Exactly my point Dean

Your suggestion about a panel selecting the top 5 photos out of all the entries is excellent!

i think a prize is good thing,,to motivate ppl,,but not just that,more ppl wil join the site aswell i think,,but that is just what i think,,if it does come to that,,let the comp run for 3months,that would give you 4 comp in 1 year,so you have 3months to take the best pick,and only make it a 1st place winner no sec or 3rd place winners..hope it helps..

The breeders on the site must come to the party and donate a sling or 2 every month as prizes

The prizes do not have to be limited to tarantulas, it could even be 10 blocks of peat or an enclosure or something....?

Ceno, I like the idea of sling and useful things as prizes.
I had a small competition once, and my judges were people who were far removed from the topic choice. I felt this was better as they looked at the appeal more than all the technical bits. I’m not saying there should be no expertise…

I understand what the aim of this competition was, might not have been prefect, but at least it gives us this chance to improve it. A panel is a good idea, but the judges on the panel might not make it any different. What I mean by this is that a panel of experts in a specific field is really not much different from just having one expert in that field as the judge. They'll all look at the same things.

Maybe have someone who isn't familiar with the topic, and someone who doesn't know any of the contestants to have a look.

Hi Guys, you have got some good ideas here, but it is not that easy. Photography is a lot more complicated than what the normal guy with a point and shoot camera would think. If you get an panel of judges I think it is only fair if the panel consists of judges with a good photography back ground. That might mean someone from a local photography club, or a couple of guys from different clubs.

This in itself has its own draw backs, in the clubs they have 5 basic levels in witch you can enter. 1st Star up to 5 star, (and higher).
When you are a beginner you join the club in 1st star, and you have to Accumulate points to move to the next star rating. During 3rd star rating you have to enter National competitions called Saloons. Only after been awarded acceptances for you photos you can move on to 4th star. So if we use these judges, what criteria will they use to judge, for in the club the criteria change with every level that you go up.

On the forum we have got from beginners to pros. How do we make it fair for all??

If we do it the same way we are doing it now, the best photographers will keep on winning. If I understood Stalker correctly, the pictures went to pros for judging, so the judging will be pretty serious.

This is my Idea to run to comp:
The judges have to be from the site. Get 3 Moderators to be the judge and pick the 5 best photographs out of all the photos. I don’t feel getting an expert in photography is the way to go to judge the photos; it must be ppl from the site. If you get ppl from clubs to judge the people with the point and shoots will never win. We need to look at the best overall photograph, best improved photograph and the best theme photograph for the competition. Giving us 3 x 1st place winner and that is it.
I am an armature photographer and have been to clubs and they will always go with what is the correct photograph. I would like everyone to get a gap to win, and really think it need to come from the site, for the ppl that look after and care for their T’s and know how difficult it is to get the shot without being eaten.........................lol.
These are photographs I have taken and what judges are looking for and that is not what I want for the site, I just want to have fun.........Best Overall Photograph, Best Improved Photographer and the Best Theme Photograph.