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Weekly Photo Contest 5th May - 12th May -- The Classic Elements
- Thread starter kenoh
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Earth , Air , Water ....sadly , no Fire , was waiting for one of the outboards to light off , but no luck .
NeGRit0:-
Love the silhouette effect, nice unique colours (Fire) and the helicopter is a nice touch for Air. Somewhat of a leading line on the top the building down to the observation deck. A nice picture in its own right. Thank you.
Alexxk:-
Stunning colours, fabulous fiery sky with water and earth reaching out into it. Love the pelican on the end of the pier and the warmth that the picture gives off. Nice atmosphere to this one, makes me look forward to two weeks of not having to deal with muppets at work.
Miltz:-
Nice alternate play on a landscape shot at sunset. Love the reflection for fire, giving a feel for lava almost. Beautiful colours captured in the sun and clouds and lovely depth to the image. Details preservation is fantastic in this one.
tomnavratil:-
Gorgeous picture of a waterfall (water) with outcrops (earth). Reminiscent of the pictures you used to see in our local chinese takeaway. I used to spend ages looking at it and dreaming of seeing it in person one day so this one appeals to me alot. Love the slow shutter to get the water silky. Nicely done.
fireman32:-
Ah, the wonky barn shot. I am still curious as to how that has deformed in that way. I assume weak points in support structure caused it to buckle that way but is still a fascinating way to go. Nice depth, nice details, lots of Earth, Air and fire in the sky. beautiful leading lines from the clouds, a nice deep image to keep you amused for ages staring at it finding new things. I am a fan of your work. Lovely.
themumu:-
Now I really like this one. A comparatively simple subject matter but the mist rising from the water, telling the story of the warmth coming, I can feel it warming my bones looking at it while enjoying the crisp clean air around me. Nice depth and composition. Strange feel though is that I would not have expected there to be a reflection in the water because of what is happening but as threes a slight reflection, it makes me want to see more if that makes sense. I am really enjoying the muted colour palette but wow, it makes me think of weekends away with my dad in a tent at Keilder (reservoir and surrounding park) in the UK. Nice, thank you.
stillcrazyman:-
Nice shot of an undoubtedly cheeky wee chappy. Indeed a spirit to keep free! Fantastic timing of the sun behind him, lovely shadow effect and fiery colours from the sun. I think the beach is a little cluttered and I can’t work out if he is throwing a baton or that is a pilon out in the water. Overall a lovely warm shot, reminds me of spending evenings as a teenager at South Shields in England, enjoying peaceful walks with my girlfriend. Blissful times gone by to be replaced by better times with my daughters.
CharlieBrandt09:-
OK so first question is is this from a drone or arrival into the airport maybe (don’t think it is Newark as that is too close to Manhattan)? it is an awesome angle from a great height. The sun looks mesmerising, the fire in the sky. Lovely cloud breaks. I adore these types of shots - suspect from too many views from aeroplane windows. I like the technical achievement of the image, the details captured and amount of development. Are they flood defences or just sand dunes that have been separated to allow access to the beach? This image makes me ask questions and want to explore it. So it is engaging. Nicely done.
Hughmac:-
More often than not, less is most definitely more. Despite the relative simplicity compared to other entries in the challenge, this one, I think is beautiful. I just think the symmetry of the candle, the balanced capture of the flame and the detail in the wick all wrapped in a low-key package with a nigh on perfect balance of negative space makes me just stop and stare.
TheBadGuy:-
So ink is just not my thing, nothing wrong with it, just not my bag so I am looking past the ink but getting caught on her eyes. She has stunning eyes, I may be some time staring into them. excuse me. I like the artistic complexity of the image. I am enjoying picking out the elements of it, spotting what I think is a cotton sheet under the model, have I mentioned how nice her eyes are? I like the use of flowers and water to bring in the elements and it is technically very very sharp and clear. Overall a lovely image with beautiful soft lighting that really brings out the colour and makes her eyes engaging. Nice.
MacRy:-
Here we are, simplicity like the candle, I think this is incredibly interesting. It shows the lifecycle of the matches, maybe needs to be a triptych with four images (I know thats daft but you know what I mean) to get the start state. I think if it has shown the full flame it would have been lovely, but as this is my competition, I would like to decide to put the first two images to the side for a moment and focus on the last one. I really like the detail and colours of the matches. Despite being black on black, it is nicely separated. Well done.
Melizard:-
You have an incredible eye for detail and portray emotion in images in a way not many people do. I like the detail in this one. The colours are muted and thankfully it isn’t lava spitting angry at us right now. It is the epitome of scorched earth. I like the detail and the lighting. A nice and thankfully unique subject matter.
Apple Fanboy:-
Cracking shot, didn’t see this one coming. Great idea and a fantastic interpretation of the brief. Earth, Air, Fire, check. Great composition, wish the weather had been clearer for you that day to get some nice blue tones in there but we play the card dealt and you have certainly done that. Nice colours in the balloon, I would love t try that someday. Nice
someoldguy:-
I find tranquility in this shot. It looks peaceful and calm. I like the leading line of the shore but get disturbed by the river then coming back into frame at the top after having left it. Maybe a tad to the right would have given it a continuity. I am so glad the outboards disappointed you. The ripple effects in the water add texture and I like it overall. Maybe a tad brighter and the ducks (or are they geese) in the bottom left could be easily missed. Nice image though.
Indydenny:-
Wow! fire in the sky, sun rays and violent water, lovely strong colours, dramatic shadow and golden light shining through. fabulous colours in this image. Lovely.
Deepdiver:-
I really like the depth of this one, layers upon layers of colour transition from green to blue. Quite an effect, don’t know if you tried for that or not but I really like it. I love the depth of the image and I suspect the little building is what caught your eye sitting in that picture postcard location but I wonder if it would be better not there? I really like looking at the depth of the image and the scale introduced from the building against the surroundings reinforcing how small re truly are in the world. Nice shot.
gaswerks:-
Love it, Earth, Water in close proximity, focussed and clear, Love the glisten of the wet sticks and the silky flow of the water. Composition and focus is fabulous.
jkramerbob:-
Well just look at that. beautiful, earth, air and fire singing through. I adore the sun rays, the golden rays of warmth singing through, just take a moment to listen to the silence, the absence of traffic, the sound of a bird nearby, the wind through the trees and the leaves rustling as they skip along the road. Tis the end of the day and all is settling down to slumber. Sorry wandered off there for a moment. This picture is about atmosphere, about warmth, about late summer long evenings bathed in golden light. Lovely picture.
Laird Knox:-
Fantastic picture, should have put it in for last weeks challenge as it look surreal. If I didn’t know you lived in the desert pretty much, then i would have screamed composite! but I imagine this is a unique aspect of your local geography that you can get this juxtaposition of Earth and distant (lack of) Air i.e. space. Cracking shot.
Wow, thanks everyone for honouring me with judging my first weekly contest. It has been an enlightening process which I have enjoyed a great deal. I apologise for missing my own imposed deadline but I was honestly enjoying the pictures a bit more - BadGuy, eyes.. say no more. Hopefully my comments are taken lightly I mean not to judge but to coach.
Fantastic entries this week and somewhat surprising that there was no religious related imagery, certainly no shortage of fire and brimstone in the big book.
Anyway, no more rambling. I hope everyone is happy with my perspective, I have tried to talk to emotion as well as image characteristics where possible, lots of images bring on some good memories from my earlier years, thank you for that, gave me some chuckles.
So without further delay. I would like to do the 3-2-1 as follows:-
In 3rd place. Themumu. beautiful atmosphere, lovely lighting and reminds me of some beautiful times with my hero - my dad.
In 2nd place. indydenny. I just adore the dramatic nature of the picture and the sun burning its way through.
Now drum roll…
In 1st, I would like to nominate Hughmac. The simplicity of this image and the breakdown of the lighting and the minimal detail, along with the symmetry just made me stop and look that little bit more than the other entries. A fantastic shot showing that a simple yet well executed subject is as powerful as an Ansel Adams.
Well Done everyone and thank you.
Ken.
Love the silhouette effect, nice unique colours (Fire) and the helicopter is a nice touch for Air. Somewhat of a leading line on the top the building down to the observation deck. A nice picture in its own right. Thank you.
Alexxk:-
Stunning colours, fabulous fiery sky with water and earth reaching out into it. Love the pelican on the end of the pier and the warmth that the picture gives off. Nice atmosphere to this one, makes me look forward to two weeks of not having to deal with muppets at work.
Miltz:-
Nice alternate play on a landscape shot at sunset. Love the reflection for fire, giving a feel for lava almost. Beautiful colours captured in the sun and clouds and lovely depth to the image. Details preservation is fantastic in this one.
tomnavratil:-
Gorgeous picture of a waterfall (water) with outcrops (earth). Reminiscent of the pictures you used to see in our local chinese takeaway. I used to spend ages looking at it and dreaming of seeing it in person one day so this one appeals to me alot. Love the slow shutter to get the water silky. Nicely done.
fireman32:-
Ah, the wonky barn shot. I am still curious as to how that has deformed in that way. I assume weak points in support structure caused it to buckle that way but is still a fascinating way to go. Nice depth, nice details, lots of Earth, Air and fire in the sky. beautiful leading lines from the clouds, a nice deep image to keep you amused for ages staring at it finding new things. I am a fan of your work. Lovely.
themumu:-
Now I really like this one. A comparatively simple subject matter but the mist rising from the water, telling the story of the warmth coming, I can feel it warming my bones looking at it while enjoying the crisp clean air around me. Nice depth and composition. Strange feel though is that I would not have expected there to be a reflection in the water because of what is happening but as threes a slight reflection, it makes me want to see more if that makes sense. I am really enjoying the muted colour palette but wow, it makes me think of weekends away with my dad in a tent at Keilder (reservoir and surrounding park) in the UK. Nice, thank you.
stillcrazyman:-
Nice shot of an undoubtedly cheeky wee chappy. Indeed a spirit to keep free! Fantastic timing of the sun behind him, lovely shadow effect and fiery colours from the sun. I think the beach is a little cluttered and I can’t work out if he is throwing a baton or that is a pilon out in the water. Overall a lovely warm shot, reminds me of spending evenings as a teenager at South Shields in England, enjoying peaceful walks with my girlfriend. Blissful times gone by to be replaced by better times with my daughters.
CharlieBrandt09:-
OK so first question is is this from a drone or arrival into the airport maybe (don’t think it is Newark as that is too close to Manhattan)? it is an awesome angle from a great height. The sun looks mesmerising, the fire in the sky. Lovely cloud breaks. I adore these types of shots - suspect from too many views from aeroplane windows. I like the technical achievement of the image, the details captured and amount of development. Are they flood defences or just sand dunes that have been separated to allow access to the beach? This image makes me ask questions and want to explore it. So it is engaging. Nicely done.
Hughmac:-
More often than not, less is most definitely more. Despite the relative simplicity compared to other entries in the challenge, this one, I think is beautiful. I just think the symmetry of the candle, the balanced capture of the flame and the detail in the wick all wrapped in a low-key package with a nigh on perfect balance of negative space makes me just stop and stare.
TheBadGuy:-
So ink is just not my thing, nothing wrong with it, just not my bag so I am looking past the ink but getting caught on her eyes. She has stunning eyes, I may be some time staring into them. excuse me. I like the artistic complexity of the image. I am enjoying picking out the elements of it, spotting what I think is a cotton sheet under the model, have I mentioned how nice her eyes are? I like the use of flowers and water to bring in the elements and it is technically very very sharp and clear. Overall a lovely image with beautiful soft lighting that really brings out the colour and makes her eyes engaging. Nice.
MacRy:-
Here we are, simplicity like the candle, I think this is incredibly interesting. It shows the lifecycle of the matches, maybe needs to be a triptych with four images (I know thats daft but you know what I mean) to get the start state. I think if it has shown the full flame it would have been lovely, but as this is my competition, I would like to decide to put the first two images to the side for a moment and focus on the last one. I really like the detail and colours of the matches. Despite being black on black, it is nicely separated. Well done.
Melizard:-
You have an incredible eye for detail and portray emotion in images in a way not many people do. I like the detail in this one. The colours are muted and thankfully it isn’t lava spitting angry at us right now. It is the epitome of scorched earth. I like the detail and the lighting. A nice and thankfully unique subject matter.
Apple Fanboy:-
Cracking shot, didn’t see this one coming. Great idea and a fantastic interpretation of the brief. Earth, Air, Fire, check. Great composition, wish the weather had been clearer for you that day to get some nice blue tones in there but we play the card dealt and you have certainly done that. Nice colours in the balloon, I would love t try that someday. Nice
someoldguy:-
I find tranquility in this shot. It looks peaceful and calm. I like the leading line of the shore but get disturbed by the river then coming back into frame at the top after having left it. Maybe a tad to the right would have given it a continuity. I am so glad the outboards disappointed you. The ripple effects in the water add texture and I like it overall. Maybe a tad brighter and the ducks (or are they geese) in the bottom left could be easily missed. Nice image though.
Indydenny:-
Wow! fire in the sky, sun rays and violent water, lovely strong colours, dramatic shadow and golden light shining through. fabulous colours in this image. Lovely.
Deepdiver:-
I really like the depth of this one, layers upon layers of colour transition from green to blue. Quite an effect, don’t know if you tried for that or not but I really like it. I love the depth of the image and I suspect the little building is what caught your eye sitting in that picture postcard location but I wonder if it would be better not there? I really like looking at the depth of the image and the scale introduced from the building against the surroundings reinforcing how small re truly are in the world. Nice shot.
gaswerks:-
Love it, Earth, Water in close proximity, focussed and clear, Love the glisten of the wet sticks and the silky flow of the water. Composition and focus is fabulous.
jkramerbob:-
Well just look at that. beautiful, earth, air and fire singing through. I adore the sun rays, the golden rays of warmth singing through, just take a moment to listen to the silence, the absence of traffic, the sound of a bird nearby, the wind through the trees and the leaves rustling as they skip along the road. Tis the end of the day and all is settling down to slumber. Sorry wandered off there for a moment. This picture is about atmosphere, about warmth, about late summer long evenings bathed in golden light. Lovely picture.
Laird Knox:-
Fantastic picture, should have put it in for last weeks challenge as it look surreal. If I didn’t know you lived in the desert pretty much, then i would have screamed composite! but I imagine this is a unique aspect of your local geography that you can get this juxtaposition of Earth and distant (lack of) Air i.e. space. Cracking shot.
Wow, thanks everyone for honouring me with judging my first weekly contest. It has been an enlightening process which I have enjoyed a great deal. I apologise for missing my own imposed deadline but I was honestly enjoying the pictures a bit more - BadGuy, eyes.. say no more. Hopefully my comments are taken lightly I mean not to judge but to coach.
Fantastic entries this week and somewhat surprising that there was no religious related imagery, certainly no shortage of fire and brimstone in the big book.
Anyway, no more rambling. I hope everyone is happy with my perspective, I have tried to talk to emotion as well as image characteristics where possible, lots of images bring on some good memories from my earlier years, thank you for that, gave me some chuckles.
So without further delay. I would like to do the 3-2-1 as follows:-
In 3rd place. Themumu. beautiful atmosphere, lovely lighting and reminds me of some beautiful times with my hero - my dad.
In 2nd place. indydenny. I just adore the dramatic nature of the picture and the sun burning its way through.
Now drum roll…
In 1st, I would like to nominate Hughmac. The simplicity of this image and the breakdown of the lighting and the minimal detail, along with the symmetry just made me stop and look that little bit more than the other entries. A fantastic shot showing that a simple yet well executed subject is as powerful as an Ansel Adams.
Well Done everyone and thank you.
Ken.
Last edited:
Stunned
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... and very pleased
Cheers
Hugh
Nonsense. It fit the brief, was exposed beautifully, nice and simple, nicely done.
Thanks for contributing.
Ken.
Thanks for the feedback!
This was taken with my drone on the beach at daybreak. The dunes man-made (although the beach in that town is very large, so I am not sure how needed they are). This area was hit pretty hard with Hurricane Sandy a few years ago, so there are dune projects all up and down the coast.
This was taken in FAR southern New Jersey. The town is Wildwood Crest, which is just north of Cape May.
Very nice. I had no idea drones could so so high now. I spent a weekend or two in atlantic city. That is all i know about NJ. Well, that and Newark Liberty direct flight home to Glasgow.
Thanks for the nice words. That barn fell last month. I wanted to go back in different light and get some more shots of it. I think a storm caused the lean.
Congratulations to Hughmac, thank you kenoh for the comments, and thank you everyone for so many inspiring images!
In regards to reflections and seeing more, here is a wider, less impressive shot of that scene:
It's times like this that I realize how hard it will be to completely ditch my zoom lens and just keep the fixed lens X100s on me.
In regards to reflections and seeing more, here is a wider, less impressive shot of that scene:
It's times like this that I realize how hard it will be to completely ditch my zoom lens and just keep the fixed lens X100s on me.
Thank you kindly.
It is quite intimidating though isnt it and I hope I wasnt negative to anyone.
The winning picture just felt right though. Lots of good photos but the simplicity just sat well with me.
Thank you everyone. I enjoyed that.
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Nice shot too. Did you see what I mean about once teased with the reflection, I wanted more?
Thanks everybody; new contest is up 
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=21277528#post21277528
Cheers
Hugh
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=21277528#post21277528
Cheers
Hugh
Thank you for your kind words Ken! Well done to everyone who has submitted, definitely a wonderful series this week, makes me want to travel again. Congratulations to the winners, great job guys!
My shot is from Iceland actually, beautiful country with a lot of waterfalls, geysers and volcanos! Around 20s shutter speed at f8, ISO100 and a 10-stop ND filter as far as I can remember.
Thanks once again, tough judging!
Thanks Ken. This was taken a couple of years back at the Bristol Hot Air Balloon festival. I got up around 4 am to photograph the dawn burn as they call it. It would have been more impressive if they actually set off whilst it was still dawn, but there you go.
Well done to all the winners. I'm glad I wasn't picking this week. Good job on the judging and critique. You would never know it was your first time.
Nice! I live about 5 miles from Atlantic City.
My drone could go much higher, but the FAA puts regulations on height now, and my FPV app starts to holler at me above 400'.
Thanks Guys.
Much appreciated.
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400 feet is quite the height! I thought they were still in the 50 feet category! that is incredible!
Yes, I left my shirt in Atlantic City when I was young and stupid. Young lad out on a work assignment. Three of us the first time, bought a book on gambling, and skim read it on the way down there from New York... oops... idiots... saw us coming!
Lovely drive down though. Beautiful scenery once you were south of the grotty bit across the water from NYC!
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Thats MacRy. I enjoyed it. Your matches were cracking. I am desperate to try more of the low key shots...