MicrostockGroup

Heads up, guys.

Crestock is launching the biggest photoshop contest of the year. Read more at the link below.

http://www.crestock.com/blog/design/the-crestock-photoshop-contest-2007-101.aspx

The very best of luck to all contestants.

Josh

I will for sure submit something. The prizes look great.

As well you should - you keep winning them!

me too.  some great prizes!

nobody said you had to make a political picture.  So something with the banana, or the frog, you don't have to choose bush.

Yes, the designer can take the high road (if they so choose), but it is pretty obvious what they are looking for.

All you have to do is spend a few seconds looking at the images that they provided to see what they are hoping for:

I must be very dumb, I don't see what's so offensive.   

Regards,
Adelaide

you have to 'make' a photo out of the sample images plus a couple more if you want (with the main image coming from one of the samples)... so it is a photoshop contest basically, or design contest

Or Bush polluting the world, or Bush bombing the world, ad infinitum.

I dare Crestock to replace that image of Bush with a Muslim political figure.  Let's see how long the company will last after they have a fatwa issued out on them.  In other words, the reason people complain against a democratic society is because they can.

While I have never voted for Bush, and don't agree with many of his policies, he is light years better than many other leaders around the world.

Nobody can be that naive. many can pretend though.

This choice of images is distasteful and inflaming regardless of political stripes. It would be just unpalatable if it were a photo of Hillary Clinton.

This contest is an insult and appears to be deliberately designed to entice people to use the image of George Bush in an unacceptable and inflammatory way.

As such it violates the terms and conditions of many stock agencies who state specifically that 'an image may be altered etc but not be used in a derogatory manner'.

Uhm... I'm not familiar with what goes on at Crestock - or with laws that protect public personas.  Is the Bush photo from their library?  Is it public domain?  Is it released?   Do they sell editorial?  Could he sue for defamation?

Oh boy.

Look ... they're just six pictures. No statements, or anything.

What appears to be upsetting some people is that one of them is George Bush. If his picture wasn't there they'd be totally unremarkable. The same would apply if it was the image of some complete unknown (such as me  )

And what's interesting is that the great majority of the negative interpretations on this mix of pictures seems to be coming from people who are upset by the choice.

Let's not all get our knickers in a twist on this. I think Bush can take his image being up there with the others ... don't you?

And isn't this precisely the strength of a democracy?

I have a suggestion to all who doesn't think it's an inappropriate choice of images. Instead of doing exactly what this divisive contest theme provokes us to do, let's try little test for ourselves. Imagine that photo of Dubya is combined with several others united by partiotic/military content: soldiers running in the field with weapons, "mission accomplished" being announced on the carrier, inspired faces of pilots etc. Wouldn't you consider it totally inappropriate endorsement of current goverment policies? Inappropriate not because policies are bad but because it's divisive, inflammatory, soaked with agenda and simply doesn't belong? If you would, then admit that this is your political inclinations that make current choice acceptable to you. Or, if you are so unbelievably impartial that rather represent population of Mars, nor Earth  - wouldn't you at the very least shake your head and ask yourself why in hell photoagency would want to drive the vedge between people of different political convictions who are united by photography?

And please, do you really believe in this "it's just 6 pictures"? crap. If you can't see the message in that lineup, you haven't read any single newspaper last 7 years, nor watched TV. If you have, then this hardly can be said in a good faith and rather reflects your approval of the message. But approval or disapproval of it is not the point at all. Look: contest barely started and already does just that right here - divides people, provokes heated political debate, makes some want to "defend their convictions"...

Really, leaves bad taste in my mouth...