SitePoint's Official Photo Manipulation Tournament

[Dark Tranquility]

UPDATE - Round 3 Seeding and Rules can be found here
Round 3 Entry thread can be found here
Round 3 Fun thread can be found here

Round 2 Seeding and Rules can be found here
Round 2 Entry thread can be found here
Round 2 Fun thread can be found here

Announcing SitePoint's Photo Manipulation Tournament

What: This is a massive, multi-round competition in which entrants will need to show off their photo manipulation skills in order to win fame and prizes.

How it works: The first round will be held from Monday, August 14 until Thusday, August 31. It is an open round that any SitePoint member can enter. After that time 16 winners will be announced. These winners will be assigned seeds (rankings) and put into a two-sided, head-to-head bracket. There will then be three more rounds in which increasingly harder tasks will be assigned. The winners of each side of the bracket will face off in the final challenge (the fifth round of the competition)!

Prize: The winner will receive one grand prize package consisting of:

• 1 copy of Build Your Own Website The Right Way With HTML & CSS
• 20 Marketplace credits
• 1 SitePoint T-Shirt
• 1 copy of the brand new Photoshop Anthology (coming soon!)

Rules:

1. Submissions for the first round must be in by August 31 at 11:59PM (23:59) GMT. If you are unsure of what that is for you, consult this time zone converter.
2. Entrants will be given 5 days to complete each subsequent step of the competition after the task is announced.
3. The seeded bracket will be set up like this on each side:

Judges will set the seeds after the first round. Their decisions are final.

4. You must be a member of SitePoint to enter this contest.
5. You may use any software you have at your disposal to complete the task.
6. Only one entry is allowed per person per round.
7. All entries must respect the general rules of SitePoint. Keep in mind that this is a family-friendly forum and that religious and political references are not allowed.
8. Results and classification of the competitors will be posted at the end of each round.
9. This is art, art is subjective, so please respect the judges decisions. Their decisions are final.
10. These rules may be changed or amended at the start of each round. If that happens the changes will be posted to the forums.

Judges: We have assembled a panel of judges special for this competition.

Guest 'Star' Judge: Andy Clarke
SP Member Judge: Uncle Bob
Staff Judges: vgarcia, Varelse, conradical, Si, and Dark Tranquility

Judging. Each judge will assign 20 total points to each entry. 5 points are awarded for technique/technical merit, 5 points for creativity, and 10 points for overall effect.

Entering the contest: For the first round of the contest, please take the following photograph and colorize it, remove the noise and the grains, keep in mind that you should keep it natural yet as creative as possible. You may use any tools or software you would like.

THE PHOTOGRAPH TO MANIPULATE IS HERE

Please add entries to the ENTRY THREAD. Entries are due on August 31 at 11:59PM (23:59) GMT. If you are unsure of what that is for you, consult this time zone converter.

[kabatak]

Hi, can non-US members join too? (in case you don't ship prizes outside US)

[Bleys]

SP ships its books worldwide, so any country they ship to (which is most) should be fine to enter. But I can get a clarification on that if you'd like.

[coo_t2]

I thought Egor was gonna be a judge?

[Dark Tranquility]

I thought Egor was gonna be a judge?

who told you? Egor himself?
The news is that he's no longer a member here.

[Dean C]

We can manipulate the photo in any way we like yes?

[Dark Tranquility]

We can manipulate the photo in any way we like yes?

sure! as long as it is respecting the rules above
as it is stated, take the lake photograph and colorize it, remove the noise and the grains, keep in mind that you should keep it natural yet as creative as possible!!
You can use any software

[coo_t2]

who told you? Egor himself?
The news is that he's no longer a member here.

Yes. He told me privately a while back. He was very excited. Sorry, I forgot he was banned.

[The New Guy]

Can we manipulate images of sitepoint members?

[Dark Tranquility]

Can we manipulate images of sitepoint members?

not for this round
read the rules!

[Dean C]

Could I, for example, add the sun to the picture?

[Dark Tranquility]

Could I, for example, add the sun to the picture?

if it looks natural why not the most important thing is to remove the noise, colorize and remain as close to nature as possible

[Bleys]

Yeah, go for it. Remember some of the judging is based on creativity, so add a sun, a boat, a bather, a beach umbrella, whatever you want, just try to keep it realistic.

[Dark Tranquility]

Yes but don't add a lot of elements and don't use elements to hide flaws and weaknesses of your work

[lostseed]

can the runner up get a tshirt? can you buy a sitepoint tshirt here??
i wanna sport one real bad

so we can put 3d things in the picture?

are the next rounds going to have different pics?

[Dache]

"remove the noise and the grains"

Grains are often that which makes a photo beautiful..

[Bleys]

can the runner up get a tshirt? can you buy a sitepoint tshirt here??
i wanna sport one real bad

so we can put 3d things in the picture?

are the next rounds going to have different pics?

1. We only have plans for one prize at this time.
2. I don't think they are currently for sale.
3. Sure.
4. Yes, they will.

[Spaiz]

I think there should one more rule, no resizing (after making the pic smaller all the "defects" and the noise are gone, no need to work on it )

[Dark Tranquility]

"remove the noise and the grains"

Grains are often that which makes a photo beautiful..

we meant the excess of grains

I think there should one more rule, no resizing (after making the pic smaller all the "defects" and the noise are gone, no need to work on it )

everything is being noticed no need for a rule IMO...

[Matt Mickiewicz]

you buy a sitepoint tshirt here?? i wanna sport one real bad
[/B]

Yes, SitePoint T-Shirts are available for sale. For ordering instructions, see: http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=334597

[Bleys]

Oh nice, I didn't know those were still in stock. You should pop them into the normal ordering system for the books/MP credits.

[Mogo]

Hmm this sounds interesting? When do we get to see the photos that the contestants manipulated? After the winner is decided?

[Uncle Bob]

Hmm this sounds interesting? When do we get to see the photos that the contestants manipulated? After the winner is decided?

Right here matey :
http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=413014

[OsamaSyed]

Can we add color to it?

[Dark Tranquility]

you must colorize it
read on what's the task:

For the first round of the contest, please take the following photograph and colorize it, remove the noise and the grains, keep in mind that you should keep it natural yet as creative as possible. You may use any tools or software you would like.