No contest this week?
- Thread starter Kite
- Start date
RickB
New member
Far be it from me to tell you how to run your software....but it would make sense to me if you want more posts make it easier to do so. Kill the ten picture limit per post. Since all the pics are not on your server what's the point? I do all my posts in MS word and then paste. It makes it a bit of a pain. Just trying to help. Hope you take it that way.
Rick
Big Poppa
Administrator
Wow....I dont think the ten posts are holding people back and the traffic is up....I think you have the regulars and the tremendous lurkers who are a little intimidated. But I will make it unlimited and have the contest next week and we will see!
Another thing is that we have eliminated paying the same people to cook the same dish week after week....
The truth is it is winter and cold and it usually suffers this time of the year. Lots of variables.
BTW I do pay for bandwidth here.
Lots of variables.
Another thing is that we have eliminated paying the same people to cook the same dish week after week....
The truth is it is winter and cold and it usually suffers this time of the year. Lots of variables.
BTW I do pay for bandwidth here.
Lots of variables.
RickB
New member
I bow to your wisdom sir. I also agree that this suggestion will probably not make a huge difference. But as I have found in 40 years in business, it is not always the bold moves that change the direction of a endeavor, but a culmination of the ideas and contributions of those involved. That being said, your doing a damn fine job!
cowdog
New member
BP, simply a suggestion, but have you thought about doing the contest once per month through the winter, and allowing submissions throughout the month, instead of just over the weekends? It does seem like it would be a laborious task for the judge(s), but if the submissions are down anyway, maybe not. When submissions pick up, go back to the original weekend judging. Just a thought.
Tatonka3A2
New member
I disagree with having more pics - I think that is more intimidating to people. I think the contest should be 1 to 2 plated final pictures. The details of the cook can go into a separate thread in the gallery or lounge. Paging through 3 post for one cook seems to be a little much.
I have been away from the contest for awhile but that is because hunting season was in full swing, the holidays, and trying to get a new business adventure up and running. I am hoping to back into full swing in a couple of weeks once things settle down a bit.
Just my 2 cents...
I have been away from the contest for awhile but that is because hunting season was in full swing, the holidays, and trying to get a new business adventure up and running. I am hoping to back into full swing in a couple of weeks once things settle down a bit.
Just my 2 cents...
Meat Man
New member
The real point IMO is the originator of the contest is himself a cook. One thing I always tell folks is that Pellet Smoking is a cooks forum. Wether your a newbie or a seasoned cook, it's incredible what has been presented in the weekly contest. It's very easy to get inspired by all the meals that everyone has prepared. For myself and I'm sure many others it not about winning, or the five dollars for entering. It's about using our equipment or seeing the equipment that we have purchased used in ways many might not have thought to create fabulous meals. It's quite a bit of effort at times, and sometimes a bit of teasing by my family, to stop and take pics of meals that I have prepared. But my love of cooking has spread to my family, and now they almost always get involved with preparing the meals. And for me that's what it's all about sharing a love with the ones I care about most.
Kite
New member
Wow! Who knew this thread would get so much attention? But some really great ideas here.. so here is my 2 cents..
I absolutely LOVE the weekly contests. I don't always participate, but it forces me to think outside the box and try new things that I wouldn't normally do. Some weekends I simply don't have the gumption for the production and that is when I do something standard and don't put it in the contest. And I hear ya BP – the same people posting the same cooks over and over would get really old!
Rick - I am so on board with you on the 10 pic per post thing. I have to agree with BP that I doubt this will increase the contest participation, but it is a royal pain putting a post together. I am constantly trying to count how many pics I have used while also trying to put together a good dialog.
Meat Man - you seriously need to invest in some snow shoes for those dogs! Good God man, someone will report you to ASCPA
The bottom line for me - the contests have improved my cooking more than anything else I have ever done, seriously. Sure, I was a bit intimidated at the beginning but I dove in and I am much better because I took the chance – pretty much the way life works. So from me, a HUGE THANK YOU for conceiving of the idea and hosting.. not just the typical “thanks BP” at the end of each weekly contest thread (not judging here, just making a point), but a hearty handshake and a sincere thank you because your idea has really affected my life in a positive way.
Mike
I absolutely LOVE the weekly contests. I don't always participate, but it forces me to think outside the box and try new things that I wouldn't normally do. Some weekends I simply don't have the gumption for the production and that is when I do something standard and don't put it in the contest. And I hear ya BP – the same people posting the same cooks over and over would get really old!
Rick - I am so on board with you on the 10 pic per post thing. I have to agree with BP that I doubt this will increase the contest participation, but it is a royal pain putting a post together. I am constantly trying to count how many pics I have used while also trying to put together a good dialog.
Meat Man - you seriously need to invest in some snow shoes for those dogs! Good God man, someone will report you to ASCPA
The bottom line for me - the contests have improved my cooking more than anything else I have ever done, seriously. Sure, I was a bit intimidated at the beginning but I dove in and I am much better because I took the chance – pretty much the way life works. So from me, a HUGE THANK YOU for conceiving of the idea and hosting.. not just the typical “thanks BP” at the end of each weekly contest thread (not judging here, just making a point), but a hearty handshake and a sincere thank you because your idea has really affected my life in a positive way.
Mike
Big Poppa
Administrator
Will you hit the nail on the head!!!!!! Thank you
BTW Rick I understand change and believe me am not afraid of it....one of my mantreas is "opportunity is created through change"
Moderith has increased the pic limit to 1,000
Please everybody understand that all of you would do it differently and if we tried to agree on one way we would end up with a horse desgned by committee a camel. Its the fine line between my vision and goals and your input....
While we are discussing it the funniest thing is probably the biggest reason why some dont enter is they pm me or email me about the judging! Some weeks I dont understand the results it but I think it is the best system as I dont want to be the one judging you. If someone that clearly didnt have the best cook wins....he or she gets to judge the next week and if they are not the strongest of cooks then they may pick a less worthy dish and the cycle can stick.... On the other hand it gets boring watching the same people win...oh well I get all kinds of complaints ...one was from a customer that said he enjoyed the contest until he figured out that it was fixed....Fixed? arrrrgh No good deed goes unpunished. I promise you that it isnt fixed or rigged
Let me also touch on something....There have been people who dont understand the spirit of the contest and post old cooks, half hearted cooks.....just to get the $5. They collect the credits for a year and then only support BPS for the exact amount of their credit...then post a pic of something that I offer that they bought for the same price on amazon or from a competitor. I would less than honest if I didnt tell you that that hurts a little.You dont have to do business with me to be here and play all day...but you also understand from my seat a little support from time to time is greatly appreciated.
The bottom line is to keep it in perspective...its free and didnt exist before .Lets try to not force it if in the winter the entries drop then I will just skip a week from time to time Also it actually might get taken for granted...usually after that comes a sense of entitlement.
This is food and fabulous cookers and we are all on the same journey
Thanks for the input....
PS I hate the whole photobucket too wish it was like Facebook
TentHunter
Moderator
Kite said:
I could not have put it any better. I love the contest!
DOH! I didn't see that BP had already posted about increasing the 10 pic limit to 1,000, so I've edited this post somewhat.
Anyway, here's my 2¢ (for what it's worth).
If folks are/were splitting posts up and posting all the pics anyway, then I agree; there's not much point to a ten pic limit.
However, Tanya brings up a really good point.
Tatonka3A2 said:
One trick I like is to use composite shots (collages) of cooking/assembly pics and save the higher resolution pics for the money shots. You squeeze more photos into a post while cutting down on the actual number of uploaded pics, and it flows better.
Sometimes less is more. The composite shots help to tell your story quickly without a lot of scrolling and folks can see the see the steps side by side.
Give composite shots a try and see if you like them. Just something to consider.
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TentHunter
Moderator
I use a photo editor. After cropping & resizing the various pics, I copy the final layer & paste it into a bigger frame with the other pics I want.
If you don't have a good photo editor you can download Gimp free (as far as I know). It's a pretty powerful editor.
I also believe PhotoBucket has a collage tool that's suppose to be fairly easy to use.
It might take a little time, trial & error to learn, but I think it's worth it.
Here's some examples showing various compositions:
There are a total of 16 photos yet only 6 uploaded pics. Right click on any of the images and copy/paste it into M.S. Word, WordPad, etc. to see the group.
2 photos composited into a single upload:
Another example of 2 in 1:
3 in 1:
4 in 1:
5 in 1 (4 plus a smaller inset):
As you can see, you can be as creative as you like, and I think the smaller pics together tell the story.
I hope this helps!
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I'm one of those lurkers you talk about. I come here the first of every week looking forward to seeing all the great cooks that took place over the weekend and I keep telling myself that I have to try it and never get around to it for some reason or another. Now it's January in Northern Maine. So when the weather gets a bit warmer in a couple of months, I promise I'll try and remember to haul out the camera for a contest. BP, if it weren't for your site, I'd still be using Traeger pellets. I thank you for that! I don't buy a ton of them, but I do buy them from you.
Salmonsmoker
New member
Welcome Quam! We don't bite. Well, we do, but food mostly.