Weekly Competition #142 - Macro Mystery...Lets Get Close!! Competition

Hello everyone…….here are the much anticipated results:
What creativity and talent has come forth this week. It has been a complete pleasure looking at and scoring each photo that was entered.
I could have easily divided this competition into two sub categories. One being Macro and the other being Mystery Macro. Many of you simply entered a macro or close up with out the mystery, and most of those ones were fantastic photos too!
I am not an expert, and I haven’t any formal educated training in photography to be able to critic these photos on the merits of photographic technicality and professionalism. I worked out my own point system and graded your photos.
Of course these are ONLY my own opinions and please take it as such…just an opinion. I decided to share your marks as part of my adjudications and comments on the photos. I am always interested in how the judges come to the conclusion they do, thus I decided to share how I did so. I do hope this does not offend anyone; please remember it is all in the fun of photography.
Thanks to all who took the time to enter this challenging topic!
Regards, JudithAnn
Scores As Follows
5 points for Quality
5 points for Creativity
5 points for Mystery (Three guests were invited to the site and asked to identify the photos)

Mikew. NAIL CLIPPERS
4.5 out of 5 for Quality
4 out of 5 for Creativity
4.9 out of 5 for Mystery
I thank you Mike for being so brave and taking the plunge for the first entry…..and it was such a great one too. This photo held a complete element of surprise….we all began guessing, was it a watch? Pliers? Jewelry? One of my guests was able to identify it, but with uncertainty. It is a pair of nail clippers straight out of the bathroom! The photo was taken in broad daylight. The focus was intriguing, I loved the reflection. This photo was what I wanted…ordinary things up close…with the “What is it factor”. It was a wonderful opening shot. I am so glad it was not just a macro, but a real macro mystery. NICE =13.4

Cardiff –gareth ROSE
4 .8 out of 5 for Quality
4 out of 5 for Creativity
0 out of 5 for Mystery
No surprise here, but a lot of work in pp. It is a wonderful macro shot of a rose, and I felt the tones were soft and appealing. The quality of this shot was tip-top and if this weeks com had of just been macro without the mystery, it would have been in the running for a placement. Points were lost for mystery. Nice work Gareth. =8 .8


GlynM PINS on a pin-cushion
5 out of 5 for Quality
5 out of 5 for Creativity
4.2 out of 5 for Mystery
What clarity, what colour, what a photo! This was a well thought out picture reaching a perfect score on creativity. This is an awesome image! The detail is incredible, and the shapes and textures are compelling. It also clearly fits the quest. Believe me…it was NOT obvious to everyone that it was pins in a pin cushion. I invited 3 quests to view the photos and tell me what they thought the pictures were. Only one knew. It was beautifully composed; beautifully executed. Such a great shot from the underside. I loved it. Score as followed: =14.2


Glover COMPUTER MOUSE
2.6out of 5 for Quality
3 out of 5 for Creativity
2.9 out of 5 for Mystery
Lots of guesses as to what this logo was printed on, but everyone’s answer was” it is a logo”….my guess was a hat…..another guessed a gaming chair….could have been on anything, one guests did say a mouse. I wondered if a flash was used, or what the reflective light was. I did find the photo a bit dark. I noticed you have a K-x, so I am guessing it is new to you. The very best way to get to know your camera is to try all kinds of different things such as this comp required. A tripod for macro will often give a sharper picture. The colour black is always a challenge, as you can see, it showed every speck and scuff on the mouse, making it all quite distracting. I liked the idea that you used an everyday object. = 8.5

Konrad 357 ROSSI MAGNUM
4. out 5 for Quality
5 out 5 for Creativity
4 out of 5 for Mystery
Looking down the front end barrel of a 357 Rossi magnum. This was an interesting macro, it had the feel of mechanics and I was fooled by thinking; a camera?…tripods?…something that could be attached? One guest and I were VERY surprised it was a gun, and needed a second look….and then we could see it. The picture quality was nice. I might have cloned out the flare and the hazy line at the bottom (minor). I did like the dark left side verse the light grey side, and the splash of colour down the barrel…which shows that it was not converted to B&W. The texture of the metal was tack sharp, and it made the picture really fascinating. Nice work. = 13

Thoughton INSIDE A PAPERWEIGHT
4.1 out of 5 for Quality
5 out of 5 for Creativity
4.1 out of 5 for Mystery
How creative indeed! The anti-gravity look of the bubbles inside the crystal looked so cool! I gave you a perfect score for creativity! The picture did hold some distraction…the blue spots and the look of someone’s reflection inside the inside bubbles. In spite of the distraction this photo was so neat to look at …one could stare at it for quite a length of time… it was a great macro….Only one guest knew what it was…scoring you high in mystery. I might also add that one quest loved the reflection in the bubbles…it is all so subjective. Great Photo 13.2

Snakey 2mm NAIL
5 out of 5 for Quality
4.5 out 5 for Creativity
4 out of 5 for Mystery
This photo was great. Talk about tack sharp. I felt like I could lean into the picture and blow off the flecks of rust. Great depth of field. One of my guests thought it a pencil, another was stumped. I and another knew it was a nail…but was surprised to learn how small it was. It was a well executed photo. (It was too bad that you told in your entry what the photo was. I saw that it was removed later! Was glad) The photo had wonderful lighting = 13.5

Bforbes (Fibonacci) PINE CONE
5 out of 5 for Quality
4.3 out of 5 for Creativity
0 out of 5 for Mystery
The title was the biggest mystery, as the photo was identifiable as a pine cone. For the interest of solving all mysteries , I shall simply quote bforbes himself…..it's the name of the mathematician who recognized a series of numbers that occur in nature. The spiral in a pine cone follows one of these series. This photo was wonderful when I viewed it large. I wished that it had been brought in much closer to the shells on the pine cone and left us all wondering what it was. The shot was too wide angled to be a mystery, but for quality it was perfect. The creativity of how it was composed also rated high; this is a man who knows how to wheel a camera! Here again if the contest was just macro, it would indeed have a placement….but this contest is Macro MYSTREY! =9.3

TOZZA27 PHALAENOPSIS (Moth) ORCHIDS
4 out of 5 for Quality
4 out of 5 for Creativity
2.1 out of 5 for Mystery
It is so beautiful, in shape and in colour. The photo was somewhat hard to judge for quality as it could not be enlarge so detail was lost. All my guests new it was part of a flower, but all were impressed with the photo….although it was small. The angle of the shot shows creativity, and I loved the way the yellow and white center looked against the black. That was awesome. Only one guest knew the kind of flower….so we did have a bit of mystery after all. =10.1

Bill_And BONE SAW
4.2 out of 5 for Quality
3.9 out of 5 for Creativity
0 out of 5 for Mystery
Again we have no mystery…as stated a bone saw. I wished that Bill had of just photographed the edge of the blade and left us just guessing!!! It is easy to see that it would have been a real neat Macro. The way this photo was focused was interesting, as the eye was drawn right straight toward the tip of the blade. I really did like the lighting in this photo. This photo does have merit, but not in a macro mystery competition I’m afraid. =8.1

Mattcambs A GLASS CANDLE HOLDER
4.5 out of 5 for Quality
4.5 out of 5 for Creativity
4.8 out of 5 for Mystery
Nice Mystery Matt. My guests were thinking jewelry….and how fun it was to see the wide angle shot. In fact I thought the wide angle shot was its own masterpiece. (Maybe Matt will share the link, it is so worth seeing). It was a creative piece and the reflection was a lovely touch. It was a bit blown…but you know…it added to the mystery, and that was a big part of this comp. The colour was fantastic, and made it a pleasure to look at. I have to confess….it was a very deep pink on my monitor…not purple…but hey, could be another mystery!!! =13.8

K10D THE TIP OF A BALL POINT PEN
5 out of 5 for Quality
5 out of 5 for Creativity
4.1 out 5 for Mystery
Your suggestive title was a wonderful way to mislead the brain. All I could see was a darn tail pipe! When brought to my guests, it reminded two of them of the engine on an airplane… one of them got it! A pen. Talk about a macro photo….I was blown away by the fact that you managed to get your reflection on the tip of a pen! I might add a tack sharp reflection too. It was creative and well executed . Great shot indeed. =14.1

Aliengrove A KEY CHAIN OF AN ALIEN
4.1 out of 5 for Quality
3.4 out of 5 for Creativity
0 out 5 for Mystery
No mystery here again. I thought it was nice that Jonathan made the effort to do a macro…..he just bought a macro lens and then found out he had to leave the country. He tried out his lens, and posted it for us all to see. I did find it humorous that this alien landed on a leaf…guess they are really small! The lens did pick up detail. You can even see the little nicks and scuffs on the face. As I have stated to a few others, if this were just a macro comp without the mystery, this little alien would have had a great chance. =7.5

Coriander EYEBALL OF A DOG
3. 8 out of 5 for Quality
4.9 out of 5 for Creativity
2.1 out of 5 for Mystery

How in the world do you get a dog to stand that still?? Just had to ask. Again the mystery element was not really there…but having said that, it was still fun for my guests to guess the “eye of what”. Thus it did mean that you would score in the mystery department after all. Again the reflection plays a neat part in how interesting this photo looked, but it was confusing because one wants to study the fibers in the iris, yet the reflections kind of over-power that. I thought it was very creative to use the dog….and it had to be challenging….right? I will state yet again, if the comp was for Macro only, it would have been judged on different merits. It was a really cool eyeball photo! =10.8

Jyrkira A SIDE VIEW OF A MICROPHONE
4.7 out of 5 for Quality
3.8 out of 5 for Creativity
4.1 out of 5 for Mystery
A great mystery…. could only be guessed by one of us. The braided wire looked like braided leather to one guest. I thought it might be some sort of jewelry. Perfect score on mystery. Picture quality was a bit dark although one could argue that it adds to the mystery. The lighting on the wire side of the mike gave nice detail to the braid. It draws the eye there. I did find the light bouncing off the top of the ridges a bit distracting. I like the angled that you took the shot from, it added creativity to your photo. =13.5

Darlene THE CHEEK OF A PARROT (wide angle view can be seen in her portfolio)
4.7 out of 5 for picture Quality
5 out of 5 for Creativity
4.4 out of 5 for Mystery
Okay…you get first place for weirdest looking photo! It looked like a wrinkled old cloth with dirty hairs on it, and feather lined across the top!!!….as one of my guests said…”it looked set up”. To 3 of us it was a huge surprise to learn it was a parrot’s cheek. One guest knew it was a bird…thought maybe it had been plucked! Perfect score in creativity. The camera focus was on the feathers, leaving some of the white areas a bit blown, adding to the mystery. I liked the way the feathers framed the macro making the composure great. That dash of yellow on the side did not seem to belong. This picture was fantastic, confusing, and just plain weird to look at. This is what I was looking for. Nice job = 14.1

Dr Mhuni ITALIAN SWEET TIN.
5 out of 5 for Quality
4.3 out of 5 for Creativity
2 out of 5 for Mystery
This is a great photo, and it took a perfect score in picture quality. I am not sure you could get a macro any sharper. I loved the lighting and the illusion of depth. The whole 3D effect of the golden letters; such warmth from a picture so simple, It made me feel like I could run my fingers across the picture and feel the letters. The angle and the long exposure were very creative. I was not sure how to rate its mystery. Much like glover’s computer mouse, it then became about what the ‘logo’ was on. All three guests guessed a tin box….but none of us knew …. “A box of what?” Then again, none of us are Italian!!! =11.9

Anvh WATER DROP SPLASHING
5 out of 5 for Quailty
5 out of 5 for Creativity
3 out of 5 for Mystery (how did you do it?)

It has the wow factor…WOW!!! To all of us whom do not own a macro lens…this is the difference. No amount of cropping, or wide angled lens could capture such a photo. I will say one thing about this competition….we are getting to see the reason why we MUST own more equipment! LOL. Now Anvh gave his mystery away by tell us it was water and then in his tags he writes, “water drop splash macro”but how did he do it?... The photo was fantastic. It was interesting and it scored perfect in creativity. My guests have asked ME to explain how he did it….so Stefan…I told them I would ask you to share it in your response (Unless it is a secret). In my judging for picture quality, I had to return to the fact that it is a stunning picture with a “wow” factor. I thought the washed out parts worked magic in this photo. =13

Davidtrout Its a piece of DECORATIVE GLASS at the national Glass Centre at Sunderland, England
5 out of 5 for Quality
4 out of 5 for Creativity
4.3 out of 5 for Mystery
This photo was fun to guess. One guests said it was a child’s toy that is filled with oil, water, and sand; you flip it around to create different shapes. Another thought a vase, and one did guess some type of antique glass. This photo had lots of great qualities. The lighting was very striking; it appeared as though the glass illuminated from the inside out. The different shades of blue were pleasant. One was able to look at the picture for a long time…it drew you in with a desire to study the photo. In much the same way Tim’s paperweight did. It was very creative. =13.3

Tickhiller PAINTBRUSH.
A combination of bright sun and shallow depth of field gave this result.
3.6 out of 5 for Quality
5 out of 5 for Creativity
5 out of 5 for Mystery
Perfect score for mystery…..My guests were completely stumped. One thought grass with the colour removed…another thought fibers of sort…but could not say, of what. I think the noise in the picture was perfect. I wanted mystery and you delivered! Once again we can see what the macro lens can do! (I am getting one now!). This shot was extremely creative…the wide open shot in the bright sun was brilliant. For picture quality, to my eye the image is also lacking in a clear focus point, and seems a little soft as well, it would have been even more interesting if the center part of the photo was even sharper…but the noise of the blurred fibers added to the mystery. I loved the fact that it was just an ordinary everyday thing….a paintbrush! Nicely done. =13.6

Hyram MYSTERY REVEALED BELOW
3.8out 5 for Quality
5 out of 5 for Creativity
5 out of 5 for Mystery
Okay this one was way to difficult for me, my 3 guests simply refused to have a go at it. Looked like a UFO to them. I had no choice but to turn to an expert. I beamed-up to the Enterprise, and with permission from Captain Jean-Luc Piccard, I had Data, the android, scan and analyze the uploaded photo, even though Hyram did not add his Exif. It turns out that it was NOT a UFO, and according to the Star Trek information it was a close-up of the 'ON Light' on an LCD television. Data added that it had been “tweaked extensively to achieve the UFO effect”.
Hyram, you’ve received a perfect score for mystery, and a perfect score for creativity, now you are subjected to the judge’s opinion on picture quality. The larger the picture is viewed, the more it looks like a UFO. But the larger picture also looks more cartoonish, and less like a photo. It begins to take on the image of a painting as the photograph seems to fade. It does lose a few points. However Hyram…I was wondering if I could buy that painting you have of a UFO….LOL Brilliant piece of work indeed! =13.8

Johnriley Microcord Twin Lens Reflex camera
5 out of 5 for picture Quality
5 out of 5 for creativity
3.8 out of 5 for mystery
I might be the only one, but I never knew such a thing existed. John that was one brilliant photo. In order to share the information of what the reflection was, I will simply quote John….. “The lens caps are double ones because of the two lenses and they often have, as here, reflective front surfaces.” We all know what Johns place looks like (if it taken at his home!) The detail of this photo was amazing, and if I were to change one thing I might move it a tad to the right, balancing the eye pieces a wee bit. The photo scores perfect in creativity. Two of my guests did get that it was a camera. I thought it was some kind of optometrist equipment, and believed that I was looking into a glass piece. It is a mystery to anyone who never saw a twin lens camera before, but obvious to anyone who has. I once again felt like this photo was more of a macro then a mystery. Since some of us were so puzzled I have to take that into account, when doing my scoring. All in all, a wonderful piece of photography. = 13.5


Garyjohn LEMON
5 out of 5 for Quality
3.8 out of 5 for creativity
2.6 out of 5 for Mystery (Orange or Lemon???)
Again I feel like, here is another macro picture without mystery. It is a great photo. Filled with detail, wonderful lighting and makes your mouth water. This really is a terrific shot. It has its own creative merits too. I must admit there was a debate among the guests that it was either an orange (most votes) or lemon. This photo would make a great poster! =11.4

Mattwittington REVEALED BELOW IN COMMENTS
5out 0f 5 for quality
5 out of 5 for creativity
4 out of 5 for mystery
Ahh Matt, since I had the help of space-travelers for hyram, seemed there was no harm and asking them for a few scans of mars! No it is not mars at all. It has been determined that it is a close up section of an ancient stone hand-axe. This was a TRUE macro mystery, not just a macro. It also had a WOW factor to it. My first thought was that it was something baked, like the top of a cake. One of my guests said mud, but one did feel it was some sort of stone, she was right. The clarity of the ridges and valleys effect was very well captured. It was brilliantly executed. Thank you so much for getting the mystery part of this competition so on topic. Nicely done. =14

Aiki GREEN FEATHERS
5 out of 5 for Quality
4.5 out of 5 for Creativity
4.1 out 5 for Mystery
Great shot. Again like k10D, your suggestive title was able to throw off ones thinking. Also like K10D I knew you would not have given it away, (although some did).
The photo had a soothing, and peaceful feel. As one of my guests states, she would love to have this picture hanging on her wall. The softness of the DOF was fantastic. You received a perfect score in picture quality. The clear sharpness of feathers, here and there made this picture beautiful as a whole. I also had to give you a perfect score for creativity. Two of my guests were able to identify the feathers, but all agreed it had it merits of mystery, as they were not 100% certain until I confirmed it was, indeed, feathers. A simple, yet most wonderful, photo. =13.6

Jo TREE GUARD to prevent rabbits, deer, ect from damaging the tree.
3.5 out of 5 for Quality
4.6 out of 5 for Creativity
4 out of 5 for mystery
I was glad to receive another Macro Mystery….Hurray for you Jo!
One of my guests was able to recognize that it was some sort of tree protector. Another knew something was around a plant of sorts. My third could not tell at all. I did find the shadows in the picture a bit harsh, and felt it took from the overall effect. I did like the colour of the bark showing. It also had an interesting formation of lines with the teeth of the guard getting tighter as it went lower. It was a cleverly spotted, and had lots of merit in creativity. =12.1

Nathanever82 PEPPER MILL
4.5 out of 5 for Quality
4.5 out of 5 for Creativity
4.1 out of 5 for Mystery
Oh Nathan, all we Canadians know about Peugeot is that it’s a car……soooo, most of us knew it was a gas cap cover!!! Well imagine that. The real funny thing is that one guest recognized the pepper so she said it has to be a pepper shaker!! She had taken some photos of pepper herself. I am certain that there were members who did know….you can all have a laugh at us.
The macro quality was very nicely done. It had a wee bit of a washed out glare on the right side, but it was minor. I did like the fact that you took an everyday object and made it into a mystery, it was so on topic. This picture was tons of fun. As well as a great photo. =13.1

Belinda Detail from part of a bottle of Chivas Regal (Scotch whisky).
5 out of 5 for Quality
4.5 out of 5 for Creativity
3.1 out of 5 for Mystery
This photo again seemed to be more of a macro then a mystery. A logo or letters makes one guess what it might be posted on, but not guessing ‘what it is’.(it is letters on glass). My guests’ answers were letters on glass and one even added on a liquor bottle. Not a big mystery here.
Putting a side the mystery factor, this also was a fantastic picture. The lighting was perfect; the added blue was like icing on the cake. The DOF behind the glass was interesting and added such character to the photo. It is a picture that would have made me feel very proud to have taken. I am sure that lots of time was put into setting this up. Lovely work, Belinda. =12.6

Montyaus ASPARAGUS FERN
3 out of 5 for quality
4 out of 5 for creativity
0 out of 5 for mystery
Yes it is an asparagus fern as he stated. I guess Jack missed that it was to be a mystery…do not feel bad Jack, many others also missed that!
The photo was very soft, and that could have merit. Plant life can be softened; it depends on what you are wanting. The sunlight in the background, which lightened the green was really lovely. It was nice to have someone new enter the competition; hope you continue to do so. =7

Johnedwinagar HIBISCUS
3.2 out of 5 for quality
4 out of 5 for creativity
0 out of 5 for mystery
Here is another who missed the mystery factor. It is a Hibiscus flower. I take it, that it was cropped. Nothing wrong with cropping for this topic, as cropping was expectable. You do have to be very careful when cropping, not to ‘over’ crop…….that will lead to quality picture loss and will increase noise. I would assume that is what happened. It is easy to see that the colour and the light in this photo are lovely…and I would love to see the wider shot. Maybe you can put in the galley so it can be shared.=7.2

Amoringello. ????????????????
I tried to reach this member by PM…but he entered late and I was not able to reach him. He did not PM me with his mystery as required….so sadly I am unable to judge his photo……AWwww and it was so incredible too! Just for fun amoringello, I thought it might be barnacles on a rock with sea-weed to the left?

Sandy STRAW GARDEN HAT
5 out of 5 for quality
5 out of 5 for creativity
0 out of 5 for mystery
Nice macro, and again I think that if you had of come in closer, this would have been a true mystery. All my guests knew it was a straw hat. The picture quality was very high in this photo. I loved the focal point. The stitching, the dash of red, and the way the light hit the straw made this photo work well! I also scored you very high on the creativity. Especially because of the angle. This was a pleasant picture, nice work =10

Patrick CLOCK
5 out 0f 5 for Quality
4.8 out 5 for Creativity
0 out 5 for mystery
Just received my PM from Patrick, so I will add on my comments. This was a fine piece of work. I loved the lighting. All my guests were able to tell what it was. One guests said she would LOVE to own it! L ike many other photos in this comp, it was more of a Macro then a real mystery. It was well executed and I like the photo, and it was a very unique clock indeed. =9.8

Rapala SHOE BRUSH
Very on topic Rapala. You had no data recorded, and I went to your gallery to see what kind of camera you used…. Your gallery pictures also have no data recorded, now I thought this might be because after you pp them you lose your data….so I found a few landscape pictures that seemed natural and untouched…still found no data.
I do not want to go down in history as being a mean judge, but it is my job to make sure that competitions pictures are done with Pentax cameras. Other members whose data was not recorded took the time to PM me with the information required. I do not feel I can judge your photo fairly, sorry about that. I will say it was wonderful and one of my favorites.

alun DEAD BAT ON TINFOIL
Okay alun…this is neither a macro nor a macro mystery…. Now maybe it could be just a mystery if you wanted others to guess how he died, or who is going to eat him(your title; oven ready). But that is not this competition.

Womble MOUTH PIECE OF A MODEL TUBA(2mm across)
4.1 out 5 for quality
5 out of 5 for creativity
3.2 out 5 for mystery
I thank you a million times over womble for ending my competition with a TRUE mystery macro. I had so very many Macros without the mystery and I even had one mystery without the Macro(alun)!
My guests were able to know that it was some sort of brass instrument and one guest even knew it was a model, (as it lacked a hole in the mouth piece).
It is amazing the reserved lens can do, when you take into account that this whole model was only 4cm high. I did find the colour flares distracting and was wishing that the whole mouth piece was focused instead of just the right side. I did love the way it was composed and the DOF with the golden highlights. I gave you a very high score in creativity. =12.3

FIRST~ GLYN: PINS ON A PINCUSHION

SECOND~ DARLENE: PARROT CHEEK & K10D: BALL POINT PEN

THIRD~ MATTWITTINGTON: STONE HAND AXE

EXCEPTIONAL PHOTOS,
Very Highly Commended: Johnrailey, Hyram, Anvh, Jyrkira, Mattcambs, Snakey, Thoughton, Tickhiller, Aiki
Highly Commended: Natherever82, Davidtrout, Konrad, Mikew

Special Thanks to my three guests: Heidi,Roxann,and Isaac

Wow, what a shock.

Many thanks Judith for awarding my pins picture first place. While I was pleased with it I thought there were many tremendous shots in this week's competition and that choosing the winners would be very difficult.

Judith, very well done for setting such a good subject and for all the effort and expertise you have so obviously put into the judging.

Congratulations to everyone for such a brilliant set of pictures.

I will post the subject for the new competition shortly.

Glyn

Many thanks to JudithAnn for the very detailed judging and for my Very Highly Commended.

Congratulations to GlynM for the winning entry.

An interesting competition that forced many (including me) to take a specific photograph.

Wow JudithAnn what fantastic judging and what a great collection of photos your topic brought out. The quality of most of the shots was terrific and your approach to judging did them all full justice.
Congratulations to GlynM top of a very fine collection.
Nice to see Womble's keeping up a fine tradition of deadline dodging.
david

Thank you JudithAnn for your kind comments, I really enjoyed entering into your topic. May I also say that is some comprehensive judging very well done. Congratulations to Glynm on a well deserved win, looking forward to the next topic.

I think you've done a brilliant job in judging and commenting on all the photos in the competition and laid it all out so that it's easily understood.
Great job.
Congrats to all who took the effort to produce some interesting results and to GlynM for top spot. Looking forward to the next comp.

Dave D

Well done Glyn. A worthy winner.

Many thanks to JudithAnn for her effort and constructive comments.

I think this was a wonderful topic.

Best regards

Gary

Excellent judging, well done and great to see the scoring quite so explicitly laid out. Some lovely entries this week, well done all and especially Glyn.

Anyone know how to calculate the DOF on a reversed lens?

K.

Well done all, what a creative field of quality shots.

Thank you Judith Ann for the judging, you did it well with so many great photos and kudos to you Glyn it's a great shot!

My shot is already almost a year old and I don't know exactly how I did it.
Out of my mind it's a wine glass that's overflowing with water so nothing that special
I want to retry it once again and see if I can get a "world" of water that's dripping so to say.

ps. WATER DROP SPLASHING was right but that was not in the photo, most what you see is flowing water

Brilliant judging and well done to Glyn - that was a great field of entries and I`m glad I didn`t have to choose.

Tony

Great Judging JudithAnn. Awsome detail...Loved the piont system...

WOW What a Happy surprise Second place Thanks ...

Congratulations Glyn, I loved your colorful mystery. Congrats to third and all exceptions photos.

This was a fun week Had the whole family involed...Thanks you all for the mystery???

Just back from a long w/e away - it's a holiday here. Blimey, JudithAnn, talk about detailed comments. I look forward to reading them later as I have to go out again and don't have the time to get through them all now! But many thanks for all your efforts and congrats to Glyn and the other winners.

Judith, that's some of the best judging I've seen. Completely fair - and a very clever way to give credit where due to those who didn't bother reading the entry criteria, but still submitted good images

My personal favourite was Tim's paper weight (no neighbourly favouritism I promise!). The composition, detail and feeling of movement - like the bubbles were actually orbiting the centre did it for me.

Thank you for awarding me a Very Highly Commended. I've added the wide angle version to a new thread in Your Photos as you suggested

Thank you Judith for the incredibly detailed judging

Sorry to disappoint on the mystery factor but I decided to concentrate on image quality, as Hyram had created enough mystery for the two of us

Many congratulations to GlynM for his colourful pins.

Thank you everyone...kind feel like a winner too! I am tickled pink you did not mind the scoring system.

Oh yes, Tim's picture was amazing, I am telling you I could have given two or three first....a few second and a dozen thirds! That was full of amazing photos....most of the time the diffence was the simplest of things...even to the point of how many could guess(know what the pic was) it or not.

Thank you everyone for such fine photos and kind words.

As Ever; Judithann

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I have to echo all of the above - great topic, excellent pictures, fantastic judging with a scoring system, and even a third place. Really good comp this week and a really great winning shot!

Regards

Mat W

wow - outstanding level of judging, must have kept you busy for hours

well done one and all

Thanks for you very kind remarks about my photo and congratulations Glynm on your excellent photo

Sandy

Great bit of judging Judith Ann! It's not easy, and I can see by your points system you have given it a tremendous amount of thought.

Well done to our winner and also to our judge for the innovative approach to the judging. It was very well thought out and I hope it helps others when they come to do their own judging maybe for the first time.

Once again...Thank you all for your appreaction...it has made ever minute of work so worth while.

I TRULY did enjoy the whole process...Those photo's were the cream of the crop in my books. I would do it again in a heart beat.

Thank you John.....I was hoping the same thing, because as you know, lately we have had a few judges who did not bother to make any remarks....and I have wondered if it was because they feel unable, or unqualified. That was why in my introductions I stated that I had no formal education in the matter of photograhy. The point system was my just sharing 'other ways' it can be done.

Hey John....I thought your photo was best photo of yours I ever saw......to date anyway.

As Ever, Judithann

Ergh, sorry about that. I thought I had sent it, but something must have went wrong.
Oh well.... It is the bottom of my dog's paw. (The edge of one toe with the hairs coming up along the left side to be exact).

Thanks JudithAnn for the great judging and my HC! Excellent comments, loved the extensive detail. Thanks to your guests too!