Re-Invigorating the Monthly Shooting Assignment (MSA)

Hi everyone,
As regular watchers will have noted, we have seen a relatively drastic fall-off in MSA participation over the last year or so.
There is no doubt that at least some of this is due to the disruption of our lives arising from the Covid 19 pandemic.
But it seems prudent that we do something - either short term or on an ongoing basis - to either raise the activity level, or put the whole thing on hold for a while.
My preference is to have it continue without pause.
I have had a couple of people reach out to me with thoughts about what changes we could look at, and I'm hoping to start an exchange of ideas here about what others think. I'm not adverse to also exchanging private messages/Conversations, but hope to be able to see as much public discussion as possible.
It may be helpful to refer to the existing guidelines before suggesting changes: https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...vised-2015-07-further-revised-2019-07.126124/
And don't hesitate to make suggestions that are intended to be temporary, to deal with pandemic related concerns.
You may wish to consider changing the duration of the current process from two months at a time to a shorter period. Or to a longer period.
You may wish to consider (on a temporary basis) permitting entries from past work.
You may wish to consider limiting the number of entries from each person, or alternatively permitting people who make multiple entries to "win" with a combination of entries, rather than one single entry.
You may wish to suggest rules on how accompanying text is to be dealt with.
You may wish to address the "analogue only" rule.
And you may have suggestions that aren't remotely covered by any of the above.
I'm hoping to hear from lots of the members, in particular members who haven't been active in the MSA, but would like to be.

The dog ate my last entry and the one before got blown away in a wind storm.
Last year was a shit year in so many ways, decided the best thing was to have a gap year, build a proper darkroom so I can make better pictures and get invigorated again, I hope to fulfill my assignments and exchanges later in the year.

Thanks Paul.

I love the MSA but I have found it hard to participate mainly for 2 reasons.

The first is the timeline - 2 months sounds like a lot, but when it comes to developing I usually wait until I have a few rolls ready to go, and even if I get it done within the timeframe, there's the issue of scanning (either negs or prints). That is combined with the fact that sometimes the theme is a little outside of what I normally shoot, which, while a good thing, can take me longer to come up with an image that would be acceptable for the theme.

The second is the fact that the MSA often has a low profile on Protrio, so unless people are posting to the thread on a regular basis, it becomes an "out of sight, out of mind" situation, so when I see a reminder near the deadline, by then it's usually too late for me. However, these are my issues, I'm sure if I was a little bit more organised in my life I could be a much more active participant.

FWIW, I've shot a lot of images for these exchanges, I just was not able to post them within the dedicated timeframe, so they are in fact the "lost children" of the MSA. I always thought it would be fun to have an exchange where people posted photos they had shot for the exchange but for whatever reason, couldn't post them in a timely manner, but that only really works if a number of people have done just that (I hope I'm not the only one).

I wouldn't mind seeing the exchange go to a 3-month timeframe (4 MSAs a year) but I'm happy to keep it as is as well. Also maybe 2021 could be a year of experimentation - perhaps a theme that allows showing older (but previously unseen) work, or hybrid work, or themes that focus on processes/films/camera brands or formats/etc. Or...perhaps themes could be decided upon in advance for the year - members could submit suggestions, and then a shortlist is made. That way we know in advance what is coming up and can plan accordingly (similar to how magazines and other groups do these kinds of activities). Winners could submit their ideas for themes that would be used in the following year. Or, instead of winners choosing themes we could "award" them in other ways - maybe Sean could add a feature to the site that would allow member exchanges and competitions to be featured or highlighted on the home page - that would give a bit more of a PR boost to this (and other) activities.

Thanks Rachelle.

MSA wasn't on my radar before because I... uh, {insert generic excuse here} but now I'd like to give it a go. I'm okay with all rules except for #8. Photography should not be fun, damn it.

Thanks John.
For the next round, we will allow you to have no fun, if that is your preference .

MattKing said:

Thanks John.
For the next round, we will allow you to have no fun, if that is your preference .

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ROFL! Wait... Matt. You made me laugh. This project is NOT about laughing, enjoying life, and our shared passion. Are you crazy on this?

I'm sort of in a 'gap year' like Paul. So busy because of Covid-19 that I'm not doing much else -- although I have spent some of my little free time trying to learn how to draw/sketch, so even the little free time I have has been directed elsewhere. Speaking only for myself, I don't really know that changing anything about MSA would make me more motivated... it's more about how life is right now. I'm not doing anything photographically outside of MSA either right now... so it's not like I'm developing lots of film, and just not thinking of MSA. I'm sure if I was more active, MSA would be part of it again

I don't know exactly how we'd pull it off, but I kind of like Rachelle's idea of posting the assignments well in advance. Or maybe just a few of them? When I first started in MSA I really looked forward to seeing the new challenge because then there would be a couple weeks when I'd mull over what I might try to do... it's fun to think about. These days, having a couple weeks to think something over is more likely to mean it flies out of mind, so I'm not sure!

Hold on, stay safe, it will get better. Maybe all we really need to do is be patient.

Thanks Ned

NedL said:

I'm sort of in a 'gap year' like Paul. So busy because of Covid-19 that I'm not doing much else -- although I have spent some of my little free time trying to learn how to draw/sketch, so even the little free time I have has been directed elsewhere. Speaking only for myself, I don't really know that changing anything about MSA would make me more motivated... it's more about how life is right now. I'm not doing anything photographically outside of MSA either right now... so it's not like I'm developing lots of film, and just not thinking of MSA. I'm sure if I was more active, MSA would be part of it again

I don't know exactly how we'd pull it off, but I kind of like Rachelle's idea of posting the assignments well in advance. Or maybe just a few of them? When I first started in MSA I really looked forward to seeing the new challenge because then there would be a couple weeks when I'd mull over what I might try to do... it's fun to think about. These days, having a couple weeks to think something over is more likely to mean it flies out of mind, so I'm not sure!

Hold on, stay safe, it will get better. Maybe all we really need to do is be patient.

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Hi Ned, think having a break and doing something else is good for the soul. We should have a thread on other artistic adventures, I'd like to see some of your pictures. Been working on painting some murals on my backyard sheds, I havent a clue how to paint, but Ive never let my artistic inabilities get in the way before.

I think one of the challenges is that as the pool of participants shrinks, the winners become repetitive, and the pool of themes reflects their interests, and that may not hold the attention/interest of other potential participants. Perhaps instead of having the winner pick the theme AND judge the outcome, this month's winner picks next month's theme, and then all participants vote on the winner. I'm just spitballing an idea here - I'm not invested in it as a solution.

I would open the range of images to include images that were not shot for the assignment period, but fit the theme. While it would break the underlying premise of encouraging people to get out and shoot, it would certainly boost participation. I think every 2 months is a good time frame for shooting, processing and finishing a single image assignment, but as Rachelle is commenting, maybe it's too restrictive for a lot of people, and going to QSA (Quarterly Shooting Assignment) would be helpful. On the other hand, if we stretch it out longer, there are quiet periods in the thread and it vanishes from the New Posts list, and more people forget that it's there. Maybe going to an actual monthly cycle would benefit, as it would produce more activity and keep the visibility for the theme.

Another option would be to announce a new theme every month, but give people three months to submit for that theme. Again, spitballing ideas here - no investment in any of them.

Maybe we limit the submissions to one (or two) per participant? I don't know that this would be a big deal, as most of the time most people only submit one. But setting a cap might encourage some people to participate because they would feel that they stand a better chance of being selected.

I used to take part when I was around the forum a few years ago but I’ve been playing music more than photography until recently. I had forgotten about the MSA until I saw the last assignment too late! I am keen to take part again so hopefully it can be continued. As an idea how about we have a call-out for themes at the start of every year (or 6 monthly) and everyone who wants to participate throws an idea in to a 'moderator' and one is 'released' every couple of months? The aim is to take part across the year and if you enter every time a new theme is set that's fine - if you only partake once a year so be it! For me the benefit of the MSA was always a theme to work to. I'm probably complicating it too much so only throwing an idea into the ring to provoke some thinking! I'm up for getting involved again whatever the outcome.

awty said:

The dog ate my last entry and the one before got blown away in a wind storm ...

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Come on Paul, that's what I told teacher in highschool every single day ...

mooseontheloose said:

... I just was not able to post them within the dedicated timeframe, so they are in fact the "lost children" of the MSA ...

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'The lost children of MSA' sounds like a great theme for another MSA!

TheFlyingCamera said:

Another option would be to announce a new theme every month, but give people three months to submit for that theme.

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Really really like this concept, as it would truly make it a Monthly Shooting Assignment, yet allow three months to complete. Creating more activity and perhaps raise a curiosity, as there would be three Monthly Shooting Assignments that could be posted to, thus showing more activity on photrio that might get more people interested in the assignments and involved. It would also maintain the challenge of the assignment, to be for the current time frame reference only, as that makes it specific contest to find the image that relates to the assignment.

Otherwise the only other suggestion we could make at this time is in the choosing a new theme, which is limited by a list that extends back to 2006 at this time. That's a bit much in longevity. Perhaps it cold be limited to the last year or two at most, as the assignment could be the same, but the images and participates will change as they have to be current.

'The lost children of MSA' sounds like a great theme for another MSA!
Now there's a challenge...

TheFlyingCamera said:

... this month's winner picks next month's theme, and then all participants vote on the winner ...

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Good suggestion - that's what they do in bikeforums.net in their monthly photo challenge. It always was fun when I posted there in the past.

TheFlyingCamera said:

would open the range of images to include images that were not shot for the assignment period, but fit the theme.

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This is also a proposal that should be reconsidered.

Another idea that might encourage more participation - have two or three themes per cycle and allow people to pick a theme and submit for it. I know there have been times where the theme suggested was one that didn't interest me, so I gave it a skip, and ended up missing the next one because I wasn't paying attention as I was not participating in the previous cycle.

Thanks everyone for all the contributions - there are a lot of good ideas here.
One thing that is clear to me is that I or someone else needs to do more "cheerleading", so that there aren't long periods of time where there aren't posts on the current thread.
I'm going to keep this thread open - please keep the ideas coming. At the same time, I'll see what we can do to get another MSA up and running - possibly with the understanding that the rules might change "mid-stream" in that particular assignment.

Greetings all, and thank you, Matt, for creating this chance to share ideas.

To begin, I’m a hobbyist, and am rather reticent to post much of anything on the website in general. I thankfully don’t feel this way in our MSA forum, but I still tend to only contribute something when I feel good about an image.

I agree with Rachelle and Ned, that posting multiple assignment themes, well in advance of their due dates would be a helping change. In addition to finding the time to go out to shoot, process film, and create images before the deadlines, it also initially takes time for the creative process to happen, leading to the ideas that become our images.

I also echo the sentiments of several others who suggest that we might have more participation if we truly made the assignments, “monthly”. Consider for example if we now knew our March, April, and May themes. March’s winner chooses June’s theme, April’s winner picks July’s, and so it continues. We would have up to three months to pick the assignments that seem most inspiring, along with the time needed to create images for them. It would also give assignment winners more time to come-up with themes, not having to feel rushed to come-up with a new one at the very beginning of the new month that is already starting to pass by.

In fairness to all members who struggle to even get one photo submitted before deadlines, I would like to see a “level playing field” of one (1) image post per assignment limit established. Each additional submission for an assignment by an individual increases the chances of one of them getting selected. This becomes quite statistically significant as the total pool of overall contributions continues to diminish. It discourages me from contributing anything when I know I will only have one.

Finally, I want to thank Matt for continuing to accept negative scans to create images for the assignments. I live in a very drought-prone region of Texas, have a private water well, and I must conserve water as much as possible. I don’t have the luxury to be able to run water as needed to make prints. Even when I develop film, I use the Ilford fill-the-tank and invert 5/10/20 times method to conserve water.

Russ

As some may now, I've been "kicked" out of my darkroom, so-to-speak, and have had to go digital. So, respectfully, and as you can imagine, I would be in favor of allowing digital work.

Having to learn the technology was a steep climb... and the process continues. I've done a lot of reading, You Tub'ing, and questioning. I was not sympathetic to digital's complexity, nor it's capabilities.

I've look at a lot of "all digital" sites. It's amazing the amount of analog bashing takes place.

Matt, in the past I have often looked at the monthly shooting assignment, but I could never get something done that would fit the criteria in the time frame. Anything I did have that was suitable was usually taken the year before or maybe five years before. Immediacy was always a problem, still is.

The three month in advance thing could make it possible for me to enter one day (month).

Thanks, Matt, for your efforts.

Chalk me up for another vote in favour of @TheFlyingCamera’s suggestion of a three month window for each monthly theme. I regularly find myself in a similar situation as @mooseontheloose: between thinking of possibilities to match the theme, finding time to shoot, develop (and I too tend wait to batch develop like films), (likely) scan negatives, and fix dust, I routinely run out of time before the two month window expires. The overlapping windows means that at any given time, there’s a reasonable chance that at least one open theme strikes me as appealing and/or something to which I could contribute.

I could see getting involved if there was multiple themes as in 2-3, and I personally wouldn’t be able to do competitive work more then twice a year unless there was a “Yesterday’s” theme where I could harvest some old negs. I stopped developing because I was constantly throwing out chemicals so that’s the end of that till I’m fully retired and can set up a darkroom. That’ll be when I retire again.
With the price of gas I won’t be out as usual driving around and taking shots like in a city. Maybe next year?

Thanks for your contributions.
It intrigues me how some participants want the "window" to put together contributions to be shorter than the two months we were working with until recently, while others want it to be longer.

Matt you could just please those that want the shorter time frame. The rest of us will just have to contribute whenever?