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tomnavratil

macrumors 6502a
Oct 2, 2013
876
1,588
Wow, what a great contest this week! A lot of lovely entries and high-quality photographs. Congratulations to our three winners, @stillcrazyman, @anotherscotsman and @obeygiant - well done! Also huge thanks to @filmbufs for an extended critique and comments, it’s really appreciated.

Thank you for your comment on my pic, I guess it might have worked with so many wonderful entries this week. It’s been a great night and I’m glad I’ve been able to capture it as well. It’s been roughly a 20s exposure on f3.5 focused on infinity, ISO1600 and then PP done in Lightroom and Photoshop.

I was kind of hoping for a Top 3 at the start but with coming entries, I knew I don’t have a chance again. I might skip a few contest possibly to get better as at the moment. I try to shoot as much as possible, explore, learn from YouTube and books but I seem to be struggling. I know it’s subjective but honestly, I can easily see I wouldn’t even make Top 5 this week.

I’ve also really liked shots by @earlycj5 and @RedOctober - although they are different, they have lovely colours and they definitely try to suck me in!

Well done everyone and see all your entries in this week’s contest (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/weekly-photo-contest-aug26-sept3-2015-silhouettes.1910665/)!
 

kenoh

macrumors 604
Jul 18, 2008
6,507
10,850
Glasgow, UK
Wow, what a great contest this week! A lot of lovely entries and high-quality photographs. Congratulations to our three winners, @stillcrazyman, @anotherscotsman and @obeygiant - well done! Also huge thanks to @filmbufs for an extended critique and comments, it’s really appreciated.

Thank you for your comment on my pic, I guess it might have worked with so many wonderful entries this week. It’s been a great night and I’m glad I’ve been able to capture it as well. It’s been roughly a 20s exposure on f3.5 focused on infinity, ISO1600 and then PP done in Lightroom and Photoshop.

I was kind of hoping for a Top 3 at the start but with coming entries, I knew I don’t have a chance again. I might skip a few contest possibly to get better as at the moment. I try to shoot as much as possible, explore, learn from YouTube and books but I seem to be struggling. I know it’s subjective but honestly, I can easily see I wouldn’t even make Top 5 this week.

I’ve also really liked shots by @earlycj5 and @RedOctober - although they are different, they have lovely colours and they definitely try to suck me in!

Well done everyone and see all your entries in this week’s contest (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/weekly-photo-contest-aug26-sept3-2015-silhouettes.1910665/)!


DO NOT skip any... keep at them... use them to drive and frame your development would be my advice. Better to have a go and learn from it than sit it out and not try...
 
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Apple fanboy

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Feb 21, 2012
57,006
56,027
Behind the Lens, UK
DO NOT skip any... keep at them... use them to drive and frame your development would be my advice. Better to have a go and learn from it than sit it out and not try...
100% agree. Also the op might be looking for the very shot that you post. It's always a subjective thing being chosen as the winner. By entering you get some excellent feed back which is never a bad thing.
 

someoldguy

macrumors 68030
Aug 2, 2009
2,807
13,993
usa
Wonderful job judging!! OBEYGIANT just nailed it with his Manhattan Bridge shot , though . Taken that shot several times but never had the wit to get there early .

My image was taken last September in Arches National Park in southern Utah . Probably low 90's F. , but dry . It's on the trail going to Landscape Arch ( and beyond ) , heading from the Devils Garden campground/parking area .
 

RCAFBrat

macrumors 6502
Jul 10, 2013
270
79
Montreal, QC
I might skip a few contest possibly to get better as at the moment. I try to shoot as much as possible, explore, learn from YouTube and books but I seem to be struggling. I know it’s subjective but honestly, I can easily see I wouldn’t even make Top 5 this week.

Tom,

I think it would be a shame for you not to participate.

I'm no photographer myself but I really enjoy the POTD and Weekly Photo Contests for all of the interesting and in some cases brilliant photos that you and your fellow members submit - these are the only two photo threads I follow and as much as I like the photos, what impresses me most is the simple fact that the folks posting here are genuinely supportive and kindhearted toward one another.

As for your photos and the weekly contests, I had a look at your Instagram account and would have submitted the Prague (as I recall) train station shot because in my opinion it fit the theme better and I really like it. But then again it is all subjective, isn't it?

My advice: I wouldn't be disappointed if I were in your shoes (I would love to be as well travelled as you and have what must be a wonderful collection of memories and photos to show for it) but perhaps I would take some more time to consider the theme and remember that to be in consideration for top honours, it's going to take an exceptionally well executed photo. It's also important to remember that there are many awesome photos being submitted every week and that spot on theme and exceptional will not guarantee a win so please take satisfaction in simply making the judge's decision as difficult as possible!

I sincerely look forward to seeing more from you in future.

Some day I'll buy a decent camera and maybe become a contributor myself.

Until then,

Cheers
 

filmbufs

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 8, 2012
252
187
Oklahoma
There were so many good entries for this contest and it made judging fun but difficult. In some cases, where the photos could be enlarged or viewed in flickr, I spotted even more brilliant photos. Some of them would have made very worthy contenders for this contest but it's always interesting to see what the contestant selects for the theme.

The other thing I noticed was how talented all of these people are. And how brave they are for submitting a picture to be judged subjectively. That takes guts but it also shows the desire to share, learn and grow. Everyone of us exhibit those traits and it is great that we can do it in a nice, supportive environment.

I don't enter a lot of these contests, mainly because of time constraints. But @tomnavratil, if you enter more of them, then I will too. Pinky promise.
 

tomnavratil

macrumors 6502a
Oct 2, 2013
876
1,588
Tom,

I think it would be a shame for you not to participate.

I'm no photographer myself but I really enjoy the POTD and Weekly Photo Contests for all of the interesting and in some cases brilliant photos that you and your fellow members submit - these are the only two photo threads I follow and as much as I like the photos, what impresses me most is the simple fact that the folks posting here are genuinely supportive and kindhearted toward one another.

As for your photos and the weekly contests, I had a look at your Instagram account and would have submitted the Prague (as I recall) train station shot because in my opinion it fit the theme better and I really like it. But then again it is all subjective, isn't it?

My advice: I wouldn't be disappointed if I were in your shoes (I would love to be as well travelled as you and have what must be a wonderful collection of memories and photos to show for it) but perhaps I would take some more time to consider the theme and remember that to be in consideration for top honours, it's going to take an exceptionally well executed photo. It's also important to remember that there are many awesome photos being submitted every week and that spot on theme and exceptional will not guarantee a win so please take satisfaction in simply making the judge's decision as difficult as possible!

I sincerely look forward to seeing more from you in future.

Some day I'll buy a decent camera and maybe become a contributor myself.

Until then,

Cheers

Thanks a lot, RCAFBrat.

I hope my post didn't come across as bitter or something like that as I was solely annoyed with myself and kind of feeling that I'm stuck at one level - not sure how to progress as I've been able to in the past.

I completely agree that these two threads are very helpful and there's a lot of talent and genuinely nice people contributing, which is really great and it's one of the reasons why I contribute as well.

That's a nice selection and I like that image as well, only problem is that it's been only shot with an iPhone as I very rarely post my DSLR pics on my Instagram account. Also, we've had a discussion last week or week before about reusing older pictures so I wanted to submit something fresh although you are completely right there were better choices available.

As I've mentioned, I was only annoyed and disappointed with myself, I think all the contesters and @filmbufs did an awesome job participating and judging and I always learn a lot from all the entries - more inspiration, techniques etc. how to get my shots better. You are completely right, there are great images posted every week and I'm actually glad the contest, in my humble opinion, has such high-level of participation and quality.

You should, I guess it's always the more the merrier here!

Thanks a lot for your time writing this, I appreciate it.

PS: Sorry for the negativity from my side folks! As mentioned above, it was only directed at me and definitely not any of you and I hope it wasn't perceived that way, sorry :(.

Tomas
 
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tomnavratil

macrumors 6502a
Oct 2, 2013
876
1,588
There were so many good entries for this contest and it made judging fun but difficult. In some cases, where the photos could be enlarged or viewed in flickr, I spotted even more brilliant photos. Some of them would have made very worthy contenders for this contest but it's always interesting to see what the contestant selects for the theme.

The other thing I noticed was how talented all of these people are. And how brave they are for submitting a picture to be judged subjectively. That takes guts but it also shows the desire to share, learn and grow. Everyone of us exhibit those traits and it is great that we can do it in a nice, supportive environment.

I don't enter a lot of these contests, mainly because of time constraints. But @tomnavratil, if you enter more of them, then I will too. Pinky promise.

Absolutely! I'm still considering an idea of having flickr, 500px or other sharing site once I get a bigger portfolio with more quality images for those reasons - it's nice to see larger versions here on a forum and explore more, you are right.

I think for an Apple forum, which is not dedicated only to photography, the quality of the photography sub-forum is really high and I completely agree. I've actually stopped going to some dedicated photo forums and spend more time, when I have it, here on MacRumors. I think that was really difficult for me to show my images but that's one of the best ways how to learn and develop oneself. The environment is really unique and I'm glad I can be a part of it :).

I try to enter most of them but then I cannot sometimes go out and shoot for it, I try my best @filmbufs then!
 

kenoh

macrumors 604
Jul 18, 2008
6,507
10,850
Glasgow, UK
Tom,

I think it would be a shame for you not to participate.

I'm no photographer myself but I really enjoy the POTD and Weekly Photo Contests for all of the interesting and in some cases brilliant photos that you and your fellow members submit - these are the only two photo threads I follow and as much as I like the photos, what impresses me most is the simple fact that the folks posting here are genuinely supportive and kindhearted toward one another.

As for your photos and the weekly contests, I had a look at your Instagram account and would have submitted the Prague (as I recall) train station shot because in my opinion it fit the theme better and I really like it. But then again it is all subjective, isn't it?

My advice: I wouldn't be disappointed if I were in your shoes (I would love to be as well travelled as you and have what must be a wonderful collection of memories and photos to show for it) but perhaps I would take some more time to consider the theme and remember that to be in consideration for top honours, it's going to take an exceptionally well executed photo. It's also important to remember that there are many awesome photos being submitted every week and that spot on theme and exceptional will not guarantee a win so please take satisfaction in simply making the judge's decision as difficult as possible!

I sincerely look forward to seeing more from you in future.

Some day I'll buy a decent camera and maybe become a contributor myself.

Until then,

Cheers

Very well written and perfectly put. Agree with everything apart from getting a decent camera and maybe becoming a contributor.

You have a good enough camera to het started already I suspect. You just need to have the confidence to use it. There are people on here who get better output from a camera phone than some of us do with full frame sensors and exotic glass.

So come on and enjoy the banter.
 
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kenoh

macrumors 604
Jul 18, 2008
6,507
10,850
Glasgow, UK
You didnt come acros
Thanks a lot, RCAFBrat.

I hope my post didn't come across as bitter or something like that as I was solely annoyed with myself and kind of feeling that I'm stuck at one level - not sure how to progress as I've been able to in the past.

I completely agree that these two threads are very helpful and there's a lot of talent and genuinely nice people contributing, which is really great and it's one of the reasons why I contribute as well.

That's a nice selection and I like that image as well, only problem is that it's been only shot with an iPhone as I very rarely post my DSLR pics on my Instagram account. Also, we've had a discussion last week or week before about reusing older pictures so I wanted to submit something fresh although you are completely right there were better choices available.

As I've mentioned, I was only annoyed and disappointed with myself, I think all the contesters and @filmbufs did an awesome job participating and judging and I always learn a lot from all the entries - more inspiration, techniques etc. how to get my shots better. You are completely right, there are great images posted every week and I'm actually glad the contest, in my humble opinion, has such high-level of participation and quality.

You should, I guess it's always the more the merrier here!

Thanks a lot for your time writing this, I appreciate it.

PS: Sorry for the negativity from my side folks! As mentioned above, it was only directed at me and definitely not any of you and I hope it wasn't perceived that way, sorry :(.

Tomas

Mate it didnt come across that way at all. The way it read to me was that you maybe felt like you didn't deserve to post, like you didn't make the grade.

There are no requirements to join this rag tag collective. We dont care who you are, what you do beyond you being a reasonably nice person. A person who enjoys taking pictures.

Now as you have no doubt spotted, we are scattered all over the place and something mundane to you may be stunning to us as we are from a different place.

When it comes to capabilities, you have nothing to worry about and I just hate the idea that someone feels intimidated enough to want to not play.

Anyway, with the quality of submissions and the subsequent quality of feedback, I think we are playing for the 2 spot now as the responsibility of being the winner is getting tough!

So no, not bitter, just dont want you to feel like you arent good enough because you are. Everyone is because the entry criteria is simple - get off your backside and have a go...
 
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kenoh

macrumors 604
Jul 18, 2008
6,507
10,850
Glasgow, UK
Absolutely! I'm still considering an idea of having flickr, 500px or other sharing site once I get a bigger portfolio with more quality images for those reasons - it's nice to see larger versions here on a forum and explore more, you are right.

I think for an Apple forum, which is not dedicated only to photography, the quality of the photography sub-forum is really high and I completely agree. I've actually stopped going to some dedicated photo forums and spend more time, when I have it, here on MacRumors. I think that was really difficult for me to show my images but that's one of the best ways how to learn and develop oneself. The environment is really unique and I'm glad I can be a part of it :).

I try to enter most of them but then I cannot sometimes go out and shoot for it, I try my best @filmbufs then!
My tip... Start a Flickr feed now... While you arent trawling through thousands of images trying to work out which to post.

Start an album today... Keep publishing, and then in a year, 2, 3, look through it and see how you have progressed. Just start it now as it only becomes a bigger harder task the more time goes by...
 

Apple fanboy

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Feb 21, 2012
57,006
56,027
Behind the Lens, UK
My tip... Start a Flickr feed now... While you arent trawling through thousands of images trying to work out which to post.

Start an album today... Keep publishing, and then in a year, 2, 3, look through it and see how you have progressed. Just start it now as it only becomes a bigger harder task the more time goes by...
Agree with this. The bigger your back catalog the harder this will become. Flickr is also free which is nice.
 
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Alexander.Of.Oz

macrumors 68040
Oct 29, 2013
3,200
12,501
Alexander.Of.Oz - What a cool idea to use a lonely suitcase as your primary subject, especially if it was discarded and left to decay. Finding it, setting it up and creating a wonderful image with it in the composition is great. I don’t think this is a panoramic shot (I don’t see any stitching) but the wide-angle lens gives you a very wide glimpse of the beautiful countryside. It’s definitely a place I would like to visit (with my own luggage.) The distortion throws it off slightly but the colors and scenery overshadow that quickly. Nicely done.

@filmbufs Thank you so much for the personalised feedback and the time and effort it took for that. This was a great weeks contest, with many top notch images amongst them all.

Mine was a panorama, I think from five images and assembled in Photoshop CS5 from memory. For some reason, I never could get the sea to be level. I'll have to re-visit it in the current iteration of Photoshop and see how she comes out.

Congratulations to the winners, amazing imagery all round really.
 
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anotherscotsman

macrumors 68020
Aug 2, 2014
2,369
16,735
UK
Wow, what a great contest this week! A lot of lovely entries and high-quality photographs. Congratulations to our three winners, @stillcrazyman, @anotherscotsman and @obeygiant - well done! Also huge thanks to @filmbufs for an extended critique and comments, it’s really appreciated.

Thank you for your comment on my pic, I guess it might have worked with so many wonderful entries this week. It’s been a great night and I’m glad I’ve been able to capture it as well. It’s been roughly a 20s exposure on f3.5 focused on infinity, ISO1600 and then PP done in Lightroom and Photoshop.

I was kind of hoping for a Top 3 at the start but with coming entries, I knew I don’t have a chance again. I might skip a few contest possibly to get better as at the moment. I try to shoot as much as possible, explore, learn from YouTube and books but I seem to be struggling. I know it’s subjective but honestly, I can easily see I wouldn’t even make Top 5 this week.

I’ve also really liked shots by @earlycj5 and @RedOctober - although they are different, they have lovely colours and they definitely try to suck me in!

Well done everyone and see all your entries in this week’s contest (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/weekly-photo-contest-aug26-sept3-2015-silhouettes.1910665/)!

Tomnavratil - as others have already said, don't hesitate to submit photos. I was fortunate to get a podium this time but this is certainly not a regular event for me! I've certainly benefitted significantly from the quality feedback that submitting photos to the "competition" and the POTD brings. Joining the forum has definitely boosted my enjoyment of photography in general and given a great stimulus to improve and to try new tricks. Just do it...
 
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rocknblogger

macrumors 68020
Apr 2, 2011
2,346
481
New Jersey
The Brooklyn Bridge as shot from Brooklyn Bridge Park.


RMW_2882.jpg
 
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tomnavratil

macrumors 6502a
Oct 2, 2013
876
1,588
You didnt come acros


Mate it didnt come across that way at all. The way it read to me was that you maybe felt like you didn't deserve to post, like you didn't make the grade.

There are no requirements to join this rag tag collective. We dont care who you are, what you do beyond you being a reasonably nice person. A person who enjoys taking pictures.

Now as you have no doubt spotted, we are scattered all over the place and something mundane to you may be stunning to us as we are from a different place.

When it comes to capabilities, you have nothing to worry about and I just hate the idea that someone feels intimidated enough to want to not play.

Anyway, with the quality of submissions and the subsequent quality of feedback, I think we are playing for the 2 spot now as the responsibility of being the winner is getting tough!

So no, not bitter, just dont want you to feel like you arent good enough because you are. Everyone is because the entry criteria is simple - get off your backside and have a go...

Glad to hear that mate. That was pretty much the my feeling at the time. That is very true, I've always admired that there are so many members from all around the world however this sub-forum still has that friendly feel to it.

Absolutely and I'm really happy that there are so many great entries every week and you're right, being the winner is really difficult but I guess that person learns a lot as well.


My tip... Start a Flickr feed now... While you arent trawling through thousands of images trying to work out which to post.

Start an album today... Keep publishing, and then in a year, 2, 3, look through it and see how you have progressed. Just start it now as it only becomes a bigger harder task the more time goes by...

I have my keepers to be honest, from every album, post the best ones from my travels or in general to Facebook just to get some comments and feedback but I will look into having a proper portfolio either on Flickr or a dedicated site - have that idea for a while now actually.

You are right, I'm glad I do it regularly because choosing from 10,000s of images must be difficult.

Thanks a lot for your comment!


Agree with this. The bigger your back catalog the harder this will become. Flickr is also free which is nice.

Very true AFB, definitely. Thanks!

Tomnavratil - as others have already said, don't hesitate to submit photos. I was fortunate to get a podium this time but this is certainly not a regular event for me! I've certainly benefitted significantly from the quality feedback that submitting photos to the "competition" and the POTD brings. Joining the forum has definitely boosted my enjoyment of photography in general and given a great stimulus to improve and to try new tricks. Just do it...

I really like your style and I think it was a well-deserved spot there so well done once again! That's true, that's a wonderful thing about these two themes and why I like to submit pics in a first place. Thanks a lot!
 

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Haswell
Jul 29, 2008
65,199
47,583
In a coffee shop.
Terrific contest, and another contest where the atmosphere was welcoming and congenial, and some of the entries were really beautifully shot.

Firstly, to @filmbufs, not only for setting an excellent theme and thread title, and for providing such encouraging and detailed feedback, but also for posting two pictures of the sort that he had in mind; on those pictures, I have to say that I really liked the one on the left, that shot of a Parisian street winding away into inviting obscurity.

Personally, I was blown away by @obeygiant's fantastic shot of the Manhattan bridge; not only is the subject matter iconic, the lines clean, and arresting, but the lighting is first rate. This is good enough to be published as a poster, - or an album cover - the sort that an arty student might have in an office or on their study wall. Brilliant shot and an outstanding photograph.

Preferences are subjective, and some of mine are old buildings, urban settings, and that justly famous 'blue hour'. And I love bridges, as art, architecture, history, and as examples of the mastery of geographical obstacles by the construction of engineering works of technical genius.

So, it should come as no surprise to learn that I really loved @MacRy's shot of a London bus crossing a crowded bridge during that blue hour; likewise, @RedOctober's wonderful shot of Amsterdam's canals at that haunting 'blue hour' was terrific. And - as I also love medieval cathedrals - I really liked @Apple fanboy's shot of York Cathedral at that hour.

Others that really caught my eye were @anotherscotsman's striking shot of the Chicago railway at night, and @malofx's haunting photograph of the Golden Gate Bridge, which makes me want to see it.
 
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