Monthly Competition #7 - Digital Filters Competition

I did a camera club talk a short while ago, exploring the goodies that lay lurking in the camera menus. Very few had actually tried any of them, so I thought it would make an interesting idea for a competition. Pentax Users rose to the challenge with panache!

AndrewA – (not a)Toy Camera – I like very much the close crop. This suggests a powerful and solid device and gives it an air of class. The Toy Camera effect is one that I've never really gelled with, but it seems to be a favourite in Japanese camera designs. Has the effect added to the image, a key question, and it has given it increased drama. A successful opener.

Jim-w – Wilted Blooms – This is absolutely not the sort of effect that I ever produce myself, and yet...it has something very appealing about it. Jim-w has really worked at this one, and kindly gives us some details, and has used effects that so often can look very garish and unpleasantly unrealistic. However, in this instance the subject and the effects applied are actually harmonious. The composition is very elegant and simple, and yet obviously well planned. There is a crisp precision about the presentation. In the end, the digital filters have been wisely and well applied, so an excellent offering.

Tyronet2000 – Hellebore – Christmas Rose – Soft focus effects in camera can be very appealing indeed. The choice of filter is very suitable for flowers. My feeling is that the underlying image itself is rather over-busy, whereas soft focus usually works best with simply presented, uncluttered subject matter. There is a good deal of clutter in the background also, which does distract us from the flowers.

Geordie01 – Close shave – Here again we have a crisp, simple shot where the effects have been used to enhance the subject. It's critical that this should be so and that the effects are used because they improve the image, not for their own sake. We have sharp shavings and a suitably sharp presentation. The main subject is there, completely shown and without any distraction. A clear statement gives a clear and clean image.

Darlene – Our Home – A beautifully clean building, with clean lines and a very nice choice to make this black and white. In terms of the digital filter, spot on. I would suggest a few tweaks beyond that. The top of the house is cut off, and ideally I would prefer it left in. It might also be a thought to correct the converging verticals in Photoshop, using perhaps the Transform tool. However, as presented, we have a lovely, clean, wonderful black and white image that shows us a house that would be a lovely warm home inside. Despite the snow outside!

Bforbes – Day Of The Orchids – The orchids have been adjusted to taste and the application of digital filters to achieve this is useful because it gives us an opportunity to stop and think about our image at the taking stage. This is part of the reasoning behind this competition, changing the method from thinking about things later in Photoshop to thinking about them right now as we shoot the picture. I might have thought of making the composition more diagonal to increase the dynamic of the picture, but otherwise it's a job well done.

Nicesparky – Yellow Violas – A bold idea trying to handle all these light tones on what might have been quite a bright day. Extracting the yellow to make the violas stand out is a great idea, the picture just needs to be a bit tidier. The background is quite complex and there are tantalising details from within the building that pull our eyes away from the subject. I would suggest closing in more on the violas, being ruthless in excluding everything that isn't part of the picture we are trying to capture.

Denmark – Woodland Decay – The colour extract filter here is perfect to emphasise that greenery. Doing so also aids the composition by concentrating our eyes on the parts of the image you want us to look at. Its's an attractive woodland scene that uses the digital filter to emphasise the subject matter, so again we have an harmonious effect.

Gartmore – Beeches – I've mentioned harmony before and here we have more of that. Harmony between the subject, the choice of black and white and even the choice of using the Q, which is an ideal black and white camera. The dark tones and lighting are very dramatic, and our eye is drawn into the image by the receding lines of trees. I wonder if it would be worth reducing or excluding the bright area top left, as this does give us a secondary line of sight, but I really like the proportions of the image, so just cropping might make the frame too tight. Perhaps reducing its brightness would do the trick.

Dannyh – Snare Reversed – Nice idea that in essence works with the subject matter. The reversal leaves us with a very bright area to the right and this tends to draw our eyes away and out of the picture, so a slight re-compose might help that. It's a subject I'd like to explore myself as I can see a lot of potential in it.

Bettyswollocks – Baggage – Wonderful colours here that enhance the rich tones of the leather. So whatever filter has been used has worked well with the image content. Looking at the composition, the tilt to the image is unfortunate, but also I would thing about the bright vertical highlight in the wall. Just possibly this could have been reduced by shooting the cases from the opposite 45 degree point. You might just exclude the bright part of the wall, which is a little distracting. The other alternative would be to move in close for a selective shot of the pile of suitcases.

Paulb531 – Matthew – This is actually a very fine portrait of Matthew and I would imagine that he would be rather pleased with it. Does the effect improve it? In the context of a young target audience and something being a bit different and rather cool, then maybe it does. Traditional photographers may not like it and may think it simply spoils what would be a good picture. That's a matter of taste. But you've been bold and done something with the brief of the competition, and it works in its intended context.

JudithAnn – Upside Down Kisses From Dad – Dad is shown as tough and soft at the same time and baby is quite happy, no doubt chuckling away as the kisses land. This shows so many unconventional approaches, such as prominent arm-pits, which are enough to turn us away from most images! But it works, and it does indeed show the masculinity against the warm soft affection of father for his child. The sepia tone is a matter of choice regarding colour, but what it does do is to make the rought arm-pits soften a little, so the transition is there from hard to soft. And it works.

Simonarron – Wet, Wet, Wet – Excellent composition here, the placement of the bird is perfect. The action, masses of splashing water, is alos perfect, with the shutter speed being exactly right. The filter is not my favourite, but you've applied it in an appropriate image and I could see this as a wrap-around paperback cover for a children's book. So as an effect, not personally appealing to me, but with my judge's hat on you've made all the right choices, so well done.

Jaspers45 – Essential Supplies – I like your idea of essential supplies! A very unusual effect and one that could well be usede as an illustration. The sort of magazine it would have fitted would have been the 1960s New Worlds, Michael Moorcock's SF magazine. Something slightly surreal and a pleasantly arranged still life. The background definitely enhances the image.

WaypointCharlie – Three Poses – There's a camera club judging thing about always having odd numbers, which of course is a dreadful over-simplification. In this case I think three is one too many and it's all in the posing. The two right hand poses fit together perfectly – the arms, the angle of the legs, the direction of the eyes, all perfect. The left pose doesn't fit with this, not for me anyway. The effect is unusual and could easily be too much, but combined with the two figures on the right it would have been brilliant. So Less Is More and if it's possible, I'd love to see a revamped image with just the two poses.

CIBarker – Station Platform - There are some great choices here. The letterbox format, black and white all help with the period feel. I would be tempted to walk down the platform and take a more straight-on view but that's just a matter of personal preference. As regards the red, yes, it's a good idea to highlight something, but may I suggest it should be something that is at a critical point in the picture to attract us into the composition. As it is, you are showing us someone's back and there doesn't seem to be any particular significance once we look. The technique is worth exploring further.

So there we have the appriasal of the images. Hopefully it will be seen as helpful and constructive. I've really been interested to see the outcome of the theme, especially as it encourages experimentation with parts of our cameras that most of us never reach for! Me too, and I'm doing some playing of my own with all these various effects.

So, the winner is: Jim-w with Wilted Blooms
Second is: OUR HOME by darlene
Third is: Upside Down Kisses From Dad by JudithAnn
Special mentions for: gartmore, Denmark, paulb531 and WaypointCharlie.

Over to you Jim-w!

Congratulations to the Winner and other placings. Thanks John for the interesting subject and constructive comments.

Congratulations to the winner, and to everyone who took part. It has been a very interesting competition and I have learned a lot from it.

Well done to the winner and podium placers! Another great weekly competition.

Wow!! Thank you for the win and your kind comments John I wasn't expecting that. I was quite pleased with this image when I took it, but know it was more luck than judgement.
Congrats to the other podiums and mentions, and well done to everyone else
Will post a new comp shortly once I have figured out which buttons to push

Jim.

well done winners etc- good comp JR a nice change, appreciate your wise words.

Thank you to the Judge for taking the time to leave such detailed comments.
Congrats to the winner and a special thank you for a place the podium Sir!

Regards:

JA

Congrats to the Winner and thank for second place I want to thank you for doing a great job judging