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Monthly #98 - A Summer Holiday Still Life Competition

Competition Details
Closing Date: 31/08/2020
Judge: drofmit

In our turbulent world at the moment... in some places lockdown is being eased.... in others, tightened...
so I am setting something that will be able to be done in the home if necessary.

You will have seen from the title that it is a still life...
and I mean a still life in the traditional sense:
Three [3] objects in an obvious group.
The objects must shout out "Summer Holiday"....
ie: describe or capture a moment, a story, etc,,,,
The objects must not cross the boundary of the picture.
No people or parts of people... no animals or parts thereof as part of the still life, but the background and lighting are for you to choose, as are the objects that make up the still life...
they could be a bucket, spade and swimming costume...
or a large seashell, a lump of driftwood and a wave-polished pebble...
or a deckchair, a towel and a book....
or, escaping the seaside, necessities for a picnic... eg: a blanket, closed picnic hamper and a bottle of bubbly
or things for a trip out somewhere... eg: passport, travel documents & gloves...
...the list is pretty well endless.

I will be looking for impact, arrangement and use of light, the background...

The usual monthly competition rules apply.
Entries must be shot during the month of the competition, August 2020, using a Pentax or the re-badged Samsung & Ricoh equivalent cameras.

The winner is expected to set, comment on and judge the next competition.

The competition closes at midnight BST on 31st August. Good luck, have fun and I look forward to viewing the pictures you submit.

Tim
Competition Entries
drofmit
Posted 01/09/2020 - 23:00 Link
Still judging.... but now rather tired.............
I will continue tomorrow.... today has been rather busy and I can no longer focus properly....
I am going to have a tipple and go to bed!
Never be afraid to talk about your techniques...
"Give a thousand photographers...
the same camera, lens and scene...
and you'll always get a thousand different takes!!"
Anon.
drofmit
Posted 02/09/2020 - 23:34 Link
Winner announced.... well done Nigelk
Full notes tomorrow.....
drofmit
Posted 03/09/2020 - 06:35 Link
Thank you those who entered the August Monthly....
Apologies for the delays...
summat's gone wrong with my UPS and I am sitting here with a rather annoying cricket-like warble assaulting my right ear...
I can't power it off and the plug is behind a very tall, and book-loaded dresser...
so I am now running the set up via an extension cable...
and this morning will be a manouvering operation.... still, the books will get a good dusting!
Never be afraid to talk about your techniques...
"Give a thousand photographers...
the same camera, lens and scene...
and you'll always get a thousand different takes!!"
Anon.
drofmit
Posted 03/09/2020 - 06:57 Link
So without further delay here are the results and comments....
Six entries with two clearly not on brief.... so that is "simples"....
but the other five... they are a headache in waiting... well, here goes.

Picnic Plate by mr.mellow
A nice, simple start... Cornichons, crackers and home smoked Salmon....
yes, Summer Holiday food, a very tempting platter....
I would have liked to have seen less of the work surface/table and the picture cropped square, the plate is the background....
and, for a competition, no watermark!


Geraniums by Perspicador
Nice colourful picture, but not on brief...
yes, it does say "Summer Holiday" because it is red geranium...
but that is it.... if you'd pulled back a bit, shown the pot they were in and not let the flowers cross the pictures edge....
you'd've been in with a chance... but it is just one plant in this picture not an arrangement of three objects.


Reach for the Skye by johnriley
Camera, car keys and a compass... with a map of Skye as the background and echoed in the caption.... nice arrangement.
Says "Summer Holday" rather than shouts it
But.... you cropped it too tight, John... the compass crosses the edge of the frame.


Like the Waves on the Beach by Nigelk
Very nice.... shouts "Summer Holiday"...
three beach found objects on a colourful towel as background.
Nice use of diagonals... the waves on the towel.... everything


Summer 2020 - Not Still! by NGBIRL
And not on brief.... it does not shout "Summer Holiday"... rather, it records an event.
It also wouldn't have been eligible as neither the Exif nor your description mention that it was a Pentax camera.
Always check your Exif.....


Well it was there....
My View by pipinmels
Hmmmm.... two glasses and two bottles of wine.... that makes four objects not three....
but I'll take it that the two glasses are meant to be one object [a pair of glasses] and two clearly different wines.
I feel it would have been better if one bottle had been opened and a touch of the red poured into the glasses and swilled.
But all told the picture does little to excite me.... it doesn't shout "Summer Holiday"
Perhaps the noise is affecting my brain....


Staycation by JAK
An excellent photo... colour popped...
nice arrangement of the three objects.... slightly blown where the gloves overlap....
yes, I can see what you were after John, but it doesn't quite shout "Summer Holiday"


So the winner... anyone got a set of darts? No?...
I'm going to have to be really picky!
It was a very tough choice this week but after a lot of deliberation I have chosen as the winner....
Like the Waves on the Beach by Nigelk
Second place goes to....
Staycation by JAK
Third place to....
Picnic Plate by mr.mellow
So, over to Nigelk to set & Judge the September competition.
Never be afraid to talk about your techniques...
"Give a thousand photographers...
the same camera, lens and scene...
and you'll always get a thousand different takes!!"
Anon.
Edited by drofmit: 03/09/2020 - 07:01
Nigelk
Posted 03/09/2020 - 09:33 Link
Thank you for the competition and the top spot drofmit. I like it when there aren't many entries, I stand a better chance of winning
JAK
Posted 03/09/2020 - 20:49 Link
Thanks for the comp and second place. Well done to Nigel for the win and Mr Mellow for his placing.
I don't actually 'do' summer holidays and the August weather didn't shout "Summer Holiday" either. Had plans to visit the sea front but it just didn't happen, partly to avoid potential crowds so my 'Summer Holiday' was spent at home. My ideal photo would have been a deck chair, sand castle and a spade but I didn't manage to get to take it., and even then would have required co-operation from holiday makers who had abandoned said items!
John K
Edited by JAK: 03/09/2020 - 20:50
Perspicador
Posted 04/09/2020 - 21:02 Link
You want, you'd settle for - you get.
JAK
Posted 05/09/2020 - 21:24 Link
Perspicador wrote:
You want, you'd settle for - you get.

Is that addressed to me, if so I don't understand your point?
John K

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