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Weekly Photo Contest (Sept 19-26) 2008
- Thread starter pdxflint
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
weekly contest now closed...
Thanks for all the great submissions to this week's contest. It's going to be a tough call for me to choose a favorite. Stay tuned, and I'll have a decision by the end of the day Saturday.
-Phil
Thanks for all the great submissions to this week's contest. It's going to be a tough call for me to choose a favorite. Stay tuned, and I'll have a decision by the end of the day Saturday.
-Phil
results, and comments...
Okay folks, time to make a choice and get the next contest going.
This was a tough call for me, since I like many of the photos, and could have easily gone another way.
My choice for this week's winner: The last entry, post #26.
South African Sunrise. It isn't perfect, and could use a tighter, wide crop perhaps, and has some sensor dust issues... yet, it is powerful photo. The emerging sun brings a classic African iconic tree into gorgeous silhouette, but what makes this shot powerful to me are the birds, vultures still occupying their nightly roosts as the sky fills with that beautiful warm light of morning. This is a picture I find myself returning to over and over again.
Congrats H2Ockey, on a great photo. I look forward to your topic for the next contest.
Some comments on the others entries:
post #3: wgilles, excellent rural landscape, interesting, even lighting, perhaps a bit flat due to being in the shadow on the main part of the scene with the sun behind the trees, but it made the sky appear a bit washed out. I had to think about this a bit, as it's a really nice, Doylem-esque type of shot.
post #4: Edge100, really well exposed shot, good light. Looks like something I'd see in Architectural Digest. To me, it's a bit too centered vertically, and it would have been more interesting if the sky had some clouds. Overall, a very nice shot.
post #5: Carlos, another of your HDR works of art...
Beautiful color, framing, composition. I can't really fault it, but the use of the star filter (or some similar effect) combined with the exaggerated color tones gives it more of an illustration/graphic arts type of look to me, which weighed somewhat against it in this contest.
post #6: Phrasikleia, I love the b/w in this shot. The glow of the light at the top of the tunnel stairs seemed to represent all kinds of uplifting ideas, while casting welcome light down into the darkness below. The light shows the texture of the rock. Nice range of contrast.
post #7: ThisIsMyName, well, I wouldn't say it was blurry... more like nothing is in focus. I'm not really sure what it is supposed to represent, so I tried to look at it as an abstract exercise in "light." Sorry... but it didn't work for me since I didn't get it.
post #8: Nadav, light tower in b/w. I like the idea, some interesting lines and direct into-the-sun backlighting, but it's too flat, too overexposed
I'd like to see more pure black somewhere in the picture, and the sky to have more detail. Try some kind of filtration to darken the sky, and either block the sun more, or go for more silhouette and extreme underexposed shot. Anyway, keep experimenting with the idea.
post #9: volvoben, well, you definitely took the subject literally - it's a light. Pretty well done at that. This might make a good stock photo.
post #10: bootedbear, I love the mood of this shot. I can see the movement of the clouds, it feels alive. I wanted to see just one little something sharp in the picture.
post #11: dornoforpyros, I kept returning to this, the contrast of color between the tree and the sky jumps out. I think what bothers me just a bit is the light pole behind the tree. Nice exposure. I can't quite figure out if the light in the sky comes from the fading sunlight, or another artificial source of light. A worthy contender.
post #12: Chappers, I love this shot. An iconic landmark shown in a creative way. The slight movement of the water and foreground add to the foggy, misty feeling of being there late at night, when all the tourists have gone home. Honorable mention
post #13: zblaxberg, this would have been more interesting to me if I could have read the sign, and if the light higher in the tree wasn't there. This has possibilities..
post #14: gnd, I love the light in the sky, wanted a little, teeny bit of detail in the shadows.
post #15: techie4life, interesting portrait - you got the highlights in the eyes, but needs some backlighting to define the outline, and soft fill to lessen the sharp shadow from the nose and where the right eyebrow merges with the deep shadow and to keep the right ear from appearing like it's floating in space. It has a bit of the old holding the flashlight below the chin, ritualistic feeling to it. That may be what you were aiming for, but that's what crosses my mind on the subject of light..
post #16: wheezy, love the rays of light, and the gorgeous sky. Nice entry!
post #17: apearlman, a fun picture. I love the motion, the colors and the mood. Nice job.
post #19: Fuzzy14, Beautiful sunset shot. I love the big blanket of clouds.
post #22: anubis, this one had me going back and forth quite a bit. I've been up on the flanks of Mt. Lemon near Tucson in the past, and seen different ways of interpreting the Saguaro 'forest' cross my mind, from sunset backlit vistas to panoramas. Your approach I find really original. It doesn't look like some HDRs I've seen, and the edges of the mountains and the right side of the closest cactus bring an painterly quality to this scene, and I have come to like it more and more the longer I look at it. I love the tone of the light. This one moved up the ranks of contenders for top choice.
post #23: seattle, Sunset in Oceanside, OR. One of my top two favorites. I love the exposure, the mood and the crop of this shot. That moment when the sun peeks out from the general overcast just before dropping into the sea is a fleeting moment, and a magical one. You captured it beautifully. I would call this close to a tie for my no. 1 favorite this week.
post #24: Rower CPU, an neat bit of optical illusion - which leaf is in front? Looks like the one on the left is closest to the camera. A really cool shot. Nice play on the light/shadow theme.
post #25: mrgreen4242, I like this shot. Viewing it at large size, it makes me really jealous of whoever owns that car. I've got mixed feeling about the reflection, which is probably the "light" part of the equation. Spot on exposure, nice limited depth of field. Give us some more car pics...
Okay folks, time to make a choice and get the next contest going.
This was a tough call for me, since I like many of the photos, and could have easily gone another way.
My choice for this week's winner: The last entry, post #26.
South African Sunrise. It isn't perfect, and could use a tighter, wide crop perhaps, and has some sensor dust issues... yet, it is powerful photo. The emerging sun brings a classic African iconic tree into gorgeous silhouette, but what makes this shot powerful to me are the birds, vultures still occupying their nightly roosts as the sky fills with that beautiful warm light of morning. This is a picture I find myself returning to over and over again.
Congrats H2Ockey, on a great photo. I look forward to your topic for the next contest.
Some comments on the others entries:
post #3: wgilles, excellent rural landscape, interesting, even lighting, perhaps a bit flat due to being in the shadow on the main part of the scene with the sun behind the trees, but it made the sky appear a bit washed out. I had to think about this a bit, as it's a really nice, Doylem-esque type of shot.
post #4: Edge100, really well exposed shot, good light. Looks like something I'd see in Architectural Digest. To me, it's a bit too centered vertically, and it would have been more interesting if the sky had some clouds. Overall, a very nice shot.
post #5: Carlos, another of your HDR works of art...
Beautiful color, framing, composition. I can't really fault it, but the use of the star filter (or some similar effect) combined with the exaggerated color tones gives it more of an illustration/graphic arts type of look to me, which weighed somewhat against it in this contest.post #6: Phrasikleia, I love the b/w in this shot. The glow of the light at the top of the tunnel stairs seemed to represent all kinds of uplifting ideas, while casting welcome light down into the darkness below. The light shows the texture of the rock. Nice range of contrast.
post #7: ThisIsMyName, well, I wouldn't say it was blurry... more like nothing is in focus. I'm not really sure what it is supposed to represent, so I tried to look at it as an abstract exercise in "light." Sorry... but it didn't work for me since I didn't get it.
post #8: Nadav, light tower in b/w. I like the idea, some interesting lines and direct into-the-sun backlighting, but it's too flat, too overexposed
I'd like to see more pure black somewhere in the picture, and the sky to have more detail. Try some kind of filtration to darken the sky, and either block the sun more, or go for more silhouette and extreme underexposed shot. Anyway, keep experimenting with the idea.
post #9: volvoben, well, you definitely took the subject literally - it's a light. Pretty well done at that. This might make a good stock photo.
post #10: bootedbear, I love the mood of this shot. I can see the movement of the clouds, it feels alive. I wanted to see just one little something sharp in the picture.
post #11: dornoforpyros, I kept returning to this, the contrast of color between the tree and the sky jumps out. I think what bothers me just a bit is the light pole behind the tree. Nice exposure. I can't quite figure out if the light in the sky comes from the fading sunlight, or another artificial source of light. A worthy contender.
post #12: Chappers, I love this shot. An iconic landmark shown in a creative way. The slight movement of the water and foreground add to the foggy, misty feeling of being there late at night, when all the tourists have gone home. Honorable mention
post #13: zblaxberg, this would have been more interesting to me if I could have read the sign, and if the light higher in the tree wasn't there. This has possibilities..
post #14: gnd, I love the light in the sky, wanted a little, teeny bit of detail in the shadows.
post #15: techie4life, interesting portrait - you got the highlights in the eyes, but needs some backlighting to define the outline, and soft fill to lessen the sharp shadow from the nose and where the right eyebrow merges with the deep shadow and to keep the right ear from appearing like it's floating in space. It has a bit of the old holding the flashlight below the chin, ritualistic feeling to it. That may be what you were aiming for, but that's what crosses my mind on the subject of light..
post #16: wheezy, love the rays of light, and the gorgeous sky. Nice entry!
post #17: apearlman, a fun picture. I love the motion, the colors and the mood. Nice job.
post #19: Fuzzy14, Beautiful sunset shot. I love the big blanket of clouds.
post #22: anubis, this one had me going back and forth quite a bit. I've been up on the flanks of Mt. Lemon near Tucson in the past, and seen different ways of interpreting the Saguaro 'forest' cross my mind, from sunset backlit vistas to panoramas. Your approach I find really original. It doesn't look like some HDRs I've seen, and the edges of the mountains and the right side of the closest cactus bring an painterly quality to this scene, and I have come to like it more and more the longer I look at it. I love the tone of the light. This one moved up the ranks of contenders for top choice.
post #23: seattle, Sunset in Oceanside, OR. One of my top two favorites. I love the exposure, the mood and the crop of this shot. That moment when the sun peeks out from the general overcast just before dropping into the sea is a fleeting moment, and a magical one. You captured it beautifully. I would call this close to a tie for my no. 1 favorite this week.
post #24: Rower CPU, an neat bit of optical illusion - which leaf is in front? Looks like the one on the left is closest to the camera. A really cool shot. Nice play on the light/shadow theme.
post #25: mrgreen4242, I like this shot. Viewing it at large size, it makes me really jealous of whoever owns that car. I've got mixed feeling about the reflection, which is probably the "light" part of the equation. Spot on exposure, nice limited depth of field. Give us some more car pics...
Okay folks, time to make a choice and get the next contest going.
post #5: Carlos, another of your HDR works of art...
Thanks! It's funny you mention a "Star Filter", actually the lights are like that due to using a narrow aperture and an extremely long shutter speed, just fyi. However, your probably right about the colors; since my monitor is uncalibrated i have noticed my photos look darker with higher saturation (kinda like a low key effect) on most other monitors, especially CRT's. Nonetheless, good contest, and good choice on the winner!
Some comments on the others entries:
post #15: techie4life, interesting portrait - you got the highlights in the eyes, but needs some backlighting to define the outline, and soft fill to lessen the sharp shadow from the nose and where the right eyebrow merges with the deep shadow and to keep the right ear from appearing like it's floating in space. It has a bit of the old holding the flashlight below the chin, ritualistic feeling to it. That may be what you were aiming for, but that's what crosses my mind on the subject of light..
Thanks for the tip!
post #25: mrgreen4242, I like this shot. Viewing it at large size, it makes me really jealous of whoever owns that car. I've got mixed feeling about the reflection, which is probably the "light" part of the equation. Spot on exposure, nice limited depth of field. Give us some more car pics...
Thanks for taking the time to critique all the shots. I agree with you on everything, it was a spur of the moment photo at work onmy lunch hour, so not much I could no about the background. The other side was worse, it had a huge bright white and blue semi-truck.
Again, thanks for the comments, and congrats to the winner!
pdxflint, I did not envy you at all with this large and strong batch of entries. Your job was a tough one! It's even more impressive that you took the time to comment on each and every one when simply discussing the winner is sufficient. Hats off to you! And congrats to H2Ockey; it is a lovely photo.
I'm thrilled that the contest was so successful this week. I hope everyone had fun choosing a photo to enter and will do it again often!
I'm thrilled that the contest was so successful this week. I hope everyone had fun choosing a photo to enter and will do it again often!
pdxflint, great job, and thanks for commenting on all the shots. I hope this serves as a model for how future contest winners/judges conduct their contests.
First off a huge thanks for taking the time to individually critique the entries. Hats off to you my friend.
Secondly to answer your question the light comes from the baseball diamond I was shooting next too. The sun had gone down and they had the large halogen lights on the field for the game.
Thanks again!
Wow... Thanks a lot
. I hadn't noticed the dust spots till I posted it, its a shot I haven't blown-up or printed yet, but one of my favorite sunrise/sunset pics from the trip. I thought about touching it up but then didn't have time. Thought for sure those alone would have eliminated this shot from contnetion.Great work on the comments on every post, an effort I think should be continued and encouraged no matter how nervous it makes me