Don't Play The Guessing Game ! Yes, you read right, Don't Play The Guessing Game ! So what is this "Guessing Game" I am speaking of? Well, it goes a lil something like this....
If there is one thing I see a lot of people do on DA and why is beyond me, it is NOT fill out the image description in a photograph! Honestly, in my opinion, this area is often just as important as the artwork itself. The photographs you upload here on DA are illustrative content, keep that in mind. People want to know as much as they can about a photo, things like, how it was shot, where it was shot, exposure, conditions, your personal experience when you shot it, etc. This is one area I really try my best with, because I feel as though when you can add something to the shot such as a description, you are more likely to be able to transport the viewer into the scene as a whole, and make it actually something which they can relate to. Having something like "////////////" for a description certainly does nothing to help your photo, in fact it actually detracts from it.
People as a whole are naturally curious, it's the way humankind is. By simply taking 2 minutes out to fill in a description and giving your account of the scene, you are able to capture someone's attention a whole lot more. Especially when you go a lil more in-depth with the description. A killer shot of a mountain scene for instance, with just the name of the peaks, does little other than name it. Ask yourself what was the light like, what was it getting there to shoot it, what was your reaction when you first saw the scene, who was with you, why did you decide to capture it, what grabbed your attention, and what did you experience while shooting it?
When taking such things into account, one goes beyond a simple photograph, and enters in to a real world illustrative image, that actually helps the viewer understand and appreciate it even more so!
---John
ps--Wanna hear something strange? Remember I wrote that journal about how comments and favs on my work took a severe plunge? Get this--it seems more than 40 + watchers have dropped off and stopped watching me in the last 2 weeks....hmm...glitch ...wanna bet v6 upgrades anyone!?!?!
50 Megapixel Kodak Sensor--- Gee, I wonder what the noise level is on THAT!
Hasselblad H3DII-31 Now $17,995!!!!--- A massive price cut, but still most of us would have to sell our first born and ALSO ron the local 7-11. Oh well, hey! My bday is in 2 mos! lol
Getty & Flickr!?!?--- Ummm I need to read this yet but if this is WHAT i THINK it is, I suggest those of you who are take their shooting seriously, better get your ass a Flickr account, like NOW!!!
RIPPED or Imitation?!?--- You be the judge, this one is good!
10 Tips For Urban Photography--- A really good article
Tips And Tricks Photography PDF Magazine issue 9 is OUT!--- Without a doubt, one of the very best online mags period! Get it by clicking the magazine name here!
`ChewedKandi has certainly gone out of her way to keep the vector community on the right path. Always making sure that her talents are infinitely scalable, Sharon has put her bezier curves to excellent use, and firmly anchored herself as an inspirational leader. We're absolutely delighted to bestow the Deviousness Award for June 2013 to `ChewedKandi. Congratulations, Sharon! Read More
Sta.sh
You can enter as many times as you want.
Yea... and if you don't read the rules, you won't get anything out of this.
Advertise; you don't have to but is looked up upon
each ) on this giveaway.
It's easy to participate 
This journal.
3 x a 1 Month Premium-Membership
Some Of The Artist's I Admire 
Artistic 
(actually 2 points - forgive me
is that so many of your watchers
wish to do things in a professional manner
which would probably include getting
images published or exhibited.
Would they really expect to get far with an editor
if their image description was just ///// or ... ???
I think submitting an image on dART
deserves, at least, an effort to approach
some informational standard.
Additionally, I think it is very important
to know what you are photographing
as this, in itself, will make one better.
Thus, I don't just photograph THE Grand Canyon,
I photograph Vishnu Temple or the Tower of Ra.
Knowing details allows one to compose
images around these details -
and one can learn these details
by forcing themselves to write
decent descriptions of their images.
Consequently, when I post an image,
I usually am fairly explicit about what the viewer sees.
Naturally, I hope the viewer
spends more time looking than reading.
Nonetheless, even a concise "dry" description
can do a lot to enhance anyone's images.
Thank you for addressing this topic.
A good description or backstory can hugely enhance an image that was only mediocre to be fav-worthy..
I've seen plenty of fairly uninteresting images that have elevated to DD status because an amazing description pulls everything together and makes you look back at the image a few more times.
I usually try to make sure I at least have something down... though I could be much better about that
But then again, sometimes mysterious silence can be the most powerful.
btw, you were dropped due to all the verbage you spewed forth with regards to the exclusion of HDR in a contest.
Well if you wanna drop me feel free to. I speak my mind and if people don't wanna listen that is their choice! However I stand by what I said and I do view it as an elitist issue, brought on by someones sheer hatred for a technique, which locks out plenty of people. I stick up for people and when I feel something is wrong I voice that concern. You gotta have a voice or you are nothing but a shadow in the masses. The mere fact that contest includes every other technique including IR, Grad NDs, and so forth, all but HDR, says it all. If you bothered to read his comments in his journal on how to get a HDR look using PS that simulates a Grad ND you would see exactly what I am talking about.