Monthly Competition #12 - Contre-jour Competition

Photography is a very personal thing. It is therefore very difficult to judge another’s work and even harder to choose a winner especially in a competition. Such is the task before me now and I hope my comments are taken as constructive and helpful.

I found it difficult to choose a subject for this months competition as it had to appeal to a wide number of photographers wherever they maybe.

Contre-jour was the final subject and many thanks to all of you who took part.


Durham regatta - davidtrout

I liked the composition here. The exposure was well handled and although the action is frozen David still managed to give the impression of movement in the water.

Lou – paulb531

This image could have been improved by cropping the top and right hand sides just a little to add more impact. The exposure chosen has allowed some colour and detail to be retained in the figure. However, I wonder if things would have been better with just a little more under exposure! Well seen though!

Over the Yardarm - drofmit

This fitted the competition title well. Shot straight into the light and tightly cropped for a dramatic effect. It works well to a degree. If the author had positioned himself just a little more carefully he may have been able to reduce the flare by moving the sun so it did not burn out the signs support. A good graphic image for a subject many of us would have walked by without giving a second thought!

Ibiza Sunset - mudge

Good use of palms to frame the edges of this shot. I can see why the author was taken to this scene. However, my eyes kept getting distracted by the white roof of the building in the foreground which was a shame. By loosing the top half of the photograph the colours are lifted a little making for a more dramatic image.

Sunset over Coombe – Spider-Man

A well thought out image that has a quality feel to it. The author has chosen to fill the frame with the subject without cropping it down and it has paid off. The fact that a hint of sun has been left to indicate sunset has helped the eye move around the frame better rather than the sun being the focus of our attention.

Rainbow - bforbes

An image that makes you look into it further to figure out just what the subject is. A very well seen and composed image that packs sharpness and punch. On first viewing it has great impact with the contrasting colours and the feeling of movement. After a while though that impact weakens and its strength is lost.

Having a feed in a weed – Sean282

A very interesting shot that has had some thought put into it. The square format chosen matches the subject well. There is still some detail in the fly and on the upper parts of the flower. I just wondered if the depth of field could have been slightly better. Good exposure of a very difficult subject.

La ballerina rouge - AxelLuther

This is a very dramatic shot that has been well seen and composed. The exposure is spot on and the image pin sharp and retains lots of detail. The shadow helps balance the dancer well and is not too dominant.

Underneath The Wisteria – Jim-w

Another image that has been cropped to a square format. This suits the subject and retains your interest no doubt helped by the black border surrounding it. Without that the sky would bleed out of the frame weakening the impact. The sun is positioned in just the right spot with the star burst adding life to the image. Flare has been well controlled. The green leaves do not distract from the rest of the image and personally I felt added to it.

Whitby Abbey Sunset - JAK

At first I thought this was a little too underexposed. However, as you look at it the image more it seems to grow stronger and more intense making it really quite powerful. Nicely cropped, with the sun setting just off centre against the silhouette of the Abbey and that lovely grey/blue sky.

Cherry Blossom Sunshine - CIBarker

This was another well seen image with nice retention of detail and colour. The subject fills the frame well making it very dramatic helped by the positioning of those clouds and the rays from the sun. There is just a little hint of flare but in this case it has been well handled and kept to a minimum.

Shiny McShine - bettyswolloks

I liked this simple image. Colour has been retained even though other areas are in deep shadow or silhouette. Once again the use of a black frame has helped the image and makes the colours that much stronger. The flare does distract from that strength after a time.

Early Morning Hydrangea - GlynM

Well seen and handled with good use of the available light. The shallow depth of field chosen to throw the background out of focus helps retain the strength of the hydrangea leafs. My only criticism here is the cut off leaves at the bottom of the frame which drew my eye to the bottom of the frame. Without the bottom two leave the image would be far more powerful.

Lakeside - GaryJohn

This was a well exposed image. It is bold and dramatic with lots going on once your eye gets accustomed to viewing it. If you look carefully, there could be several other photo opportunities for the photographer within the frame. The people lying in their deck chairs, dogs playing, the girl running across the frame and the reflections in the water etc. Unfortunately the reflected light on the water top right eventually draws your attention away from all these. If you cropped that off I think you would improve the ‘Lakeside’ dramatically.

Cottage Dweller - Johnriley

Photographs of people are never that easy. The high angle allows us to see the objects on the table better but takes your attention away from the subjects face. Great expression, well handled exposure once again and good detail throughout. Cropping tightly and loosing the table makes a completely another interesting image.

Let there be light – tyronet2000

A very simple photograph that is almost devoid of colour. It is ‘into the light’ but needs something else to add impact. Maybe a change of position or lens angle to concentrate more on the trees would have helped here?

Daisy! - coker

A bold and dramatic image when first viewed. The framing suits the subject well and the fine black border helps enormously and does not distract from the flower. Good exposure once again but the depth of field is just a little too fine.

Please don’t stare – Hiddendragon28

A strong subject matter here with the chimney dominating the frame. It’s a shame you could not isolate that from the nearby trees and maybe underexpose just a touch more. The starburst helps this image but for me the flare does not.

Sunset on Cardigan Bay - Perspicador

We all love a good sunset and this has been captured well. You captured some lovely colours in this scene. I think I would have cropped this top and bottom and ‘letter boxed’ the image. This lifts the colours and simplifies the scene adding more impact.

So, onto the results:-

1st Whitby Abbey Sunset - JAK

2nd Sunset over Coombe – Spider-Man

3rd La ballerina rouge - AxelLuther

Crumbs. First one to find the results and find I've won! Thank you very much.

Shame there weren't more entries - perhaps the sun failed to shine enough. Regarding the exposure issue with my image, for some reason it seemed to come out just little bit darker after upload to here than the original. not withstanding, I did play around with the exposure quite a bit, both at the time in camera and afterwards. It was awkward to get it right as the sun was just peeping between gaps in the clouds which themselves were hidden by a bank of fog rolling in.
However having driven around a 30-40 mile round trip to take the picture at least it was worth the effort, so thanks. At the time I wondered if I'd get a picture at all.

Congrats to the other placings and everyone else without whom there wouldn't have been a competition.

Seems I need to think of a new theme for this month.

John K

Thanks for the feedback on my entry and congrats to John - and the other places on the competition.
Looking forward to this month's topic !

Thanks Carl for the great comp and judging some cracking images entered. Well done to John and other podiums

Jim...

Many thanks for the competition and your detailed judging Carl. Congrats to JAK on your fine win and also to Spiderman and Axel.
David

PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout

Congratulation to the podium winners, and to Tiny2 for his considered and constructive feedback

Thanks for the feedback, constructive criticism will help me more to understand my camera and the lens that I used.

Thanks to Tiny2 for the feedback and congratulations to JAK & AxelLuther. I thought all the images embraced the concept well, and as always, delivered some good variations on the theme.

I was vey pleased to pick up 2nd place, as this is only the first time that i've submitted a photo for the monthly competition. This will now spur me on to enter more of the competitions.

Peter P.

Many thanks for a great competition, a very nice set of reviews and excellent judging.

Congratulations to JAK for a fantastic winning image, the runners-up and everyone else for another wonderful set of pictures.

Glyn