Weekly Photo Competition Oct 6th-13th Nov - Go Green!

[JDDavis]

Laird Knox - Way to start it off with a bang. It’s very interesting and I’ve been trying to figure out exactly what you did here. In camera…Photoshop….both? Must be a reflection off of glass, I’m sure. The branch in the upper right is a bit distracting but overall it’s a very interesting and artistic image.

Alexander.Of.Oz - Very smooth background and nice isolation. I like the ants…I didn’t notice them at first. I would like to see the entire sprout in focus. I don’t do well with these kind of shots and I think people focus stack in order to get the entire subject in focus but still have lots of bokeh.

Miltz - Lovely light and a perfectly still lake. Has to be a morning shot. I like the composition as well and the lines lead you into the third. Well done.

Apple fanboy - Nice composition and I like the colors. I don’t mind the plant being out of focus but I’d like to see more of the bug. I can’t give to much feedback on macro shots. I struggle with them.

MacRy - Very nicely done. It looks like a forest on another planet. I may not know much about macro photography but this is a good one. I like that the subject is the dried curled bit but green obviously fills the image. Good depth of field.

pol0001 - Lovely scene but the branches are really getting in the way of the image. Please go back on a foggy morning when the sun is a bit lower (sans branches) and share the image with us.

cbrand493 - I like the thought of framing it through the cave (or whatever it is). I think the light was a bit unfortunate and kind of dulled everything out. I bet that algae really pops bright green when he sun is on it right.

Hughmac - Nice job and I like that the leaves are just hanging on to their green. The background is a bit busy but there’s not much you could’ve done about that.

ericgtr12 - The pattern and symmetry are pretty cool (though I think you could’ve shifted left like 6 inches maybe ! ) Plenty of green for the theme but white is really the subject of the image.

keno - I like the square frame for this. I like the composition and the bit of red. I’m thinking this image has had a good bit of sharpening done to it. Extremely shallow depth of field and the focus was on the leaf in the lower right or maybe the wind was blowing?

filmbufs - Lovely peaceful scene. Very spring like. I wish it had worked out where the leaves in the foreground completely blocked out the bright sky.

PunkRawkPurl - Welcome to the forum! Nice composition and good job on the blacks. Those waxy leaves are hard to not blast out so good job there too. My one critique is the shadow that cuts the leaf on the left makes the image a bit odd. Would’ve like to have seen the entire leaf in the image.

rx7dude - Plenty o green. Good depth of field for the subject. I’d probably try a bit different composition since for me the subject feels a bit cut off.


Thanks for all the entries and great job to everyone. I’m glad we got through the RGB contests. I don’t know if we ever made this a rule but I’m wondering if we should resist “liking” photos till after the judging. It might sway the judge a bit through popular opinion. Just a thought. Ah, well…on to it.

Honorable Mention - goes to PunkRawkPurl for her first contest entry (and a well done one at that)
2nd Place (Tie) - Laird Knox for a very creative take
2nd Place (Tie) - Miltz for great scene with lovely lines.
1st Place - MacRy for a really nice forest in miniature that I found captivating.

Congrats MacRy and over to you for the next one!

 

[Laird Knox]

Laird Knox - Way to start it off with a bang. It’s very interesting and I’ve been trying to figure out exactly what you did here. In camera…Photoshop….both? Must be a reflection off of glass, I’m sure. The branch in the upper right is a bit distracting but overall it’s a very interesting and artistic image.

Thank you for taking the time to critique the contest. This image is actually unedited. I was testing some ideas for a shot I wanted to do with my 4x5. If I were to edit it I would crop out the branches in the opposite corners (same branches) and neaten it up overall.

I set the camera up to do a double exposure (D800 will do up to 9 exposures) and lined the center spike on the crown up with one of the focus points on the screen. I think I lined up something on the bottom of the screen too. I then flipped the camera over and lined up the same two points. I was shocked it lined up so well because I wasn't trying too hard to make it work, I just wanted to test the basic idea.

When I went back at night to shoot on film I did an 8 exposure digital shot to check the levels. I didn't line this one up as well but it still came out interesting. I used the center focus point to line up the torch in each shoot. Also, if you notice my watermark, the geometric pattern is from an 8 exposure shot I did on film of the Stratosphere Tower.



8 exposures, 40mm, ISO 400, f 2.8, 1/50 sec, handheld

 

[Laird Knox]

The final image as shot on a 4x5 large format film camera. The only post work was to remove dust and fine tune the B&W image as I scanned the negative in RGB to get a bit more control over the contrast. The RGB scan had a green cast and I was able to tweak the separate color channels slightly.

"Liberty Huddle" • 8 exposures, HP5+ 4x5" negative, ISO 400 (Sorry, forgot to mark down the f-stop and shutter.)

The film version took me an hour to shoot. Line up the shot, put the film in, take the shot, remove the film, repeat seven times. I was there for three hours - two hours for two pictures and an extra hour explaining it all to the people on the street.

 

[anotherscotsman]

The final image as shot on a 4x5 large format film camera. The only post work was to remove dust and fine tune the B&W image as I scanned the negative in RGB to get a bit more control over the contrast. The RGB scan had a green cast and I was able to tweak the separate color channels slightly.

View attachment 599915
"Liberty Huddle" • 8 exposures, HP5+ 4x5" negative, ISO 400 (Sorry, forgot to mark down the f-stop and shutter.)

The film version took me an hour to shoot. Line up the shot, put the film in, take the shot, remove the film, repeat seven times. I was there for three hours - two hours for two pictures and an extra hour explaining it all to the people on the street.

Awesome! Your dedication and application of artistic and technical expertise to getting the artistic effect you want is amazing - makes us point-and-shoot guys seem woefully inadequate. The end results speak for themselves.

 

[Apple fanboy]

The final image as shot on a 4x5 large format film camera. The only post work was to remove dust and fine tune the B&W image as I scanned the negative in RGB to get a bit more control over the contrast. The RGB scan had a green cast and I was able to tweak the separate color channels slightly.

View attachment 599915
"Liberty Huddle" • 8 exposures, HP5+ 4x5" negative, ISO 400 (Sorry, forgot to mark down the f-stop and shutter.)

The film version took me an hour to shoot. Line up the shot, put the film in, take the shot, remove the film, repeat seven times. I was there for three hours - two hours for two pictures and an extra hour explaining it all to the people on the street.

Thanks for the explanation (and dedication in taking the shot!). It's always nice to get the story behind an image rather than to just be left wondering.

@JDDavis macro is fun but can be tricky. This orange beetle was very patient. He waited whilst I switched to my macro lens.
I swear he was looking at his reflection in the glass and was quite intrigued.
The trick is don't even try without a tripod. Also as I was using manual focus, I fired off a lot of shots to make sure even the small breeze moving the grass wasn't going to spoil the opportunity. He was very small, and it was only his bright orange that helped me spot him in the grass.

Well done to the winners and some good critiques.
Onto the next. Of course we have now done RGB, so what's next CMYK?

 

[Hughmac]

Thanks for the detailed critique - I'm getting to grips with a newly acquired Tokina 28-70mm f2.8 and mine was taken with this on a horrible dull day.

Congrats to MacRy and well done to the other contestants that placed.

Cheers

Hugh

 

[MacRy]

Wow thanks for the win Jeff. I must admit I didn't think I had a chance this week with some of the other great entries. I very nearly swapped my submission out at the last minute for this one:

Glad I didn't now

I'm off out for the day but will get a contest up and running later on. Congrats to the other winners and great feedback.

My mini forest shot was some moss on the top of an old stone wall.

 

[MacRy]

New contest up and running.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...th-21st-nov-paris-solidarity-support.1937761/

 

[JDDavis]

The final image as shot on a 4x5 large format film camera. The only post work was to remove dust and fine tune the B&W image as I scanned the negative in RGB to get a bit more control over the contrast. The RGB scan had a green cast and I was able to tweak the separate color channels slightly.

View attachment 599915
"Liberty Huddle" • 8 exposures, HP5+ 4x5" negative, ISO 400 (Sorry, forgot to mark down the f-stop and shutter.)

The film version took me an hour to shoot. Line up the shot, put the film in, take the shot, remove the film, repeat seven times. I was there for three hours - two hours for two pictures and an extra hour explaining it all to the people on the street.

Really cool. Thanks for the behind the scenes explanation.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Excellent detailed feedback and judging, @JDDavis; terrific shot @MacRy, - and I think your first shot, the one you entered was far superior - and I really liked the explanations offered by @Apple fanboy and @Laird Knox - they were most interesting.

Some lovely images this week. I also liked the arresting lines (not to mention subject matter) of the shot submitted by @ericgtr12 and thought the attractively stark image from @Alexander.Of.Oz excellent; and loved the composition, clean lines, colour and content of @PunkRawkPurl's shot.

 

[PunkRawkPurl]

PunkRawkPurl - Welcome to the forum! Nice composition and good job on the blacks. Those waxy leaves are hard to not blast out so good job there too. My one critique is the shadow that cuts the leaf on the left makes the image a bit odd. Would’ve like to have seen the entire leaf in the image.

@JDDavis, Thank you so much for the honorable mention! And big thanks for taking the time to carefully craft critiques for each entry. My specific intent for my image was using that strong shadow to separate that section of leaf from the rest and create some tension... separation anxiety if you will. That being said, I truly do appreciate thoughtful critiques and always learn from the experience. As a design student, I am used to the process.

I wholeheartedly agree with @MacRy's enchanted mini forest as the first place winner.
Congrats to the winners, and well done everyone

 

[Laird Knox]

Thanks for the explanation (and dedication in taking the shot!). It's always nice to get the story behind an image rather than to just be left wondering.

Really cool. Thanks for the behind the scenes explanation.

and I really liked the explanations offered by @Apple fanboy and @Laird Knox - they were most interesting.

I'm glad you all enjoyed the writeup. I was afraid people would think who is this bombastic fool.

I often had people mention that photographers don't like to talk about their locations and processes. I'm sure everybody has noticed that I love talking about it all. I'm not doing anything that hasn't been done before. If you take a better picture of something then more power to you. Let's all learn and grow in the process.

Awesome! Your dedication and application of artistic and technical expertise to getting the artistic effect you want is amazing - makes us point-and-shoot guys seem woefully inadequate. The end results speak for themselves.

To be honest a lot of what I do is point and shoot... and shoot... and shoot again. Digital really allows you to experiment and see what happens. Don't like it? Shoot again. In a lot of my night photography the skies go neon blue. This is because I typically shoot with a tungsten white balance and that's something that just happened over time. I didn't realize it until somebody said "I knew that was one of your photos." It really took me by surprise.

Shoot, shoot again and shoot some more.

Having said that, the multiple exposures on large format were the probably the most technical shots I have ever done. They really inspired me and I plan on doing an entire series in Las Vegas. Last spring I picked up an 8x10 camera that is older than Vegas and I get my nerd on when I think about shooting Vegas with a camera that is older than the city itself. The 8x10 is a King made by the Rochester Optical Corp between 1897 and 1903.

OK, I'm rambling again.

 

[Laird Knox]

Last sprint I was taking a compositing class and my project wasn't going so well. I had a second plan but didn't have a clue how to pull it off. I envisioned a shot very similar to this one with the Las Vegas strip weaving in and out of the moss, toadstools and ferns. Only problem is you don't find these things in the Mojave Desert. The only think I could think of was building it in a terrarium but I didn't have the time, money or energy to do so. I saw this image and instantly new this was the type of shot I had wanted for that project.

Well done.

 

[kenoh]

Laird Knox - Way to start it off with a bang. It’s very interesting and I’ve been trying to figure out exactly what you did here. In camera…Photoshop….both? Must be a reflection off of glass, I’m sure. The branch in the upper right is a bit distracting but overall it’s a very interesting and artistic image.

Alexander.Of.Oz - Very smooth background and nice isolation. I like the ants…I didn’t notice them at first. I would like to see the entire sprout in focus. I don’t do well with these kind of shots and I think people focus stack in order to get the entire subject in focus but still have lots of bokeh.

Miltz - Lovely light and a perfectly still lake. Has to be a morning shot. I like the composition as well and the lines lead you into the third. Well done.

Apple fanboy - Nice composition and I like the colors. I don’t mind the plant being out of focus but I’d like to see more of the bug. I can’t give to much feedback on macro shots. I struggle with them.

MacRy - Very nicely done. It looks like a forest on another planet. I may not know much about macro photography but this is a good one. I like that the subject is the dried curled bit but green obviously fills the image. Good depth of field.

pol0001 - Lovely scene but the branches are really getting in the way of the image. Please go back on a foggy morning when the sun is a bit lower (sans branches) and share the image with us.

cbrand493 - I like the thought of framing it through the cave (or whatever it is). I think the light was a bit unfortunate and kind of dulled everything out. I bet that algae really pops bright green when he sun is on it right.

Hughmac - Nice job and I like that the leaves are just hanging on to their green. The background is a bit busy but there’s not much you could’ve done about that.

ericgtr12 - The pattern and symmetry are pretty cool (though I think you could’ve shifted left like 6 inches maybe ! ) Plenty of green for the theme but white is really the subject of the image.

keno - I like the square frame for this. I like the composition and the bit of red. I’m thinking this image has had a good bit of sharpening done to it. Extremely shallow depth of field and the focus was on the leaf in the lower right or maybe the wind was blowing?

filmbufs - Lovely peaceful scene. Very spring like. I wish it had worked out where the leaves in the foreground completely blocked out the bright sky.

PunkRawkPurl - Welcome to the forum! Nice composition and good job on the blacks. Those waxy leaves are hard to not blast out so good job there too. My one critique is the shadow that cuts the leaf on the left makes the image a bit odd. Would’ve like to have seen the entire leaf in the image.

rx7dude - Plenty o green. Good depth of field for the subject. I’d probably try a bit different composition since for me the subject feels a bit cut off.


Thanks for all the entries and great job to everyone. I’m glad we got through the RGB contests. I don’t know if we ever made this a rule but I’m wondering if we should resist “liking” photos till after the judging. It might sway the judge a bit through popular opinion. Just a thought. Ah, well…on to it.

Honorable Mention - goes to PunkRawkPurl for her first contest entry (and a well done one at that)
2nd Place (Tie) - Laird Knox for a very creative take
2nd Place (Tie) - Miltz for great scene with lovely lines.
1st Place - MacRy for a really nice forest in miniature that I found captivating.

Congrats MacRy and over to you for the next one!

Thanks for the critique, yes the wind was blowing strong that morning and it was a bit dull of a day so had to brighten this up a bit. I liked the square crop too. Thx.

 

[Alexander.Of.Oz]

Alexander.Of.Oz - Very smooth background and nice isolation. I like the ants…I didn’t notice them at first. I would like to see the entire sprout in focus. I don’t do well with these kind of shots and I think people focus stack in order to get the entire subject in focus but still have lots of bokeh.

Thanks for the great feedback @JDDavis and well done to the winners. Focus stacking is definitely something to try out with my macro on still days. This image was taken just using a bottom of the line camera and (55-250mm) lens, it was probably one of the first macro images I ever took.