Weekly Competition #362 - A Night Scene Competition

Thank you for your varied submissions, which I’ve really enjoyed looking at. I’m actually glad there were not too many entries this week, as with the wide range and general high standard of the images submitted I’ve had a problem sorting out which ones should top the podium!!! So well done to all of you who made the effort to enter.
It was very interesting to see the various approaches wrt ISO ratings and shutter speeds used. There were some extremely high ISOs with relatively fast shutter speeds, and some lower ISOs with very long exposures
I’ve taken the liberty of adding comments on what I would have done to some of the images, if they had been mine! You may disagree! (no doubt you will! LOL)
Anyway, here goes:-

The Thames at Marlow:- by Perspicador
An impressive first image out of the box, showing good detail in the bridge and buildings.
Initially, I found the overall blue cast off-putting, particularly wrt the white areas. However, once I got used to it, it actually gave an ambiance of peace and tranquillity, particularly with the light reflection in the water!
As there are no stars or clouds visible, I think the image would be improved slightly if about ½ of the sky was cropped off, thereby putting greater emphasis on the river and bridge itself!

Wet Night Shopping:- by GlynM
An interesting and competent image, which is enhanced by the light reflections on the wet forecourt surfaces!
Full marks for taking out the camera when it was both dark and raining!
The subject is well suited to the B/W treatment.

Kelly by Candlelight:- by johnriley
A great image, which has been well set up and taken! The colour and skin tones are really impressive and the actual candlelight has been well controlled. The square format really suits the subject! (I bet it would look good in mono as well!)
Whilst such a shot could be taken at any time of day, in a darkened room, the Exif data indicates that it was taken at 8.25pm on a March evening, which means it meets the competition criteria, as specified, although not strictly what I had in mind when setting up the competition!

Charge of the night brigade:- by simmonarron
A really impressive image; clear and sharp, with great colour rendition.
More so when you consider that it was taken using ISO 100 for 3secs. It illustrates the benefit of using a good tripod when needed!
As I suggested for the “Thames at Marlow” image, (which also had a lot of featureless sky) I feel a crop off the top (about a 1/3rd), to just above the lamp standard, might slightly improve what is already a great image.

Lighting the way home:- by ken2390
A very challenging shot, which has used a different approach than the previous ones, namely, a very high ISO (ie 6400) for 1/4 sec
Whilst the object of the exercise (ref your Title) has been achieved admirably, I’m afraid that the general subject matter is not clear / detailed enough to hold my interest.

Small town street:- by Prieni
Another fabulous shot, with plenty of detail and colour, taken using ISO 100 for 15 secs
I particularly like the reflections on the cobbles and the use of portrait format, giving that wonderful cobblestone lead in to the image.

Hoi An at night:- by Daronl
And yet another great shot! The mood has been well caught, with nice muted colours and plenty of detail.
The only comment I would make about it is that I feel that it’s an image of two parts; the very moody street scene, and the very bright / detailed display cabinet in the shop, with plenty of goodies on display for the tourists! Due to its relative brightness, the latter tends to draw the eye away from the street scene part of the image, which is the most interesting part wrt the “after dark” criteria.

NYC:- by gartmore
We’re now in New York, with a very striking floodlit skyscraper shot, taken at an exaggerated angle.
I like the contrast between the straight lines of the building and the flapping flags in the foreground.
I’m not particularly keen on the left hand flag though, as it appears suspended without its pole, and hence is a little distracting. If it were mine, I’d crop off the left side, and clone out any remaining part of the flag in question, giving a square format image that would actually emphasise the main subject (ie skyscraper) more.

By Moonlight:- by davidstorm
An impressive night shot, which most people would not have even tried! Although not a lot of detail can be seen, it really captures the mood of the event!

Doha:- by aliengrove
A great shot, particularly when viewed large. Good detail and colour have been achieved by selecting ISO 3200 with the lens wide open, thus enabling a relatively fast shutter speed to be used. The use of a wide lens and the letterbox crop makes an interesting and pleasing panoramic view of the city
It’s also interesting to see the amount of light pollution above the city!

Scarborough South Bay:- by JAK
They keep coming! Another great shot! Detail, colour, sharpness, it’s all there!
To perfect the shot, I would level off the horizon, and maybe trim a little off the bottom (personal preference!)

Sheffield by Night:- by paulb531
And yet another cracker! Looks even better when viewed large!
Amazing amount of detail, with well defined colours. Love the starburst effect on the prominent lights

Meeting place:- by Tiny2
I like this one as well, but unfortunately it’s a scene that was hard for the camera to handle, as the foreground was obviously darkish, and the middle section very bright. Hence using matrix metering has resulted in the building lights being considerably overexposed.

The stars were out this night:- by Noelcmn
This is a little different from the rest, particularly with a 30 sec exposure using ISO 100!
There are some nice colours and very attractive starburst effects

Chrysler Building:- by Northgrain
One of three last minute entries, which again joins the rank possible winners! A stunning atmospheric shot of this famous building, showing how it dominates the surrounding area. The highlights have been well controlled, avoiding possible burnouts!

The Big Blue Eye:- byBAJ
A good shot of this well known London Icon. Good detail, and colours, but not quite as sharp as some of the other entries.

Dunstaburgh Aurora:- by Blythman
What a finish! Up until now Scarborough South Bay was leading the pack, but it has been piped at the post by this one!
The colours and the number of stars captured in this 20 sec exposure is fantastic.
I must say that, in fairness to all the other great images submitted, the subject matter here has a head start!


So without more ado:


The Winner (out of a long short list of possibilities !) is:-

Dunstaburgh Aurora:- by Blythman


And the Runner up is:-

Scarborough South Bay:- by JAK

So over to you Blythman!

Interesting topic, thoughtful and constructive judging, and an astonishingly good winner- probably my favourite image posted on the forum this year.

Many thanks Mudge for the competition and your efforts, and congratulations to Blythman and JAK

Could'nt agree more with Northgrain's comments. A boon to a learning curve this has been, besides a thoroughly enjoyable feast for the eye. Congrats Blythman and JAK. Thanks Mudge for commenting-always appreciated.

Oh dear. I didn't want to have to be a judge !!!

Many thanks for the 1st place Mudge. Congratulations to JAK too. Well done on setting a competition which encouraged a set of really excellent shots, followed by well thought out comments.

My entry was not so much about skill. It was more about taking a chance, making the effort and then loads of luck. Hearing about the possibility of a visible aurora in Northumberland, I drove almost an hour, walked about a mile, and was rewarded with a wonderful display

Thanks for your kind comments! Glad you enjoyed the challenge

Blythman, your main skill was getting to the right place at the right time! Driving for an hour and walking a mile to get the shot was more than luck, it was all important planning ahead! Well done!

I don't think anyone could take issue with that splendid winner! Fantastic and also such a varied response.

Many thanks for the podium finish. Some really great images there so very chuffed. Alan's aurora was quite special and deserved winner - well done.

Well done Alan, lovely shot and a deserving winner! congrats to the other podiums too, and thanks for the interesting comp!

Many thanks to Mudge for the challenge and judging. Wow what a winning shot! No arguments with that decision.

Regards

Paul

Many thanks Mudge for such a great competition. It certainly encouraged some fantastic entries. Thanks also for your detailed comments and judging.

Congratulations to Blythman for the well deserved winning image, JAK for the other podium place and everyone else for a wonderful collection of images.

Glyn

Nice topic, good entries, competent judging and a fantastic winning shot. Well done everybody, enjoyable competition!