Weekly Competition #547 - Bits and Pieces. Competition

Weekly competition #547 Bits and Pieces

Thanks for entering some interesting and wide ranging subjects.

He loves me, he loves me not by Judith Ann.

Nice start to the competition from JudithAnn. The idea is good and well within the brief of the competition topic. The main flower is well photographed and is beautifully contrasted with the out of focus secondary point of interest. I like the understated hints of green foliage which form a break in the otherwise totally black background.

Swan's cranium by Perspicador

The beak of the swan is more the main point of interest than the cranium which. because its cropped at the top, is incomplete. Overall sharpness is not quite as crisp as I would like to have seen but the idea of the entry is certainly on the right track

Cray pots by i-Berg

Lots of detail here, it smacks you in the face as you first view it on screen. Good colours too. However my eye struggles to settle on just one feature which would give the image a focal point, such as a knot or a closer look at one of the intersections in the netting,

Ex centipede by Klara

An unusual natural history photo from a new member making their first post to the Pentax User Forum. Welcome Klara. The picture showing the remains of the centipede are almost lost to view amidst all the natural debris on the ground of the forest reserve so it was well seen by Klara and makes an original entry in this competition. Perhaps because of the forest floor clutter the subject fails to dominate the scene quite as much as is desirable.

Praying for Eternity by Womble

A poignant image depicting the praying hands of a long dead nobleman and his wife frozen for eternity in marble. So well seen and so well photographed by Kris. I really like the use of differential focusing to concentrate on Sir Richard's hands while those of Jane are rendered as a ghostly impression in the bokeh. A lovely subdued splash of out of focus red suggests roses in the background.

Hannah's Bits by Smudge

My heart skipped a beat when I read the title of this entry - which of Hannah's bits are about to be revealed? However my attention was soon diverted to the eye-grabbing black and red components of this little mountain locomotive and its strange transmission and valve gear which seemingly involve a fly wheel and belt or chain drive. Experienced railway engineers would surely swoon with delight at this. Whatever the idiosyncrasies of the system it must work for this historic engine has been taking delighted tourists up and down the mountain for many years. Love it.

Hounding the bargains by JAK

What a great piece of documentary photography at a car boot sale. I'm sure you took many photos this day and if some more of them are as humorous and interesting as this one they would make a terrific panel. Star of show is the dog - Is it a Jack Russell Terrier? But then there's the stuff for sale all laid out and ready to go. I really like the low level angle of the shot

A drop of water on my camera bag by NigelK

A super macro shot and so well observed. The water droplet is of course the jewel in the crown forming a very eye catching focal point in this beautifully sharp pattern picture. It's a bonus that the droplet is acting as a magnifying glass to enlarge detail in the camera bag fabric. Such a simple but satisfying image and I bet a lot of careful work went into crafting this picture.

Rear Gears by GlynM

And a lot of careful work also went into creating this trademark GlynM offering. It was worth it for the fine detail is tack sharp throughout and reveals a lot about Glyn's meticulous working methods. Good colour contrast too with the background totally black to avoid any distracting non-essential detail. So this was done in the kitchen. While the wife was out?

Eyes of a tiger by Paulb531

It would be terrifying to come this close to the unblinking face of a tiger but your 300mm lens no doubt helped to give you a safety barrier. It's an extremely impressive and magnificent image but is let down by being ever so slightly soft on focus. The tiger's left eye, the one on the right of the picture, comes closest to being the sharpest point in the photo.

Bits by Anthony

I like the original idea behind this but again it is eluded by complete sharpness. The bit in the centre is closest to being completely sharp and the traces of rust on the piece add great colour interest but the two outer bits are less so and as this line up of the three drills is the focal point of the image total sharpness is essential here. The background is satisfyingly out of focus so that the other bits in the set appear as ghostly images with just a hint of the drill shape.

A warm welcome by John Riley
Sharpness is not an issue here, the fly trap is sharp in the areas where it should be and the focus falls away as it recedes further back into the image to create an attractive bokeh. A lovely colour pic, I hope for the plant's sake a juicy insect comes along soon.

On The forest Floor by Noelcmn

A lovely splash of vibrant green in the fallen acorn is set against the dark tones of the fallen leaves making for an interesting natural history shot. Although the acorn too is fallen it is undoubtedly a new growth and so the image represents new birth replacing the dying leaves in the life cycle of the forest.

Left to rot by Stephen-s

No need for differential focus here, the bottles and old leaves are on a close focal plane and are all presented in a crisply photographed image. Stephen has got in close to boldly present the bottles and leaves large in the frame so that the eye can settle on the point of interest and not be confused by a profusion of small detail. For me this is a very satisfying picture.

Cotton Silk and Linen by Drofmit

A keen eye and fertile imagination went into seeing the possibilities of this scene. It makes a good pattern picture with predominantly white blouses on show but the pattern is broken up with a few randomly placed coloured garments to add focal interest. Perhaps one shouldn't speculate on why Tim was rummaging around among lady's blouses.

Whimsy pieces by Mike in Devon

It's like something out of one of those antique or collectors' TV programmes featuring Dinky toys or old teddy bears. A pre war jigsaw with collectable royal interest, lovingly treasured for years and then wheeled out for public viewing. Another original idea but for me the arrangement of bits and pieces seems a bit static and the picture doesn't quite come off.

Dog on a skateboard by Puffacake

Well spotted. This has humour and is an example of a keen photographer keeping their eyes wide open for ideas. Abstract details of the rusty tank side and the various rivet heads and welded on pieces of steel could have made a good picture on their own but the inclusion of the paint splash roughly in the shape of a dog lifts this image to new heights.

Going underground by Ken 2390

And finally close details of an everyday but often overlooked, feature in agriculture, building sites and industrial areas. Ken's picture shows some essential bits and pieces that most people would walk past without noticing. But it fits the topic of this competition perfectly.

So to the results and then to bed.
1 NigelK.
2 Womble
3 Stephen-s
HCs: JAK, Puffacake, John Riley GlynM.

Good work Nigel, Kris, Stephen and the HCs, as well as by David with the judging of course. Great field!

Very worthy winner Nigel and congratulations to Kris and Stephen. Well done to the other HCs and thank you David for an interesting subject and good judging.

Thank you David, well done on staying up and posting the results so promptly, I can't promise to do the same.
Well done to all, especially fellow podium places and HCs,

Many thanks David for another of your excellent competitions. I was impressed by the number of entries it attracted.

Thanks also for the HC .

Congratulations to Nigel for the very well deserved winning image, runners up Kris and Stephen, my fellow HCs and everyone else for another grand set of pictures.

Glyn

Congratulations to Nigel a very well deserved winning image. Many thanks to David for the competition and judging. I agree with your comments by the way, not as sharp as I would have liked. Shooting wild animals with a long cheap lens at distance isn't something I found easy - at least one eye was in focus.

paul

Deserving winner there, awesome macro shot, love the overall tone of the fabric, and that drop is just fantastic. Congrats, Nigel. And extended to the other podium places, Womble and Stephen-s, and not forgetting the HC's
JAK, Puffacake, Johnriley and GlynM. Thanks are due to David, as usual a fine challenge, excellent feedback. Nice to see so many entries at the start of the year. Hope it continues in that vein.