Weekly Competition #223 - Depicting Age Competition

Weekly Comp 223 comments

The Kiss by JohnRiley
This is a heart warming first entry into this week’s competition from JR. It certainly fits the bill, telling the story of age from a romantic standpoint and demonstrating that love is not exclusively for youth. My eye keeps going to that badge with the message ‘protection’ above the woman’s head. I think it’s a bit of a distraction or is there some message I’m not getting?

Old Mum by Jeees 1967
This old lady seems to have loads of character and appears to be a happy personality. The photo captures this very nicely. It works so well in mono that I’m not tempted to speculate on what it would look like in colour. I wonder if the out of focus figures in the background are members of her family?

The Necropolis by Mudge
Age is well depicted in the old tombstones and gravestones lined up against the wall but I’m not comfortable with the young couple walking through the scene simply because their colours, garish red and blue, clash with the mood. I can see why you colour popped them; had they also been in black and white they would have been lost in all the detail. But could they have been toned down a little?


Growing old disgracefully by Dannyh
The sphinx looks too neat and shiny to be old and the guy looks more middle aged than elderly to me. But he’s certainly growing old as disgracefully as he can and forms a fine juxtaposition with the statue. The background is a bit messy, half a figure walking out of the scene centre left and an area on the right which is totally blown. It’s all a bit of fun though.


Civil War by Darlene
Is that a huge canon? It’s certainly old, about 150 years old, and the barrel has virtually rusted away. It looks almost like the remains of a rusty old locomotive boiler. The background masonry emphasises the message of age. Many of us on this Forum just love rust so top marks for that Darlene.

Young and Old by Dr Mhuni
This is a fine juxtaposition shot with the little boys playing against the ancient wall, oblivious to its hugely significant history. Their brightly colored ball adds to the contrast for me and is another ingredient in a fine photograph. As a depiction of age – young as well as old – I wonder if it would have worked even better had the children and their ball occupied a larger area of the picture space.
I enjoyed Andrew’s historical notes and now I’m trying to visualize a huge wall stretching 400 miles from London to Edinburgh. It would probably come right past my house.

Once upon a skate by JudithAnn
You lucky woman JudithAnn, a whole day spent photographing in an abandoned old house. I bet you got many fine images if this one is anything to go by. I like the colour/sepia treatment which adds to the age theme. This is a well observed detail and it makes a fine photo.

Generations by Rhoufi
This is a touching portrayal of the love between a grandmother and grand daughter. The couple, chatting happily, is well framed by the attractive buildings in the street and the picture exudes a feel good factor. .

Guinness time by Dinneenp
Are you sure that’s his Guinness, not just a can left by someone who sat there before him. Whatever it’s a good picture of this old character who seems quite happy to be photographed – or has the Guinness rendered him past caring. I like it because it’s full of rural charm and has terrific human interest.

The holy man by Alexfilipov
The age lined face, wrinkles and bleary eyes certainly portray the theme of this week’s competition very well while the hands in prayer attitude tell us he’s a holy man. I do wish though a little more light could have been cast on his face which is very subdued in the shade.

You’re never too late to learn by BAJ
You’ve caught the hesitant steps on the ice by the elderly man and the confident stance of his younger instructor very well. It’s a pity you hadn’t used a longer focal length or cropped in a bit more closely so the couple occupied a larger area of the frame. We don’t really need to see the café area at the top or what appears to be some foliage lower right. They add nothing to the story.

Final resting place by Peter Mac
Firstly this is a fine record of a lesser known piece of World war 11 history. Pictorially it also has a lot going for it. The contre jour lighting is excellent retaining detail in the shadow areas. The hint of green marine plant life is rich, and the sand ripples make a fine foreground pattern, However I find the overall sandy colour a bit overpowering, its even apparent in the sky. A slight, very slight, desaturation to reduce the yellow might have been beneficial. But overall it’s a picture I like very much.

Three French ladies by BeeBee
This is sheer delight. The attitude of these three ladies has been captured at what comes close to the decisive moment. I like the way two of them are in harmony, knitting while the third is standing hunched over her work in complete contrast. This is a closely observed little scene and is full of charm. The triangle of vivid colour in the bottom left is a little distracting.

The wisdom of age by VonBatKat
I asked for age to be depicted in various ways and mentioned people or things. VonBatKat has added natural history to that list in a humorous way. The stag appears to be lecturing the young deer in a fatherly manner and the picture really does say the wisdom of age. The back lighting could have been more kind though, it’s rendered the grass in the background a rather unattractive green.

Tubes by AxelLuther
I’m a sucker for old machinery, especially of the steam driven variety so I can relate to this subject. It may or may not be part of a steam engine but I think this is related to the lubrication system. There is wonderful colour in the brass vessels and in the oil. The design of the elements in the picture has been carefully arranged by Axel with the background sufficiently diffused so as not to compete with the main subject. I like the port hole shaped area top right which adds a little area of passing interest. However the machinery has been too well maintained to illustrate age effectively.

I’ll need my glasses for these by DigitalCG
The humour of this situation has been well observed by DigitalCG who gets high marks for actually creating the situation. An elderly guy reading his tabloid isn’t in itself very funny – until a really observant photographer comes along and writes the script to go with the story. You must have been watching him for some time to notice he only put his glasses on when he reached Page 3. Or perhaps he went straight to Page 3. You got good depth of field at f4 – the man and the image in the newspaper are both sharp.


Carnival by Sophiecentaur
This lady doesn’t seem to be entering into the spirit of the carnival with much enthusiasm, she just doesn’t seem happy. However she’s dressed up with lots of gorgeous colour. One of the problems photographing any sort of crowd scene is you lose control over the composition because so much is going on. Here the area surrounding the woman has distracting elements, such as bottom left, bottom right and that purple blobby thing in the background. In this case the picture would be better with either more details of the surrounding carnival or fewer to remove distractions so we can concentrate on the lady’s face. As it stands the picture falls between two stools.

Monchique by Frankie
There’s some gorgeous Portuguese colour in this shot and delightful examples of fading glory in these old houses. The posters add eye catching interest in which the colour compliments the blue paint in the buildings. The picture seems a little skewed, not because of the obvious incline in the street but the buildings seem to be leaning back. It’s a pity also that little bit of blue sky intrudes. If the whole of the sky had been blue then great but the clouds have rained on this particular parade making the tiny bit of blue more of an intrusion.

The apothecary’s elixir by RPLSF
What a super discovery. This is one of those lovely still life shots in the style our colleague Gary Hickin does so well and I like it a lot. It oozes age and like so many of the pictures in this style seems deceptively simple. But skill has been taken in arranging the items. While I like the subdued background I would like to have seen a tiny bit more light in the foreground.

The cowshed by Gary John
This is best viewed large, the detail then comes more to life – and there is some fine detail in those old beams. It’s a fine record of this 300-year-old barn. The strong light from the door/window which is directly facing the camera has caused a small amount of flare which just takes the edge of this interesting photo.

The uncles by Pentaxophile
I can relate to this. My daughter-law is from a Sikh family and I can just imagine her father and his brothers all together exactly as in this scene. The wisdom of the world is being discussed here in Wolverhampton and there will be much wisdom to impart.
The way the sun is lighting their colourful turbans is sheer delight but I would like to have seen the two non-Sikh heads in the background cloned out.. But this image works on more than one level and is pure delight.

Old Bark Mill by Aliengrove
Jonathan has given us a lesson on how to turn an every day view into something special. I suspect these old buildings and water wheel would have been okay as a straight shot. But presented as a fading old photo, it becomes something special. The mono, sepia and vignetting treatments all help to transform this scene into an image oozing with history and nostalgia.

Silver spoon by Geordie01
Nice one Geordie, is this a family heirloom? I like the thought of Georgian silver from a guy named Geordie. Your idea of going in close on the hallmarks and throwing a large area of the spoon out of focus works well. The hallmarking is well defined and the lighting is good. The area of focus is quite small but crucially the marks of old age in the silver as well as in the hallmarking are clearly defined. The out focus spoon bowl hovering over the top of the picture is quite menacing, rather like a hooded cobra about to strike.

After all these years by Paulgee20
I’m assuming Don and Anna are celebrating an anniversary, possibly their 50th wedding, in this quality shot. It’s a fine family portrait and I think the fact that he’s got his eyes closed adds to the shot rather than detracting from it. Why? Because it’s caught as it happens, not posed and formal. It is, after all, a family snap recording an important event. .The downside of this is of course is the fact that the blue shirt is passing behind just as the shutter is pressed. If only you had another one with a clearer background. That shirt just dominates.

Rust by Dromfit
The rust says it all, old age, but not neglect. That knob on the gate lock is well used judging by the shiny bits which suggest it is grasped on a regular basis. There’s some fine detail in the ornate ironwork further down the gate but I find the background detail a little intrusive. Perhaps a different viewpoint might have concentrated the eye more on the gate and its fine details rather than the foliage and window.

In Sclater Street by Mecrox
I’m a little confused about what’s going on here – the caption says it’s in a street but the background clearly shows a wash basin and taps, definitely of the indoor type. Perhaps its something to do with Brick Lane Market.
But what I’m in no doubt about however is the quality of the portrait of this elderly gent. Viewed large the detail springs to life in the old man’s face; and also his strength of character. The old man, his clothes and ice cream are rendered pin sharp while the background is defused just enough to isolate him from too much distracting detail.


The Mayor’s Car by Dr Orloff
This poignant relic of Occupied France in the 1939-45 war is a valuable piece of European history. Has it really remained untouched for almost 70 years? It’s a wonder it hasn’t rusted clean away. In the UK vandals and thieves would have scavenged from it many years ago leaving little to be photographed.
Fortunately it has survived in this French town long enough for Dr Orloff to record it in his usual inimitable and artistic manner. The photographic treatment seems just right with the image appearing as if it might today had it been taken in 1944. Even the background buildings appear war damaged. Perhaps the whole area has been declared a war memorial. It’s a photograph to treasure for its technical skill and its historical value.



Thank you all for entering and entertaining me with some varied and thought provoking interpretations of the theme.
So now to the awards:
As always this has to be subjective because it’s not a horse race with the first past the post being the obvious winner. The pictures that most appealed to me are in the awards’ Who can say which are the best photographs in such a varied competition entry.

1 Mecrox – for a beautiful character study
2 Pentaxophile – for a keenly observed and wonderfully lit image
=3 Aliengrove and Dr Orloff get equal placing because their two pictures in a similar style and photographic treatment had equal merit.

HC: Dr Mhuni DigitalCG and RPLSF.

Thank You Judge for all your detailed comments. I LOVED RPLSF....It was my pick, also thought Aliengrove lighting was magical too.

Congrats to all our winners especially mecrox.

It was a terrific topic too.

Regards:

JA

Thankyou David for the detailed judging, and critisisms, I learn a little/alot each week from these comps and have a ball in the process. Congrats to those on the virtual podium and for my HC... Can't wait to see what Mecrox has in store for us in the next seven.

Well (and promptly) judged as ever, David. Many thanks for that and the HC. Congrats to Mecrox for a nice winner and to all the others you've singled out.

An excellent, well judged competition. And prompt too, many thanks David.

I'll look foirward to the next challenge!

Comments much appreciated. Cor! that was a lot of work, done very quickly.

Thank you very much for your well considered and generous comments, David. And for the second place which was a surprise to me, given so many excellent entries this time. I found John R's and Mhuni's shots particularly appealing, although I agree 100% on your winner.

Thank you for the thoughtful and thorough judging and congrats to the other entrants, so many interesting takes on a theme. I should have been clearer in my caption: Sclater Street is an offshoot of Brick Lane and its length is filled with stalls selling just about anything, from junk and old clothes to household items, furniture, scrap metal and food. I can't remember but at a guess the basin in my shot is an old bathroom cabinet now up for sale. Anyway, the shot was taken outside, in the street.

Congratulations Mecrox particularly considering how good all the entries were. Thanks for your very well considered comments judge. I'll try reworking the shot taking them on board.

"Rust by Dromfit
Perhaps a different viewpoint might have concentrated the eye more on the gate and its fine details rather than the foliage and window."
I tried.... but everything in the background was intrusive. I think I'll try and retake the pic this winter. I have noticed that the shrub in the background is now a bit bushier and once the leaves have gone it will give a fairly neutral background, hopefully. Failing that, as I know the gardener, I'll see when he is next visiting and get him to hold something behind.... there is an old wooden door parked up against the wall in an archway behind the gate.

The car in the last pic is part of a war memorial!

David, thanks a lot for your lovely comments, not only on my entry, but on others' too. Regards, Jeeess

Hi David, thanks for your professional judging and for a topic that allows a wide range of interpretation (even when I interpreted the range wrong - but that's part of the game ). Also interesting to read that aging is associated with not well maintained......
Cngratulation to the winning shot (really very strong portrait) and the others on the podium.

A great winning shot, a lot of really good entries, and excellent judging and comments! Thanks for the third place and congrats to the other podium places too!

Brilliant judging - read all of them this week - very helpful - the comments on mine about the distracting flowers, 3 times I cropped them out and 3 times I put them back in - just goes to show you never know what others will like - I know I preferred the shot with but am not too sure now

Well done the winners and hc.s and thanks to David for a great comp and judging.

Thanks for the competition and in depth, thoughtful judging. Congratulations Mecrox for a top character study and well done to fellow podiumers and HC's.

Fantastic winner; what a great street portrait. Thank you for the great judging and valuable comments.