July 2014 POTM Winner - tlhood !!

[kien]

Congrats tlhood for winning July's Photo of the Month with her ultra rare, ultra high end, super-awesome grade robotridiprintidae fish in a custom tank.

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/3074/medium/01_tlhood_01.jpg

Thanks to everyone who participated in this months out of the ordinary edition of PTOM :biggrin:

[tlhood]

LOL I can't believe that won!!!!

[Madreefer]

Well by default I'd give all the entries a badge just cuz. :biggrin:It is kind of an insult to those who put up nice pics. But I too voted for the winner as a joke. But hey congrats anyways:lol:

[WarDog]

Congrats! That's a pretty sweet rimless tank, is it a Concepts custom build?
Could you document the build in the nano forum?

[tlhood]

t'was all in good fun

[StirCrazy]

just shoes that the picture of the month is a joke and takes down the creditability for all previous winners.

Steve

[kien]

just shoes that the picture of the month is a joke and takes down the creditability for all previous winners.

Steve

this .. v

t'was all in good fun

Indeed, generally POTM should be fun! This month in particular because well, it's the middle of summer. People are on their decks, on vacation, eating cherries and watermelon. In fact, I really enjoyed the this month's more relaxed and whimsical POTM and plan to repeat it next summer :biggrin:

At the end of the day it was a public vote. People voted for their favourite :-) That's really all there is to it.

Have a great summer !

[kien]

Well by default I'd give all the entries a badge just cuz. :biggrin:It is kind of an insult to those who put up nice pics. But I too voted for the winner as a joke. But hey congrats anyways:lol:

so let me get this straight, you voted for it, yet you're complaining about it? Say what ?? :lol:

I do like that this subject has generated a lot more discussion than previous POTMs. :biggrin:

[corpusse]

Really what do you expect when it's a freshwater picture on a REEF site. Sure there are some people with freshwater tanks as evident by the real entries. I still voted for this picture because I thought it was silly.

It's not like this is a photo contest with cash prizes or magazine print offs. It's just for fun and bragging rights for a month. Somehow I doubt this is tlhood's shinning moment and they are having the picture framed above their (reef) tank.

[tlhood]

Great art provokes emotion... Just sayin!

Everyone had great submissions, as they always do. I'm just happy that people saw the humour and creativity in this photo, and it brightened up a moment for at least some individuals.

[Madreefer]

so let me get this straight, you voted for it, yet you're complaining about it? Say what ?? :lol:

I do like that this subject has generated a lot more discussion than previous POTMs. :biggrin:

It's not complaining. I was kinda sticking up for the FW guys.

[jorjef]

The Jesters that voted for it won the day. Once it's posted I'm sure it will really show visitors...... ummm well, not sure what it will show them..

[Samw]

Ok, what is that? What's the story? Every abstract art has a story.

[tlhood]

This specimen was collected from the remote jungle area of YY’Cbeltline. It’s pink colour, much like flamingoes, comes from its strict diet of shrimp. Not only has this bright colouration made it a quite sought-after fish, but also its unique physiology. Due to its natural habitat and specific diet, the robotridiprintidae has evolved to have both its eyes on one side of its head, so that when hunting or when threatened, it can lie flat and cover itself with mud. This behavior has also made it quite difficult to locate and capture.

Some scientists theorize that this species of fish excretes a toxin of sorts, which provokes unpredictable emotional response from surrounding living creatures. Although not thoroughly proven via experiment, it is believed within some sects of the scientific community that this toxin either inspires joyful sentiments, or the opposite. This possibility of inspiring an aggressive response makes it wise to provide it with solitary habitation, and careful handling. It is unknown why or how this fish uses the toxin to its advantage.

the real story:

I only got into reefing at the end of December/early January, and have until recently, been a fairly shy and quiet member of the forum. In fact, the majority of my 300 odd posts are probably from the Canada Corals Jeopardy competition, during which a lot of silly answers, jokes and friends were made. When the photo was posted, it was mid-July and there weren't any other submissions. I try to post something for every POTM if I can meet the requirements (couldn't do the anthias one, etc), and since there weren't any other photos and I don't have a true freshwater tank, I “made my creative debut”.

Being a bit of a "jester" as someone called it, I wanted to do something that was kind of funny, light hearted, and maybe a bit cheeky (and it was almost midnight, which may have played a factor), more or less for some giggles rather than to win. From the past few POTM threads, a lot of people seemed to take it perhaps a bit too seriously, whereas I see it as an opportunity to have fun in showcasing creativity, skill in photography (or lack thereof – as in my case), prized pieces, and/or foster some communal “ohhs”, “ahhs”, and/or “hey good job, congrats, great picture, jealous of your fish/crab/coral/setup”s. Besides, the prize is bragging rights, a badge, and for me, some laughs – if there were a sponsored prize, obviously I wouldn’t of made the submission. The votings/comments in the entry thread evidenced that it served its purpose in humoring people. I was actually quite surprised at the outcome, and am equally surprised at the mixed response. I don't think the photo ruins the quality of other submissions and other winners. Each winner, and each person who submits, shares their photos because it is unique, beautiful, or cool in their perspective. All that really matters in the end is that the submission was shared for other people to see - win or lose.

The "fish" is a robot printed with my friends 3D printer. It was actually a pain to get it in that position because it floats, and flips onto its back. I had to do the "hold it in the spot and take a blur of photos as I whipped my hand out" technique. I also wanted to give it an “authentic” feel and added some vegetation.

[Samw]

Haha. That's a great response. You truly have a creative side. I thought that was some sort of alcoholic cocktail at first.

[tlhood]

Why is it still showing slyguy's photo?

[kien]

Why is it still showing slyguy's photo?

Sorry, we are having some technical difficulties. I'm working on it..

[tlhood]

Sorry, we are having some technical difficulties. I'm working on it..

Oh good. I thought I was going to have to unleash my toxin secreting robo-fish.

[kien]

Oh good. I thought I was going to have to unleash my toxin secreting robo-fish.

Pics please!

Unfortunately there is only one staff member who has the ability to change the POTM (and TOTM) links/images, and he has been away all last week. When he gets back he will address it I'm sure :-)

[Coral Hoarder]

Wayst of a potm not the subject but the pic I mean in going to look at that when I log on I'd rather look at a cool coral or fish any day

[tlhood]

Upon unlocking the door, the poor soul was forced to endure what felt like an eternity of excruciating pain for each moments glance at the image glued to the wall. "Why?!" he cried to the Gods of Canreef. "Why must majority rule spite me so!"

[kien]

Wayst of a potm not the subject but the pic I mean in going to look at that when I log on I'd rather look at a cool coral or fish any day

Apparently the majority (of voters) disagree with you. A suggestion I'd make is to perhaps submit a photo of your own to POTM. This way you can maybe reduce the chances of a bad pic being chosen ? Just a thought. :biggrin:

[tlhood]

He did make a submission I believe.

At this point though, arguing is moot.

[kien]

Oh ya he totally did! Sorry, my bad! That was an awesome pic too. Apparently I don't know what I'm talking about. Carry on.

[tlhood]

It was, I thought it was cool. Perhaps another pic of the fish could be a good candidate for the "hot" potm.

[paddyob]

just shoes that the picture of the month is a joke and takes down the creditability for all previous winners.

Steve

Agreed.

[Coral Hoarder]

Agreed.

One plus

[paddyob]

Wayst of a potm not the subject but the pic I mean in going to look at that when I log on I'd rather look at a cool coral or fish any day

Yup. This was completely disappointing. I clicked the picture thinking they made a mistake.

[kien]

Okay, we get it, you guys disagreed with this months winner. In the end, you can blame those who voted for it. Don't blame the system or the submissions. All submissions followed the rules. If there were enough people who felt that the winning picture was a farce then it should not have won. But it did. That's how the game is played. And guess what, all the past winners are STILL WINNERS. Shocker, I know! :-)