Visit MPB Visit MPB Visit MPB

Monthly #90 - Season's Greetings Competition

Competition Details
Closing Date: 31/12/2019
Judge: JAK

This month's competition is to produce a photograph that would look good on the front of a Christmas card. By all means annotate it with a seasonal greeting if you wish to finish it off. Let is all look forward to seeing each other's cards by the end of the month.

The photograph has to be shot on a Pentax or related camera this month, December 2019, and uploaded by midnight Tuesday 31st December GMT (New Year's Eve.) The winner will then be expected to set up and judge next month's competition.

Enjoy!
Competition Entries
JAK
Posted 01/01/2020 - 13:08 Link
A happy New Year and thank you all for your entries for the competition. Shame a few more didn't feel able to share a card but those that did enter haven't let us down, producing (in my opinion) some photos that better many of the commercial offerings.


Perspicador - A Happy Teetotal Christmas!
Definitely a different approach! I can't quite work out if or how the background relates to the teapot (silly me maybe). Also I can't quite make out what character is 'speaking' the text in the speech bubble. That element of the picture needs to be enhanced. I feel the main lighting is on the wrong side of the teapot so hasn't highlighted the main character. Also if the background is important make it obvious why or just have it plain. When there's text involved one's eye jumps to that but in this case I feel it confuses the story unless I'm missing the obvious!

Nigelk - Have a Christmas Cracker
This certainly is an eye catching effort. It has the appearance of those 3D cards even though it isn't in 3D. Clever stuff. I take it you zoomed during the exposure. Easy with one of the power-zoom lenses but I reckon a lot harder with the DA* 50-135. Well done.

HazyJ - Merry Christmas
I was wondering why I hadn't realised that there had been so much snow recently in Northamptonshire. But it transpires from the exif info this was 2009 snow. As an entry for the December 2019 Monthly Competition it is regrettably not a valid entry as it wasn't shot this month. A nice Christmas greeting photo anyhow, thanks and appreciated non the less.

davidwozhere - Two bells and a bow
A very Christmassy card! The coloured circles are fascinating looking like a cross between out of focus bulbs and tiddlywinks to represent the baubles mentioned in the tags. As to what they really are I've no idea. A great entry.

SteveF - A rainy night in Stratford-upon-Avon
A real life scene making another great card with the blank sky area proving an ideal location for the greeting message. There is so much I do like about this, however I feel the prominent 'this way arrow' draws a lot of attention to itself and the scene would be enhanced without it, so I think I'd clone that out if it were mine. The rainy day reflections in the scene do make this photo. A very well taken and seen scene!

Noelcmn - Festive Teddy
Yet another photo that would be really good on a card. The idea is great but the photo as presented is unfortunately let down by camera shake due to the 1/3 sec exposure, I suspect hand held. Might be worth attempting to take this again if that is still a possibility.

The result:
1st Nigelk - Have a Christmas Cracker
2nd - davidwozhere - Two bells and a bow
3rd SteveF - A rainy night in Stratford-upon-Avon

Well done Nigel and look forward to your competition shortly.
John K
Perspicador
Posted 01/01/2020 - 14:40 Link
It is a teapot and what is not in the picture has a corresponding lack of significance, Eeyore is delivering the Christmas greeting which has some bearing on the mood. The obvious is its a real-life market-place at Bulwell and backgrounds are not magic away, so lazy eyes have to do their own selection of what they choose to notice. I can take a horse to water but I cannot make it drink. Enjoyable competition - thank you.
Quote:
... the best lack all conviction, while the worst
are full of passionate intensity.
W.B Yeats

Noelcmn
Posted 01/01/2020 - 17:48 Link
Congrats NigelK, love what you've done with, the zoom blur works wonderfully! Congrats extended to davidwozhere and Stevef. Nice challenge, as perspicador noted, quite enjoyable! Thanks are due then to our jidge and host JAK!
HAPPY AND BLESSED 2020 to you all!
davidwozhere
Posted 02/01/2020 - 00:27 Link
Great job Nigel and well done to Steve with a picture cram full of interest. Thanks for the 2nd and for a super contest that got us to pull a few stops out.
The OOF bits are fairy lights about 20ft beyond the bells and the circles result from the 135mm Meyer Optik 'Bokeh monster'.
Both the *istDS and the K5 are incurably addicted to old glass

My page on Photocrowd
Nigelk
Posted 02/01/2020 - 12:11 Link
Thank you JAK for my top spot, congratulations to my fellow podium comrades.
The camera was on a good sturdy tripod to get a nice smooth zoom action without moving the camera. The old push pull zooms were easier for zoom bursts, I've never had the luxury of a power zoom, something I missed out on.

Add Comment

To leave a comment - Log in to Pentax User or create a new account.