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More Journals? discuss.....

Dan Crawford

Founder
UKAPS Team
Joined
21 Jun 2007
Messages
3,265
Location
Daventry, Northants
After a few points made about the lack of journals i thought it would be a good idea to have an area for you all to discuss it.

I don't generally do journals because of my hectic lifestyle. I spend a lot of time here during work hours LOL but when i'm at home i'm a very busy guy. I have five tanks to look after and that alone takes up far more time than maintaining one journal, let alone five!
The whole ADA thing is a nightmare and i had my tank published in PFK before the ADA comp and i had no issues, that i know of anyway. I used a different shot with a different background so i should imagine that fair.
Journals are great and i love reading everyones, if not necessarily commenting.

To stick with the theme of more journals i'll do my best to keep my nano updated! (which one i hear you ask ;) )
........
 
repli8es from other posts....
beeky said:
I find it a shame that more people don't do journals. There may be a big impact when final shots or "tasters" are shown, but they're not journals. Empty tanks, substrate, various hardscape positions, initial planting etc are what people (IMO) want to see. They can then learn through others mistakes. I find it interesting to go back to the start of a journal and see how things developed. Some people don't have the time or cash to spend on doing a new scape every few months so seeing how plants grow and develop with hardscape over time is really important.

I must admit to becoming tired of hearing people aren't posting pictures because of a competition they're entering. No disrespect intended, it's just the way I feel. Although seeing the UK in competition is to be encouraged, if everyone was doing it, there's be no photos and no discussion.

Don't mean to offend. :)
Superman said:
The warts-n-all journals are great as it helps everyone share what they do and discuss ways to improve things.
I'm hopefully going to be doing a new journal in a week or so with a few photos of the setup, although I've not done the usual 'pre-journal' thread to discuss hardscape as I want to give it a go myself first. I do plan to enter compeitions and I understand as long as the final tank shot hasn't been posted then that's fine.

a1Matt said:
I agree with all the comments re: journals. You only have to look at the post count to see their popularity.

and seeing as I have over 500 posts on UKAPS and no pics of my tank whatsoever, I feel somewhat of a guilty culprit!

On a more postive note this has spurred me on and I will start a journal in the near future :)
 
Competitions do seem to play on quite a few people's minds. Personally i have entered, and i have posted the photo i have sent in. If they have a problem with it then i am not too fussed about it being rejected or whatever happens. It is still my hobby, and i dont strive to be competitive - although a little is always in everyone ;)

I recently went back over my journal and i was amzed at the change, and it brought back a few memories that had been forgotten - even picture posted from 2 weeks a go can be a big surprise.

I like journals because you can ask questions, and see the problems which people face, and find a solution to it. It is also helpful when people give you advice on what to do, to improve the tank and make it better. My tank wouldnt be half as good if it wasnt for all you guys ;) Thanks.

It would be nice to see more journals, or even just a few pictures every couple of months, particularly from some of the more experienced members (wink wink), as it seems to be mainly people who are relatively new to plants/ aquscaping, although i can understand many people do not have time.

Thanks.
 
Journals can be a great way of learning, for everyone involved. I'm still learning from others' journals all the time.

I'd like to encourage more members to produce them and comment in them. I will try to find the time to contribute some more when I can.
 
I think the rules of not showing tanks before entering into competition is simply pish.

Its strangling the devlopment of the hobby in this country because the people who are into it take it very seriously. Thats not a dig but an observation. As people start to get into it, or even look to get into it, they want pictures, not words on a screen. The teasers and arty-farty shots are all well and good be people won't be hanging around forums and such like if theres no eye candy. Publication on a magasine I can understand although I dont think their is any harm in releasing photo's which would otherwise be used in a publication.

I for one will be doing a journal in the next week of my 40l nano.
 
Dan Crawford said:
Journals are great and i love reading everyones, if not necessarily commenting.
Even that right there can be disheartening for anyone else posting a journal though. Leaving comments for friends' journals only isn't fair to anyone taking the time to post.
 
I don't think we have a lack of journals at all. I mean, if you wanna post a journal for your tank then you will, if you don't the you won't I suppose.

Simples ;)

I think it's nice to read through journals, and equally as nice when someone just posts amazing tank photos out of the blue. It's about what works for you and yoru style - e.g. Mark has his style of writing amazing yournals that we can all learn from and George has his style of shocking us all with a completely new scape out of the blue when we're least expecting it, none of these methods are better or worse than the other in my opinion.

However, I think the advantage with journals is that the scaper can get advice/opinions/critique and support from the forum members, and members can learn from the progress.

As far as the competition side of things go, I've never heard of anyone getting rejected. I highly doubt that they're going to check up on every single entry. Just as long as you're carful with what photos you post then you'll be fine.
 
Hi all,i can sum up in two words why i dont do/keep my journal up to date,Time & crap photography skills but i will make more of an effort in future,i would also echo what some other members have already said,i do like to read as many journals as possible and reply to them as and when i feel qualified to do so,regards john.
 
My reason now is that maybe I can setup a nice looking hardscape, but when plants are added it will undoubtedly go wrong! 3 years doing this and maybe 4 "successful" tanks I've been pleased with, and now I can't do it for the life of me. Ad funnily enough, it all ties into when I ran out of ADA Ferts!!! That may or may not be the reason, coupled with my apparent incompetence with Tropica stuff!

Tom
 
I find the journals the most inspiring section of the forum. Its great to see what everyone else is up to, and great to see how a scapes life starts out. Equipment selection, substrate laying, hardscaping choice and positioning, right through to plant choice, positioning and eventual pruning are all things I like to know!

As a newbie, the information and critiques that are within every journal helps to give me the confidence to have a go myself, and the responses and critiques that have been placed on my journals have undoubtedly improved the look of my tank (just look at the hardcsape in my nano :D ) and given me a smile when someone says they like what I've done.

There is something great about seeing a 'finished' scape for the first time, but for me its not as interesting - I'd rather see how it got to be like that.

Are the "previously unpublished" competition rules due to copyright, as the competition organisers want to have usage of the image if it is successful ? If that is the case, copyright applies to each image individually, so surely its only the case that the actual image you enter in the competition cannot have been published before ? Or have I got it all wrong ??? :lol:

Cheers

Tony
 
Tonser said:
Are the "previously unpublished" competition rules due to copyright, as the competition organisers want to have usage of the image if it is successful ? If that is the case, copyright applies to each image individually, so surely its only the case that the actual image you enter in the competition cannot have been published before ? Or have I got it all wrong ??? :lol:

I'd be curious as well to know the reasoning behind the "previously unpublished" competition rule. Clarification in that area may well lead to more images being put online in many forums :D I appreciate the rules may (and probably do :rolleyes: ) for different competitions.
 
^ I think the reason also being that if the creator publishes the image that they are going to use in the competition beforehand then someone else could steal it.
 
Hi,

I love journals, it is why i'm here. But to that reason i'm also here to see the more "advanced" journals. Tanks where things are working, styles, plant combinations, layout ideas, hardscape etc. I tend to skim over the more beginners ones (i include mine in that) as i've learned those tips already. Personally i think there are enough journals, but i suppose a persons opinion on that comes from how regularly they read these forums and how much new stuff there is to view each time.

I've been off this forum for a week or so and tomorrrow i've got loads of catching up to do. New tanks to browse, some photos to update on my journals and i think i'll pop on my 10L dennerle finally. Bringing my journal (and tank) total to 3.

I love peoples comments, i love peoples opinions good or bad on my efforts. i also love this hobby and enjoy sharing it somewhere other then in my living room (and bedroom).

Thank you ukaps for allowing me this and all your efforts.

And a big thanks to all those other journal writers for putting the time in for me to enjoy.

Best regards,

John
 
I think I am going to take a u-turn and not start a journal after all. Reasons being.... first and foremost I do not have a decent camera, so can not put any good pics up. Secondly I would not rate myself as an aquascaper at all so do not think my journal would inspire many people. I hope it does not sound negative, I am quite comfortable with this. It is just that as I posted to say I would start a journal I feel obliged to say why I have changed my mind now :)
 
a1Matt said:
. Secondly I would not rate myself as an aquascaper at all so do not think my journal would inspire many people.

that's not the point of a journal. the reasons i started journal was for the feed back. it's like have free judging...like in a competition. just syphon out the good comments from reliable scapers etc, and you'll improve 10 fold!

good or bad, people need to start sharing if this hobby is to get better and bigger in this country, fact! just look to Asia to see that!
 
a1Matt said:
Reasons being.... first and foremost I do not have a decent camera, so can not put any good pics up. Secondly I would not rate myself as an aquascaper at all so do not think my journal would inspire many people.

I don't know mate, I think most people here are beyond the powder coated neon gravel and tacky ornaments, anything beyond this is worthy of a journal, if for nothing more than to get constructive feedback.

Photography is a part of aquascaping, but to my mind the full on artsy-fartsy shots should be mostly posted in the Planted Tank Gallery (a section which I think doesn't get too much traffic at the moment). For journals I don't think you have to worry about amazing photographs. As long as they can be seen and understood :)

Anyhow, my 2p :p
 
SteveUK said:
a1Matt said:
Reasons being.... first and foremost I do not have a decent camera, so can not put any good pics up. Secondly I would not rate myself as an aquascaper at all so do not think my journal would inspire many people.

I don't know mate, I think most people here are beyond the powder coated neon gravel and tacky ornaments, anything beyond this is worthy of a journal, if for nothing more than to get constructive feedback.

Photography is a part of aquascaping, but to my mind the full on artsy-fartsy shots should be mostly posted in the Planted Tank Gallery (a section which I think doesn't get too much traffic at the moment). For journals I don't think you have to worry about amazing photographs. As long as they can be seen and understood :)

Anyhow, my 2p :p

Hi All,

i totally agree with the above,

regards john
 
i'm guilty od the artsy fartsy stuff :oops: but...

SteveUK said:
a section which I think doesn't get too much traffic at the moment)

as you sayed, if i posted my images in that section, those images may not get seen so i just post them on my journals.
 
Don't miss-understand me, I'm more than happy to look at artsy shots in journals! I love them! I'm just saying that people shouldn't feel they can't post images because they're "sub-par". :)
 
absolutely Steve :D , yeah, people should post regardless of quality, as many have said, it's about the images in journals where people learn, i to skip text unless it's george or someone, you know what they say is quality info, but a pic is a thousand words as they say.
 
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