Weekly Photo Contest August 10-17 - Film Noir

[filmbufs]

I agree. There were some really nice images invoking Film Noir this week. I've always been a fan of Film Noir so I just had to carve out some time to create an homage to the genre. Great fun!

Alex will have his hands full judging this week's entries so perhaps we can just consider everyone a winner.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Well done everyone. I sort of ran out of time, but tbh knew I wasn't going to bring anything to the table, half as good as these.
I don't envy Alex this week.

 

[AlexH]

This week presented me with a difficult choice. There are many good entires, and more than one photo could easily be crowned the winner. But, I have to choose just one, and that is a pity. Let's get down to the judging, shall we?

#3 - @rolsskk - Femme Fatale captures the essence of film noir so well. It's retro, it's sensual, and it's dangerous. She's nothin' but trouble, and irresistible. Well executed portrait.

#2 - @MacRy - This photo bounced back and forth with the winner. You wrote you didn't think the shot was very good. I disagree. It's a fantastically moody film noir shot. The possibilities are endless. Is he a good guy? Is he hell-bent on robbing the bank? I love the smokey atmosphere, and your black and white conversion is well done.

#1 - @filmbufs - This shot just screams film noir. I love the details, and I know to pull something off like that takes preparation and attention to detail (like the note, the lit cigar, the placement of the bullets, etc). I like photos that invite me to take a closer look, and yours did just that. Once you read the note, and see the gun, you can almost smell the cigar and hear the typewriter. It's a winner, and you don't need me to tell you that, but I'm going to anyway. Congratulations.

Honorable mention: @Aloko - I'm a sucker for moody reflections in black and white, and you pulled off a great shot that deserves at least an honorable mention.

@JoeRito - It's an interesting composition and subject. I like it, but I'm not sure it really fit the classic film noir vibe.

@Alexander.Of.Oz - Powerful image. It could certainly play a role in a good film noir film.

@acearchie - I was back in forth on this shot. It very nearly won a spot in the top 3, but the only thing that held it back was the expression on the man's face; he's too happy. If he had felt a little more dreary and burdened, like his wife just got kidnapped or his priceless family heirloom had just been stolen, it would've ranked higher in this contest. But contest aside, it's a really good shot.

@bwhli - I love the tension between the group and dog. It's an appropriate shot for this week's theme.

@NeGRit0 - You've posted a lovely image. I'd be proud of it if I took that shot! But I think it's hard to capture a landscape in the vein of this week's theme. Still, lovely photograph.

@DevNull0 - This is a great portrait. I'd love to see a black and white version, it might've been a winner!

@koilvr - I like the vibe you were going after. I feel like a pure black and white conversion would've served the shot better for this week's theme. Still though, great shot, I love the car and model.

@Laird Knox - I feel like I'm in a film noir dream. It's hazy, I was probably drugged, and the night is in for some twists and turns. Well done.

@The Bad Guy - This shot is really close to being a great one (and a winner this week). Beautiful model and film noir vibe.

Well folks, that's it for this edition of the Weekly Photo Contest. I appreciate all the entries, though they did make my job as judge a lot harder. It's all yours, @filmbufs.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Nice critique Alex. 100's agree with your winner. The attention to detail in this staged shot puts some TV dramas to shame. Excellent idea and well executed.
Lots of other worthy shots to. Well done everyone.

 

[Laird Knox]

@Laird Knox - I feel like I'm in a film noir dream. It's hazy, I was probably drugged, and the night is in for some twists and turns. Well done.

Thank you, and thank you for judging this one.

I really wanted to do a portrait but just didn't have the chance to shoot anything. This was a re-shoot of an image I did a couple of years ago. The original has an even more vintage feel to it. For this one I was testing a camera I had recently acquired. Did I get extra points for using a 115 year old camera? The negative is 8x10 glorious inches of film noir.

Classes start next week and Burning Man is the following week so after that I hope to be back in the photo swing.

Thanks for taking the time to comment on all the entries.

 

[kenoh]

Thank you, and thank you for judging this one.

I really wanted to do a portrait but just didn't have the chance to shoot anything. This was a re-shoot of an image I did a couple of years ago. The original has an even more vintage feel to it. For this one I was testing a camera I had recently acquired. Did I get extra points for using a 115 year old camera? The negative is 8x10 glorious inches of film noir.

Classes start next week and Burning Man is the following week so after that I hope to be back in the photo swing.

Thanks for taking the time to comment on all the entries.

I think your take on it using that subject was superb. It screamed old school gangster movie.

This week presented me with a difficult choice. There are many good entires, and more than one photo could easily be crowned the winner. But, I have to choose just one, and that is a pity. Let's get down to the judging, shall we?

#3 - @rolsskk - Femme Fatale captures the essence of film noir so well. It's retro, it's sensual, and it's dangerous. She's nothin' but trouble, and irresistible. Well executed portrait.

#2 - @MacRy - This photo bounced back and forth with the winner. You wrote you didn't think the shot was very good. I disagree. It's a fantastically moody film noir shot. The possibilities are endless. Is he a good guy? Is he hell-bent on robbing the bank? I love the smokey atmosphere, and your black and white conversion is well done.

#1 - @filmbufs - This shot just screams film noir. I love the details, and I know to pull something off like that takes preparation and attention to detail (like the note, the lit cigar, the placement of the bullets, etc). I like photos that invite me to take a closer look, and yours did just that. Once you read the note, and see the gun, you can almost smell the cigar and hear the typewriter. It's a winner, and you don't need me to tell you that, but I'm going to anyway. Congratulations.

Honorable mention: @Aloko - I'm a sucker for moody reflections in black and white, and you pulled off a great shot that deserves at least an honorable mention.

@JoeRito - It's an interesting composition and subject. I like it, but I'm not sure it really fit the classic film noir vibe.

@Alexander.Of.Oz - Powerful image. It could certainly play a role in a good film noir film.

@acearchie - I was back in forth on this shot. It very nearly won a spot in the top 3, but the only thing that held it back was the expression on the man's face; he's too happy. If he had felt a little more dreary and burdened, like his wife just got kidnapped or his priceless family heirloom had just been stolen, it would've ranked higher in this contest. But contest aside, it's a really good shot.

@bwhli - I love the tension between the group and dog. It's an appropriate shot for this week's theme.

@NeGRit0 - You've posted a lovely image. I'd be proud of it if I took that shot! But I think it's hard to capture a landscape in the vein of this week's theme. Still, lovely photograph.

@DevNull0 - This is a great portrait. I'd love to see a black and white version, it might've been a winner!

@koilvr - I like the vibe you were going after. I feel like a pure black and white conversion would've served the shot better for this week's theme. Still though, great shot, I love the car and model.

@Laird Knox - I feel like I'm in a film noir dream. It's hazy, I was probably drugged, and the night is in for some twists and turns. Well done.

@The Bad Guy - This shot is really close to being a great one (and a winner this week). Beautiful model and film noir vibe.

Well folks, that's it for this edition of the Weekly Photo Contest. I appreciate all the entries, though they did make my job as judge a lot harder. It's all yours, @filmbufs.

Serious guys, this week you knocked the ball out of the park! The quality of the images was astounding!

Well donde Filmbufs, a worthy win...

 

[Alexander.Of.Oz]

#1 - @filmbufs - This shot just screams film noir. I love the details...

I have to agree wholeheartedly with you, the effort in this image is phenomenal and deserves the win.

@Alexander.Of.Oz - Powerful image. It could certainly play a role in a good film noir film.

Thanks, Alex, I had to reach into the archive for this weeks theme. My entries are always to play and learn from.

 

[MacRy]

Thanks for the second place. I must admit that after I submitted mine and then saw some of the other entries I felt a bit embarrassed about the quality of mine. Filmbufs was a brilliant image and well deserving of the win.

 

[JoeRito]

Nice job with this week's theme and analysis Alex, thanks.

 

[Ish]

I had two copies of filmbufs photo showing and was going to tease him about whether he thought he'd have a better chance of winning if he posted twice!

Well done, I was only kidding, it's a wonderful, atmospheric picture. I notice the note even had two spaces after the full stops as was correct when using a typewriter. Nowadays, with proportional fonts being the norm we only use one. Great attention to detail!

 

[kenoh]

I had two copies of filmbufs photo showing and was going to tease him about whether he thought he'd have a better chance of winning if he posted twice!

Well done, I was only kidding, it's a wonderful, atmospheric picture. I notice the note even had two spaces after the full stops as was correct when using a typewriter. Nowadays, with proportional fonts being the norm we only use one. Great attention to detail!

I think that reflects as much on your attention to detail as much as Filmbufs'. Were/are you in a field related to teaching or English education by any chance?

 

[Ish]

I think that reflects as much on your attention to detail as much as Filmbufs'. Were/are you in a field related to teaching or English education by any chance?

No, much more prosaic: I learned to type!

 

[kenoh]

No, much more prosaic: I learned to type!

Yeah I should do that too... Been usong a keyboard for thirty five years and cant use an onscreen keyboard!

 

[filmbufs]

Wow, thanks for the recognition and kind words, @AlexH! I have a lot of respect for your talents, so getting a nod from you is very nice indeed. And many thanks to everyone else for their kind words. It is very much appreciated!

There were so many great images this week and MacRy set the bar really high right from the start. So many great, moody images, including the classic femme fatale portrait from rolsskk and the street-scene-o-danger from bwhli. And the photo from Lair Knox reminded me of something you'd see in the movie directed by Orson Welles, Touch Of Evil. Well done, everyone!

I'll work on getting a theme up for the next contest and update this post with a link. Click HERE for the new contest.

 

[tomnavratil]

Well done everyone, a lot of great entries and a lot of inspiration, which is always great!

Congratulation to you, @filmbufs, I've really enjoyed your image and it completely sucked me in thinking about the plot!

 

[filmbufs]

The contest for next week is up and running Good luck, everyone!
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/weekly-photo-contest-august-19-26-2015-travel.1908884/

 

[Ish]

Just posted you a question in the competition filmbufs. Thanks for the quick turn around

Yeah I should do that too... Been usong a keyboard for thirty five years and cant use an onscreen keyboard!

Me neither. Learning to type means resting your fingers on the home keys. Can't exactly do that with an iPad!

 

[Cheese&Apple]

A very impressive display of talent this week. Congrats to the winners and well done Alex.

~ Peter

 

[DevNull0]

Grats to filmbufs. I figured you had it in the bag as soon as I saw your post. Especially after the TV and Movie thread on the old Two|One contest. It was an excellent image well executed, and deserved to win.

This week's theme is Film Noir. I'm a big fan of the classic film noir movies, and I enjoy photography in the same style. Feel free to stay traditional or bring a modern twist to the theme, but try to channel the film noir vibe.

I did spend some time web searching before submitting, there is nothing in the definition of film noir that says it is supposed to be black and white. Even if you didn't invite a modern twist to the theme.

@DevNull0 - This is a great portrait. I'd love to see a black and white version, it might've been a winner!

I actually did use the color mixer to do a high contrast black and white conversion. Then I reduced the opacity of the mixer layer to let some of the color shine through. It iI gave a lot of thought to which image to use, the low saturation color image I submitted looked a lot better, and most certainly meets the definition of film noir.

Next time you host a contest, why don't you say what you want? If you want black and white images, say you want black and white images. If you don't know what a term like film noir means, don't use it. Okay?

I won't make the mistake of posting another image here. Hopefully based on what I did submit, at least some people will consider that a loss.

I really don't want people to think this is sour grapes. There are several images I thought were better than mine. But when the guy doesn't even know what he's asking for it really does make the whole thing frustrating.

 

[filmbufs]

Thanks for the kind words, @DevNull0! I hope you will reconsider posting images here in the future.

I think there are a good amount of us here that just enter these contests for fun, especially when every contest is open for interpretation and the judging is always subjective. In some cases, hopefully, we receive some constructive criticism, allowing us to improve our skills somewhat or, at the very least, learn from someone else's perspective. Either way, it's just about participating for fun.

Personally, I think AlexH described the contest well. I'm fairly confident he understands the term, Film Noir, and he even provided room for those not wanting to provide a B&W image. I think the confusion, understandably, was his critique, suggesting it would be really interesting to see your image in B&W. Remember, judging is always subjective and what he was probably saying was that, for him, the image in color didn't invoke the Film Noir aspect and perhaps, in B&W, your image might have been even more powerful. I think it's great that you experimented with the processing and chose the result that YOU liked the best.

I'm not trying to speak for AlexH nor dismiss what you're feeling. But sometimes, especially in text, emails and print, we don't have the benefit of knowing the tone or intent. Maybe my words will help provide another perspective, maybe they won't. But it would be a shame to lose your contributions and talents in future fun contests.

 

[AlexH]

Grats to filmbufs. I figured you had it in the bag as soon as I saw your post. Especially after the TV and Movie thread on the old Two|One contest. It was an excellent image well executed, and deserved to win.



I did spend some time web searching before submitting, there is nothing in the definition of film noir that says it is supposed to be black and white. Even if you didn't invite a modern twist to the theme.



I actually did use the color mixer to do a high contrast black and white conversion. Then I reduced the opacity of the mixer layer to let some of the color shine through. It iI gave a lot of thought to which image to use, the low saturation color image I submitted looked a lot better, and most certainly meets the definition of film noir.

Next time you host a contest, why don't you say what you want? If you want black and white images, say you want black and white images. If you don't know what a term like film noir means, don't use it. Okay?

I won't make the mistake of posting another image here. Hopefully based on what I did submit, at least some people will consider that a loss.

I really don't want people to think this is sour grapes. There are several images I thought were better than mine. But when the guy doesn't even know what he's asking for it really does make the whole thing frustrating.

I was going to review the image again and explain my thought process, but you've removed the photograph. I'll bottom line it for you: it's a very good photograph. Obviously you have some serious skill with a camera. But, I felt that particular photograph would've been even better in black and white. It wasn't necessarily a theme thing. I wanted to leave my options open to color, and I did. It was entirely possible a color photograph, in the film noir vein, could've been posted that floored me and made me pick it as one of the top images or even the #1.

In the end, it's a subjective choice. Still, I feel bad that there's controversy. I could've chosen better words in my critique. I've been in your shoes. I've posted images I thought were clear winners, but weren't even picked in the top 3. It's frustrating. You're going to win a ton of these contests, you've got the chops and fantastic images.

EDIT: I need to point out that the winning image isn't black and white. It's been desaturated, but it still has a hint of color. I wasn't choosing only black and white images.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I would say that judging is always subjective. When people critique my images you have two choices.
I see what you mean that's a good suggestion I'll try that next time.
I understand what you are saying, but I choose to do it like this as that's the image I saw and how I think it looks best.
I've had both reactions over the few years I've been submitting photos.
The truth is one of the reasons I enter is to hear other people's opinions. I don't always agree with them, but I can usually take something from them.
But if you don't agree with a persons critique, remember it's just their opinion. As the artist it's yours that matters (unless there is a paying client!).
So I hope nobody feels they can't submit on here. After all I think this is one of the more friendly photo forums.

 

[MacRy]

I think you've overreacted a bit there DevNull0. As has been said, the judging is a very subjective process and Alex was only offering an opinion on your photo. He didn't say it was wrong and he didn't say it was rubbish. He was clearly offering the opinion that it might have worked better in B&W, as a lot of photos often can. There was no need to be rude and tell him not to use a term if he doesn't know what it means.

Plus this.....

EDIT: I need to point out that the winning image isn't black and white. It's been desaturated, but it still has a hint of color. I wasn't choosing only black and white images.

 

[Laird Knox]

I say you should give him is entry fee back. If you really wish to foster good will then return double the entry fee.

 

[kenoh]

Urgh, I had a whole monologue written on this venting at how disappointed I am at this turn of events. Completely kicked the arse out of an otherwise stellar competition theme. Sorry AlexH

At the end of the day, if you can't handle someone elses opinion of your images, if your ego is that fragile, then you are best not posting.

On these competitions, it is the judges rules, their opinion and they can choose to change it if they want. Thats the honour of winning the previous week. In truth, my opinion is Alex was right.

Now, who's up for ripping one of my flower snap apart?

Fremont East View attachment 575720

This is genius. Really like this picture. I can almost hear the gravely voice of the narrator setting the scene about the private dick down on his luck.