I wanted to add four more photos as an example but the system said I could not that I was limited.

Okay with out looking them up and assuming that you had four choices for the POTW which one would you choose. PLEASE take a look at each photo without looking to see who posted the photo and then comment below. This is a exercise and hopefully will prove my point.

Choose your favorite with the following numbers above each photo:

Number 1

http://www.worldphotographyforum.com.../IMG_2341a.jpg

Number 2

http://www.worldphotographyforum.com.../Ladybird3.jpg

Number 3

http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...reflection.jpg

Number 4

http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...thbank_WPF.jpg

Dave, from the photos that you've posted, I can see where coming from.
Although I don't know how members of the judging panel think, let me explain my thoughts on the photos.
Four knights. Lack of context: could be taken anywhere, just four guys dressed as knights. No compositional merits: just in a straight line does nothing for me. I would have considered taking from the side. No drama: perhaps have the knights lower their lances, coming to a point in the FG - would have added interest and given lead-in lines.
A competent record shot only.
Butterfly Nice sharp image with the insect set off well against blurred BG.
Would put it on shortlist for POTW, but would need to consider other photos.
Two flowers One is in bright sunlight and overexposed whilst the other is in shade and underexposed.
No photographic merit.
Two ladybirds (ladybugs?) Good angle - at the insects' level. However, only the face of the upper insect is in focus and the grass obscures the lower one.
A good attempt but not POTW material.
Beautiful Mum Very good concept and work. I can forgive the slightly overexposed mug given the lighting conditions.
A worthy contender for POTW.
Night scene The lighting and colours grab the attention. Vertical lines are vertical. The buildings at the side nicely frame the BG and keep the eye in the image.The road leads the eye to the BG.
On balance this would be my POTW - just beating 'Mum'.

out of the 6 photos above
I would choose
Night scene, for my 1st choice, stands out and just love it. that would be my POTW choice.
and then I would choose the
4 knights as my second choice, because I found that one very different for me
then I would choose the
butterfly as my 3rd choice.
then the
two ladybirds as my 4th choice.

To be honest I don't scan through every image in the gallery. I tend to look in at least once a day at the front page and click on subjects which I find of interest or an image which I feel has some merit. I will admit I am the world's worse for leaving comments. So if I do leave a comment you can feel assured it had hit the spot for me. To be fair at least a third of the images are best described as record shots of subjects which maybe of interest to some but rarely lend themselves to great composition or wall art.

The 4 knights is an interesting and unusual scene and maybe there was the opportunity to get a better composition and interesting angle.

My butterfly, yes may go on somebodies short list and may of won if there was not any stiff competition. I personally did not think it was a real contender. I have a dozen shots of this butterfly in the gallery always trying to get a different perspective on the subject. But on the day sometime you succeed and others you don't.

The 2 flowers just highlights how difficult flower photography can be. To be honest a good attempt but of little merit.

The 2 Lady birds. Lady birds are a very difficult subject and you have to get so many things right to get an outstanding image. Again a good attempt.

Beautiful Mum. I must admit I missed this. An interest concept but not a Stellar image.

For me Night Scene was head and shoulders above the rest. Although "inom" has been a member for many years it's not a name that springs to mind or has been a heavy contributor to the gallery.

During each week one or two images will stand out for me and the majority of time one of them will be chosen.

That's what I am getting at the Night Scene is beautiful and well done and very well composed and took a lot of effort and planning to get it done right. But the Ladybugs and Mums are both very beautiful and each has a couple of minor technical flaws in them but you know know what like you said Birdsnapper the Mums are a very close second. For me it would be the Mums mainly because that takes some very patient effort to shoot them and you have to do just as much Technical work on them in pre-shooting, shooting, and post production.

I do not know how many photos of plants and animals I though that I had perfect only to get a look at them during post production work and shake my head. So why can't we take one and make it the POTW and do a honorable mention, one that is very good but that needs just a little bit to tweak it to make it POTW material.

And like you robski I have not a lot of time to go through the gallery everyday or every other day. I just feel that we as Photographers and in numerous cases Mentors should be willing to take a hard look at items and photos that are out of our comfort zone. (I also must say that for every four or five hundred photos I shoot only one or two really stand out to me)

The 2 flowers just highlights how difficult flower photography can be. To be honest a good attempt but of little merit.

Your right about this one it is a very good attempt but I feel that their is merit to. And if I had been judging that week it would have at least been an honorable mention.

Let me ask the group this: Is there anything wrong with having the POTW and in another forum or thread doing a honorable mention with any pointers that the panel member that week has to make it a POTW material next time. Something to give the photographer feedback. Like it has been done with the 4 Knights. A different angel, etc.

This is a great site and it has some very talented photographers and some with talent that just need a little nudge to help them. It is not a site like one that I was a member of where the old guard photographers all got all of praise and the younger ones all had their work cut to shreds.

I am asking that if you see one that is really good but just needs a couple of pointers as the panel judge that week then give it a honorable mention and let the photographer know what they can do to improve it. I know I will and yes I will choose this weeks POTW with merit and I will also give a Honorable Mention to somebody if that works for the rest of the panel members.

Dave, explaining why the winner was chosen and why the honourable mention just misses is a good idea -helps not only the photographer, but also gives guidance to others.

It seems to me Dave, that what you are saying is a picture that is NOT necessarily the best picture of the week should win because the picture that IS the best picture of the week has been posted by someone who has won before!

When it is my turn to make a selection, I go to the gallery & review the thumbnails of EVERY image posted in the past week and enlarge all those that catch my attention & make my selection from those. To suggest that your fellow selectors do not review images that have been posted in the previous week equally when making their selection I think does them an injustice.

Of the two images you posted previously, the 4 knights is an OK shot but at the end of the day its a record shot. Compare it with this shot which won in August last year which has action & drama

http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...22/Civil-1.jpg

Again Robski's Red Admiral, I'm sure he won't mind me saying, while not a bad shot, is not in the same class as his Orange Tip , which won in May

http://www.worldphotographyforum.com.../wpf2A2970.jpg

or his Common Blue which won in June last year

http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...2/IMG_4495.jpg

Incidentally I've gone back over the past 18 months and there are only two people who have won more times than Robski so his images are hardly going un-noticed. During that time we have had 36 different winners, with 20 of those having won just once - so its hardly the same people winning every week.

Of the four images you posted lattely, I have to agree with the comments of robski, birdsnapper & tugboat... and Night Scene by inom won POTW a couple of weeks ago (it was my selection :) ) so it hardly got overlooked!!!

As far as honorable mentions go - I, and a number of fellow POTW panelists, already do that, although I have to say, these are usually to images that have made it to my final 3/4 shortlist. That said, to me, the place for giving feedback and pointers to forum members to help them develop their skills, is on their images when they post in their gallery - PROVIDING they have ticked Critique Required because unsolicited feedback is sometimes not well. received

Then shall we try it for a while with every-bodies consent and see how it works.

Clive I am in agreement with you on several points I would just like to see us take the POTW to the next level is all.

Looking back at how I started this discussion off was very wrong and for that I am sorry but the point that I am trying to make is that I see some many photos that have potential that if we as a POTW Panel gave a small honorable mention and a point or two on how to correct what saw that kept that photo from making POTW what harm does that do.

http://www.worldphotographyforum.com.../IMG_2341a.jpg

For example the Mums above this has potential to be a POTW but the photographer could have moved over a little and turned a little and this would be a great flower shot. The biggest distraction to me is the part of the flower on the right sticking out there. Just getting that third flower in would have made it in my mind POTW material.

Of the four images you posted lattely, I have to agree with the comments of robski, birdsnapper & tugboat... and Night Scene by inom won POTW a couple of weeks ago (it was my selection ) so it hardly got overlooked!!!

I know it was chosen and it was your selection and that is why I choose it for these examples. But I did not want to mention that I knew it was a POTW Choice because I wanted to see where everybody would go with the different photos.

Often conditions on the day don't allow you to get the type of shot you want and you end up with the best you get under the circumstances. The response to my images can be quite varied. Some produce no reaction and others just amaze me. These days I just post a few examples of the days work that did not make it to trash can.

I think Dave is working on the premiss that all those who post images in the gallery are hoping to gain the status of POTW. It's never been my motivation. I don't take myself that seriously. It's a hobby I enjoy and like to share with like minded people.

Yes it's nice to get a pat on the back or mentioned in dispatches if your image was enjoyed and produced a good reaction.

Our experience has been ( especially in the critique section which rarely gets used these days ) most feel their work is good or OK and don't take too kindly to suggestions to improve. So unless somebody provides a bad example of their work and says I know it's bad but how can I improve. Only then is help and suggestions forth coming. Otherwise we tend to stay clear of such troubled waters. Yes it is well exposed, in focus and sharp but the subject and composition is nondescript and you would not look at the image once let alone twice. Some people are perfectly happy to churn out images that should never escape from the photo album ;)