2010 ADA IAPLC Contest top 27

[vampie]

Funny how so many of the copy-cat designs are from the 2008 contest though. The grand prize, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place tanks have numerous emulators in the top 27.

A lot of aquascapes do get reused - one plant may be switched out for another, rocks and driftwood may get moved to a slightly different position, or the entire aquascape could be reversed simply by flipping it horizontally on Photoshop, etc. And yeah, there are copycats too.

I like some of the rock work, but they are being critical, and the comments about the black edge rim in one of the tank.......like everyone should have ADA seamed tanks...is a bit snooty. Judging is not easy,however............some of the rock work is well done.

Someone pointed this out to me some time ago, the thing about the ADA competition is that it isn't an aquascaping competition - it's a ADA competition. They'll be critical about things that are more superficial like the rim showing, equipment left in the tank, cloudy water, photography/editing skills, etc.

 

[Inka4040]

One of the comments that really got me, is how one of the contestants was penalized for justifying the heavier driftwood arrangement to the left instead of the right. As if such a thing matters in any way that isn't just arbitrary or nit picky. The tank with the black seams though, it really does detract from the overall appearance. Even normal colored silicone would have been better, but the huge thick black lines really ruin the effect. In any case, 27 is one of my favorite layouts of the bunch, along with 4. The driftwood work in that one is just amazing.

 

[James0816]

I really don't care what others think....these are just friggin amazing! The forrest scenes look so.....WOW.

 

[jeninok]

I am madly in love with number 1, it really seems like a forest scene.

I am always impressed with the rocky mountain side ADA type scapes, but they aren't my thing in all honesty, I prefer ones that look like natural biotopes or something more lush.

 

[plantbrain]

One of the comments that really got me, is how one of the contestants was penalized for justifying the heavier driftwood arrangement to the left instead of the right. As if such a thing matters in any way that isn't just arbitrary or nit picky. The tank with the black seams though, it really does detract from the overall appearance. Even normal colored silicone would have been better, but the huge thick black lines really ruin the effect. In any case, 27 is one of my favorite layouts of the bunch, along with 4. The driftwood work in that one is just amazing.

Photoshop could have taken care of it.
Since it is a photography contest and not an aquarist contest after all.


Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[plantbrain]

A lot of aquascapes do get reused - one plant may be switched out for another, rocks and driftwood may get moved to a slightly different position, or the entire aquascape could be reversed simply by flipping it horizontally on Photoshop, etc. And yeah, there are copycats too.
Someone pointed this out to me some time ago, the thing about the ADA competition is that it isn't an aquascaping competition - it's a ADA competition. They'll be critical about things that are more superficial like the rim showing, equipment left in the tank, cloudy water, photography/editing skills, etc.

Good point and very true about it being an ADA contest. Photoshopping is done, sometimes heavily(I've got PS and can reverse some of the coloration and things that are often done), fish are added a few days before, non realistic working/running aquarium, I dunno.........not hard for me to judge the judges there about those elements. How do we know these same tanks are running year after year? the fish? Is a pic just art of is it the tank itself really? Photography is art, not reality.

How would they know if the black seams where not PS'd out or not?
They wouldn't. They must know this and how do you judge something where people can so easily alter reality?

There's just something so VERY artificial about that.
And then they go and called them nature aquariums.

The folks did well with the hardscaping I think, some where very well done and thought out.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[Mgamer20o0]

fish are added a few days before, non realistic working/running aquarium, I dunno.........not hard for me to judge the judges there about those elements.

someone who is into that kind of thing broke down one of the pics. said the one was a compilation of 10-20 different pics. the tanks are amazing though but i really think foot notes help.

How do we know these same tanks are running year after year? the fish? Is a pic just art of is it the tank itself really? Photography is art, not reality.

i think this is the key when people setting goals. they spend a ton of time in most cases getting it just right for the pic. dont get upset if your tank doesnt look like one of them.

 

[plantbrain]

someone who is into that kind of thing broke down one of the pics. said the one was a compilation of 10-20 different pics. the tanks are amazing though but i really think foot notes help.

i think this is the key when people setting goals. they spend a ton of time in most cases getting it just right for the pic. dont get upset if your tank doesnt look like one of them.

Oh, I'm not the least bit upset about my tanks.
My goal is to actually have fish, breed them, and have the tank looking nice all the time. Easy to care for, sell enough to make a little extra $$$.

Over time, I make a lot more than if I won these contest:thumbsup:
I agree with nice examples............but they also need some realisim for me to buy into it all.

That is lacking.

I've seen many contest and asked to be a judge many times.
Blah......

I've suggested video as being more fair and less chance of manipulation.
It can still be done..but it's harder to do. Going back to the local clubs old Home Shows(1990's), we did VHS video at people's homes to do the judging and displays.

Video HD has gotten really cheap, phones can do it even.
Otherwise it's just a photo contest, not a an aquascape contest to me.
I threatened to add some life like plastic plants to make my point.
With the right lighting............PSing etc.........

It is nice to have a good photo for magazines, books etc.
I still like the older photos of a nice Dutch tank in an actual home, and getting to see it and the home in general. Where's it placed etc.

Pics/video of the filters, flow and many other things.
Much is lost when the focus is so narrow I believe.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[Inka4040]

I think these contests have exposed a much wider array of people to the aesthetic principals involved in setting up a tank like that. I for one, don't care that the pictures are photoshopped. The most important thing in all of these tanks, IMO, is the hardscape, and that is something that anyone at home can emulate without all the fancy equipment, the rimless tanks, or any of the ada branded nonsense. If anything, these tanks are important in that they widen the scope of what people can/do conceptualize when they plan tanks, at least at the layman level. Additionally, dismissively saying that photo retouching somehow cheapens the aesthetic effect the designers were going for, discounts the fact that Amano has made it painfully easy to see his work, in person even, and I seriously doubt the tanks are as unsustainable as they are made out to be, considering that it's unlikely that they redo the tanks in the ADA gallery every couple months. Whether the tanks in the contest are actually sustainable as they stand in the pictures doesn't mean they can't/couldn't be sustainable with a bit of tweaking.

 

[platytudes]

There's just something so VERY artificial about that.
And then they go and called them nature aquariums.

It is nice to have a good photo for magazines, books etc.
I still like the older photos of a nice Dutch tank in an actual home, and getting to see it and the home in general. Where's it placed etc.

These two sentiments are things I've felt but never been able to quite articulate. Thank you, Tom!

I don't know why, but I feel uncomfortable that everything seems to be going in this direction on the advanced freshwater side of the hobby. The fish are an afterthought, everything is so fussy and needs daily tending. None of it resembles any kind of real fish habitat.

Imagine if this kind of effort and interest were dedicated to biotope aquaria? It could be educational, not just artsy. Right now, the only way you can see a large grouping of biotopes is at an Aquarium (place). If they had a Biotope Aquaria contest (who knows, perhaps they do?) on the scale of the ADA competition, that would be something that would get me really excited.

Nature Aquariums, to me, seem like calendar photos....you know, like a tropical island with the super saturated blue water and sunset.

I'd much rather look at a picture that isn't so "flat" - like some of Heiko Bleher's work, for example.

That being said, the hardscape is incredibly impressive and I'd love to be able to see one of these aquariums in person. I just miss the old fashioned Dutch aquariums with the older style of photography, these Nature Aquarium pics are all a little too sharp for my taste.