Does it matter when a picture was taken? Like in the last year or??

The picture could have already been posted in a post or in the Plants Database but just not in a prior contest. Correct?

Thanks for clarification.

It doesn't matter when it was taken or whether it was posted previously as long as it wasn't entered in an earlier photo contest on this site.

Have fun.

Are professional photographers submitting their work? (Sorry if this has been answered already.)

They might be. No one's examining credentials. What difference would it make, though? The winning photos I recall weren't submitted by professional photographers.

I know that there was one maybe more discussions after last year's contest. They dealt with categories. For example, there was a mention that what is a perennial in one area might only be an annual where someone else lives. I know, especially from said discussions, that none of this is easy.

So anyway, are there any definitions of all or just some less than obvious categories? If so, where would I find them?

This is not a criticism and hope it will only be construed as 'operator confusion'.

I am, however, disappointed that y'all didn't include a category for 'Knitted Tree Sweaters'. 😝

All of those discussions after last year's contest led to changes in the categories. You can look at the list of categories in earlier contests to see the changes. In short, some plants (dahlias, hibiscuses, and vines) that had been entered in three or four different categories now have categories of their own. Annuals and perennials without categories of their own now share a category and are no longer separated into two categories. Explanatory notes have been added to the titles of some categories. The fight over the Knitted Tree Sweaters category was lengthy and intense, but it ended in a tie, so no action has been taken.

zuzu said:The fight over the Knitted Tree Sweaters category was lengthy and intense, but it ended in a tie, so no action has been taken.

Well, dang!

zuzu said:They might be. No one's examining credentials. What difference would it make, though? The winning photos I recall weren't submitted by professional photographers.

No difference at all, I'm sure.

Still wanting 'to be sure'.

Is it still true that one could submit the same picture in more than one category? If so, is there a limit (aside from obvious conflicting categories) to the number of categories to which one could post said picture?

I am serious, not trying to mess with y'all. I have a few pictures that I'm wavering on where they belong. For example, a tree could be entered in Trees & Shrubs. Or, hypothetically, it might be in Foliage. Or if it's a weird looking tree than Misc. might be a better fit. (Actually most of my entries are probably weird looking but that's beside the point.)

Thanks for any clarification regarding the contest rules.

If you enter the same photo in more than one category, you're likely to split the votes on your photo. Some people might vote on it in one category and others might vote on it in another, but wouldn't you rather have all the votes in one place?

I agree. I was looking at the 2017 (I think) top winners per category and happened to notice, without naming names, that the same picture was a 'winner' in 2 (I think) categories. I think I might have even voted for one. I remember admiring it. There might have been others. And I might have voted for those as well. That's what really prompted my question, aside from my own indecisiveness. Plus the clock is ticking. Tick tock, tick tock.

Do entries need to be submitted by end of day on 11/29 or 11/30?



BTW — Don't know if you saw it, but in a different thread or post Joannakat gave a link to 'knitted tree sweaters'. A mere google will take you there but then you'll have to scroll down a bit. The practice started in Austin and went viral. It developed into 'yarn bombing' and a bit of crocheting as well. So I'm not making it up. Of course one might be hard pressed to find one to photograph nowadays. But at one time there were some very creative crazies who were very busy keeping their trees warm.

For the life of me I can't figure out why one can't submit the same photo two years in a row, yet can submit the same photo multiple times in one year. Makes zero sense to me. But I'm just a spectator.

I looked at all the 5 top winners for 2017 and did not see any duplicate images.

same photo multiple times in one year

I am not sure I understand what you mean by this, we only have one contest a year. Do you mean submitting the same photo in multiple categories?
As Zuzu mentioned, why would anyone? It would be stacking the odds against them in my opinion.
And if they placed in the top in a category the year before, how is it fair to use the same photo the following years? That makes no sense.

Yes, I meant submitting the same photo in multiple categories, which is the subject of this thread. Sorry for not being clear.

Yes, I do mean that the same picture was posted in 2 categories in the 2017 contest. Not necessarily winner in both. Definitely in one. Perhaps the photographer turned a little bit so they're not really the same picture.

Ok. Maybe I was hallucinating or had a little too much wine. I did a quck browse just now and didn't see it twice. Perhaps I had 2 windows open and got confused going back and forth between the 2 windows.

So anyway, I'll look again later. But I totally agree that it doesn't make sense to submit in 2 categories. And it would violate the rules if used in 2 different years.

As I said, I'll look again later (have errands now) and post an update here as to whether I'm right or wrong.

It might have been 2015 when a pic was entered in a couple of categories placing 1st in one and 4th in a different category (Tree category and Landscapes category). I'd have to admit it is a novel and interesting photo..

It happens and that's why one has the previous entries right on their profile and can check. It's tedious if admin has to do it before the voting begins and it seems there is always someone that does it, not realizing that they can check their profile.

Haven't had time to look yet. Maybe I was going back and forth between 2 open windows and got confused.

I was very pleased to see that my entries were on my Profile page. I can only imagine what a grueling task it would be if the admins had to check.