Throwdowns and such

[chopsaw]

To me the entire purpose of the judges panel is to insure that all three aspects are considered instead of just the visual aspect.

That's it exactly , and should prompt some that are wanting to join in , to do so .

 

[Okiejoebronco25]

So when is the next one. Obviously not a candidate to win anything, but I am all about a challenge.

 

[texomakid]

I understand that, but why use a separate panel of judges at all?
The judges can cast their voted just like the rest of the members, a separate panel makes absolutely "0" sense.

Hey you could always hold your own competition and run it the way you want to? I don't think anyone would have a problem with that.

I think these throw downs are perfect for this forum and I really appreciate our mods for doing them and personally, I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[fxsales1959]

Hey everyone.

I love doing these throwdowns/giveaways and am thankful for the folks that enter. My question for everyone who hasn't participated is what can we do to entice you to participate? Is it the format? The Prizes? Themes? Do you think you do not have a chance against the folks that cook and take great pictures?

Just trying to think of ways to do more and get more people involved. Id like to get everyones feedback weather good, bad, of indifferent.

Thanks everyone.

I love the TD's but my photo skills suck. even broke out the DSLR for the last one, then slightly overcooked a fat tri-tip.

 

[Brokenhandle]

These throwdowns are meant to be something fun, and added something extra for the members to enjoy. Brian started this thread for more input to get more interest. For those that put them on, it is an extra effort they make time for out of a busy day... and no, they are not retired. Maybe I've taken some comments the wrong way, but some make me think ...well, I won't even say it.
If you want them improved, maybe talk to Brian and offer your help. Offer to run them yourself, see if he will take you up on that offer.
I for one, enjoy them! Have entered many, won one, and enjoyed them all. Even the ones I didn't enter.

Ryan

 

[normanaj]

These throwdowns are meant to be something fun, and added something extra for the members to enjoy.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

 

[zwiller]

While I don't participate in them they still influence me. Time never seems to line up in my favor to submit an entry (usually like a week later LOL). Not sure what it is but they are missing the mark. Just riffing but I would say first they should be a banner/always top heading not floating like the other threads maybe. Then from here I think "Thread of the Quarter" or a "Writeup Throwdown" so there's much more to it than a single money shot and vote.

forktender I tend to agree with you with meat only (and not just because that's my picture) LOL That was one of the most glorious pieces of meat I ever had or made and seem to think you can sense that by looking at the pic.

Maybe alternate, meat only TD then maybe change up, theme meal, write up, top views of the month/quarter. Like I said just riffing...

 

[Hijack73]

I've got the billy bad ass phone to take pics, I make food that tastes great, I can even put it on a plate and make it look good. I was head cook at a pretty decent restaurant for almost a year. No formal training but I apprenticed under a very good chef until he quit and I got the job, so I've got a tool and 2 requisite skills.

But taking a picture of it and making it look like something special, that part eludes me. I've entered a couple of throw downs and my plates look pretty darn great in person but no matter how many pictures of the plate I take and which lights I turn on and try to eliminate fuzz and shadows in the pictures I take, that part eludes me. And then my magnificent plate of food is often cold and semi congealed by the time I actually start eating it.

Some of you guys can open a can of corn and dump it on a paper towel and take a picture and it looks like Chef Jesus cooked it and Michelangelo captured it.

 

[zwiller]

Some of you guys can open a can of corn and dump it on a paper towel and take a picture and it looks like Chef Jesus cooked it and Michelangelo captured it.

LOL. We've had a few threads that talk about how but I am taking pics WAAAAAAAAY closer (and lower) than you'd normally do. I am barely viewing the phone and just making sure I am close and just snapping away. I look and critique after. My sweet spot is like 6" away the plate and 3" off the table/counter. I often have to clean the lens with my shirt as it's dirty and the image is fuzzy.

 

[civilsmoker]

I've entered several throwdowns, and if memory serves me correctly, won, well at least placed and got a prize in one.

Brian, you and everyone else that has put in the time and effort to put these on...Thank You! We really appreciate it!

I feel like quite a few, that I'm not at the same level as some others... but I don't care. For me to enter, I first need to have the time, planting season in the spring, and fall harvest are not so good for me, so any during those time periods I usually don't enter. Secondly, is having a great idea, and a game plan. Not always there. This last one was alot of fun! I didn't win or place high in the voting... but I did a meal I've never had until recently, and wanted to give a try to see if I could recreate it. It was a success... and very tasty. I had fun... and that to me is why I'll continue to enter.

My advice to everyone... don't worry about winning or losing, or how your pictures look. If you can come up with a game plan, then do it! Make it fun!

Ryan

This! I enter them because it’s fun and I enjoy seeing what others have come up with! The T-bone with the burning code word was just ingenious!

that would help in my case oh and block civilsmoker from entering...lol just kidding. There are some mad plating and creative skills going on in that kitchen.

Lol this could be a rule for sure! I know I have won many of these and even gave a custom chef knife out as a prize for the one to share with the forum…..if having a CivilSmoker free TD will get more to enter……well then I’m in! I would be just as happy to be a judge as entering!

From the CivilSmoker side I can tell you my wife tells me almost every day I have a problem……Ie I plate almost every single plate of food I eat, even if it’s just box mac. I have countless and I mean countless pics of food plates on my phone. I love to document the creation. For me it’s engineered food, my engineering specialist was and is 3d geometry modeling….so spacial beauty is an OCD thing to me…..I don’t use anything special to take my pics, just my IPhone 13 and LED under counter lighting…..that’s it…..but I have been taking pictures for over 40 years, but it is engineering to me……. If I can give any advice on taking food pics is natural light via the sun in from the window will take all the color out of the food and make it look dull. Try closing the blinds and put the plate under a yellow tone light (the daylight blue lights kill color too)…..stand back and zoom in a bit……this will remove the shadows and enhance the color……

I really to appreciate everyone that puts on the TDs and those that enter and those that don’t enter! And I thought having the sponsor do three prizes so the viewers, judges, and participants all had a chance was really nice. I have often wondered why we don’t get more entrants and back when I offered up a custom chef knife as a prize if we got a certain number, the added prize didn’t get there, but it seems that a focus of the TD has as much to getting more participation as anything. I will say having 3 to 4 weeks to enter have really helped me fine time to enter as I can usually find one day over a month to do a focused cook.

 

[DougE]

For those that put them on, it is an extra effort they make time for out of a busy day...

I can speak to that. It took a fair amount of time from start to finish. Coming up with a theme we thought the members would have fun with to try to draw the most participation, the taking in of entries and keeping track of them, editing the entries into a poll format, the committee members who were voting had to score each entry, etc. A lot more than anyone knows goes on behind scenes when putting on these events.

 

[DRKsmoking]

So when is the next one. Obviously not a candidate to win anything, but I am all about a challenge.

Everyone is a candidate , just enter what the theme is and , you and everyone else has the same chance to get votes.

David

 

[Elf@shore]

That's it exactly , and should prompt some that are wanting to join in , to do so .

FYI: PORK SALE! @ Shop Rite.
$1.49 with the Digital Card!
Pork loin I believe ? Not really sure.
They will cut it to yur likings, roasts, chops, pieces. Ect.
Heads up for those that have this locally.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

A hint for those of you having trouble getting a good picture. Don't just take 1 or two, take several pictures from different angels and distances. At least one or two are bound to be great.

At least it's not like the old days where you had to take them somewhere to get developed.

 

[forktender]

Hey you could always hold your own competition and run it the way you want to? I don't think anyone would have a problem with that.

I think these throw downs are perfect for this forum and I really appreciate our mods for doing them and personally, I wouldn't change a thing.

Hey tough guy, he asked for idea's, welp, those are my idea's, take'um or leave'um. It won't hurt my feeling one way or the other.

 

[jcam222]

A hint for those of you having trouble getting a good picture. Don't just take 1 or two, take several pictures from different angels and distances. At least one or two are bound to be great.

At least it's not like the old days where you had to take them somewhere to get developed.

100% great advice. I usually snap at least 20 pics from different angles ( both viewing angles and phone angle) and distances. I review them quickly and always see something to improve. Fix it and do a final 10 - 20. Add that to a clean white plate that's not overcrowded, good lighting and a splash of color from something as simple as parsley and voila. I've done all that and forgot the throwdown label before. Start over tune lol. Would love to say I've only done that once haha

 

[Torch&Tone]

What drives participation (because it drives much of the fun among competitors) isn't so much everybody else's skill level as much as it is everybody else's *level of seriousness*, and the two don't always directly correlate. This community has the whole range of blithely-casual-to-madly-obsessed, but targeting a particular zone of the spectrum, and figuring out how wide a range, to encourage the most vibrant level of competition is no easy task. Often, more/harder rules breed more creativity but only from more self-driven people. Generally, more prizes attract more of the dabblers, but frustrate the purists.

There is also a difference between cooking-serious and documenting-serious. Personally, I love cooking - and I also love photography - but I have an irrational dislike of food photography. However, I encourage other people to do whatever (harmlessly) makes them happy. This site is great for those who want to talk about and learn how to improve their cooking, but there are also other resources out there for improving your food shots. Learn yo'self something new & useful.

Side note: as with most hobbies, cooks and photographers both love to insist that gear is way less important than creativity/vision... but then also love to obsess over all kinds of gear!

 

[JLeonard]

I love seeing the entries and have participated in a few TD. Usually with the understanding I dont have a snowballs chance....I do it for fun and to whip up something different for the family. I havent been real active on here lately. Finally getting back into it. And I love stealing...er...Borrowing ideas from the TD guys!

Jim

 

[Colin1230]

This thread has been very enlightening. I never really gave it much thought as to how much work it took to put a Throw Down competition on, or how much effort it takes to produce a quality entry. I just knew I didn't have much chance of winning and was right. But now, after reading everyone's comments, I realize there is so much more to this competition. The winners put time and thought into their entry, as they well should considering the quality of the prizes. So, my biggest takeaway from this? Take the great advise contained within this thread and enter because if I don't I'll never get better.

 

[uncle eddie]

I used to enter a LOT, then tailed off for the same reason as prior posts. My plated shots just don't look "magazine quality". They look more like National Enquirer newspaper quality.

Maybe have a random prize, or 3, for non-winners (the camera "ungifted" entries).