ausbonsai annual show

[Waltron]

Once per year members post one well presented and taken photo of a single tree in their collection. No comments . . . . just an annual show of our trees here on this site.

I think it'd be rather cool.

Comments?

Nice and simple - I like it!

[Naimul]

something in this fashion perhaps?

Code: Select all

http://artofbonsai.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=996

and minus the scores and whatnot to keep it non-competitive.

[Rory]

Once per year members post one well presented and taken photo of a single tree in their collection. No comments . . . . just an annual show of our trees here on this site.

I think it'd be rather cool.

Comments?

Nice and simple - I like it!

My only is ... people are going to want to comment on it, otherwise it is not going to work, otherwise you will also need to have a separate thread to comment on the users' trees, and keep the picture show thread as a separate one with just the pics.

[Rory]

something in this fashion perhaps?

Code: Select all

http://artofbonsai.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=996

and minus the scores and whatnot to keep it non-competitive.

That is perfect, exactly what I was saying in my 2nd post.

[Gerard]

Just a few of my thoughts and opinions.

There is a difference between "trees for exhibition" and "trees for critique"
I think there is a great opportunity to get a good formula for a gallery of display quality trees.
no criticism
no judging
no prizes
no discussion
great pictures
great display set up
perhaps the ability to remove a picture and replace it?
Do we want a new one each year? This would keep it fresh i.e. '2014 display gallery", '2015 display gallery" etc.
Perhaps the mods would like to promote the best trees to a permanent gallery of exclusive high standard trees (something to aspire to)
In a regular show we are restricted by space but in this format we can exhibit hundreds of trees.
Trees need to be of display standard, (this means in a bonsai pot) stands and accents would be nice but not essential
We need not be restricted by seasons. Sometimes a tree looks best without leaves or when in flower.

[Waltron]

Trees need to be of display standard, (this means in a bonsai pot) stands and accents would be nice but not essential

That would probably eliminate 75% of the forums members - realistically - if you're after genuine display quality trees.

Perhaps the mods would like to promote the best trees to a permanent gallery of exclusive high standard tree

I think that is a good idea - a place for the 'genuine display quality trees' from the pool and indeed something to aspire to.

[Shinkitai]

Great idea. I have no problem with comments sometimes a little encouragement is great for everyone.

With out wanting to complicate it an honour roll for each year would be a great idea and something to aspire to and be inspired by.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[lackhand]

Another thought - this doesn't really have to be anything formal. Another forum that I occasionally visit has a thread called The Tree Thread, and the only rule is that to post on the thread you have to post a photo of a tree that belongs to you. Doesn't have to be show quality, you can state whether you want critique or not, so very flexible. No work for the mods really. But it gets people posting some of their nicer trees and makes for a great inspirational thread to browse through. Something like that would be easy. I would just start one, but I don't have much that's inspirational at the moment.

Can/should I post a link here to said forum so people can check it out? Don't want to bother anybody with linking another forum if I shouldn't.

[Andrew Legg]

It's great to see so much positivity towards this idea. I'd love it to be a non-threatening environment for members as this will encourage folks to post their trees that they like that may be far from show quality, but perhaps have significant sentimental value, or an interesting story to them. The only entry criteria I feel strongly about is that the tree should be well presented. Folks should take the trouble to find an appropriate background, and display and photograph the tree well. The effort should be the same as the effort we'd go to for a real exhibition.

As bonsai is all about creating an emotional connection with humans (not necessarily bonsai masters), perhaps each year a random person can select from the entries a number of trees . . . . . say ten or five, that connect with him or her, and comment on them in a separate thread. Why did they speak to him/her? So this is not a selection of the top trees, but rather a window into our unique tastes and appreciations.

Food for thought . . . . .

Keep the ideas coming

Andrew

[lackhand]

As bonsai is all about creating an emotional connection with humans (not necessarily bonsai masters), perhaps each year a random person can select from the entries a number of trees . . . . . say ten or five, that connect with him or her, and comment on them in a separate thread. Why did they speak to him/her? So this is not a selection of the top trees, but rather a window into our unique tastes and appreciations.

Food for thought . . . . .

Keep the ideas coming

Andrew

I like this idea.

[Scott Roxburgh]

Why non-competitive? I think prizes and competition will promote improvement and participation.

[Gerard]

Why non-competitive? I think prizes and competition will promote improvement and participation.

Or the opposite
People may decide not to participate, those who do not wish to be judged or critiqued. In all other areas of this forum open critique is taken for granted, people can put their trees up for discussion anytime. I would like to see an alternative, it is important that we understand that not everyone cares for advice. We can still appreciate their work.

[dark1]

I think this is a brilliant idea, why have we not done this before? Now all I need to do is get my tree's up to scratch, learn to take better photo's and most importantly, learn how to load it all up on the site. Not too difficult for an old computer dinosaur like me . Look forward to the challenge, bring it on! Michael.

[Graeme]

Why non-competitive? I think prizes and competition will promote improvement and participation.

As Gerard said, a competitive display could very easily drive people away from displaying their tree, thinking it not good enough - there are usually no harsher critics than self criticism! I for one wouldn't put up a photo of one of my trees under these circumstances, simply the way I am now days. But there is an answer!!

My other hobby is Street Rodding and within that hobby lies a possible solution to having all members of ausbonsai contributing to the AB Annual Show. When a Rodder enters his Street Rod into a show, he is asked on the entry form if he wishes his car to be judged or not. The choice is his, so we could do the same thing here. Enter a tree, but decline to have it judged.

I like the idea of the Hall of Fame thingie as well and can see no reason why someones tree couldn't be included in that years HOF,even although the owner didn't want his tree/s judged, if was considered by his/her peers to warrant such inclusion.

[Josh]

When I got into bonsai and started looking for a club, I went to one club were it was made clear that only the best trees are acceptable. In their show there is no room for anything but the best. I was put off as at that stage I didn't think I would ever have anything that good. I even considered not bothering pursuing it as I thought if that's what bonsai is about (being elite) I don't think I want to be apart of it.
Anyway I got invited to another club and gave it a go. I have displayed numerous trees at our club nights and been encouraged by the responses (although I don't feel my trees are that good). Our club encourages displaying trees from all levels, this is to encourage the newer members to be involved in shows. This year I hope to display some trees for the first time in our show. I would never have considered doing this if it was for the best trees only. I remember the first bonsai show I ever went to and thought there is no way I could ever enter a tree in a show. Now after seeing our clubs show I feel confident enough to enter a tree or two. No they are not world class (yet ) but will help to show the public that all trees start somewhere.
Maybe trees being displayed in the AB show could fall into 3 categories, Novice, Intermediate and Open (maybe a thread for each). This would encourage all members to display a tree and encourage the less experienced members to participate, after all, isn't the idea of AB to widen the bonsai community and involvement. People could opt to be critiqued or not. This could help people learn how to display bonsai properly.
The trees being displayed should meet certain criteria such as
must be in a bonsai pot.
must have been trained by the current owner to some extent
can not have wire on or must not be obvious
must have a plain background (maybe even say all trees to have x colour background)

Just some ideas.
Would be great to have our trees on show. I think if people are photographing trees to display, they would take more time to prepare them too.

Josh