Weekly Competition #146 - Evolution Competition

Thanks for all the entries - a high quality set of images this week! Many shots might have been worthy of a winning place if I'm honest.

Apart from photographic quality, my main criteria for judging was was whether the shot brought the competition theme to my mind without recourse to reading through the description!

I think that some of the non-wildlife images were particularly successful, such as Nathan's renaissance architecture shot, and Davidtrout's scif-fi looking 'Evolution of Man'.

Here are the comments:

Bforbes - The Last Stage. A good first entry showing the emergence of a dragonfly from a nymph... a form of evolution as it passes from one form to another, if not in the Darwinian sense. Colours and composition are good, although it's not very sharp in the full size version (and a bit noisy).

Belinda B - Camouflaged Snail. I love the way the snail's pose mimics the bud - emphasising how well adapted to its surroundings it is - and this is a lovely clean and sharp shot. There's even a spider hitching a ride!

Hyram - Camel Evolution. This shot clearly shows how the camel's muzzle is superbly adapted for it's environment and food sources, so it hits the nail on the head in terms of the subject. The crop isolates the animal's mouth region very well, but it looks like it was quite a severe crop.

Judith Ann - Its snot what you know. Some would say this image is on topic, others would say "it snot".... I like the shot as a family capture but I feel it has strayed a bit off the theme. I'm sorry if I've 'burst your bubble'....

Gareth - Gecko! This is a great shot, superb colours and use of minimal DOF. Sometimes I can't get my head round how something like a Gecko's feet could have evolved to such a degree of sophistication. That's the amazing thing about it I guess. Well done on a terrific shot.

Dadeia Andrade - First Steps. It's great to see a different take on the subject here! Yes there is definitely an evolution of technology, and how we use and think of it. I like the shot, with the kids of different ages linked by the earphones and the music they are sharing. It could be a little lighter though.

Lendasnow - Lizard in Green. A very nice shot, with the background blurred out to reduce distractions and emphasise the green that the lizard's skin has evolved to blend in with. Using radial blur looks artificial, whereas a wide aperture (as in Gareth's shot) would have created a more natural look. It's not always possible though, is it!

Axelluther - Generations. An interesting creative shot, and again it's nice to see another form of evolution - technological. But the Beetle is that it still looks great after all these years. Well spotted the two VWs from very different eras.

Tozza27 - Isopoda. If it ain't broke, don't fix it - that must be the isopod's philosophy. 300 million years and they're still basically the same. Well done on getting the shot so sharp hand held. I think a different viewpoint might have made the shot a bit more interesting though.

Aspen - Church. A different take on the subject. Are you showing how church architecture has evolved through the ages, reflecting the outlook of the times, or perhaps how religion does the same? The link isn't clearly made, whatever it is, but it's a lovely shot, I like the colour, and as a fan of churches I love the architecture.

Thoughton - Lantern Bug. I mentioned 'unlikely looking' beasties in my description, and this certainly fits with that! That creature is an absolute freak! Well captured, maybe the flash lighting is a bit so-so though.

Mecrox - A Peacock Butterfly. Superb butterfly macro. It's beautiful. The description is interesting, I hadn't thought of sexual selection in butterflies, but why not... it's called a Peacock Butterfly after all.

Simonarthurs - Emerald Tree Boa. Terrific shot, nicely done. I'll take your word on the excellent camouflage of the snake, as from where I'm sitting, it looks very conspicuous! I guess seen from below against foliage lit from above, it blends in a lot better. Clicking on the image for the full size version shows this is a real quality shot, well done.

Tickhiller - Evolution? Looking a bit like Gordon Brown after reading Nick Clegg's popularity rating in the opinion polls, this Gorilla has loads of character. Your write up reminds me of that bit Douglas Adams wrote about people thinking "that they'd all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans."

Natanever82 - Renaissance Evolution. This is a fascinating shot, managing to compress centuries of history, and architectural and cultural 'evolution' into one rigidly composed frame. The juxtaposition of styles reminds me of Portmeirion, but this isn't pastiche, it's the real thing! Very nicely done, and I really appreciate the lateral take on the theme. To be ultra critical, I might have like a bit more space to the left of the obelisk, and greater depth of field to really flatten the shot.

garyJohn - Mutual Dependancy. A very appropriate subject for the theme of evolution, however I do find the shot a bit flat and lacking in contrast. I think getting in a bit tighter around the bee and flower would have been better too. However it does demonstrate an interesting evolution story.

GlynM - Evolution in Flight. If planes evolved into copters, this would definitely be the missing link! I hope this particular hybrid doesn't get 'killed off' because it's extremely cool. Great shot, crisp and well exposed / composed.

Daniel Bridge - Crab Spider. Excellent shot Daniel. This really shows the strange effects evolution has had on the form and behaviour of animals - I couldn't see the spider at all for a few moments.

Dr mhuni - Two Hoses. Gorgeous light playing on the water droplets, and I love the 'homology' between the hosepipe and the elephant's trunk. A really appealing shot.

Womble - Darwin and a Dinosaur. I was hoping there would be a shot of Darwin himself (well, one of his statues at least!) Juxtaposing his image with the bones of dinosaurs and other fossilised remains is even better. The only criticism I have of this shot is that the composition is a little cluttered IMO, especially with the OOF skeleton in the foreground.

Cameralucida - Flying Lizard. Excellent sharp shot of a fascinating creature with a fascinating story. Capturing it in flight would have been fantastic - probably quite difficult though. A minor criticism is that there is a lot of empty space in front of the lizard, but the area where its tail would be has been cropped off.

I-berg - From old to new. The second shot we have had featuring old and new motor cars. I don't think this one emphasises the 'evolution' of the motor cars as successfully though, I guess the activity around the cars distracts. Not a bad shot by any means though!

Dougf8 - Pentax evolution. Great to see a shot tackling the evolution of photographic gear, particularly Pentax gear. Using the viewfinder in this way was also a very clever idea. For me the shot doesn't quite hang together though... it took a while to work out what was going on.

Aliengrove - Fish to Fashion. I think this is a terrific urban skyline shot, and although I was dubious as to whether such a shot could work with the theme, seeing the ramshackle old town in the shadow of the high rises does show how the city has 'evolved', in the loose sense of the word. Very nice composition and colours.

Davidtrout - Evolution of Man. Lol - this really does look like an image from a sort of strange Mad-Max future where man and machine have somehow hybridised! Excellent shot David, I like it a lot. It has blindsided me slightly as it's coming from an angle I hadn't expected... i.e. a sci-fi angle. But that's a good thing...

Mikew - Each has his niche. A textbook rockpool scene, reminds me of my childhood holidays, most of which seems from memory to have been spent poking about in rockpools, harassing crabs, bothering blennies, and annoying anemones. It very nicely illustrates how organisms colonise ecological niches with a tapestry of life colonising every available inch of rock surface.

Mattwhittington - Dinosaur's Eye. I find the theory that birds came from (or are just a non-extinct form of) dinosaurs pretty convincing. Good shot, although a little soft unfortunately.

DoctorJeff - Sparrowhawk. This shot captures a predator's natural behaviour quite well, and the write up suggests how it is physically adapted for this lifestyle. Unfortunately the shot is a little soft, and I find the angle a bit uninspiring.

John Riley - From Film to Digital. A great, clear shot which Pentax ought to be knocking on your door to use as an advert for the i10, IMO! The move from film to digital is perhaps more 'revolution' than 'evolution', but the shot shows how a successful design can often be replicated over time, even though the underlying technology is different - convergent evolution?

And the results!

1st Place: Crab Spider by Daniel Bridge. Shows supreme adaptation to an ecological niche, showing the power of evolution to mold organisms into surprising forms. Importantly, the context of that evolution is shown.

2nd Place: Rennaissance Evolution by nathanever82. If the framing was more to my liking this would have edged into top spot. I really am splitting hairs though. Clever image.

3rd Place: Evolution of Man by Davidtrout. Really really like this shot, and the title is perfect. Doesn't strain to fit the theme at all. I think cleaning up the background could have taken it into a different league, however!

4th Place: Camouflaged Snail by Belinda B. I just think this is a quality picture, in a quiet subtle sort of way, and really like how the snail's head echoes the shape of those fuzzy and similarly coloured buds.

I'm not going to do 'runners up' as I'll be here all night! It's enough to say that among the rest of the shots there are some really excellent images, and my choices tonight are just the ones which seem most appropriate to me right now.

Congratulations Daniel, Nathan, David and Belinda. They are indeed good shots.

Excellent and quick judging, well done all. When I first glanced at Daniel's photo I didn't even see the spider! Excellent evolution. I did consider asking the museum staff to move the foreground dinosaur out of shot...

Best wishes, Kris.

Congrats to the winners....and a special thanks to our judge, pentaxophile.

Of course you bursted my BUBBLE: I thought you might!

Well done, Pentaxophile. Many thanks for the judging and congrats to Daniel and the other winners.

Another excellent week's comp. Well done to Daniel (cracking picture!) and the other places, and also, as others have said, to Pentaxophile for excellent speedy judging!

Regards

Mat W

oh!
Thank you so much for the judging and the very kind comments!
COngratulations to the winner, with an impressive photograph, and thank you for the second place!!!

Have a good week everybody

Many thanks for your nice comments, excellent judging and an interesting subject.

Congrats to Daniel for his win and everyone else for a fantastic set of pictures.

Glyn

Congratulations to Daniel and many thanks to Pentaxophile for the competition.

p.s. Having seen David Trout's entry, I am worried about the evolution of man

Well Done Daniel. Did the spider get the fly? Thanks for the Judging and the comments Pentaxophile, i had not noticed the noise.

Well done all, an interesting and different subject.

I wonder what Dan will do?

Thanks for the judging! A very good subject, imho, which produced a lot of great images.

Thanks for the excellent and open minded judging and for setting such an interesting topic Will. Daniel's picture was indeed a worthy winner and Nathan's second place approach to the subject brought back very happy memories of time spent in Florence a few years ago. I also liked Belinda's fourth place, but then I think all the entries were excellent. My third placed shot was partly tongue-in-cheek but then again who knows what the future may bring?
Anyway, thanks for the podium position.
Interesting that the race to be last to enter was won by John Riley while the champion, Womble, ended up mid-field.
david
PS Will: Your use of the word 'hybridised' in your comment on my picture is an interesting example of evolution - the evolution of the English language.

Wow, thanks for the win. I was just lucky enough to notice the spider and simply took its photo. And yes, it got various flies. Impressed with the range of images here, with luck we'll get a similar haul this week. I'll have a think about a theme...

Congratulations Daniel and another brilliant selection of photos - well done the rest and first class judging again.

Tony

Many thanks to Pentaxophile for my 4th Place and an interesting competition.

Congratulations to Daniel B. for the winning entry.

Looking forward to the new topic

well done all and excellent judging!