Weekly Competition #141 - The Four Seasons Competition

An interesting set of images, and it’s never an easy task to select winners from such a high standard. However, winners we must have, so here goes…

Frosted Rose by TOZZA27: This really cries out winter and keeps the bright and white-out feel whilst not actually being washed out. It is lighter than I would make it, but it’s not my picture and the choice made is a good one. I like the composition, the subtle dash of yellow and above all that wonderful frosty effect.

Mountains are Beautiful by patrick: In terms of composition we have blocks of shapes but I do feel that the foreground elements are rather heavy. This tends to obscure the background details, which is where the seasonal aspect comes in and where the main interest may lie. The blue colour of the snow could be adjusted in Photoshop, but in this case an 81A or even 81B filter might be more appropriate.

Basingstoke Canal Four Seasons by GlynM: This one is very cleverly thought out and very well put together. I do get more of the warmth of summer from the image than the other seasons, but it’s a great idea and I’m impressed!

Strawberry Season by Hyram: Gorgeous detail and rich colours make this picture work. It may be stretching the brief a little, but I did ask you to be imaginative with the competition! It’s an impressive image.

Lakeside Autumn Colours by Jimpy: Autumn is a wonderful opportunity for warm colours in nature and we have a good example here. A peaceful composition adds to the warm glow. I wonder if we could do with something else though to make a little more of the scene. A wooden boat, some wildlife, something to add that little extra…

Winter freezing for, Ireland by lisaireland: A simple and effective graphic image. I would be inclined to crop the left of the picture to remove the out of focus branches, which may well increase the impact.

Electric Sky by konrads: Nicely caught lightning although the picture could really do with a more exciting foreground. I know that we are limited to where we are at the time though, and you’ve done a good job with the ingredients that you have here.

It Got Colder After This by ceowens: There’s a lot to see in this image, and looking at it again now I can see spider shapes and all sorts of potential compositions. I’d have preferred the one vertical compositional line not to be there as it is the only one. Everything else is a mass of interlocking curves. A really good interpretation and very well executed image.

Kandy clouds by Dr. Mhuni: It certainly helps when you have the dramatic scenery but it still takes skill to make a picture work. This one certainly works and is a terrific atmospheric shot in every meaning of the term.

The effect of water and time by GaryJohn: A different approach to the subject, implying the long term passage of the seasons. Very interesting rock formations dominate the image and I do feel they probably need to be sharper. If you didn’t use a tripod for this then a repeat with the camera firmly fixed to one will improve things considerably.

Autumn Colours 1 by bramela: Good colours, very sharp, nice subdued background. These ingredients make for a simple and effective picture with no distracting elements.

Tulips From Amsterdam by johnedwinagar: We have the colurs, very nice too. The one thing that I find disturbing though is that I feel the image is sloping very much to the right. Why not have a go and straightening it up, and at the same time crop or clone out the intrusion of structures in the top right corner. It tells me though that we need to go and see the Dutch Tulip Fields….

When Clouds meet fog by AxelLuther: An interesting blend of an unusual scene and unusual colour. You have kept the image simple and I think it works.

Winter Sun by bforbes: This reminds me of our cruise to the Norwegian Fjords. It’s not easy to make these pictures great pictures from the boat, but you’ve done well here to lift it above the ordinary. I love the shaft of warm light.

Spring beauty by marleybob: Simple pictures work and especially so with flowers. The focus is nicely on the flower and the DOF has been controlled well to subdue the background. That background is still a tad light for me, but it has been very well defocused.

Winter bridleway by tickhiller: A good choice for a black and white subject, sharp and well exposed. The road leads us nicely into the image and to enhance it even further a rider or walker would be a very useful addition.

Winter in Dartmoor by Jo: Another good use of black and white. Colour would add nothing to this. It looks bleak and shouts out winter…

Spring From Autumn by Belinda B.: I was doing exactly this sort of thing today as it is very hard to resist a subject like this. Flower photography though is IMHO better suited to bright overcast days. The lighting is softer and it is easier to ensure that the whites are not blown out (over exposed) – here you have some areas of white that are totally blank and devoid of detail. With such strong lighting it is virtually impossible to avoid this. Apart from the technical points though it’s a very effective shot and I like your selection of flowers and viewpoint.

First flowers of spring by aliengrove: The same problem as the last image with the whites being over exposed. Another excellent viewpoint, getting right down to the level of the flowers gives them emphasis. I think I would have been tempted to concentrate on the group on the left. The darker colour would have made it easier to control the harsh lighting.

Victorian Alps – Gippsland by i-Berg: Dark and brooding, well suiting the monochromatic approach. It breaks quite a few rules, especially as the image is split into two by that dark horizontal band, but I still find myself liking the image. Rules are there to be broken…

Post Orgasmic Chill by nathanever82: An unusual thought and a rare insight into the mating habits of another species. The picture I like, with good colour and a very satisfying composition. Equating it to seasons we do need to know a fair bit that is not obvious from the image itself. In other words, if we don’t know that the mating season is spring then there’s nothing else to suggest which season we are dealing with.

A Harvest Offering by mecrox: A very good interpretation of the theme. Nice colours slightly marred by the washed out white and the very light wjite area in the background. This would I think have benefited from some fill-in flash to even out the exposure. Or a bright overcast day with more controllable lighting.

Winter by Glover: No doubt about that, it’s winter. And an image with a clear message that needs no explanation to work. Also perhaps try looking for details within this, as well as the overall scene.

Sun Bath by Darlene: Very unusual, and a taste of summer days, warm and relaxing. Normally I would mention the sloping horizon, but as our subject is on a boat then it’s perfectly valid for that line to be sloping. If anything in this context it adds to the effect. I don’t often like treatments like this, but this one I do like. It works.

Winters grip….Wishing for Spring! By JudithAnn: This caught my eye as a thumbnail and I really like it a lot. It evokes winter but also has a warm glow about it that lifts the whole picture. It’s a great picture, simple and very attractive.

Icicle by Father Ted: A very sharp picture with lots of detail. Do we need the right hand edge? I would trim it just a bit and I think that would make it stronger. The icicle itself does tend to be washed out, but not easy to handle such a wide range of brightness.

The Four Seasons by HowardJ: Fair enough, some lateral thinking. Judging this though in terms of it being a good reproduction of the CD or record cover, we need to ask if it is sharp, full of detail and would be good enough to be in the label’s catalogue. This is a bit soft and on the dull side, so a bit more attention to detail and practice at close up/macro shots will pay dividends. Spot on with the subject matter!

Daffodil by zealousdp: Nice and close with good lighting on the flower. Try cropping out the two vertical stems on the right and see how our attention then locks more positively on the main subject. The horizontal white line in the background is unfortunate, so watching those background details when arranging your shot is essential. However, if this is your first flower shot then it bodes well for what you will be producing by the time summer gets here! A good start indeed.

High Summer by timcx500e: Yes, the warm lull of a summer’s day, the aroma of summer flowers, the gentle buzz of the bees….your picture makes me look forward to it already. Nice and close with good colour makes for a good picture. The only thing I might suggest is that being so close has cut off parts of the bee and I might back off just a whisker to keep it all in.

January brings the snow by TimE: Another good choice here to use black and white. You have all the ingredients and I’d only suggest that you might try to find smaller areas in your overall scene to create simpler compositions that grab the attention. Maybe there is too much in here?

Spring at Lamer by womble: I like the wide angle view, and of course pointing the camera down has enhanced the effect. Excellent sharpness and exposure and a good representation of spring.

So now the results, and a tricky one it is too. After much reflection, here is my choice:

First Place: JudthAnn
Second Place: TOZZA27
Third Place: GlynM

Commended: Dr. Mhuni, darlene, ceowens.

Over to JudthAnn for next time!

Well done Judthann and the other winners. Thank you John, very professional as usual.

WOW! AWSOME CONGRATULATIONS!!! JudithAnn I LOVE it...The best yet!!!!! Oh yes and second and third...

I was so undecided...But I too like the effect of my picture. Thanks, John. And excellent Judging.

Many thanks John for the speedy and considered judging - and for the commended. Congratulations to the winners - especially JudithAnn.

Nice to have a new winner - though I think it was only a matter of time before JudithAnn won a comp.

Wow and many thanks for my very first....first place! It is wonderful to have won on the first anniversey of buying my pentax K-m camera. I bought my camera the end of March, and entered my first comp in April 2009. I have learned so much and have had incredible fun being a part of this forum. Thank you John for bestoring this honour on me....I MUST remain HUMBLE...I must remain humble.

I have to ask Dr Mhuni a matter of time because I am persistant or because I am improving

I am terrified at the thought of judging all you former judges.....Oh now I see....that will be the humbling part!

Congrats to Tozza and Glen and all the commended..Doc, Darlene(you were extra sweet in your congrats to me!) and ceowens.

As ever John, thank you for your time and efforts.

Thanks John, and congratulations to the winners - another good crop of images too.

Persistence of course is good JudithAnn, but talent is more important!

THank you very much John for some fine judging, and congratulations to JudithAnn for an amazing win!

Well done to all!

p.s. Sorry john, I though it was obvious that birds mate in the spring. But it really isn't and it is much more complicated than that! Was still looking for the different approach to the topic, like i often do. thank you for your comments!

Many thanks, John, for you excellent judging and my third place.

Congratulations to everyone, once again, for a fantastic set of entries.

Glyn

Congratulations to JudithAnn - as predicted it had to happen at some point

Many thanks to JR for the comprehensive judging, I did not think that I was stretching the brief as you had asked for imaginative ideas

I am always impressed by judges who need no sleep

Many thanks to the judge! There were some gorgeous shots in the competition. Congrats to the winners.

:

CONGRATULATIONS JudithAnn !!!!

Good luck with judging !

Just for interest I have laid out the original shots for my Basingstoke Canal Four Seasons composite in the gallery here.

I had always thought it might be good to have a go at a composite picture of the four seasons of the same place and collecting the individual photos had become an incidental background task.

However it was not until this competition that I actually tried to assemble the complete picture. Of course only then did I find that it was a lot harder than I imagined and that I had not put enough effort into getting identical framing of each shot. In then end I had to make a lot of compromises and was also driven by things like keeping the narrow boat in the final picture.

I would like to thank John for, unwittingly with this competition, giving me the incentive to complete this task. While it is not perfect it has been a very interesting exercise, was a lot of fun and I certainly intend to have another go but this might take another couple of years .

Glyn

Glyn, it was a great idea, although the winter shot doesn't really get equal billing in the final image.

It's going to be very tricky getting an identical shot each season, but I suppose you could mark the tripod position in some way. I don't think I'd fancy leaving the camera in position for 12 months to do a very very long time lapse shot!

BIG congratulations to Judith It's about flippin' time Plus Tony and GlynM.

Great judging John. Sorry there was no entry from me this week, I just couldn't find any seasonal inspiration! Completely agree with you about Darlene's shot by the way. Normally I don't like what I call cartoon-ified photographs, but Darlene's was really good

Also liked Dr M's and ceowen's shots.

Thanks John.

The Winter element was a problem and forced a few compromises. It was shot at 50mm while the rest were all around 28mm so it covered less of the image than the other shots. It therefore had to be at the back but I did not want it to obscure the narrow boat in the spring shot, another non full coverage shot, so I made it round rather than oval.

I did have a bigger coverage snowy winter shot but I did not use it because the canal was then frozen over and it lost all the reflections that I think add interest (and difficulty ) to the composition.

The canal narrows under bridges, I guess to save money in the original construction. So I stood on the bend this creates in the tow path as it puts the shooting point more towards the centre of the canal and is easy to remember where to stand for the subsequent shots but you are right, I certainly would not like to leave anything there. It is a busy cycle route .

Many thanks again for your comments,

Glyn

Many thanks to John Riley for the judging - I note your comments about lighting, but on this occasion it was a case of seize the moment, since the following day these wild flowers had been flattened by heavy rain

Congratulations to JudithAnn for a very impressive win

p.s. I was impressed with the quality from the Optio P70, which held its head up amongst more exotic bits of kit

Congratulations to the winners, marvellous images, and everybody else of course. Thanks to JR for his judging and comments. As far as I'm concerned it reads like my school reports used to There should have been more thinking and less lateral

Howard

Well at least you didn't get lines...

Great pics from everybody! Well done Judith, it's a Beaut! Thanx John for great judging! Good luck for next week everyone!

Thanks John for a suprising second place for me - I was blown away by Judith`s photo - it really is stunning - and many of the others were really incredibly moving.
Sorry to have been slow in replying but as I said last week - I was Grand dadding all weekend and BOY is it hard work !!
I`ll hopefully get used to it as time goes on and the next visit is down to Uckfield for a second birthday.

Congrats to all for a huge entry and John for XLNT judging

Tony

Many thanks for the critue, John. Comments duely noted.

Congrats to JudithAnn - I was blown away as soon I saw the thumbnail and secretly hoped it would win; gorgeous shot.

Roll on the next one!

That's a stunningly beautiful photograph JudithAnne. I've been expecting you to win one of these competitions for some time now. Good judging by John Riley, as always.
david