Weekly #576 - Friends Competition

Many thanks to everyone who entered the competition. Friends seemed a good solid subject, we all have friends, so lets see what interpretations were found.

Garden Sentinel by Perspicador – As so often happens, first in there with an entry! At first glance, it's possibly a bit elusive as to how this represents friends, but on the other hand robins are really amongst the most friendly and co-operative birds we could wish for, so maybe that's the point. A very centrally placed subject that leaves no doubt as to what the image is about with a pleasant out of focus background starts us off well.

Playing by pipinmels – Kids make appealing subjects, especially when they are acting out something or, as here, playing. Kids also make friends very quickly and easily and the picture shows us some of the joy of that friendship. The foreground child adds a quirky, amusing slant to the whole.

The Choir by tyronet2000 – An older group of friends becomes a more serious affair, but no less joyful for that. This is a more mature and sophisticated friendship, strengthened further by the group reaching out to others via their performance.

Good Friends by noelm – Immediately an image of Mr Ed came to my mind when I saw this. It's a lovely moment,beautifully captured. It has a timeless appeal and a real sense of warmth.

Lulu 16.4.2002 – 10.7.2018 by i-Berg – This is man's best friend, tinged with a little sadness by the implications held within the title. The close up composition suits this very well, also serving to minimise the slightly light grass areas.

A Shoulder to Lean on by NigelK – This is a great little scene, showing a story very successfully. The only drawback is that, photographically, the out of focus foreground elements are a bit too strong and take our attention away from the main event.

Rocking Friends by retsoor – A group of friends bonded in a common interest and activity makes for a great start to the image. The house in the background doesn't add anything apart from a mild distraction and the cutting out at the top of the foliage could be more subtle, but fortunately the subject matter is strong enough to carry the day.

Eee Look by JAK – All that red is a bit overpowering, but it has been handled well. The concept of friends though isn't really hitting the spot with this one, it looking just as easily as though the younger man is actually just about to say, “What the hell are you doing?” rather than giving out a message of friendship. I could be quite wrong and they could be Best Buddies, even though that's not personally how I'm reading it.

Friends by noelcmn – The idea of a bike trip and two friends just pausing to rest, view the scenery and chat comes across extremely well. There is only one bike in view, so we have to take the second one as read, but otherwise the story it tells is coherent and fits the brief. The figures could be a tad sharper and that IMHO would improve the image.

So, who are the winners?
First place: goes without hesitation to noelm, with a simple and effective shot that shows an intimate moment and speaks friendship. It's a very appealing shot that has been well executed.
Second place: tyronet2000, a great bit of reportage.
Third place: NigelK, well observed despite the distracting foreground.
Commended: retsoor, Noelcmn

Thanks again to all who entered and over to noelm for the next competition!

Thanks John for selecting 'Good Friends' as last weeks winner. I didn't expect to be in this position so soon after the last time so I'll need to have a think about the subject for this week. Thanks also to John for his interesting subject which resulted in a very varied response and to his considered comments. Congratulations to the other podium places and to the HC's. I'll sleep on it and set new subject in the morning.

Congratulations to a Worthy Winner, it would have been my choice too. Well Done the other placings and Thank You for my 2nd Place. Thanks to John for the interesting subject, the judging and the comprehensive comments.

Congrats again Noel, and well done to the placegetters and the HCs. Thanks for the comp and the comments John.

Thank you for my bronze spot on the podium, I can but agree with your critique. Well done noelm and tyronet2000. An interesting competition subject.

Agree with our judge- timeless quality to that worthy winning image. Congrats Noel, and extended to Tyronet2000 and NigelK and my fellow HC Retsoor. Honoured to have a HC! Thanks John, for the challenge, comments and critiques. Interesting challenge indeed!