Ladies and gentlemen, here we go! THIS IS THE POLL! Vote for The Best Photograph at ZooChat. If you followed the thread by that name, http://www.zoochat.com/173/best-photograph-zoochat-53928/ you will know that the ten pictures that you can vote for are: 1. http://www.zoochat.com/472/bear-exbith-kolmarden-zoo-53796/#post119466 by Rillekolmård, nominated by Dan. 2. http://www.zoochat.com/42/asha-her-cub-36188/ by gentle lemur, nominated by beckiscott. 3. http://www.zoochat.com/192/redshank-37799/ by Writhedhornbill, nominated by Fodders. 4. http://www.zoochat.com/128/amazonas-dolfin-32845/ by Animal, nominated by Rillekolmård. 5. http://www.zoochat.com/301/bottlenosed-dolphin-1992-a-53636/ by Hix, nominated by Rillekolmård. 6. http://www.zoochat.com/315/hannover-zoo-hippo-56238/ by Toddy, nominated by Swedish Zoo Fan. 7. http://www.zoochat.com/203/crowned-sifaka-38655/ by gentle lemur, nominated by Kiang. 8. http://www.zoochat.com/743/bornean-pygmy-elephant-48289/ by Writhedhornbill, nominated by Toddy. 9. http://www.zoochat.com/42/chester-zoo-becki-scott-35866/ by beckiscott, nominated by gentle lemur 10. http://www.zoochat.com/243/giant-flying-squirrel-night-safari-47088/ by Zooish (ATTENTION, everybody! As you can see below, the origin about the photos of Zooish has been questioned! Please read and make your own decision on the matter before casting your vote! This editing has been done after reading snowleopard´s post below.), collectively nominated by gentle lemur and kiang Please, check out these pictures and then vote here on the poll. THE POLL WILL CLOSE JAN 31, 2009. Feel free to campaign, debate and promote your favorite. Have fun!!! Yours truly Dan /Supreme Administrator of the poll The Best Photograph at ZooChat/
Even though there are over 26,000 photos on ZooChat and the idea of picking the best one is difficult, I'd just like to point out that the photo in the #10 slot should really be discounted. The photographer Zooish hasn't been on ZooChat for almost 5 months as he was found to be posting photos that others had taken. The assistant zoo curator for the Night Safari in Singapore caught Zooish with photos that were not his, and subsequently Zooish has disappeared from this forum. I enjoyed his observations and news from Singapore, but he was illegally posting photos that he had never taken and was chastised for his actions. Therefore the giant flying squirrel shot should be omitted from this competition.
CRAP, i did not know about that! Still... as this has been intended as a bit of fun, not a dead serious thing, I suggest that everyone interested takes snowleopard´s information to heart before deciding which photo to vote for. But, also, by the way, I think i have the solution - as I am writing this very post ! I will simply edit the post, making snowleopard´s objection obvious to all. Still, technically, this poll is about "The Best Photograph at ZooChat". And this actual photo of debated origin IS on ZooChat. So with the editing of mine I think we will be on track again. Thanks for pointing this out, snowleopard. And by the way - you actually being my favorite photographer here at ZooChat (as "Supreme Administrator of the poll I can be as subjective as I want ) - I was a bit surprised that you did not nominate a picture, or had one of yours nominated. Never mind.... I will edit the original post now. In the meantime, promote your favorite picture! Tomorrow I will write a review of all the ten pictures, including a passionate argument on why Rillekolmård´s is the best of them all.... Yours truly Dan /Supreme Administrator of the poll The Best Photogrph at ZooChat/
I was going to tell you where my picture came from. It was so last summer I was having a little guy at 3 years, which I am uncle to, in Kolmården zoo. When we got home, we took out pictures from the visit into a photo printer and forgot to put on your computer. But one day I found the memory card but did not so much about the photo to bear on the mountain. But I put it up anyway and so became the nominee! I want to thank Dan who nominated me, and all others who have voted or will do so. THANKS! The real link. http://www.zoochat.com/472/bear-exbith-kolmarden-zoo-53796/#post119466
Not a very fair post, if you ask me. Zooish never said he took the photo's, never took any credit for them! He posted objective news, was never more then mildly critical of anything and has subsequently been defended on this forum by more then one member against any allegations the assistant zoo curator made against him about posting false information or being too critical. True enough, he posted pictures without permission which wasn't smart. Especially photo's like this that (most probably) would be copyrighted. But like i said, he was a very good ambassador for the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari and I (and i'm sure others) miss his information and decent presence on this forum.
Hmmm.... OK. Thanks, jwer. Different opionions here, it seems. Maybe I should point out too, that the first picture I uploaded here at the site was not taken by me. The picture, http://www.zoochat.com/472/snow-leopard-exhibit-35284/ , was sent to me by zoo when I asked them to do so. (I had only read about the exhibit but was very curious.) I have now made a notation of this in the gallery thread.
Allright! All of the ten pictures nominated as The Best Photograph at ZooChat are of course absolutely fantastic and very worthy contenders. I think I would like to categorize them as follows. Pictures no 3, 7 and 9 are classic close-up portraits. They are wonderful to watch and brilliantly executed from a technical point of view. Writhedhornbill, gentle lemur and beckiscott are truly gifted photographers and it is a privilege to enjoy their work. Pictures no 2, 4 and 6 are related, but contain even extra dimensions. In Toddy´s case (picture no 6), he captured that incredible mirror image, which is breathtaking. Animal achieved the same with his picture (no 4). gentle lemur´s picture (his second nominated) has that irresistible “Oh-My-Good-That-Is-So-Cute!!!”-factor added. Picture no 5 falls somewhere in the middle of the categories above. Great shot, as always, by Hix. Picture no 8 is in a category of its own. A stunning wild life photography of a rare species. Here, Writhedhornbill, receives his second and very well earned nomination. And yet, as brilliant as these pictures are, I still think that Rillekolmårds picture (no 1) is The Best Photograph at ZooChat. I will try to explain why: THIS PICTURE MADE ME HAPPY THE VERY SECOND I SAW IT! I was overtly pleased by the fact that such a picture could be taken at a zoo. Look! It could have been taken in the wild; it could have been the lucky shot from a wood wanderer in the North. Everything about it looks totally authentic – a stream of water running down a wooded mountain. A bear, looking for food, happen to be standing on top of it. Tall trees everywhere, not a piece of hotwire that I can see. The bear can climb any tree it wants to. There will be so much in this exhibit to keep the bear curious - birds, insects, maggots, lots of smells and sounds. This picture makes me happy because it represents a dream of mine. My dream for the future of zoos would be that any random shot would produce such a joyful result as this picture does – showing a magnificent animal living in a fantastic enclosure. For me, it is a visionary photograph with a highly symbolic as well as practical value. It is a great illustration of the fact that animals kept in captivity can and should be treated well. From a technically point of view, the chosen format is perfect. The wide panorama, with the bear dead centre, underscores what I have tried to describe here. I JUST LOVE IT! Yours truly Dan /Supreme Administrator of the poll The Best Photograph at ZooChat/
I didn't know Zooish had left, he was excellent for any info regarding Singaporean institutions... I thought he had always pointed out the photo's he posted that weren't his... On the whole there are many maps and images taken from books, guides and collectors items in the gallery which have been purchased and not produced by the uploader themselves and I don't remember this poll being limited to images produced solely by users..?
many people will miss Zooish, he was a valuable member, especially seeing as the Singapore Zoo staff who joined did so only to attack Zooish and had no intention of being a contributing part of the forums.
I agree that Zooish was an excellent contributor to this forum, and I stated earlier on this thread that I enjoyed his observations and news from Singapore and now bemoan the lack of correspondence from that part of the world. It is a zoo that is regarded as world class and I'd love to visit one day, along with the Night Safari and the Jurong Bird Park. However, Zooish got busted by his superior at the zoo for posting photos and abruptly quit ZooChat 5 months ago and hasn't been seen since. Case closed.
COME ON... ladies and gentlemen, vote in the poll! There are some 450+ recently active members at the site - surely more than 30 of you must have an opinion on the photos? Right now we have a tie between the brilliant enclosure shot (photo no 1) and the brilliant shot of an endangered species in the wild (photo no 8). COME ON... make your vote count!
Some of the photos are stunning but mine vote is to the Borneo elephant, it is captured really well and the lighting is perfect.
What do you mean case closed Snowleopard..? He always identified photo's he posted that weren't his, didn't he..? Wasn't it more: Case never really open..? Surely he just left after being embarassed by his boss online..? Can someone tell me the name of the thread this all happened in..? I voted for number 1...
oh concerning zooish I respected his information he posted, but yeah can't be too sure which photos are and aren't his so probably will be best to take him out of deciding photographs, All of the photos are really amazing, I have much appreciation to all those who captured them. Shame we can choose only one, then again we will know who is runner-up and third I guess.
http://www.zoochat.com/266/singapore-zoo-5915/index11.html http://www.zoochat.com/4/posting-photos-arent-yours-22243/ these are the two threads where, somewhat suspiciously (not that I’m insinuating anything…), THREE staff members from Singapore Zoo all joined at exactly the same time for no other purpose than to attack Zooish. Although Zooish should have asked permission, one would presume that the photos he posted are in the public domain (ie the internet) because Zooish certainly didn’t steal them off their computers!! The poll is for best photograph on Zoochat. It seems irrelevant who took said photo
@NZ Jeremy: there are serious legal ramifications to posting uncredited photos on any website on the internet, and Sim is well aware of the potential for disaster if anything were to get out of hand. Copyright issues and lawsuits with illegal photographs are fairly common over here in North America, and it's best to err on the side of caution just to be safe. We can leave it in the safe hands of Sim, who knows the expectations that come with running a site packed with almost 27,000 photos. I have nothing against the ZooChat member Zooish, who I've praised twice on this thread for his Singapore information, but he obviously got into some serious hot water 5 months ago and we should all just forget about him until perhaps one day he miraculously returns.
I wasn't having a go Snowleopard, I have just been under the impression he did credit the photo's he posted...
