Weekly #436 - Mirrors Competition

Well I think I chose a hard subject and it’s been refreshing to see everyone’s interpretations of the subject in hand. So without further ado here is the judging!

Through the looking glass – Spider-man
It’s like a ying yang, what with the upside down you and the normal you! I like this due to this but there are a few things that bother me. The chairs and all that background! In an ideal world that’s all be a neutral plain black or grey and it’s add to the surreal look to it.

Mirror View – Noelcmn
Now I find this odd! The camera has focused on the lion which is on the same focal plane as the wing mirror but that’s OOF?! I think this image needs more punch, more contrast, to make it pop a bit more as the colours etc just look a little flat. I do like the fact though that its like a scene in the middle of another scene.

Camera Mosaic Repeat – Drofmit
Wow! This is sooooo crazy! But in a good way! I think its just so surreal with the camera, the mount and them LED lights! I like the way the camera is repeated, and repeated, and repeated, and repeated, and ……!

SelfieSelfieSelfie – Conspicuity
Wow, this certainly is a very different take on the brief and a PC digital filter on top. For me I’m unsure if that composition and filter is working, for me, I don’t think it is.

The Daily Mirror – i-Berg
That’s like a piece of art! Mirrored windows? The black lines running one way and the white lines running another with the scene broken up and in mono really works. I think that could be in a gallery somewhere, I do like this

Reflections of Brugge – Paulb531
It’s like a selfie street scene that with the events of recent seems a million miles away, well, maybe from when I was there and all seemed so happy. Quite like the juxtaposition with the man who’s sat down with blind stick (?) to the right of the frame and the man to the left on the bike.

Kelly by Candlelight – John Riley
Now! Some could argue the shadow over the nose or the way it doesn’t look 100% sharp work but for me they do. I want to know more about Kelly as I’m tormented by this image. Her pose, the look on her face, the camera angle ask me questions as to what the story is here. For me, I have this vibe of a lady being asked to do something she just isn’t comfortable with, like an indecent proposal or being made to do something against her will so to speak and the lack of 100% focus and almost candid look with the harsh light just adds to it. It’s a harrowing image in my eyes and this for me is a belter!

Reflective Trolling – GlynM
Ha! Me and my wife laughed over this image! The title is great and I like the way you see every side of the troll. The plain background really makes the subject pop and stand out.

Selfie fie fie fie fie fie ……… - Davidwozhere
I stayed in a hotel in Plymouth recently who had a very similar lift and took a similar image myself! The lines and shapes really work, the zig zag of the pin striping of the mirror, the ceiling and shadow all add depth to the image and I like the way you and your better half go on and on and on and on in the reflection behind.

The View Behind Me – JudithAnn
An image similar to the lion shot we had earlier and again I’m confused with the fact the camera has focused on the reflection but the wing mirror which is also on the same focus plane is OOF?! I need to learn more about this! The scene works BUT! I’m thinking if the mirror was isolated and the area outside of the mirror was darkened down so it wasn’t there it’d add to the image. The image does look like it’s suffering from noise, especially in the shadows.

Forty Year Flashback – Tyronet2000
Now, this is image has a story behind it with that title. The older gent looking back to times gone by, when in his prime. The image really does tell a story, I just wish the image of the younger gentleman in the reflection didn’t have them two lights in the bottom of it. Having said that it does give it a natural and honest look.

Burglar Alarm in the Bird Bath – Vic Cross
Well, like Ronseal, it says what it does on the tin so to speak! Subject matter could be better and that bright area to the images right hand side distracts me.

Duck on thin ice – Perspicador
He must be quackers! Bet her feet are freezing! A mirror image, certainly fits the brief and with that blue hue in the shadow areas I do feel the cold in the image. Don’t you wish the birds head was in the reflection also!

Sunset Reflection – Michaelblue
At first I thought it was water till I read the description! That’s some great colour in the sky that in the reflection has also been captured well. I do like this.

So, in third is i-Berg, really like this image and I think its great art
Second is Drofmit. Again a great piece of art and so surreal
First, it had to be Kelly by JR. When I set the theme I had an image like this in mind and that image hit all my boxes. It does harrow me and I did ‘feel’ for her. Great work JR and to her also if this is the look and feel you wanted to convey.

HR to Michaelblue also. That’s some great colour and a nice mirrored reflection as well as GlynM with his trolling!

Please note I set the comp to close at 22.00 and I finished and judged by 23.20 as to make sure the winner had suitable chance to set a new theme and get the new comp up in time

Cheers for the place, Gareth. You drew out some very interesting and well executed entries too. Congrats to JR, Tim, Michael and Glyn.

And thank you Gareth!

Great to see such a variety of entries and great to see a prompt judging. Now i'd better keep that up with a prompt new competition, which will follow in a short while after I've fed the brain (breakfast) and thought up a suitable subject.

Thanks for the second placing, Gareth...
and congrats to the other entrants, not just the fellow podia and HCs...
personally, I found it a difficult call...
eventually using Pottyshop to create summat outa nowt!

Look forward to the next challenge!

Point of interest about your comments on "Mirror view". There is nothing odd about it. If you remember your physics lessons at school, if an object is 20 feet from the mirror then the mirror image has the object 20 feet behind the mirror which explains why the mirror frame is out of focus.

Many thanks Gareth for setting a great new & unique challenge and the for the work that had obviously gone into the reviews and judging.

I had great fun creating my troll image. Thanks also for the HR .

Congratulations to John, the runners up and everyone else for a wonderful set of images.

Glyn

Congratulations to John, and the runners up. Thanks to Gareth for a challenging subject and the judging. I was impressed by Drofmit's entry - very creative I thought.

Regards

Paul

Some really interesting shots in this weeks challenge, a high standard of creativity and all of which I enjoyed viewing. So a hearty congratulations to JR with some stiff competition. Congrats extended to I-Berg and Dromfit, and Michaelblue and GlynM for their HC's. Thanks Gareth, appreciated the challenge and the judging.

Gareth did a good job in selecting and judging this week's topic. Congratulations, as always, to the award winners. I would like to add my personal appreciation for the imaginative pictures by Tyronet and Conspicuity.
Although I have lots of pictures of reflected images I didn't enter this week because I think I read Gareth too literally when he wrote: I'm looking for images where mirrors either are the main subject or are being used maybe as a prop or being used as a composition tool. As a result I didn't enter anything that was a reflected image in a surface that wasn't a mirror.
I do have pictures specifically featuring mirrors but my two favourites have already been used in Weekly Competitions and I've not had the time or opportunity to shoot something brand new.
David

Fantastic collection of entries and thoughtful judging