Weekly Competition #325 - Signs & Symbols Competition

Many thanks to all of you that entered. It is fantastic to see so many entries and it is has been a privilege to review all your work.

Just a reminder that I'm no expert at this. Everything here is just my personal opinion and the results reflect my personal tastes. I have tried to make useful comments for each entry and hope that I have not upset anyone as this was definitely not my intention. As always it is a terrific collection of pictures.


This way, please – CMW
I really like this and think it is a great image to start off this competition. It is well composed and makes very good use of a super-wide lens. Obviously shot at a very quiet time. I like the way the stairs and escalators create some fantastic leading lines drawing the viewer into the shot. I also like the way the sign is offset and introduces a grand splash of colour.

Two 2theLoo – steppeland
A very good, amusing, opportunistic shot. I think perspective is often a challenge in pictures of buildings and here you have chosen to align the verticals along the left-hand side while the right-hand side is leaning inwards. There is no easy answer to this. I tend to try and find a feature in the middle to align to the vertical but the dark line on the left is so prominent that I can’t really fault your approach. There are great splashes of colour and it is good to see some people in the shot. Certainly the image projects a great sense of fun.

How do we get there? – BAJ
A nice capture of a really amusing sign in what looks like quite challenging lighting conditions. I like that you have also captured the “Blackheath” sign to create some good context. I think it is nicely composed with the trees falling away towards the centre and a row of roof-tops both drawing the viewer into the primary subject. Obviously better weather conditions would have been a bonus but the image still works well and projects a great sense of fun.

Pastures New – bforbes
A very nice capture of a nostalgic railway station scene. I like that we have the railway company name, posters and a name on one of the trunks meeting the subject requirements. I think the composition is excellent. The colour of the trunks is complemented by the lovely stonework and the aging trunks and trolley provide lots of detail. A really nice image.

Festival Time – peterf
A nicely composed detail of this festival. I like the way you have used the arched sign as a frame to draw the viewer in towards the colourful decorations hung above the street. The building lines also help to create a good feeling of depth. I think it all works very well.

Signage – kh1234567890
I think this is a great opportunistic capture of a very prominent and amusing sign. I guess there is some sort of hotel and refreshment establishment somewhere off to the right. Perhaps the vegetation creates a challenge in that I like the way the back end of the long arrow is behind the tree trunk but I think it would have been nice to have seen the arrow point. Otherwise it is well composed with a good straight and level capture of this sign. Certainly a great fun capture to have as a reminder of this place.

Healey Hub – geordie01
This is one of my favourite entries here. A hub nut on a prestigious and historic British sports car. I think the composition works really well I like the way the wings of the nut go diagonally across the image. The reflections are also well managed and the depth of field is well used to create some depth while keeping the background context. A very well crafted image.

Car Badges and Plates – mudge
A great image of the front of a well preserved 1950’s sports car. I understand that these were made in Bradford and I think these northern roots are reinforced by the collection of badges. The image presents a fantastic splash of red colour with lots of shiny details to explore. Obviously shot in bright sunlight with very good control of the reflections. A nicely crafted image.

Oxford canal, Hillmorton – razorski
A nicely composed late autumn canal scene that captures some workings on the bank-side. There are great leading lines in this image drawing the viewer toward a partially obscured bridge. I like the way canal bank dissects the bottom left corner and that all the verticals are well maintained. There is lots of detail to explore and I also like the way the orange netting is catching the sunlight. I guess this is probably a record of the workings being undertaken and on that assumption it works very well. Either way it is a good and carefully composed image.

Victoriana – Perspivador
A nice detail of a stone engraved sign for the Town Mission Ragged School which I believe is in Nottingham. I like the amount of detail you have captured in the stone work. Obviously shot on a sunny day it does perhaps feel a tad over-exposed. Looking at the exif data I was surprised to see that the camera was set in “Landscape mode” (which probably is also why it was also set to F13). I think for this sort of image I would want to run the camera in a different mode and certainly would not want to go above F8 for something that is straight-on and fairly flat. However it is a nice image and fully compliant to the competition subject – Well done.

The Tattoo On The Hand That Plays – davidstorm
I like this image and think it works really well in black & white. It is nicely composed and I like the diagonal aspects. There is a terrific amount of detail and we can see that this is a much used guitar. I think the labels on the knobs would have met the competition subject requirements but the tattoo is a fantastic bonus nicely highlighted by the image title. A great entry – Many thanks.

A clear night sky – stevesphotos
I think it is great to see what fun can be had with signs and symbols and I think this image has a great sense of fun and mischief. I love the way “Clear” relates to the open sky and think it is a well thought-out idea. I guess the artificial lighting has given the pinkish tint and while initially I found this a little off-putting I later realised that it created a connection with the pink of the lower sky giving a sort of connected flow through the image. The road and light make good leading lines and I love flare points on the lights. An image with a great sense of fun that certainly grew on me.

Lost in translation – simonarron
An interesting sign and I think you are right about the translation. I like the way you have slightly offset the shot to provide some depth so that we can see that the main characters are raised off from the wall. A slight hint of shadows helps to reinforce this. I think you have also well captured a hint of its age. Certainly it looks a bit weathered and it is great to see the cracks in the background. A nicely observed and captured quirky sign.

Where's the cliff? – jfgandrews
Another image that shows you can have fun with signs. I guess there probably is a big drop just behind the trees but it does not really look that like it. I think for this sense of fun the composition and framing work very well. The sign is certainly nice and sharp and while the focus goes soft toward the background this does create some depth while retaining enough detail of the trees. Another well observed fun image.

Sign of the Times. – Jim-w
A nice capture of a gallery for an artist who appears to have a history in graphic wall painting. I think this image captures a great combination of artwork and decay. Certainly the building looks a bit tatty but the artwork plays with the mind to distort and alter depth. The detail has been well captured with a good depth of field and the exposure looks perfect for something that was probably quite difficult to get right. A great image for this competition.

devastation – driftnomore
This image definitely contains a sign and while I can’t read it this does make it compliant for this competition. It is a very interesting image which has been well composed. There is a nice lot of detail with a good feeling of structure and depth. Possibly due to the the lighting conditions but the colour feels very slightly strange. The mountains have a slight blue tint and green vegetation looks a little over-saturated. This is probably not helped by a little blue fringing along the horizon. Possibly the camera has not quite sorted out the white balance. However it is a very well composed landscape of an historic site.

Rules are made to be broken... – RNVasco
A nice capture of the signs above an entrance to an old market. Probably quite challenging conditions but I think you have done well to capture a vast amount of detail which certainly looks fairly chaotic. I think the image is well composed with a good control of the exposure. Another well observed opportunistic shot.

Picnics allowed – Noelcmn
The first image here that is entirely just a sign and I think it works very well. Nicely framed, lovely and straight with perfect exposure. As a sign I find it interesting that it needs to contain so much detail, food cutlery basket, drinking cups and even possibly the table although I am not sure what the grid thing is. A well observed great capture and good to see in this competition.

Instantly Recognised – tyronet2000
A very nice capture of the radiator of a classic rolls Royce depicting their well-known icons. It is well composed. The verticals are nice and straight. The reflections are well controlled. The depth of field is used well to highlight the subject but still retain a hint of things in the background that provide nice context as well as a nice splash of colour. I like the two guys in the soft background because it provides a great hint about what is going on. I guess this is some sort of car show and these two guys are exchanging some treasured memories. A fantastic image.

Stained Glass Window Detail – johnriley
An interesting image. The patterning gives an impression of texture and makes it look more like stone than part of a stained glass window. Certainly a well-executed photo, straight on and nicely framed with very good control of the exposure.
A well observed and crafted image of a very unusual symbol from a 16th century church.

Guanaco ahead – chrissie
One of my friends recently had a holiday in Argentina and came back with similar pictures of wide open and deserted landscapes but none had sign for a guanaco. I think this is a nicely composed picture. I like the way the road is offset and dissects the bottom left corner and that the sign is off to one side. There are good leading lines to draw the viewer into the image and the clouds, blue sky and distant shadows help add interest to an otherwise barren landscape. A great and unusual entry for this competition.

There could be problems ahead.... – dromfit
A wonderful example of road sign over-kill on a narrow winding French lane. Like a few other entries this image has a great sense of fun really well reinforced by the description. I feel the frustration coming through! A nicely captured, well composed image with lots of signage. Great fun – Many thanks.

Byways – Ellida
A very nice portrayal of a four-way footpath sign illuminated by some warm lighting. I think the composition is really well done. It is perfectly straight and all four of the sign-boards can be seen. I like the way that on the left the tree falls away on a similar aspect to an imaginary line drawn through the points of the left-hand sign boards. I think there is an odd, slightly disturbing, highlight at the pointed end of the upper, left pointing, sign-board which to me is possibly an artefact of some post processing. I also think I would have liked to have had a sharper focus in the lower foreground foliage. However it is a great depiction of the sign with lots of detail and good context in its surroundings.

Sign of the Cross – JAK
I think it is unusual, but good, to have something in these competitions that was shot on film. The scale of this cross implies that it is designed to be seen from a distance but this image cleverly reverses that to capture some of those distances from the site of the cross. The cross forms a fabulous silhouette set against a wonderful cloudy sky. The lighting conditions were obviously quite challenging. There is some haze masking the distant mountains and the foreground is a bit dark but in some respects I think this helps reinforce the cross and in any case were obviously outside the control of the photographer. Lighting aside I think it is a really well put together image and great to see.

Long way down – Hidendragon28
It took me a while to work out what this image is showing. Even now I can’t sort out the aspect of this image. Has this depth gauge fallen, lying flat on the ground or is it going up a bank on the inside of this, now drained, reservoir? I think the shallow depth of field is a little disappointing. I would have liked to have at least the numbers in the foreground a little sharper. These numbers don’t really leap out at the viewer as the primary subject of the image. Perhaps too if the image was shot from a little further back we would have got a bit more context. However this image creates a nice little puzzle and is probably a good record of the state of this now decaying structure.

A Place to stay – Kosh
I think this image captures a good example of the use of a sign to create an unusual approach to advertising something to make it stand out from the crowd. It could have just said “Hotel” but instead tells us exactly what this means. It is a nicely captured image in bright sunlight. The objective is obviously the sign but enough of the actual building had been included to provide some excellent context. I like the way too that he foreground tells us that it on a hill. Again like a lot the entries here the signage does add a bit of fun which certainly adds value to a very nice picture.

EURO-2012 – ArsenAl
I have to admit that I am not a football fan, I am more into cricket, but I think this is a fantastic image. Again I cannot identify the venue but that is completely irrelevant to quality of this image. It is beautifully composed. The shirt logo tells us what is going on and everything is perfectly positioned. While I am sure the lighting was a challenge it has been well managed. An excellent image.

A Long Sign Coming – paulb531
A great image of the name, and translation, of this well-known Welsh village on Anglesey. I think the use of black & white works really well giving an almost timeless feel to the image. Obviously shot in bright sunlight (showing this can happen in Wales) which has given some great shadows although the shadow in the immediate foreground looks a bit odd. However the objective of this shot was undoubtedly to capture this long sign and this has been admirably achieved.


Results
With so many really good and interesting entries it has been quite difficult to choose the winners but after some careful consideration this is it:

1st – CMW for “This way, please” – Because it is such a well-crafted image of a very familiar, iconic, symbol in great context

2nd – ArsenAl for “EURO-2012” – For such a perfectly composed and crafted picture in probably challenging conditions.

3rd – geordie01 for “Healey Hub” – For a great little detail from a classic car.


Highly Commended to:
tyronet2000 for demonstrating such a good use of depth of field.
drofmit for making me laugh!
davidstorm for such a well-crafted B&W image.

I think this completes my responsibilities here and hand over to CMW for the next round.

Glyn

Congratulations to the Winner and other places and thanks for my HC, despite the small flaw in the bottom right corner Thanks to Glyn for an interesting subject, judging and the comments.

CMW-excellent shot! congratulations to you and the others, noted by a judge! Thanks Glyn for my 2nd place, and for a good contest!

Congrats to the winner a great shot,Thanks Glyn for the great subject and judging and my 3rd place some great entries this week.

That winning shot is really eye catching, so congratulations are well deserved. Thanks Glyn for the kind comments and a well worked competition.

Glyn -- what a nice surprise. Thank you. Congratulations to the others mentioned and thanks to you for judging, never an easy task. I haven't yet thought of a theme for this week - didn't think I'd need to! - but I will put something up later today. Chris

Excellent shot CMW-as Glyn said. good use of a super-wide lens. Difficult to beat, so a hearty congratulations. And to ArsenAl and Geordie01 and the HM's Tyronet2000, Dromfit and Davidstorm. Thanks Glyn for an interesting subject, one that is obviously well liked and received attention from a lot of photographers, judging from the number of entries here. Well judged too!

Well done to CMW for the win and well done to the other podiums and placings . Thanks to Glyn for the comp and great judging.

All the best ...Jim

Thanks for the HC, Glyn...
the signs are still there!!
Your choice of topic for the comp at least made me do what I'd been meaning to do... take a photograph!!