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Weekly Photo Contest Aug 30th-Sept 6th Any Old Iron
- Thread starter anotherscotsman
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Lovely photo, try putting it here for a better response https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/photo-of-the-day-september-2017.2064416/page-6#post-24969149
Cheers
Hugh
First, I'd like to say great entries from everyone and all on nicely on theme and hope that things are going well for Diggerfish.
Now for the hard bit...Please remember that the comments that follow are simply the ramblings of a rank amateur and should be treated with the appropriate degree of scepticism but they are intended to be constructive
Kenoh: love the colours, textures and great use of shallow depth of field. Choice of subject matter, disused railway wagons, brings to mind the likely thousands of miles these have seen in service simply to be abandoned in Patna...Only minor comment would be the buffer fragment lower right is a little distracting but not in any way to the point of spoiling the image.
USAntigoon: I like the diagonal composition you've chosen here with the bands of colour/texture divided by the bollard. Nicely exposed and sharp throughout. If I had to be critical, it is perhaps a little too 'fresh' looking, lacking a bit of grunge factor but nevertheless an almost graphic image.
Foogoofish: what a great storm capture - really brings the power of wind and waves home, dwarfing the attempts of man to control nature. Works really well in mono. Although there is clearly an iron crane in the image, it perhaps isn't enough of a focal point for this competition to me at least.
Apple fanboy: nice capture of a truly historic iron structure in a landscape that was so crucial to the early development of iron manufactures. Certainly old enough to qualify! Call me strange (or worse) but I would perhaps have found a tighter shot of some smaller part of the structure to be more interesting - the textures in these early ironworks really brings out their age (like my face some would say).
Inkmich: what an interesting piece of equipment. Nice colours and corrosion on the ironwork and you can't beat a good bit of riveting. With this sort of equipment, I always find the manufacturers plate to be interesting: are they still in business? Like AFB's bridge, the air of confidence that such structures represent is always impressive. To be critical, it might have benefited from a closer crop on the equipment to avoid blown-out sky and really focus on the structure, especially since part of the equipment appears to be out of shot already.
Naturebug: great capture of an old sawmill. Nice how it is all shades of brown ranging from the wood through to the rusty equipment. I like the contrast between the generally circular metal tooling and the linear sawn-wood items and the differences in their respective textures. High contrast between foreground objects and the shade of the shed is not too much of an issue since it provides clear focus on the tools. From a composition perspective, it's a pity that the support cable is in the right foreground; a little distracting but you sometimes these things are unavoidable.
Susurs: another contrast between wood and metal. Nice use of shallow depth of field to provide focus on the wheel. begs the question of what is a wheel doing in the middle of a woodpile? I'm in two minds about the relatively low saturation. On one hand it provides a very appropriate retro-feel to the image and gives the wood that grey-weathered look. On the other hand, does it do justice to the aged and corroded appearance of the iron wheel? All depends on your intention - no right or wrong.
Karnicopia: tripod shooting certainly gives you the incentive to spend time on the image to be captured as well as allowing long exposure. I really like the position of the water tower and moon in this shot and the lighting of the tower itself. Personally I'd have preferred to avoid the power lines through post-edit or a different angle if possible. I'd also have been tempted to have exposed the tower a little more to give it a bit more impact. Overall, a nice graphic image.
Hughmac: no shortage of colour or impact in this image - definitely iron on its way to dust! I really like the low-angle you've taken and the way the greens of the foreground seaweeds blend into the rust-reds of the derelict boat as you move up the hull. Composition-wise it might be worth cropping such that the stern of the boat is a bit more towards the right of the frame. Lovely image.
Deep diver: I'm always taken by the industrial design of many of the US lift-bridges - function over form in an almost brutal way. The central bridge is nicely captured but for my taste, there is perhaps a little too much sky that doesn't do a great deal for me. Worth trying a panoramic crop that would get rid of the sky but still provide the nice framing of the foreground bridge structure?
Stillcrazyman: great range of colours and textures on the corroded ironwork of the farm equipment. Nice contrast between the flaking green paint and the red rust. Shallow-enough depth of field to allow the wheel hub and retaining pin to be the focal point of the composition and give an almost 3D appearance. Like it.
AlexanderofOz: the cobweb really makes this image, effectively emphasising the feel of neglect and decay. Your use of very shallow depth of field provides further emphasis on the web. I like the colours and textures of the old olive press equipment but they give little away as to their original function - they are almost there to provide a structure onto which the web could be spun. Very nice image.
Oblomow: I don't know what it is either! Might actually be a couple of objects but who knows? The surrounding landscape and loch emphasise the abandoned nature of the object with nice contrast between the rusts and the colours of the sky and land. Nicely exposed and executed image.
AllergyDoc: great rust colours and textures throughout. I like the lighting on the (gearbox?) shaft - the high contrast works well. Perhaps a little too busy composition-wise and although they add to the sense of abandonment, I personally find the jaunty angles of the cupboard edges relative to the shaft to be a little distracting. Personally I'd crop a little closer on the shaft and perhaps make the cupboard edges more vertical in the frame.
Headtrip: nice contrast between the grey plated/painted surfaces and the more corroded parts. Nice angle that gives a good 3D look to the chain drive. Nicely exposed with great detail in all of the salt-corroded surfaces when viewed at full scale. Nice one.
CmdrLaForge: glad we didn't miss this one. I really like the way the mudguard and chainring in particular are corroded with the latter really popping out from the image. Composing for only part of the bike really works well and gives an almost graphic image against the defocussed sky backdrop. Really nice.
Joint 3rd place - Susurs and Hughmac
2nd place - Kenoh
1st place - CmdrLaForge
Worthy mentions for stillcrazyman and AlexanderofOz. AllergyDoc was so nearly there.
Thanks everyone and hope the comments were of some value.
Over to you CmdrLaForge!
Now for the hard bit...Please remember that the comments that follow are simply the ramblings of a rank amateur and should be treated with the appropriate degree of scepticism but they are intended to be constructive
Kenoh: love the colours, textures and great use of shallow depth of field. Choice of subject matter, disused railway wagons, brings to mind the likely thousands of miles these have seen in service simply to be abandoned in Patna...Only minor comment would be the buffer fragment lower right is a little distracting but not in any way to the point of spoiling the image.
USAntigoon: I like the diagonal composition you've chosen here with the bands of colour/texture divided by the bollard. Nicely exposed and sharp throughout. If I had to be critical, it is perhaps a little too 'fresh' looking, lacking a bit of grunge factor but nevertheless an almost graphic image.
Foogoofish: what a great storm capture - really brings the power of wind and waves home, dwarfing the attempts of man to control nature. Works really well in mono. Although there is clearly an iron crane in the image, it perhaps isn't enough of a focal point for this competition to me at least.
Apple fanboy: nice capture of a truly historic iron structure in a landscape that was so crucial to the early development of iron manufactures. Certainly old enough to qualify! Call me strange (or worse) but I would perhaps have found a tighter shot of some smaller part of the structure to be more interesting - the textures in these early ironworks really brings out their age (like my face some would say).
Inkmich: what an interesting piece of equipment. Nice colours and corrosion on the ironwork and you can't beat a good bit of riveting. With this sort of equipment, I always find the manufacturers plate to be interesting: are they still in business? Like AFB's bridge, the air of confidence that such structures represent is always impressive. To be critical, it might have benefited from a closer crop on the equipment to avoid blown-out sky and really focus on the structure, especially since part of the equipment appears to be out of shot already.
Naturebug: great capture of an old sawmill. Nice how it is all shades of brown ranging from the wood through to the rusty equipment. I like the contrast between the generally circular metal tooling and the linear sawn-wood items and the differences in their respective textures. High contrast between foreground objects and the shade of the shed is not too much of an issue since it provides clear focus on the tools. From a composition perspective, it's a pity that the support cable is in the right foreground; a little distracting but you sometimes these things are unavoidable.
Susurs: another contrast between wood and metal. Nice use of shallow depth of field to provide focus on the wheel. begs the question of what is a wheel doing in the middle of a woodpile? I'm in two minds about the relatively low saturation. On one hand it provides a very appropriate retro-feel to the image and gives the wood that grey-weathered look. On the other hand, does it do justice to the aged and corroded appearance of the iron wheel? All depends on your intention - no right or wrong.
Karnicopia: tripod shooting certainly gives you the incentive to spend time on the image to be captured as well as allowing long exposure. I really like the position of the water tower and moon in this shot and the lighting of the tower itself. Personally I'd have preferred to avoid the power lines through post-edit or a different angle if possible. I'd also have been tempted to have exposed the tower a little more to give it a bit more impact. Overall, a nice graphic image.
Hughmac: no shortage of colour or impact in this image - definitely iron on its way to dust! I really like the low-angle you've taken and the way the greens of the foreground seaweeds blend into the rust-reds of the derelict boat as you move up the hull. Composition-wise it might be worth cropping such that the stern of the boat is a bit more towards the right of the frame. Lovely image.
Deep diver: I'm always taken by the industrial design of many of the US lift-bridges - function over form in an almost brutal way. The central bridge is nicely captured but for my taste, there is perhaps a little too much sky that doesn't do a great deal for me. Worth trying a panoramic crop that would get rid of the sky but still provide the nice framing of the foreground bridge structure?
Stillcrazyman: great range of colours and textures on the corroded ironwork of the farm equipment. Nice contrast between the flaking green paint and the red rust. Shallow-enough depth of field to allow the wheel hub and retaining pin to be the focal point of the composition and give an almost 3D appearance. Like it.
AlexanderofOz: the cobweb really makes this image, effectively emphasising the feel of neglect and decay. Your use of very shallow depth of field provides further emphasis on the web. I like the colours and textures of the old olive press equipment but they give little away as to their original function - they are almost there to provide a structure onto which the web could be spun. Very nice image.
Oblomow: I don't know what it is either! Might actually be a couple of objects but who knows? The surrounding landscape and loch emphasise the abandoned nature of the object with nice contrast between the rusts and the colours of the sky and land. Nicely exposed and executed image.
AllergyDoc: great rust colours and textures throughout. I like the lighting on the (gearbox?) shaft - the high contrast works well. Perhaps a little too busy composition-wise and although they add to the sense of abandonment, I personally find the jaunty angles of the cupboard edges relative to the shaft to be a little distracting. Personally I'd crop a little closer on the shaft and perhaps make the cupboard edges more vertical in the frame.
Headtrip: nice contrast between the grey plated/painted surfaces and the more corroded parts. Nice angle that gives a good 3D look to the chain drive. Nicely exposed with great detail in all of the salt-corroded surfaces when viewed at full scale. Nice one.
CmdrLaForge: glad we didn't miss this one. I really like the way the mudguard and chainring in particular are corroded with the latter really popping out from the image. Composing for only part of the bike really works well and gives an almost graphic image against the defocussed sky backdrop. Really nice.
Joint 3rd place - Susurs and Hughmac
2nd place - Kenoh
1st place - CmdrLaForge
Worthy mentions for stillcrazyman and AlexanderofOz. AllergyDoc was so nearly there.
Thanks everyone and hope the comments were of some value.
Over to you CmdrLaForge!
Well done everyone and great feedback.First, I'd like to say great entries from everyone and all on nicely on theme and hope that things are going well for Diggerfish.
Now for the hard bit...Please remember that the comments that follow are simply the ramblings of a rank amateur and should be treated with the appropriate degree of scepticism but they are intended to be constructive
Kenoh: love the colours, textures and great use of shallow depth of field. Choice of subject matter, disused railway wagons, brings to mind the likely thousands of miles these have seen in service simply to be abandoned in Patna...Only minor comment would be the buffer fragment lower right is a little distracting but not in any way to the point of spoiling the image.
USAntigoon: I like the diagonal composition you've chosen here with the bands of colour/texture divided by the bollard. Nicely exposed and sharp throughout. If I had to be critical, it is perhaps a little too 'fresh' looking, lacking a bit of grunge factor but nevertheless an almost graphic image.
Foogoofish: what a great storm capture - really brings the power of wind and waves home, dwarfing the attempts of man to control nature. Works really well in mono. Although there is clearly an iron crane in the image, it perhaps isn't enough of a focal point for this competition to me at least.
Apple fanboy: nice capture of a truly historic iron structure in a landscape that was so crucial to the early development of iron manufactures. Certainly old enough to qualify! Call me strange (or worse) but I would perhaps have found a tighter shot of some smaller part of the structure to be more interesting - the textures in these early ironworks really brings out their age (like my face some would say).
Inkmich: what an interesting piece of equipment. Nice colours and corrosion on the ironwork and you can't beat a good bit of riveting. With this sort of equipment, I always find the manufacturers plate to be interesting: are they still in business? Like AFB's bridge, the air of confidence that such structures represent is always impressive. To be critical, it might have benefited from a closer crop on the equipment to avoid blown-out sky and really focus on the structure, especially since part of the equipment appears to be out of shot already.
Naturebug: great capture of an old sawmill. Nice how it is all shades of brown ranging from the wood through to the rusty equipment. I like the contrast between the generally circular metal tooling and the linear sawn-wood items and the differences in their respective textures. High contrast between foreground objects and the shade of the shed is not too much of an issue since it provides clear focus on the tools. From a composition perspective, it's a pity that the support cable is in the right foreground; a little distracting but you sometimes these things are unavoidable.
Susurs: another contrast between wood and metal. Nice use of shallow depth of field to provide focus on the wheel. begs the question of what is a wheel doing in the middle of a woodpile? I'm in two minds about the relatively low saturation. On one hand it provides a very appropriate retro-feel to the image and gives the wood that grey-weathered look. On the other hand, does it do justice to the aged and corroded appearance of the iron wheel? All depends on your intention - no right or wrong.
Karnicopia: tripod shooting certainly gives you the incentive to spend time on the image to be captured as well as allowing long exposure. I really like the position of the water tower and moon in this shot and the lighting of the tower itself. Personally I'd have preferred to avoid the power lines through post-edit or a different angle if possible. I'd also have been tempted to have exposed the tower a little more to give it a bit more impact. Overall, a nice graphic image.
Hughmac: no shortage of colour or impact in this image - definitely iron on its way to dust! I really like the low-angle you've taken and the way the greens of the foreground seaweeds blend into the rust-reds of the derelict boat as you move up the hull. Composition-wise it might be worth cropping such that the stern of the boat is a bit more towards the right of the frame. Lovely image.
Deep diver: I'm always taken by the industrial design of many of the US lift-bridges - function over form in an almost brutal way. The central bridge is nicely captured but for my taste, there is perhaps a little too much sky that doesn't do a great deal for me. Worth trying a panoramic crop that would get rid of the sky but still provide the nice framing of the foreground bridge structure?
Stillcrazyman: great range of colours and textures on the corroded ironwork of the farm equipment. Nice contrast between the flaking green paint and the red rust. Shallow-enough depth of field to allow the wheel hub and retaining pin to be the focal point of the composition and give an almost 3D appearance. Like it.
AlexanderofOz: the cobweb really makes this image, effectively emphasising the feel of neglect and decay. Your use of very shallow depth of field provides further emphasis on the web. I like the colours and textures of the old olive press equipment but they give little away as to their original function - they are almost there to provide a structure onto which the web could be spun. Very nice image.
Oblomow: I don't know what it is either! Might actually be a couple of objects but who knows? The surrounding landscape and loch emphasise the abandoned nature of the object with nice contrast between the rusts and the colours of the sky and land. Nicely exposed and executed image.
AllergyDoc: great rust colours and textures throughout. I like the lighting on the (gearbox?) shaft - the high contrast works well. Perhaps a little too busy composition-wise and although they add to the sense of abandonment, I personally find the jaunty angles of the cupboard edges relative to the shaft to be a little distracting. Personally I'd crop a little closer on the shaft and perhaps make the cupboard edges more vertical in the frame.
Headtrip: nice contrast between the grey plated/painted surfaces and the more corroded parts. Nice angle that gives a good 3D look to the chain drive. Nicely exposed with great detail in all of the salt-corroded surfaces when viewed at full scale. Nice one.
CmdrLaForge: glad we didn't miss this one. I really like the way the mudguard and chainring in particular are corroded with the latter really popping out from the image. Composing for only part of the bike really works well and gives an almost graphic image against the defocussed sky backdrop. Really nice.
Joint 3rd place - Susurs and Hughmac
2nd place - Kenoh
1st place - CmdrLaForge
Worthy mentions for stillcrazyman and AlexanderofOz. AllergyDoc was so nearly there.
Thanks everyone and hope the comments were of some value.
Over to you CmdrLaForge!
I would have struggled to have chosen.
As for detailed shots of Ironbridge you are absolutely right. I hadn't been doing photography long when I took these shots. I should probably go back there in some better lighting at some point. I just decided to post something wide as I couldn't find a shot to compete with the good tight stuff on here.
On to the next.
Congrats to the winners. Excellent job with the comments and the judging.
I did try more of a pano crop. The goal in this outing was to shoot the Detroit-Superior Bridge. I felt that cropping out the top took away enough to lose the feel of being on the bridge.
Looking forward to the next one.
I did try more of a pano crop. The goal in this outing was to shoot the Detroit-Superior Bridge. I felt that cropping out the top took away enough to lose the feel of being on the bridge.
Looking forward to the next one.
Oh wow ! Thanks so much for the great judging and of course also picking my entry. I found it very difficult as there have been so many great entries.
I already have an idea for a new contest but need to think about how to phrase it...will be up tomorrow..
I already have an idea for a new contest but need to think about how to phrase it...will be up tomorrow..
First, I'd like to say great entries from everyone and all on nicely on theme and hope that things are going well for Diggerfish.
Now for the hard bit...Please remember that the comments that follow are simply the ramblings of a rank amateur and should be treated with the appropriate degree of scepticism but they are intended to be constructive
Kenoh: love the colours, textures and great use of shallow depth of field. Choice of subject matter, disused railway wagons, brings to mind the likely thousands of miles these have seen in service simply to be abandoned in Patna...Only minor comment would be the buffer fragment lower right is a little distracting but not in any way to the point of spoiling the image.
USAntigoon: I like the diagonal composition you've chosen here with the bands of colour/texture divided by the bollard. Nicely exposed and sharp throughout. If I had to be critical, it is perhaps a little too 'fresh' looking, lacking a bit of grunge factor but nevertheless an almost graphic image.
Foogoofish: what a great storm capture - really brings the power of wind and waves home, dwarfing the attempts of man to control nature. Works really well in mono. Although there is clearly an iron crane in the image, it perhaps isn't enough of a focal point for this competition to me at least.
Apple fanboy: nice capture of a truly historic iron structure in a landscape that was so crucial to the early development of iron manufactures. Certainly old enough to qualify! Call me strange (or worse) but I would perhaps have found a tighter shot of some smaller part of the structure to be more interesting - the textures in these early ironworks really brings out their age (like my face some would say).
Inkmich: what an interesting piece of equipment. Nice colours and corrosion on the ironwork and you can't beat a good bit of riveting. With this sort of equipment, I always find the manufacturers plate to be interesting: are they still in business? Like AFB's bridge, the air of confidence that such structures represent is always impressive. To be critical, it might have benefited from a closer crop on the equipment to avoid blown-out sky and really focus on the structure, especially since part of the equipment appears to be out of shot already.
Naturebug: great capture of an old sawmill. Nice how it is all shades of brown ranging from the wood through to the rusty equipment. I like the contrast between the generally circular metal tooling and the linear sawn-wood items and the differences in their respective textures. High contrast between foreground objects and the shade of the shed is not too much of an issue since it provides clear focus on the tools. From a composition perspective, it's a pity that the support cable is in the right foreground; a little distracting but you sometimes these things are unavoidable.
Susurs: another contrast between wood and metal. Nice use of shallow depth of field to provide focus on the wheel. begs the question of what is a wheel doing in the middle of a woodpile? I'm in two minds about the relatively low saturation. On one hand it provides a very appropriate retro-feel to the image and gives the wood that grey-weathered look. On the other hand, does it do justice to the aged and corroded appearance of the iron wheel? All depends on your intention - no right or wrong.
Karnicopia: tripod shooting certainly gives you the incentive to spend time on the image to be captured as well as allowing long exposure. I really like the position of the water tower and moon in this shot and the lighting of the tower itself. Personally I'd have preferred to avoid the power lines through post-edit or a different angle if possible. I'd also have been tempted to have exposed the tower a little more to give it a bit more impact. Overall, a nice graphic image.
Hughmac: no shortage of colour or impact in this image - definitely iron on its way to dust! I really like the low-angle you've taken and the way the greens of the foreground seaweeds blend into the rust-reds of the derelict boat as you move up the hull. Composition-wise it might be worth cropping such that the stern of the boat is a bit more towards the right of the frame. Lovely image.
Deep diver: I'm always taken by the industrial design of many of the US lift-bridges - function over form in an almost brutal way. The central bridge is nicely captured but for my taste, there is perhaps a little too much sky that doesn't do a great deal for me. Worth trying a panoramic crop that would get rid of the sky but still provide the nice framing of the foreground bridge structure?
Stillcrazyman: great range of colours and textures on the corroded ironwork of the farm equipment. Nice contrast between the flaking green paint and the red rust. Shallow-enough depth of field to allow the wheel hub and retaining pin to be the focal point of the composition and give an almost 3D appearance. Like it.
AlexanderofOz: the cobweb really makes this image, effectively emphasising the feel of neglect and decay. Your use of very shallow depth of field provides further emphasis on the web. I like the colours and textures of the old olive press equipment but they give little away as to their original function - they are almost there to provide a structure onto which the web could be spun. Very nice image.
Oblomow: I don't know what it is either! Might actually be a couple of objects but who knows? The surrounding landscape and loch emphasise the abandoned nature of the object with nice contrast between the rusts and the colours of the sky and land. Nicely exposed and executed image.
AllergyDoc: great rust colours and textures throughout. I like the lighting on the (gearbox?) shaft - the high contrast works well. Perhaps a little too busy composition-wise and although they add to the sense of abandonment, I personally find the jaunty angles of the cupboard edges relative to the shaft to be a little distracting. Personally I'd crop a little closer on the shaft and perhaps make the cupboard edges more vertical in the frame.
Headtrip: nice contrast between the grey plated/painted surfaces and the more corroded parts. Nice angle that gives a good 3D look to the chain drive. Nicely exposed with great detail in all of the salt-corroded surfaces when viewed at full scale. Nice one.
CmdrLaForge: glad we didn't miss this one. I really like the way the mudguard and chainring in particular are corroded with the latter really popping out from the image. Composing for only part of the bike really works well and gives an almost graphic image against the defocussed sky backdrop. Really nice.
Joint 3rd place - Susurs and Hughmac
2nd place - Kenoh
1st place - CmdrLaForge
Worthy mentions for stillcrazyman and AlexanderofOz. AllergyDoc was so nearly there.
Thanks everyone and hope the comments were of some value.
Over to you CmdrLaForge!
Thank you so much for the feedback, I think you are on to something suggesting a closer crop. Of course I do have such a shot of this piece of equipment but decided not to go with it.
Congratulations to the worthy winners, there were some very nice pictures (that I'm glad I didn't have to choose from).
First, I'd like to say great entries from everyone and all on nicely on theme and hope that things are going well for Diggerfish.
Now for the hard bit...Please remember that the comments that follow are simply the ramblings of a rank amateur and should be treated with the appropriate degree of scepticism but they are intended to be constructive
Kenoh: love the colours, textures and great use of shallow depth of field. Choice of subject matter, disused railway wagons, brings to mind the likely thousands of miles these have seen in service simply to be abandoned in Patna...Only minor comment would be the buffer fragment lower right is a little distracting but not in any way to the point of spoiling the image.
USAntigoon: I like the diagonal composition you've chosen here with the bands of colour/texture divided by the bollard. Nicely exposed and sharp throughout. If I had to be critical, it is perhaps a little too 'fresh' looking, lacking a bit of grunge factor but nevertheless an almost graphic image.
Foogoofish: what a great storm capture - really brings the power of wind and waves home, dwarfing the attempts of man to control nature. Works really well in mono. Although there is clearly an iron crane in the image, it perhaps isn't enough of a focal point for this competition to me at least.
Apple fanboy: nice capture of a truly historic iron structure in a landscape that was so crucial to the early development of iron manufactures. Certainly old enough to qualify! Call me strange (or worse) but I would perhaps have found a tighter shot of some smaller part of the structure to be more interesting - the textures in these early ironworks really brings out their age (like my face some would say).
Inkmich: what an interesting piece of equipment. Nice colours and corrosion on the ironwork and you can't beat a good bit of riveting. With this sort of equipment, I always find the manufacturers plate to be interesting: are they still in business? Like AFB's bridge, the air of confidence that such structures represent is always impressive. To be critical, it might have benefited from a closer crop on the equipment to avoid blown-out sky and really focus on the structure, especially since part of the equipment appears to be out of shot already.
Naturebug: great capture of an old sawmill. Nice how it is all shades of brown ranging from the wood through to the rusty equipment. I like the contrast between the generally circular metal tooling and the linear sawn-wood items and the differences in their respective textures. High contrast between foreground objects and the shade of the shed is not too much of an issue since it provides clear focus on the tools. From a composition perspective, it's a pity that the support cable is in the right foreground; a little distracting but you sometimes these things are unavoidable.
Susurs: another contrast between wood and metal. Nice use of shallow depth of field to provide focus on the wheel. begs the question of what is a wheel doing in the middle of a woodpile? I'm in two minds about the relatively low saturation. On one hand it provides a very appropriate retro-feel to the image and gives the wood that grey-weathered look. On the other hand, does it do justice to the aged and corroded appearance of the iron wheel? All depends on your intention - no right or wrong.
Karnicopia: tripod shooting certainly gives you the incentive to spend time on the image to be captured as well as allowing long exposure. I really like the position of the water tower and moon in this shot and the lighting of the tower itself. Personally I'd have preferred to avoid the power lines through post-edit or a different angle if possible. I'd also have been tempted to have exposed the tower a little more to give it a bit more impact. Overall, a nice graphic image.
Hughmac: no shortage of colour or impact in this image - definitely iron on its way to dust! I really like the low-angle you've taken and the way the greens of the foreground seaweeds blend into the rust-reds of the derelict boat as you move up the hull. Composition-wise it might be worth cropping such that the stern of the boat is a bit more towards the right of the frame. Lovely image.
Deep diver: I'm always taken by the industrial design of many of the US lift-bridges - function over form in an almost brutal way. The central bridge is nicely captured but for my taste, there is perhaps a little too much sky that doesn't do a great deal for me. Worth trying a panoramic crop that would get rid of the sky but still provide the nice framing of the foreground bridge structure?
Stillcrazyman: great range of colours and textures on the corroded ironwork of the farm equipment. Nice contrast between the flaking green paint and the red rust. Shallow-enough depth of field to allow the wheel hub and retaining pin to be the focal point of the composition and give an almost 3D appearance. Like it.
AlexanderofOz: the cobweb really makes this image, effectively emphasising the feel of neglect and decay. Your use of very shallow depth of field provides further emphasis on the web. I like the colours and textures of the old olive press equipment but they give little away as to their original function - they are almost there to provide a structure onto which the web could be spun. Very nice image.
Oblomow: I don't know what it is either! Might actually be a couple of objects but who knows? The surrounding landscape and loch emphasise the abandoned nature of the object with nice contrast between the rusts and the colours of the sky and land. Nicely exposed and executed image.
AllergyDoc: great rust colours and textures throughout. I like the lighting on the (gearbox?) shaft - the high contrast works well. Perhaps a little too busy composition-wise and although they add to the sense of abandonment, I personally find the jaunty angles of the cupboard edges relative to the shaft to be a little distracting. Personally I'd crop a little closer on the shaft and perhaps make the cupboard edges more vertical in the frame.
Headtrip: nice contrast between the grey plated/painted surfaces and the more corroded parts. Nice angle that gives a good 3D look to the chain drive. Nicely exposed with great detail in all of the salt-corroded surfaces when viewed at full scale. Nice one.
CmdrLaForge: glad we didn't miss this one. I really like the way the mudguard and chainring in particular are corroded with the latter really popping out from the image. Composing for only part of the bike really works well and gives an almost graphic image against the defocussed sky backdrop. Really nice.
Joint 3rd place - Susurs and Hughmac
2nd place - Kenoh
1st place - CmdrLaForge
Worthy mentions for stillcrazyman and AlexanderofOz. AllergyDoc was so nearly there.
Thanks everyone and hope the comments were of some value.
Over to you CmdrLaForge!
Great judging and spot on comments as always.
Thank you kindly.
First, I'd like to say great entries from everyone and all on nicely on theme and hope that things are going well for Diggerfish.
Now for the hard bit...Please remember that the comments that follow are simply the ramblings of a rank amateur and should be treated with the appropriate degree of scepticism but they are intended to be constructive
Kenoh: love the colours, textures and great use of shallow depth of field. Choice of subject matter, disused railway wagons, brings to mind the likely thousands of miles these have seen in service simply to be abandoned in Patna...Only minor comment would be the buffer fragment lower right is a little distracting but not in any way to the point of spoiling the image.
USAntigoon: I like the diagonal composition you've chosen here with the bands of colour/texture divided by the bollard. Nicely exposed and sharp throughout. If I had to be critical, it is perhaps a little too 'fresh' looking, lacking a bit of grunge factor but nevertheless an almost graphic image.
Foogoofish: what a great storm capture - really brings the power of wind and waves home, dwarfing the attempts of man to control nature. Works really well in mono. Although there is clearly an iron crane in the image, it perhaps isn't enough of a focal point for this competition to me at least.
Apple fanboy: nice capture of a truly historic iron structure in a landscape that was so crucial to the early development of iron manufactures. Certainly old enough to qualify! Call me strange (or worse) but I would perhaps have found a tighter shot of some smaller part of the structure to be more interesting - the textures in these early ironworks really brings out their age (like my face some would say).
Inkmich: what an interesting piece of equipment. Nice colours and corrosion on the ironwork and you can't beat a good bit of riveting. With this sort of equipment, I always find the manufacturers plate to be interesting: are they still in business? Like AFB's bridge, the air of confidence that such structures represent is always impressive. To be critical, it might have benefited from a closer crop on the equipment to avoid blown-out sky and really focus on the structure, especially since part of the equipment appears to be out of shot already.
Naturebug: great capture of an old sawmill. Nice how it is all shades of brown ranging from the wood through to the rusty equipment. I like the contrast between the generally circular metal tooling and the linear sawn-wood items and the differences in their respective textures. High contrast between foreground objects and the shade of the shed is not too much of an issue since it provides clear focus on the tools. From a composition perspective, it's a pity that the support cable is in the right foreground; a little distracting but you sometimes these things are unavoidable.
Susurs: another contrast between wood and metal. Nice use of shallow depth of field to provide focus on the wheel. begs the question of what is a wheel doing in the middle of a woodpile? I'm in two minds about the relatively low saturation. On one hand it provides a very appropriate retro-feel to the image and gives the wood that grey-weathered look. On the other hand, does it do justice to the aged and corroded appearance of the iron wheel? All depends on your intention - no right or wrong.
Karnicopia: tripod shooting certainly gives you the incentive to spend time on the image to be captured as well as allowing long exposure. I really like the position of the water tower and moon in this shot and the lighting of the tower itself. Personally I'd have preferred to avoid the power lines through post-edit or a different angle if possible. I'd also have been tempted to have exposed the tower a little more to give it a bit more impact. Overall, a nice graphic image.
Hughmac: no shortage of colour or impact in this image - definitely iron on its way to dust! I really like the low-angle you've taken and the way the greens of the foreground seaweeds blend into the rust-reds of the derelict boat as you move up the hull. Composition-wise it might be worth cropping such that the stern of the boat is a bit more towards the right of the frame. Lovely image.
Deep diver: I'm always taken by the industrial design of many of the US lift-bridges - function over form in an almost brutal way. The central bridge is nicely captured but for my taste, there is perhaps a little too much sky that doesn't do a great deal for me. Worth trying a panoramic crop that would get rid of the sky but still provide the nice framing of the foreground bridge structure?
Stillcrazyman: great range of colours and textures on the corroded ironwork of the farm equipment. Nice contrast between the flaking green paint and the red rust. Shallow-enough depth of field to allow the wheel hub and retaining pin to be the focal point of the composition and give an almost 3D appearance. Like it.
AlexanderofOz: the cobweb really makes this image, effectively emphasising the feel of neglect and decay. Your use of very shallow depth of field provides further emphasis on the web. I like the colours and textures of the old olive press equipment but they give little away as to their original function - they are almost there to provide a structure onto which the web could be spun. Very nice image.
Oblomow: I don't know what it is either! Might actually be a couple of objects but who knows? The surrounding landscape and loch emphasise the abandoned nature of the object with nice contrast between the rusts and the colours of the sky and land. Nicely exposed and executed image.
AllergyDoc: great rust colours and textures throughout. I like the lighting on the (gearbox?) shaft - the high contrast works well. Perhaps a little too busy composition-wise and although they add to the sense of abandonment, I personally find the jaunty angles of the cupboard edges relative to the shaft to be a little distracting. Personally I'd crop a little closer on the shaft and perhaps make the cupboard edges more vertical in the frame.
Headtrip: nice contrast between the grey plated/painted surfaces and the more corroded parts. Nice angle that gives a good 3D look to the chain drive. Nicely exposed with great detail in all of the salt-corroded surfaces when viewed at full scale. Nice one.
CmdrLaForge: glad we didn't miss this one. I really like the way the mudguard and chainring in particular are corroded with the latter really popping out from the image. Composing for only part of the bike really works well and gives an almost graphic image against the defocussed sky backdrop. Really nice.
Joint 3rd place - Susurs and Hughmac
2nd place - Kenoh
1st place - CmdrLaForge
Worthy mentions for stillcrazyman and AlexanderofOz. AllergyDoc was so nearly there.
Thanks everyone and hope the comments were of some value.
Over to you CmdrLaForge!
Thank’s a lot!
P.S. That saturation thing was done like that intendedly.
Thank for the comments, and excellent judging! Well done to the winners, it was a great topic - I am not usually a 'detail' sort of person in my photos so has shown me a new way of looking at things!
Well done to everyone's entries, they were great
Well done to everyone's entries, they were great
New contest is here ... https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-7th-sept-14th-long-and-winding-road.2065297/
Cheers
Hugh
Cheers
Hugh
Thanks for the feedback and judging @anotherscotsman . I had to trawl the online archive for this one as I was off on holidays, so was quite limited as to what I had access to, this was the best fitting image I had.
Congrat's go to @CmdrLaForge for the win!
Congrat's go to @CmdrLaForge for the win!
Thanks for the comments I found them really helpful and I appreciate it. I even felt I learned from your feedback to everyone else even though they were amazing pictures. Thanks for taking the time.