This logic confuses me on so many levels 
It's simple really... I posted a photo to put myself in the running for TOTM. Once the poll actually begins at the end of the month, I look at all of the submitted photos and vote for the one I like the most. Usually that would be my own photo, because we're all biased of our own builds, right? But not always. This particular month, I liked someone else's photo more than my own. I just think it's highly ironic that my vote to him is likely what resulted in the tie. If I had voted for myself instead, I would have won by one vote, and surely others would have noticed that my own vote was the tie-breaker. Whether that would be a good thing or a bad thing is relative to everyone else's opinions on the process, and in my opinion, would also depend on who the other guy voted for. If he voted for himself also, then it wouldn't be a big deal.
Just like the MVP voting in Major League Baseball every year, voters seem to have their own criteria or definition of what should constitute a winner. Some focus heavily on the vehicle itself (how modified it is), while others focus on the subject matter of the photograph and how the vehicle is being used (there are many who "would never!" vote for a photo of an Xterra sitting on pavement, for example). Some choose to focus on the photographic quality and technical correctness of the shot. Others focus strictly on the member - voting for people they like, or people who contribute the most to the forum community.
I use a pretty balanced scale of all of those factors. Neither is more important than another to me, but a major lacking in any one of them could/would cause me to not vote for someone. For example, I'd always pass over a person who is a jerk to everyone on the forum, or if there are two photos I really enjoy, but one is a really upstanding member who helps others out a lot, they'd get my vote.
In the case of this month, I think the technical aspects of my photo are a little better than AlbatrossCafe's (in terms of photographic quality), but his is also a REALLY great shot in some awesome scenery. The trees are cool, and the depth of the photo blows mine away (you can barely even tell I'm sitting in front of the Salton Sea). His vehicle is also really bad@$$... he's fully titan swapped, and uses the crap out of it, wheeling hard all the time in the PNW. Finally, he's a very active member of the TNX community, and even helped me out a few times in the past (gave me advice on how to trim the bottom corners of my fenders, and even sold me the wheel spacers I'm currently running).
So I decided he was a better candidate for TOTM than I am. I do, however, sincerely appreciate everyone who thinks I deserve it, and took the time to vote for me. I'll be quite humbled if I win. To even be thought of this way by our forum group is a huge honor, and I think you guys are awesome.
