :-)

 

I like to see my work published; it makes me happy...; But When the "Curators" reject my work:

It is no reason for my "discouragement"

It is no reason for any "concern"

No reason for any "doubt"

 

I continue my way ... my rhythm ...

Those who want to walk with me, they are welcome, Those who want to run faster; are respected by my!

 

All the best Lucie,

Thank you for your message!! :-)

Sol

I have a technical question. When a photo is published by a curator, does it immediately appear on the front page, or is there some delay?

Hi Alex,

 

Usually it takes about 3 days between decision and publication. In my experience it can take longer but never shorter. Depends on the number of photos waiting for publication.

 

Cheers,

Luc

Moderator

 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

As far as I can observe, the popularity ranking completely disappeared from photos both in curation and after curation (be it published or not published). It is fine with me, even though I admit that some motivation (disappointment or encouragement) disappeared.

However, now I do not understand what is the purpose of the part of the curation by members (those approximately 60 views)? The curators do not take into account the results of this voting, the members do not see any piece of information except number of views. So why to bother with the curation by members, all photos might go directly to curators. Or not? If not, why?

Does anybody know how many curators decide rejection/publication of a particular photo?

 

Also I have been told the original number views before the rejection/publication decision was 100 views, but that has been scaled back to 60. I don't think the number of views matter to the rejection/publication decision but curation is an important way to get other member's attention to your work. There are other ways of course... galleries and critiques, but to me one of the best things about the 1x community is the interaction between members.

 

And as the number of members grow, should not the numbers of curators grow too?

 

These are not complaints, I'm just a recovering academic and a curious bugger.

 

Rob Corkran

 

Hi Rob,

 

We have 14 curators right now. Have a look in the tab " More>crew" and you will find them easily. I can recommend to have a look in their portfolios and read the interviews for the curators who have made an interview.

 

As Peter Svoboda explained higher up in this tread, all the curators do not see all the photos. Please read that part.

 

On the number of views, it seems that in earlier times the number was close to 100, now it's rather close to 60. Main reason is the number of photos presented. Anyway, whether it's 60 or 100, the curators will always view a photo presented for screening, without exception.

 

I agree with you that participating in the groups and/or in critique is a good way to receive feedback on your work.

 

Take care,

 

Luc

Moderator

Thanks Luc,

 

I read Peter's and Phyllis' comment above. Sorry for repeating that question.

 

Rob

Someone asked how the popularity score was calculated and after studying patterns in my own popularity scores I THINK I have a possible equation (I am a bit of a math nerd and puzzle solver). Here goes:

 

Minimum popularity score = 25%

 

Popularity = 25% + (# votes to publish/Total votes)

 

Example: In curation, you have 20 views/votes. Let's say that 10 people vote to publish and 10 reject. The popularity score would be 25% + 10/20 = 75%. If the proportion of curators voting to Publish exceeds 75%, the score is capped at 100%. When 1X used to publish the popularity score of accepted images I saw a few with 100% scores.

 

If after 60 votes, 20 people voted to publish and 40 rejected, you would have a popularity score of 25% + 20/60 = 58%.

 

If no one votes to publish, you would remain at a 25% score.

 

I am not positive of this, but it seems to fit the pattern I have seen.

 

This is a very interesting thread, and my own experience mirrors that of some others. I have been a member for about 10 months, and I used to get frustrated at rejection by the curators. I also found myself asking a nagging question in my head when I was out shooting..."is this scene good enough to make 1x?" I realized how absurd that was about 3 months ago and let go of the concept of trying to please the Curators of 1X. After all, we all have a POV that is unique and while my aesthetic may not please one person it may please someone else...or more importantly, it may please me!

 

It doesn't mean I have stopped caring to be published, and I believe that this site is making me a better technical photographer. BUT, only by letting go of trying to create a "publishable image" will I ever create anything that is original or is true to my point of view.

 

Ironically, the 2 images that I have had published are not the ones I expected to be popular/published. So, the process is subjective by nature...and I am OK with that now.

 

Hi Rob,

I think you might be rationalizing a bi but that's OK. Here's my analysis.

100 views vs. 60 views is important because the the sample size is greater leading to more accurate popularity rating.

I think the number views do matter for rejection/publication. My understanding is that they decide how much further the photo goes.

To me the most important thing is how many curators look at the photos. The greater the number, the less influence of bias. One absurd example: You submit a landscape, the number of views are low, only curators who specialize in portraits look at it. I think the chance that picture will rejected is much higher.

Some posts on this forum have said that photos were rejected because they did not fit 1x definition of "fine art". I agree.

If publication was not important for exposure, there would not be so many complaints. I received a lot more exposure when one of photos was published then at any other time.

I am not a full time photographer(hobby), so it does not matter much to me.

Good luck shooting in The Rockies.

Al

Could someone please explain how the popularity percentage is calculated? And why it never goes below 25%?

Someone asked how the popularity score was calculated and after studying patterns in my own popularity scores I THINK I have a possible equation (I am a bit of a math nerd and puzzle solver). Here goes:

 

Minimum popularity score = 25%

 

Popularity = 25% + (# votes to publish/Total votes)

 

Example: In curation, you have 20 views/votes. Let's say that 10 people vote to publish and 10 reject. The popularity score would be 25% + 10/20 = 75%. If the proportion of curators voting to Publish exceeds 75%, the score is capped at 100%. When 1X used to publish the popularity score of accepted images I saw a few with 100% scores.

 

If after 60 votes, 20 people voted to publish and 40 rejected, you would have a popularity score of 25% + 20/60 = 58%.

 

If no one votes to publish, you would remain at a 25% score.

 

I am not positive of this, but it seems to fit the pattern I have seen.

 

Hey Rob,

 

I have wondered myself about the popularity scores as has a lot of us. I have started a discussion or two about this as well as publication.

 

I just checked another explanation in another recent forum.

 

You are right I think except for the minimum.

 

So after 20 curation views.

 

I have 1 publish vote = 5% but my score is 25%

I have 2 publish votes = 10% but my score is 25%

I have 3 publish votes = 15% but my score is 25%

I have 4 publish votes = 20% but my score is 25%

I have 5 publish votes = 25% and my score is 25%

I have 6 publish votes = 30% and my score is 30%

 

In the past I have complained a little about the minimum. I haven't had a lot of 25% shots but enough to argue for the actual score from 1-24%. I want to know and I do not fear the truth...mostly.

 

Peace my man,

 

Rob

 

 

Rob -

 

You are braver than I. I am not sure I want to see a 0% score, although it would probably be deserved....

Hey dude,

 

You do not need to fear because you do well here.

 

And it is difficult and it is a little hard to reconcile the reaction over at 500px and then the one you get here. Most of the times it correlates pretty well but there are some other times it is hard to understand.

 

Some blue sky picking through fluffy cumulus clouds and wind to kick up the snow on the tops of peaks so I am out of here.

 

Later,

 

Rob

 

 

Hi Lucie,

 

No, I just sort of assume the first 60-70 views are mostly curation views. Maybe the editors know. Now I most always add a new shot to a gallery and introduce them that way so I mix in some other views during curation.

 

Is that what you were asking?

 

Rob

 

Hi Rob,

That was sort of what I was asking. I guess that you are guessing at the number of views, but don't know how you bring in numbers saying how many people vote for a photo to be publish.

But that's ok. It will remain a mystery and obscure process.

Thanks for the reply.

Cheers

Lucie

Hey guys,

I got a question. Did the curation process somehow speed up? I get way more clicks on my images now and they get rejected after one day already. Does this happen to you as well?

 

Regards

 

Daniel

Hi Daniel,

 

As far as i know it only depends of the workload of the curators. Maybe they were not many photos send to curation the last days. The average is normally spoken after a day or three, at least when i look to my pictures.

 

Marc

I think it may depend on the fact that before you could skip to next image without voting.

Hi,

I want to ask a question about this subject. I follow my photo's process of curation, although it has been seen by 30 -or more- people the percentage never changes. Maybe some of the people quitted without voting but most of them must have voted. I wrote this problem to the curators and they said it was because the votes didn't change the percentage as lots of people had already voted but this is impossible mathematically :) then, what's the reason?

 

Hi,

 

I also have a question.

I try to spend 10 minutes every day on voting for curation.

Lately, when I accept or reject a photo, I get the same photo to vote for again, 2 or sometimes even 3 times. Personally, I don't think its fair for the uploader that I can vote multiple times for his/her picture. I think its some error in the system. Is there somebody that can have a look at this?

 

greetings,

Dominic

 

 

Dominic, I don't think that you're right. Sometimes, however, it seems to be the same image but if you look very closely, there are minor differences in the angle or in other issues. If one member uploads a series of very similar images, it can happen that these are presented in a row to the voter so that he thinks that the same image appears twice or more times.

 

Cheers, Hans-Martin

 

 

Hmmm indeed it could be something like this, Hans-Martin.

I will look close and let it know here if this is the case.

 

Greetings,

Dominic

Hans

Sorry to say, but I think Dominic is right....... .it is not in a row

it happens the next day. you get the same photo.......Unfortunately.

You don't expect us to search for minor differences..???? This cannot be the

the meaning of voting......?

Best regards

Jan

Jan,

 

it happened several times that I saw an image where I thought I had already voted on. But it was definitively another image from the same author. Slightly different, but different. Sometimes but NOT ALWAYS presented directly one after another. In that case go to your curator portal, look who was the author of the image and then go to his/her profile. Have a look at his/her portfolio, then you can see the different images that are very similar (e.g. female portraits).

 

I only told that this was MY PERSONAL impression, may be Dominic is right. But I didn't notice that I got the same picture to vote on twice.

 

Cheers, Hans-Martin

 

Hans

Sorry to say, but I think Dominic is right....... .it is not in a row

it happens the next day. you get the same photo.......Unfortunately.

You don't expect us to search for minor differences..???? This cannot be the

the meaning of voting......?

Best regards

Jan

 

Hi Dominic,

Thanks for writing about this.

 

I had a similar experience myself but it was only for a short time and I attributed it to a bug. Actually, at first I thought it might be my computer. I was not on long and since then it has not happened again.

 

Is this still happening for you? If so can you report it again here...

 

One thing I am aware of from the past (not sure if this is still true) is that when I vote on many photos for a long period of time...and I have skipped one or more by using the back browser,, it always - came back....it just took a long time to see it again. I try not to skip photos so it is rare.

 

Let us know if it continues.

 

Thanks,

Phyllis

Moderator

 

Well, Phyllis, to come back to my statement (that Jan Niezen doubted) a few posts earlier, I will give you an example of similar photos:

 

Look at the following user:

 

https://1x.com/member/qzuzkap

 

Go to the portfolio ( not only published ), then scroll to line 9 or 10 or 11, then you'll see some images that only differ slightly.

 

In the member voting process the voter may have the impression that it's always the same photo although it's definitively not.

 

And there are a lot of other examples. Hope, that help's.

 

Cheers, Hans-Martin

Dear Hans

It is not what I mean. I am speaking about real the same photo.

Sometimes it is even the next day, I see the photo of yesterday again.

It is not a big issue. And I cannot speak for other people ofcourse :-)

To all have a nice day

Jan

 

Kenp, you must be kidding us. A fraud, for chrissake! Your works are sheer beauty, my friend.

Hello everybody,

I want to hook up to the topic highlighted by Dominic and Jan.

I do curate occasionally and since the last changes to the curator portal it happened quite frequently to incur in the same image two and even three times in the same session.

It's also true what Hans says that there are many photographers submitting different but similar images, I'm aware of that but this it's not the case.

I hope somebody will work on it.

 

Let me also say that I miss the possibility to skip a picture I'm not comfortable in judging.

I consider the hint, given here by somebody, to give people the possibility to select the genre of photography to curate a splendid idea.

 

Last but not least, lowering the resolution of the pics in curation did probably accelerate the process and now curation works well on mobile devices like our Iphone; on the other hand I would never want my pictures been curated by someone through his Iphone and I find difficult to judge on a photo without the possibility to see it at full res. I really preferred how it was before even if slower sometimes.

I also strongly believe that curating through small screen devices really undervalue the work of every photographer; a photograph can't be judged if looking at something of a stamp size. ;-)

 

Please find this without any polemic.

 

Enjoy you evening!! :)

 

Regards,

Carlo

 

 

Hi Phyllis,

 

First, I want to say that its not my intention to start a negative discussion here about this. I'm the ever positive guy ;)

 

I was in doubt myself after the answer of Hans Martin. He could have been right. So I digged in my curation portal and finally I found 2 pictures where I thought they where the same. I went to the photographers personal page and saw it where 2 almost the same pictures. So here it was my mistake and I was wrong. I couldn't find other pics in my portal to prove my point.

 

Then I did another session of voting at my PC, to see if it occured again, but no, everything was good. Later that day, in a bored moment I decided to have another look and I did some voting on my phone (better do it on a big screen) and there I got a picture I saw before on my PC. Went to the photographers page trough curators portal and only saw one picture in that style. So I'm sorry to say, but it does happen that I see the same picture multiple times for voting.

 

For me, its not a big issue and I can live with it, but it doesn't seem fair to me for the owner of the picture. He can get 2 or 3 or maybe even more negative or positive votes from the same person.

 

I think its worth to have a closer look to this.

 

greetings,

Dominic

 

 

Carlo!

I fully agree with you regarding the lowered curation-size.

Please see the respective thread I started because I´m also worried because of that issue.

https://1x.com/forum/206/3517/1462623841

 

Best regards

Alex

I have expressed several times my doubts about the usefulness of member curation. Now, under the scheme that "forces" you to either press publish or reject or to abandon curation, it has become a farce. At the time of writing I have (after a long break) submitted a picture to the curators. The image has gathered 58 views so far and remains at a popularity of 25%. This means that all of the 58 viewers either pressed "Reject" or quit curation without a decision.

 

I suggest to abandon member curation entirely and to have curators' curation alone without a meaningless popularity score.

Totally agree Thomas!

It is the same with 70 views now☻

There is some lag between votes and score updates. Let's wait and see if that is the reason.

Thanks,

Leigh

Head Moderator

Hi Thomas,

I tend to agree with you on member curation. It has some issues. Lack of actual professional curation experience can cause members to except only photos within a narrower style group,

The experience of the staff curators hopefully would make them more open minded and less biased.

 

 

I doubt that. The picture has now been rejected after 190 views and the popularity is at 25% as from the beginning. I don't care about popularity or rejection as long as rejection is not based on the negative clicks of 190 viewers who rushed through member curation.

" I don't care about popularity or rejection as long as rejection is not based on the negative clicks of 190 viewers who rushed through member curation."

I totally agree with you Thomas!

best regards

Marc

 

 

Thomas,

 

some of your statements are definitively wrong. As Leigh pointed out, there is a time lag between votes and score updating. This was already said in other threads.

 

1. VIEWS are not identical with VOTES. Views are counted when somebody clicks on your image, votes are counted when somebody votes on your image during member curation. This is not the same. In the case of your actual image: yesterday I clicked about five times on your image (after you posted your message) to see the image you referred on. Suppose 20 members did the same. These clicks are all counted as views and have nothing to do with voting. So, 190 views does not mean 190 votes.

 

2. To my understanding (I may be wrong) the minimum popularity index 25% is due to a decision of the IT-programmers not to show a popularity below 25%, especially as long as the popularity was shown publicly. Suppose 100 votes by 100 members and only 8 of them vote publish. That would lead to a popularity index of 8%, which might be frustrating to the photographer. That's why the shown minimum is 25 %. Now, after a change, the popularity is only visible to the photographer, so there could be also made a programming change and popularities below 25% could be shown. But this is not the point.

 

3. Member curation is a fine thing, negative aspects concerning the ability of members to evaluate the quality of images can be ignored as long as the official curators make up their own mind about an image. And I think they always did and will do this in the future. To me, the advantage of knowing the result of member voting is simply the fact that I know how the voting members evaluate my image. Not more and not less.

 

Cheers, Hans-Martin

 

 

the curation process and the no of views and the final outcome have entirely changed after the images have been scaled down to small sizes during curation. I firmly believe that many a times looking at the image in small size has a big difference to watching it in large.

the curation process of course has ofcourse expedited due to this , but the popularity score doesnt have much of a meaning now. Similar to thomas , i also have had same experiences , and to add many of my pics got rejected only having 53-58 views. I agree after 40 member votes , image goes to curators, but image getting rejected in a day is quite absurd.

I would really like the previous system running again about the curation.

the new system has dried up the member activities apart from just two clicks and too on an image scaled down for viewing.

Hope we see changes soon

 

regards

swapnil

 

I once had an image accepted after two hours...

I hope one day i can have something that can be published here, i feel my photos are nice and deserve to be published, but the curators here are looking at photos differently, so i hope one day i can match their views so i can have something to be published, i am not interested in to upload 100 photos say in 1 year and none are published, i will try to choose my 10-20 best to upload, if those never been published then simply i will leave this site forever maybe, i won't waste time trying.

I allow me to speak in this debate only to illustrate my personal point of view on the issue.

Assuming that I am NOT a professional photographer and that my activity takes place only within the strict holidays periods I can cut from my work and my family (large ...), I think I can say that the screening process applied here in 1X is rightly and necessarily, "discretionary". The judgment of established professionals and with great experience remains for me the only way to derive useful lessons to improve. Everything else is irrelevant: the judgment of the "other photographers" is often linked to factors that have nothing to do with disinterested and constructive criticism. I am present in the major "social networks for photographers" (500px, Nat Geo Yourshot, ViewBug, avoiding always Flickr), and the only one that continues to give me satisfaction (in educational terms, NOT related to those " like "you conquer ...), it's NG, where the decision is made at the discretion of a panel of experts.

Now speaking of my photos published, I must sadly admit that they are the "best of the bunch" and that the discard (despite having had excellent results on other "social"), they NOT possessed that "quid" needed to shake the soul of our curators .

That said I also want to emphasize that the 1X editorial line is absolutely clear and evident, and necessarily influences the curator process: the choice of 80% of the picture falls into that category (of great photos) I call "glossy", fascinating in their originality and always full of atmosphere.

But I think this is an inalienable right of those who launched and maintains this wonderful toy for adults.

Greetings to all of you.

I think it is sadly there are so few curator who takes pictures of landscapes something I think is reflected on the front page

Best

Keller

Hello to all,

i am new at 1x and i would like to ask. I uploaded one photo and in the photo details it says

Curation info

Status

Not published

Did my photo got rejected from member curation and now i should wait to see the result from the curators or both member curation and the curators rejected it?

Thank you all for your time.

 

Hi, Stelios,

 

regrettably the status "not published" appears when the official curators have finally decided about your image. Wish you good luck with your next images.

 

Best Regards, Hans-Martin

Stelios,

 

Welcome to 1X. There is information about the Curation process in the Frequently Asked Questions section under 'More' at the top of the page.

 

In a nutshell, members vote on photos submitted, then the photo is sent to the official Curators who make the final decision. If you get a 'not published' on your 'Photo Info' page, that means it's gone through both steps of the process.

 

Cheers, Steven

It is a bit strange. I have had two photos that were in the curation process for about 14 days, getting over 150 views, when the offical curators made their choice. My last photo was hardly one day in curation, had 43 views when a decision was made.

I really wonder after which amount of views your photo is seen by the official curators.

There has been a time when a photo went to the curators after 100 views, than it was reduced to 60 - and according to the FAQ it is still 60. So not 150' nor 43. Could one of the curators please explain when they get to see a photo? Or is the amount of views irrelevant and are photos send to the curators at random?

Kind regards,

Susanne

 

Hi Susanne

 

Normally we see a photo in our curating queue when it has 40 member votes.

The time to make a decision depends on several factors: number of curators active, number of comments, more or less discussions, ....

 

All the best

 

Jef

 

 

Hi Jef,

Thank you for your prompt answer. It is a pity - but it's not your fault, of course - that the FAQ item about it is outdated. It is also new to me that the number of comments is part of the decision making. So I gather that the number of favourites doesn't count, while members tend to favourite much more than writing comments?

All the best,

Susanne

Hi Susanne

 

Small misunderstanding...

I was not referring to comments by members, but to the discussions between the curators in our comments section.

 

All the best

 

Jef

 

Hi Jef,

Sorry! Did read you message too quick!

All the best, Susanne