Weekly Competition #203 - Holiday Competition

These are my comments, in some cases it's more like a stream of unconnected thoughts all jotted down in one paragraph - apologies for that I've tried to be

London Eye Pod - Mudge
First thing I noticed was that the photo is a bit small! I was clicking on it and wondering what was going wrong Nevermind, it's big enough to have a decent look. Interesting angle on one of the pods, and seeing what the various people are up to holds the interest (bigger would have been good here!). I'm undecided about the background. On the one hand it's unattractive but sets the scene, although some London landmarks wouldn't have hurt. On the other hand I would have been interested in a shot of the pod against the ominous cloudy skies. I've never been on the Eye so perhaps you can't shoot upwards to catch the neighbouring pod at the apex. Good to see an entry from a compact, it's done a good job with the dynamic range here.

Wish you were here - Dr Mhuni
Fine use of the fish eye, despite the curved horizon the distortion is hardly noticeable. Excellent clarity and the sun shade really pops out. Colours are great, I can almost feel the heat from here! Very strongly on theme. My only minor quibble is the shadow in the bottom right corner seems to draw my eye.

Oh I Do Love To Be Besdie The Seaside - John Riley
An amusing contrast of Sue's pretty smile and the frankly quite disturbing body Being familiar with UK beach holidays I assume it was heavily overcast, hence the lack of hard shadows. It does seem a tad dark though.

All Hands on Deck - db22
Our second entry from a compact! A beautiful scene, not surprised it drew your eye! Obviously the horizon needs a bit of a de-slant, and I would have cropped even further and removed the dark bit in the bottom right corner, plus a strip off the top to further reduce the size of the black cloud (rotating to fix the horizon will reduce the size of the cloud anyway). The middle bit however is very good The silhouette of the boat and the rim lighting on the distant clouds are excellent.

Where next - GaryJohn
I should really start with a grand bit of trivia about Florence, but unfortunately I've never been This is a well constructed photograph, the lady and the guidebook, the exotic roofs, distant hills and great clouds, they work together to tell a story. I would perhaps have tried a slightly different angle to get more (or all) of the lady, and more exotic roofs like that minaret thing just above the lady's right hand. I believe I also detect a slight tilt to all of the buildings.

Sunrise in Margate - South Africa - IanK
I like to think that even without South Africa to the title I would have guessed this wasn't Margate in Kent Fantastic colour, love the yellow orange gradient around the sun. Even the haze on the sea seems to add to the glow. Slightly distracting tilt to the horizon, and the bottom left is a bit confusing. I do like the framing of the ferns/palms.

Happy Beach Hut - eric_roberts
Makes me smile too Although I must say that apart from the paint it looks less like a beach hut and rather more like my shed!! A competent record shot, although I should say that a different shooting angle might have made more of this - the boat peeking out on the left might have made an attractive background feature, instead of that concrete thing on the right.

la diversidad - AxelLuther
Hear hear Axel! I've done a fair bit of travelling and while I can agree that on very long trips it is nice to occasionally have a taste from home, I don't understand people who do it every day. Funnily enough I only returned from Barcelona a few days ago, so it's funny to see a photo from there. It's a powerful photo, showing how us humans can personalise even the most uniform spaces. The slight tilt at the bottom (but not the top) is a bit annoying, I think a small application of the horizontal perspective tool in LR3 would work wonders. Still, a strong photo.

I wanted an iced lolly............................................ - Tozza27
Has anyone ever said your brother-in-law looks like a cross between George Bush Jr and Richard Nixon? (Tell him I'm sorry!) Better tan than both of them. He really looks pretty grouchy with you! Compositionally I think there is probably too much background and not enough feet White shirt might be a bit blown out too, but I can see it would have been hard to avoid that. Nice and sharp though, and good DOF. An amusing shot, thanks for sharing! I'm sure your brohter-in-law will be thrilled too

Theres Nothing to do Here!! - MarkLJ
A striking short DOF candid. Focus is good, nice blurred background. I like the quirky crop and the Guinness (or is it Coke? ). The toning adds drama and certainly improves the shot for me. I'm generally a fan of vignettes, and like the effect here, but here I think it needs a bit of touching up in the top right corner, the darker hair there looks a bit odd. Still, it's a striking photo, I like it.

Hector! - crazydave1996
Oh, it looks like we have our first film entry! Bravo! A cute hound, I have a soft spot for these as I used to have a very similar one! Nice alert pose, and the light on the face is good. Quite soft overall though, and compositionally the head is too central for my taste.

Beach Huts - japers45
Wow, that's an unusual beach hut shot! It's very good, I love the beige tones everywhere and the strong diagonal of the fence and roofs. The smoggy-looking haze and warm light on the fence, it all seems to be various shades of beige! Quite remarkable really Plus an unusual but spot-on take on the Holiday theme. A strong entry.

Colourful Curacao - darlene
What a great colour scheme! I wish more buildings in this country were like that. Exposure looks good, you've fit in the shadows and the bright hat very well. Composition seems a bit jumbled, the cut-off man with the suitcase and the car in particular detract from the overall photo. It's also a bit tilted

Sunrise at the beach - alexfilipov
Classy photo, although perhaps a slightly cliched idea. The poses are fantastic, they really convey a sense of movement and excitement, which you've captured perfectly. I do wonder if a slightly lower shooting angle so they were above the horizon might have been even more dramatic. Still, it's a minor point, the photo is excellent. My only slight issue with this picture is that bird, it's both too indistinct and too central, I would remove it I have also discussed this photo with a non-PUF member, and he thinks capturing the bird between the jumpers was great timing. I can see his point, but unfortunately I have to disagree, I don't think the bird adds anything.

Guess where we are from - geordie01
NIce to see a street photo. The uniformed family is certainly noteworthy it seems like an odd wardrobe decision to me but hey what do I know? I certainly wouldn't argue with those tattoos! I'm not convinced by the square crop here, I'd suggest just losing most of the foreground and crop it as a wide (2:1 ish) landscape. I also think you need to tone down the post processing somewhere, the haloes around the houses are quite prominent. Possibly overuse of the recovery slider?

'Biscuits' on the Murray River
Not your normal iBerg shot but it certainly looks like fun! Nice and sharp in the right places. Great expression on the girl on the left. The rope is a bit of an irritant but obviously unavoidable (although I could ask why you weren't on a 3rd 'biscuit' taking some action shots alongside the girls ) It may be some kind of freakish Aussie tree but there seems to be a faint purple cast to the background, possibly a slight WB adjustment. Central composition, probably not many options but nonetheless still somewhat restrictive.

Is it 1-2-Jump on 3 or 1-2-3 then Jump? - Sean282
Aha, I believe this is the first defocussed shot I've ever had to judge. As you may or may not know, I am not averse to this style myself. On the whole it's pretty good I think. It would have been stronger without the stray arm on the right, and if the boy behind the arm was complete. The defocus is not excessive, the scene is still recognisable, in fact it could probably stand to be a bit further OOF. The lens you used here is slightly problematic for me. In a defocussed shot the quality of the blur is IMO quite important, and this particular lens has quite a busy bokeh to my eyes. For me it's the bright rim to each of the OOF discs that make it 'busy'.

Kent Beach, 2008 - Epithet Man
Ahh, the old rock pooling holiday, I went on quite a few of those! Looks like a great location for it, and a beautiful day. I love catching this type of sky in my photos so I can see why you were drawn to this. I do have issue with the BW conversion, the whole pic is quite grey. I think it needs a heavy adjustment to curves to make the whites whiter and generally give it more zing. I think some stronger foreground interest wouldn't have gone amiss either. Perhaps a bigger more prominent boulder. It needs something on the left side to give it some balance IMO.

Learning All About The Christmas Holiday
Good effort on this high key studio shot JA! Whites are possibly slightly blown on her face and foot but it's not too noticeable. Flash reflection on the left book is a bit distracting. Also that dark stripe on the right edge of the photo, I'd crop that, or give it more space. Possibly slightly soft on her face too, although the rest of the pic seems nice and sharp. Other than that I think it's a great idea (even down to the choice of dress!) and a lovely pose from the little girl. Composition seems okay to me, except possibly the snowman is a little lost where he is, perhaps move him a little further away from the girl next time.

holiday in untoucb world - VM
I would have loved to see some exotic photographs from deepest darkest Papua New Guinea, but unfortunately I'll just have to take your word for it - this photo could be taken anywhere! This photo also needs more of a focal point. I assume it's the raft (?) but I cant really tell what it is, possibly some kind of fish farm? And is that a person on the far right? Lying on a surfboard? He would have been a good focal point too The other main problem is the horizon, obviously there is a serious tilt in this pic. Straightening it out in PP would be a vast improvement. Exposure seems pretty good, you've retained detail in the rocks despite shooting into the sun.

Arrive Goathland Station
I have never been to Whitby, although if it was a bit closer I would certainly try to make the Goth meet! I am really not into train stuff at all, but even I can tell this is a cute little station (with a funny name!). I realise you were leaning out of the window but I don't think the side of the train is adding anything to this. I'd crop it off, or stick your head out further next time Sky has a faint purple cast? (That's the second time I've made that comment this morning, so perhaps it's my screen). Not sure what lens you used, but there seem to be CA issues in the trees, plus notable softness to the leftmost tree. (Doh! just checked exif, now I see it was from an Optio, apologies)

Getting there - nipper
Nice and simple! Effective and striking shot. Not much to critique here Good strong diagonal, white contrail is perfectly exposed. Everything is sharp. Possible the tiniest hint of blotchiness in the blues but that could be a forum jpeg compression issue. Very good!

Hooray for Holiday! - VonBatCat
Fun shot of a young (?) lady on holiday. Can't see much of her, but indications are that she's young and in good shape, which is always a pleasant thought. (I'll grovel later if this turns out to be your daughter ) Colours are better for me in the click-through larger version, colour management rearing its ugly head I guess. The water is frozen nicely, although possibly a bit soft in the foreground. A boost in clarity might have made the droplets pop a bit more. While I can appreciate that the anonymity of this girl adds something to the image, I can't help but wish we could see her facial expression.

Where is New Year??? - ArsenAL
I remember this one! A snazzy Christmas shot. Fantastic colour and crispness. It needs to be bigger though Composition is possibly slightly awkward but it's unconventional which in my book is usually worth a try. Nice expressions on the couple. The chap needs to be fatter to pull off a convincing Santa
Lots of white in this pic, but you've nailed the exposure. Very good. A strong contender.

Sea Fun - timcx500e
Another beach pic, it says something about holidays in this country Lovely expression on the young girl, and a nice juxtaposition with the slightly thuggish t-shirt worn by dad. Composition is fine, possibly a little tight around the background objects. Horizon is tilted too. Well exposed, although possibly slightly too warm on the white balance for my taste. Nice and sharp.

A little too cold - Dodge69
Now this photo has some impact! I think it's that Californian ocean, the sea just isn't that colour over here in the UK. I do miss living in Newport Beach! Great clarity to the water as a whole. NIce silhouette although possible a little too anonymous - is it a man or woman? The foggy layer is a bonus, adds a great surreal touch to the photo. Still, a strong photo. Replacing the person with a bikini-clad supermodel wouldn't have hurt, but I understand these things don't always work out that way

Indian Holiday - aliengrove
Vibrant and interesting street shot. I like it already I do like the contrast, him in his unusually low-cut 'wife-beater' shirt, and the ladies in their layers of traditional garb. The rickety shelters in the background reinforce the exotic flavour. Great colours as well. The rock in the bottom left corner is mildly distracting, perhaps clone that out. The 'moment' is well-captured although I would have liked to see the child being a bit more animated.

green pool - Bill_And
An unusual shot that most of us would have missed I think! Slightly soft, presumably due to the slow shutter. Still, well spotted, I do like the contrast of green and orange. Although perhaps not a memorable image. Oddly the larger version seems quite a bit darker and softer, to its detriment I think.

Stacks - DrOrloff
Excellent exposure, and interesting foreground. Great sky, god rays and all. I love the idea of building these towers on a daily basis. The ground appears to be concrete, is it all like that? Some sand would have been pleasant, if at all possible. Compositionally I think shooting from further to the right might have slightly improved things, at the moment the left quarter of the frame is a bit empty.



Well, it has been a difficult decision, and the top four were all close, but here are my picks.

Winner
Sunrise at the beach - AlexFilipov
Stacks - DrOrloff
Wish you were here - Dr Mhuni

Highly commended
Where is new year - ArsenAl

Commended:
Indian Holiday - Aliengrove
Beach Huts - japers45
There's nothing to do here! - MarkLJ
La Diversidad - AxelLuther
A little too cold - Dodge69
Getting there - nipper

Good choices Tim, well done all.
PS - there was indeed a cast, I didn't pick it up until after I posted. Oh well...

Thanks & well done for the judging!

The 3 'winners' were certainly the stand outs and a coin toss between them...

Well done AlexFilipov I think yours just gave that extra 'happy holiday' feeling!

Thanks Tim - good fun and a deserved winner.

Len is always grumpy and my wife thinks he looks a bit like Harrison Ford !

Great photo Alex - my compliments - well done all the runners up

Tony

Brill photo very worthy winner well done

Well done AlexFilipov, thought that shot may be the winner when I first saw it. Congrats to the two Docs on the other podium places, and to the commendeds. Thanks for the commendation too!

Well judged and great comments on all the entries!

Cheers for the commendably detailed judging Tim and for the place. Congrats to t'other Doc and in particular AlexFilipov.

Excellent judging and thanks for the commended. I rather liked the winner - great holiday mood. I'd also like to apologise to my boy for putting up such a misersable photo of him. I haven't been on bloody holiday since I bought a Pentax camera

Thankyou for my commended, I did think the winner was the entry that said "HOLIDAY" more than any other - a well deserved 1st place. . A lot of different takes on the theme which made looking at the entries interesting.I was very drawn to the green pool image for some reason (like a dark David Hockney I think) Thorough judging much appreciated.

Well done Alex - a clear winner I thought. In fact my entry was going to be something very much along the same lines, but I changed my mind when I saw your shot as mine was a pale comparison. Congrats other Doc, also a favourite, and HC's and C's.

Thanks Tim, terrific judging as usual, and for the place.

Hi Tim - thanks for this detailed judging - actually I did use lens and perspective correction but obviously not good enough (on the other side - part of the character of this building is, that it is a bit tilted and wonky - making it too perfect is perhaps not necessary).
To the three winners - these are all outstanding pictures that would perfectly fit on cover pages of travel brochures or outdoor magazines.... all of them brought me in holiday mood -

Wow! I did not expect to win this one! Thanks to all the fellow members who helped me with comments when I posted this picture in my gallery. Although I'm reluctant to clone out the seagull I must admit its presence is purely coincidental.

I'm honoured to share the podium with DrOrloff and Dr. Mhuni. Congratulations to ArsenAl for the HC and to the Commended authors.

Many thanks for the detailed judging, Tim

Kind regards,

Alex