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IAPLC 2022

on the note of doing right by the fish, check out these entries in the biotope contest, these are stunning

BIOTOPE AQUARIUM DESIGN CONTEST 2022 – Biotope Aquarium

biotope-aquarium.info biotope-aquarium.info

p.s not attempting to derail the thread!

On my previous note about the flooding of emersed scapes just to take a picture of the contest, it just feels like the next thing after the whole photoshopping in previous years, that goes towards putting people off entering.
 
Aqua360 said:
on the note of doing right by the fish, check out these entries in the biotope contest, these are stunning

BIOTOPE AQUARIUM DESIGN CONTEST 2022 – Biotope Aquarium

biotope-aquarium.info biotope-aquarium.info

p.s not attempting to derail the thread!

On my previous note about the flooding of emersed scapes just to take a picture of the contest, it just feels like the next thing after the whole photoshopping in previous years, that goes towards putting people off entering.
Click to expand...

I'm a huge fan of the BADC, and there are some really stunning and atmospheric tanks in the competition this year.

I think it would shake IAPLC up no end if entrants had to submit a video of their tanks too!
 
Wookii said:
I'm a huge fan of the BADC, and there are some really stunning and atmospheric tanks in the competition this year.

I think it would shake IAPLC up no end if entrants had to submit a video of their tanks too!
Click to expand...
Good suggestion!
 
Throwaway thoughts…

Somewhere in all this, it is perhaps forgotten that the IAPLC is an international competition, hosted by an extremely homogeneous nation. Why would you expect international ‘wants’ to factor in how the competition is run…? Who pays to run this?

They’ve shown movement by changing the judges to be a more representative international panel. But still, it doesn’t appear from a loud minority, that people understand the judging in any shared way.

There already exists plenty of competitions run around the world, that cater to other styles, trends and judging criteria. Why aren’t they as popular as the IAPLC?
 
Geoffrey Rea said:
Somewhere in all this, it is perhaps forgotten that the IAPLC is an international competition, hosted by an extremely homogeneous nation. Why would you expect international ‘wants’ to factor in how the competition is run…? Who pays to run this?
Click to expand...

That is a very good point. With the title "International Aquatic Plant Layout Contest" it is easy to get drawn into the fantastical idea that it is an open and not-for-profit event without corporate vested interest, when the reality is it is simply part of the ADA marketing machine. It's a great way to make a brand ubiquitous when that brand is so deeply imbedded in an event like this, that people easily forget its even there.

Geoffrey Rea said:
Why aren’t they as popular as the IAPLC?
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I can only speculate that this again relates to the first point - they simply don't have the same funding and corporate backing to generate as much exposure and interest?
 
Hi all,
ElleDee said:
no one is breaking any new ground in the blackberry jam category, but I expect the winner is very good jam indeed.
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Perfect and another one to add to UKAPS list of <"unusual analogies">.
Wookii said:
I think it would shake IAPLC up no end if entrants had to submit a video of their tanks too!
Click to expand...
Aqua360 said:
On my previous note about the flooding of emersed scapes just to take a picture of the contest, it just feels like the next thing after the whole photoshopping in previous years, that goes towards putting people off entering.
Click to expand...
That would be fairer, but I guess people are always going to "game" a competition, whatever rules exist.

cheers Darrel
 
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Wookii said:
That is a very good point. With the title "International Aquatic Plant Layout Contest" it is easy to get drawn into the fantastical idea that it is an open and not-for-profit event without corporate vested interest, when the reality is it is simply part of the ADA marketing machine. It's a great way to make a brand ubiquitous when that brand is so deeply imbedded in an event like this, that people easily forget its even there.
Click to expand...

That is a very good point. With the title "The Great British Bake Off" it is easy to get drawn into the fantastical idea that it is an open and not-for-profit event without corporate vested interest, when the reality is it is simply part of the Channel Four Television Corporations marketing machine. It's a great way to make a brand ubiquitous when that brand is so deeply imbedded in an event like this, that people easily forget its even there.

They’re ruining cake!!! 😂 😝 😂
 
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Wookii said:
I think it would shake IAPLC up no end if entrants had to submit a video of their tanks too!
Click to expand...
a mandatory picture that must show off at least one front edge and sideview of the tank would be a really nice upgrade for the evaluation, in my opinion. Don´t know if this was ever subject for iaplc.
 
Geoffrey Rea said:
That is a very good point. With the title "The Great British Bake Off" it is easy to get drawn into the fantastical idea that it is an open and not-for-profit event without corporate vested interest, when the reality is it is simply part of the Channel Four Television Corporations marketing machine. It's a great way to make a brand ubiquitous when that brand is so deeply imbedded in an event like this, that people easily forget its even there.

They’re ruining cake!!! 😂 😝 😂
Click to expand...

1fexdd.jpg
 
Just to add to my above post rather than edit it:
This isn't the fist time Sim Kian Hong has entered the comp, I suspect Josh wasn't the name given to him by his parents. Lol.
Screenshot_20220901-160907_Chrome.jpg


Screenshot_20220901-160813_Chrome.jpg
 
My personal opinion (and thats all it is) - is that all of these dioramas are samey and in some ways unsettling.

Samey because they all use the same formula to get the same result. Sand foreground, big piece of wood, rising towards the back, stems at the rear, sand path, lit focal point, job done. Unsettling because they enter the uncanny valley where they are both full of nature, and yet obviously totally and utterly unnatural.

In 2020 things did seem to be going towards the natural style again, but that seems to have reversed this year. However, what we do now have is many other fabulous competitions for followers of different types of aquariums - I am sure we will see these garner more and more attention as time goes on, and IAPLC will become its own niche of ultra preened tanks with insane hardscape.
 
chrisjohnson said:
This sounds interesting. How can I find out more!
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showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org

AGA Aquascaping Contest

View all 23+ years of entries to the AGA International Aquascaping Contest, and get the latest info on this year's contest.
showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org

“View past contests”

Then the years all come up, click what year you want to see.

Then it gives you the choice to choose between aquatic garden, Dutch, biotope, and so on. Click what you want to see, and it’ll show you the entries in that category that year.
 
Can't understand how the scores are achieved by some of the scapes. The top 40 appears jumbled and out of order. Anyone else struggling with progression through the list?
 
Courtneybst said:
I dunno about the top but I think the entries I've seen after rank 100 seem very random.
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I think they print all the submissions out, they lay them on the floor. Everyone at ADA gets 100 beans. They’re then tasked with putting n beans on the submissions they like the most.

Problem is someone just absolutely loves chaos, so puts 100 beans on something that looks non-good to us, but is 100 beans to them.
 
Problem is someone just absolutely loves chaos, so puts 100 beans on something that looks non-good to us, but is 100 beans to them.
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That makes perfect sense, especially if the beans obscure the image. Next guy comes along and thinks this must be good and deposits even more beans obscuring it even more. . .
But seriously folks, it doesn't really seem to make an awful lot of sense. Some of the best scapes didn't even make the top 100. And the scape ranked 4 seems completely random and out of place.
 
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