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Weekly #561 -The Weather Competition

Competition Details
Closing Date: 15/04/2018
Judge: stephen-s

This weeks subject is The Weather, hopefully a universally accessible subject that works across number of photographic genres. Good or bad I am sure we have all experienced plenty of it recently, so lets see who has been testing the weather resistance of their kit...

The usual rules apply - images shot on Pentax or related cameras only and the winner will be expected to setup and judge next weeks competition. The competition closes midnight Sunday 15th April UK time.
Competition Entries
stephen-s
Posted 16/04/2018 - 19:21 Link
Hi All,

Winning shot selected, comments will follow later this evening as I am a bit late home from work and having been "under the weather" myself over the weekend have not done any prep...
stephen-s
Posted 17/04/2018 - 00:19 Link
Hi All - we have quite a good mix of images, so thanks to everyone who entered, please remember the comments below are just my opinion…

The Beast from the East – Perspicador
Well we are off to a chilly start, judging by the snow and ice… The icicles appear to be the main subject of the image and are as sharp as they are cold. A nice bit of documentary photography recoding the recent cold snap that gripped the UK late this year…

Hatton locks in the pouring rain – davidwozhere
A nice composition that uses the canal, boat and locks to draw you into the image. The grey and haze suggest wet weather and I think you can just about see the raindrops in the water. Possibly the image may have been a stronger contender if the people in the image appeared to be sheltering from the pouring rain more…

Otways mist - i-Berg
Quite a strong contender here – I find mist difficult to record, possibly due to the sharpness of modern camera’s and the default contrast applied in post processing – but that’s just me you have managed to capture the atmosphere here beautifully, the black and white treatment suits the image. In addition the composition with that strong leading line is good.

Let it snow - Abe_Normal
This image illustrates the cold conditions well as the goldfinch has clearly fluffed up its feathers to keep warm during the snow shower… A nice image with the subject being sharp and the background nicely out of focus, however I did feel this image would have been stronger if the twig running diagonally across the bird was removed, but it looks like that would have impossible to avoid during capture and a major Photoshop challenge in post.

Night Snow - johnriley
Another snow image that’s worked a treat in Mono. I particularly enjoyed the strong contrast between the night and the light reflected back by the snow… The tyre tracks and the edge of the road provide a good leading line.

Storm Desmond - davidtrout
Living in the Tyne Valley I remember this well as something like 1,700 cubic meters per second flowed down the Tyne and apparently the Eden in Cumbria… This is a good bit of documentary photography, you can see the wet on the roofs, walls and the rain in the floodwater… However I can’t help feeling that this image was more about the dramatic results and impact of the weather rather than the weather itself…

Morning mist – michaelblue
Wow – the mist, the light in the trees and on the building almost hidden by the mist is just magical. I am glad you were not tempted to make this image mono, as I think the hint of colour in the morning light has made this image. Well done – 1st place.

Sunshine and Showers - JAK
Another image with some wow factor, sunlight, rain, and rainbow combine to create a really dramatic image. Then just to cap it off a couple walking the walls in wet weather gear, just the job. I did feel that the post processing may have been a little strong as you have a bit of a halo effect round the trees to the right and I think I would have cloned out the bird…

After the Snow Storm – GlynM
The snow on the branches has emphasised the shape of the branches nicely. We can see this is the result of a recent fall as we have dramatic clouds towards the bottom and clear blue sky at the top, in addition the sunlight in the trees is lovely.

The Path - Simonmac
Another dramatic Mono image featuring mist, quite a bit of contrast in this image and a strong leading line. I got a quite dark feeling from the image not sure what that is saying about the walk to work, but it does look like you have a quite scenic walk. I could not help feeling that the image may have worked better in a portrait or square format, as it would have removed some of the open grass area on the right side of the image.

Will it wont it - ken2390
The age old question with the weather… I like the drama in the sky and the light in the trees in the foreground. This image is all about anticipation, the drama is in the sky is all about the weather to come… Well seen.

Misty morning on the Tugela River – Noelcmn
Another misty image – some nice colour recorded in the foreground and I like the sense of depth created by the trees receding in the mist. I think the image may have been stronger if the viewpoint had been a bit further to the left, to make more of the line of trees receding into the mist.

Hazy - MikeInDevon
The low angle of the sun has helped to emphasize the haze, I liked the sense of depth in the crated by the haze between the receding trees. I felt this image may have worked better in more of a letterbox format as I am not sure the house in the immediate foreground is required.

Storm Front – drofmit
Another image with a dramatic sky and light. The crescent of light on the field is great and I like the way the undulations of the horizon are mirrored in the clouds. The exposure is spot on and I can’t see any joins from stitching the two images so well done...

So to the results – quite a tough job to separate the places today but in the end I have settled on:

1st place - Morning mist – michaelblue
2nd place – Sunshine and Showers - JAK
3rd place – Night Snow – johnriley
HC - Storm Front – drofmit
HC - Otways mist - i-Berg

So congratulations to Michael Blue for the winning image and to all who placed…
i-Berg
Posted 17/04/2018 - 00:57 Link
Lovely shots this week, and the loveliest of these was the winner. Well done michaelblue, JAK, John and Tim.

Thank you for the comp and the c&c Stephen.
GlynM
Posted 17/04/2018 - 06:59 Link
Many thanks Stephen for a very nice competition. I have always found weather a difficult subject to capture with the camera but I think this competition has brought out some fantastic images.

Thanks also for you excellent comments and judging particularly when you probably have not been feeling your best.

Congratulations to Michael for the wonderful winning image that I also felt was going to win. Congratulations as well to the runners-up and everyone else for another beautiful set of images.

Glyn
Edited by GlynM: 17/04/2018 - 07:00
JAK
Posted 17/04/2018 - 10:04 Link
Thanks for the comp and judging second spot Stephen and well done to the other placings and HCs. I do agree with your comments. It was tricky to process to get a reasonable tone balance between the contrasty elements and yes the bird could be cloned out.
John K
davidtrout
Posted 17/04/2018 - 18:33 Link
Have some comments been deleted, or lost? I'm sure I added my congratulations to the award winners and thanked the judge, Stephen for his excellent competition earlier today.
Bewlldered,
David
Noelcmn
Posted 17/04/2018 - 19:40 Link
Mmm... Delectable shot that Michaelblue. Worthy winner and a hearty Congrats. And extended to the deserving 2nd and 3rd Spots JAK and Johnriley and not forgetting the HC's Dromfit and i-Berg. And a hearty thanks to our Judge for comments and critiques. As usual, much to learn from that exercise.
Posted 17/04/2018 - 22:14 Link
Hi Stephen, many thanks for running the competition and all the critiques, lovely winning photo and other podium spots + the HCs.

Hope you are feeling better!

Regards
Mike
Simonmac
Posted 22/04/2018 - 19:43 Link
Thank you for your helpful observations and we'll done to all!

All the best.
macmccreery.com
www.flickr.com/photos/simac/
www.500px.com/simac

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