The moment some of you have been waiting for!
I was worried I'd picked a dud subject earlier in the week but MRF members came through in the end. Well done everyone and thank you for making the effort to make a submission. Given the very high contrasts that can be present in scenes involving flames there is a definite technical challenge here - do you focus on the flame itself or on the light cast by the flame on its surroundings? In some respects capturing the flame itself is a bit like waterfall photography in that exposure time has a major impact on the character of the image.
Some comments that should be taken with the appropriate pinch of condiment of your choice. Please remember any comments are intended to be helpful rather than critical and simply reflect my own preferences.
Deep Diver: a great start to the entries that is right on theme. You've handled the difficult exposure scenario very well and the use of a shallow depth of field really contributes to a good atmosphere. The sort of arrangement that a suitably romantic individual might provide for a loved one!
Akash.nu: Fire does play a major cleansing role in many belief systems and you have an attractive arrangement here. I like how you have captured the glow around the flame with good drop-off with distance. Could I suggest that the shot would benefit from cropping to remove or minimise the very dark foreground shadow cast by the vessel.
CK Williams: Good action scene here CK. I like how the water spray/mist/steam have veiled the flames to avoid having to expose for both flames and for the rest of the scene - there just isn't any detail to be had there. Well composed and exposed and I like how you've captured the interest of the onlookers.
Tizeye: I vacation in SW Florida every year and am always amazed by how many homes have fireplaces! Ditto, the sale of 'winter' clothing in stores come October! Given earlier comments on the difficulty of capturing flames, you've done really well - plenty of life and colour/texture detail in the flame. To be critical, all it lacks is a bit of story to go with it.
Laird Knox: I really like this as a still-life scene. Good use of light to capture the texture of the rocks and other items and composition works very well. However....there is no indication or other giveaway that this was lit by flame.
Apple fanboy: A great use of exposure to underexpose the ballon itself against the sky and to contrast the balloon burner against the silhouette of the ballon itself. A really attractive shot where the small size of the burner flame acts to show the power within the flame.
Clix Pix: Like CK's entry, a really nice photojournalistic shot. Very well exposed and composed with lots of life in both the flames and the firemen. Could almost feel the heat from here.
Darmok N Jalad: A lovely glow here with tons of detail in both the (salt?) lamp and in the surroundings. A really warming shot but perhaps doesn't quite have the 'flame' impact.
Janicsan: I bet this was a tricky shot to get right. Hope you didn't burn your fingers holding the match! Despite the small size, shows all of the characteristics of a good flame photo. Nicely done.
Malofx: another lovely night shot with a great campfire glow. The contrast between the chill of the clear night sky and the heat of the fire are tangible. Just the right exposure time to get the sake-drift from the fire without overly blurring the campers.
Oblomow: another very good ballon capture. Its amazing how they get these things inflated without setting everything on fire. Nice colours and action. The only criticism is that the flame is a bit lost against the reds and yellows of the balloon background.
As usual, difficult to judge but here it is:
Special mention Deep Diver/Janichsan and CK Williams
3rd place Apple fanboy
2nd place Clix Pix
1st place Malofx
Again, congratulations to everyone who entered and over to you Malofx for the next competition.
