Weekly Photo Contest Sept 23-30 (Your Best)

[The Bad Guy]

This week's contest theme is "Your Best" -- Tricky one this week boys and girls, but a very open one.

I want you to post your best photo. Not your favourite photo, but what you think is the best image you've ever taken. Whether it be technically, compositionally, figuratively, emotionally or otherwise.

Not only that, but I want you to tell me why it's your best photo and I want you to think about it before you post, like really hard. Why is it your best photograph?

I'd also like you to include exif data too.

Good luck. I know if I were asked to enter this competition I couldn't. I have NO idea what my best photo is.

Rules:

• The photographs must be your own work.
• Be creative and have fun.
• You may only submit one photo per contest.
• Please do not comment on photos until after the judging has taken place.
• The contest runs for one week, starting NOW! (see time/date stamp at the start of this thread.)
• At the end of the week, The Judge (last week's Winner) will choose a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place photo, providing as much feedback as possible.
• The 1st place Winner will start a new thread with the topic/theme of their choice, and act as the Judge for that contest. (Winner has 48 hours to create new theme, after that it defers to 2nd place).

The contest will close on September 30 at 7:30 AM GMT

 

[CmdrLaForge]

Wow - great topic even so - a though one... I will do my best to participate...

 

[Hughmac]

Thank goodness you don't want to see my worst photo, that'd be really difficult to come up with

I do however have a (really) short list for best, so I will pop one up presently.

Cheers

Hugh

 

[kenoh]

Hmm... A right stinker! Can I put a placeholder in as I haven't taken my best one yet.

 

[deep diver]

How sadistic. I guess now we know what the "bad" in The Bad Guy is about.
I'm out this week. I have four big speeches to write in the next 2 weeks. I don't have time for a fifth.
Good luck to all.

 

[kenoh]

How sadistic. I guess now we know what the "bad" in The Bad Guy is about.
I'm out this week. I have four big speeches to write in the next 2 weeks. I don't have time for a fifth.
Good luck to all.

I hope they are professional and not 4 father of the bride speeches as that would be an expensive month!

Good luck...

 

[MacRy]

If I was to ever have won one of these contests I planned to do exactly the same theme and now it's come up I realise just what an evil topic it is! Man alive is that tough. I don't have any shots that I'm proud or happy enough to confidently say is a good shot, let alone my best one. I'm going to take the plunge though and go for this one:

I chose it because I think that it conveys a number of emotions that you may have personal experiences of or just makes you glad that you don't. I think that it conjures up claustrophobia, despair, drudgery, fear, annoyance etc. etc. There is nothing positive that you can take from this photo unless you are a massive pervert I like the sticker saying not to obstruct the doors and also the look on the poor guy's face getting squashed by everyone - it kind of sums the situation up I think. It's just an oppressive shot.

Needless to say, I didn't get on that train.

Probably not my best shot by any means, but it's the one that always makes me think the most and that I enjoy looking at.

Fujifilm X100, F2, 1/60, ISO 320

 

[deep diver]

I hope they are professional and not 4 father of the bride speeches as that would be an expensive month!

Good luck...

These are professional - hard to write and easy to present. I will have a "father of the groom" speech, hopefully in the next year -- easy to write and hard to present.

but it's the one that ...... I enjoy looking at.

Fujifilm X100, F2, 1/60, ISO 320

Kind of sadistic given how "oppressive" the image is, don't you think!!!!!!!!!

 

[MacRy]

Kind of sadistic given how "oppressive" the image is, don't you think!!!!!!!!!

I suppose it is somewhat. Says a lot about me I guess

 

[inkmich]

Wow. Well, I have two candidates both of which I feel are among my best compositionally. One is clearly better technically but the other speaks to me emotionally that the other just can't touch. One is my all time favorite picture but is even more meaningful knowing a little context in which it was taken while the other I believe needs no introduction (so to speak). How to choose between them?

 

[AZhappyjack]

Very interesting topic. Here's my entry:

I travel overseas several times a year with a group that does construction projects - schools, churches, medical facilities, orphanages, etc. In April, 2011 we were in Goro, Ethiopia working on a school building. On this trip, our team consisted twelve men and women, and we worked with a group of local people. I met this gentleman named Menghi, who was there every day. He worked extremely hard, and seemed to always have a smile on his face. He had never had his photograph taken before we got there. I am very happy with the resulting portrait - the tones, the weathered look of his skin, and the genuine warmth this man shared. Though we could only communicate via our translator, we were able to share a mutual appreciation, warm smiles, hard work and the satisfaction of accomplishing something bigger than ourselves. Theirs is a hard life, yet one they readily embrace with with joy and gusto.

This is true joy in life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. ~ George Bernard Shaw

UPDATE: added EXIF data:

 

[The Bad Guy]

Wow. Well, I have two candidates both of which I feel are among my best compositionally. One is clearly better technically but the other speaks to me emotionally that the other just can't touch. One is my all time favorite picture but is even more meaningful knowing a little context in which it was taken while the other I believe needs no introduction (so to speak). How to choose between them?

Therein lies the challenge.

 

[Alexander.Of.Oz]

My first long exposure image that told a visual story, what with the sandbags looking like a pod of mysterious sea creatures heading home for the day. It was also my first attempt at editing in a particular manner to achieve the look I had been after for so long. It's not my favourite image of mine, but I feel strongly it's my best based on the professional feedback I have had on it. Although I have many other long exposure landscapes that are good, none have the story telling aspect to them that this one has.

Exif data:
CAMERA - Canon EOS 6D
LENS - Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS
ISO - 100
FOCAL LENGTH - 24.0 mm (24.0 mm in 35mm)
APERTURE - f/11
EXPOSURE TIME - 290s

 

[InuNacho]

McDonalds

One thing I like to do is scour online auctions for old film that has been shot and reshoot over them. In doing so I feel like I am not only developing what was lost but also creating something entirely new by appropriating my own imagery into it. I feel this image is my best because of it's composition and the image's subject matter, the old style golden arches surrounded by factories looming in the background all of which I leave to your interpretation.

"EXIF Data"
Ilford HP5 - D76 1:1
Scanned on a Epson 4990
Minolta 600si - Minolta 50 Macro 2.8 @ 2.8 - somewhere around 1/30

 

[Hughmac]

OK, here we go...



City Of Chess by Hugh Russell, on Flickr

At the time I took this, I had been using a DSLR for only 18 months, and was still mostly in Program mode, but I spent ages planning the shot and working it out.
I was very pleased to have achieved what was in my mind; that is, the look of a city at night reflected on water, and for that reason I still think it's my best to date.

Nikon D7000, Nikon 50mm f/1.8, 1/60 @ f/7.1, ISO 800. Flash bounced off the ceiling.

Cheers

Hugh

 

[oblomow]

This is hard. I've been going over my photos the last few days.
Photo after a midnight hike up a mountain to capture the blue hour.
A tent in the sow, lit by the rising sun.
One of the kids on stage playing their instrument.
The beautiful lit backside of a capybara.
Young owls looking down from a tree

Couldn't decide. They're all crap. So it's this one from a Slovakian village that speaks for its self

Canon 30D, 40mm
ISO 400, 1/125, f/8

Edit: ok, I'll play

Photo after a midnight hike up a the Krn in Slovenia to capture the blue hour.
We had walked all day and ended up in a mountain cabin just below the summit. When the sun started to set, even the children had the energy to get their boots and climb the last bit to watch the view over the Slovenian mountains.

EXIF Summary: 1/500s f/5.6 ISO400 200mm (35mm eq:320mm)

 

[deep diver]

I’m in after all. I decided to take the day off from writing and make it all about photography.

This was taken in an old area of Cleveland on the Cuyahoga River front called The Flats. It is historically industrial and residential. The industry is gone and many of the old buildings are boarded up. This is a shot of the interior of one of those boarded buildings. I shot this through a small (1.5”) hole in the door. When I first looked through the hole, it was hard to see what is there. I positioned my camera as best I could, and this is what came out. The vignette is not added. It is the plywood covering the doorway.

As with everyone else, I don’t know that this is my best. It is, however, very symbolic for my work. I am a psychotherapist, and this seemed like the ideal metaphor for what it is like to work with, or to be, one of my clients; or just to be human. Just as I did not know what I would find shooting through that hole, we never know what we will find when we start to peer into the self, but we know there will be many thresholds to cross and many passages to explore. I have this one on my office wall and have used it to help some clients.

The details: Nikon D7000; AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 G; ISO 400; f/6.3; 1/25 sec.; 58mm on crop sensor (87mm full frame equivalent); hand held

.

 

[inkmich]

A shot seen in this forum before -

I feel this shot is one of my best compositionally. There are the clouds in the sky, the horizon, and the leading lines of the road, lane dividers, and warning strips. What I like most is the reflection of the sky on the roof of the car, a reflection of what is in the upper third of the picture making an appearance in the lower third. Initially the orange tint of the sky to the right bothered me but upon reflecting on it some more I came to like it. In addition to adding a little color it gives the viewer something to wonder about.

Another reason I feel this shot is my best is that it captured my many mixed feelings so very well at the time. As some of you know, I took a two week solo trip in the Porsche I got from my father who suffers from dementia to honor him and to acknowledge having recently turned 50 years old. My father lived in California and Nevada for 30 years before we had to move him back to the Michigan. I spent much of this day crossing the Rocky Mountains and finally reached the high desert country of Utah on the very roads my father had driven so many times in this car on his road trips. There was a sense of accomplishment for having crossed the country doing what my father and I both love (driving), seeing the wonderful vistas of the west, wishing I could have a conversation with my father, recognizing my teenage daughters won't really need me for very much in a few years, and yet looking forward to whatever the future still holds for me. This picture says all of this to me.

iPhone 5s, f/2.2, 1/1953, 4.12mm, ISO 32

PS Yea, sometimes I do get a little sappy. Oh well, I'm man enough to admit it every now and then.

 

[someoldguy]

Here ya go.....

5D2 , 24-105@24 , f11@20 sec. , ISO 100 , Tripod & release

( the condensed explanation )

Yeah .... it's a tourist shot . Took this in the beginning of 2013 . Decided one day to try to get a night shot of lower Manhattan . So I take the bus to NYC and the subway into Brooklyn . Walk down to the waterfront by the bridge , check everything out and get set up . Decide to take a shot every 15 minutes until the sun sets . And it did . So I turn my attention to the other bridge ( the Manhattan ) that marked the other end of the waterfront park . Looked great , framed in a dark purple sky . Took a couple of shots , then a park rent-a-cop tried to throw me out . One thing leads to another and 2 real cops arrive and I'm escorted out . Anyway , once I got home , I looked at what I'd taken and this one just jumped out . 5 minutes in post and it's done . Been my desktop image since .

 

[highdefjunkie]

Great idea. But man, this is extremely difficult. Curse you! LOL.

 

[Indydenny]

I am out of the country, and do not have my library with me. Not sure what I would choose anyway. So, I decided that I would post my "best this week." ;-)

Overview of the City of Florence, Italy

Florence-3 by R&D Photos, on Flickr

 

[CmdrLaForge]

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Wow, what a difficult topic; torture, in fact, bordering on sadism. But, I am enjoying the entries so far, and the stories accompanying them are a pure joy to read.

 

[anotherscotsman]

This week's contest theme is "Your Best" -- Tricky one this week boys and girls, but a very open one.

I want you to post your best photo. Not your favourite photo, but what you think is the best image you've ever taken. Whether it be technically, compositionally, figuratively, emotionally or otherwise.

Not only that, but I want you to tell me why it's your best photo and I want you to think about it before you post, like really hard. Why is it your best photograph?

I'd also like you to include exif data too.

Good luck. I know if I were asked to enter this competition I couldn't. I have NO idea what my best photo is.

Rules:

• The photographs must be your own work.
• Be creative and have fun.
• You may only submit one photo per contest.
• Please do not comment on photos until after the judging has taken place.
• The contest runs for one week, starting NOW! (see time/date stamp at the start of this thread.)
• At the end of the week, The Judge (last week's Winner) will choose a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place photo, providing as much feedback as possible.
• The 1st place Winner will start a new thread with the topic/theme of their choice, and act as the Judge for that contest. (Winner has 48 hours to create new theme, after that it defers to 2nd place).

The contest will close on September 30 at 7:30 AM GMT

Too hard for me I'm afraid- travelling for a couple of weeks is an additional excuse...

 

[kenoh]

This is really tough.

EDIT: narrative removed to avoid confusion.


L1002121.jpg by Ken OHagan, on Flickr


I dont think this is good enough a picture by any means but it is my picture of my daughter and so it is special anyway. Further, for once, I managed to catch her in a pose, natural looking, she is not pulling a stupid face, she is looking clean and pressed and I think I got the DoF just right. I think I am happiest with this image right now so this is my hesitant hat in the ring this week.

35mm, f11.0, iso800, 1/500, handheld, no flash.