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Weekly Competition #95 - Orange Competition

Competition Details
Closing Date: 03/05/2009
Judge: hefty1

Orange is my favourite colour so let's see lots of it in this week's entries. The subject matter can be absolutely anything you like so I'm looking forward to lots of juicy vibrant images!
Competition Entries
hefty1
Posted 04/05/2009 - 01:25 Link
Well I'm very pleased to say there was a universally high standard of entries this week (and lots of them) so thank you all for taking part in my competition.

Before I get on to the judging part (which has been unimagineably difficult) I thought I'd better explain my two main criteria for selecting this week's winners.

Firstly I'm judging the pictures on their "Juiciness Quotient"; this is how much the pictures appealed to me regardless of the orange content and I've given the top five pictures in this category points towards their final score.

Secondly I'm judging the pictures on their "Vibrancy Quotient"; this is based on the orangey-ness of the picture. It's not the quantity of the orange that counts but rather its importance to the picture as a whole (in other words, if I imagined replacing the orange with, say, green would the picture be significantly different?). Again there are points for the top five entries.

Finally, based on the number of points received in each category I've chosen the top eight winners below.

Without further ado here is the judgment:

Who are you? by Hyram

I've tried taking pictures of fish in tanks myself so I know how tricky it is and I appreciate how well you've done here!Technically this is a very good photo and I can't deny he's resplendent in orange - a great start to the competition.

Orange Flower by johnriley

Gerberas always make me smile, especially orange ones! I like square frames but in this instance the positioning is a little too perfectly aligned for my tastes; with a single bloom I think I prefer to see at least one (probably two) side(s) "bleeding" out of the frame. It's a personal taste thing but hey, I'm the judge this week...

Upside-down In The Big Orange Tube by JudithAnn

If this photo had been taken in the "usual" portrait orientation it would have been no more than a family "snapshot" of no real interest to those who didn't know the model, however, because it's upside-down with a vivid background it's elevated into a higher class of photograph. I love the expression, the catchlights in the eyes, the orange backdrop (of course) and the lighting. I'm not convinced though that the orange is the main subject as it could be substituted for - say - yellow or pink and the effect would be much the same.

Swan Elegance by Belinda B.

And doesn't he look elegant! A lovely portrait but I can't help wondering what he's looking at - some bread in the photographer's free hand perhaps? This is another example of a technically well-executed shot but not one where *my* eye is drawn to the orange part, which was what I was after this week.

Pumpkin Patch by GivingTree

I love this picture! All those stalks pointing in odd directions makes me think of some bizarre alien crowd scene. My eye is drawn all over looking at details and it just wouldn't work if the pumpkins were any other colour - just the sort of thing I was hoping to see.

3rd Juiciness: 3 points

Double Amputee by lenscape

This is a great photograph! The angle is great, the backdrop is great, the lighting is great, the pose is great. I could easily imagine this as a backdrop to a magazine advert for some expensive perfume and I can't fault it from a technical point of view (or even an artistic one). The only downside (for me) is the orange part as I don't think it's the main focus of the photograph and, as such, could be replaced by another colour.

4th Juiciness: 2 points

NYC Dusk by spbatt

I was hoping to see some orange skies this week and you certainly haven't disappointed me! There's plenty to look at and be absorbed by here (it almost looks like a CGI scene from a Hollywood blockbuster) and the sky gives it an otherworldly feel that suits it perfectly - a great example of how the colour makes the picture.

Penguins by MGraley

While there's plenty here to keep the eyes busy I'm don't find the framing overly appealing. If it were me I'd probably have gone for a letterbox-shaped crop and lost the shelves, leaving just the book spines. There also seems to be a little over-exposure on the books on the right, a bounced flash would have worked better than direct flash here. On the positive side you've made good use of the colour orange - Penguins just wouldn't be Penguins if they weren't orange!

Buoyancy by Prieni

Fascinating textures in this one but I can't help thinking there's something missing somewhere - a central point of focus perhaps? The colour is certainly striking but as with others this week it could easily be changed for another colour without really upsetting the balance of the picture. Quite a pleasant photo but not enough going on to be a winner this week.

Rivington Sunset by Goliath_UK

A gorgeous sunset with delicate layers of clouds. Not so sure about the foreground, there's a hint of something there but I think it needs a little more to really hold my interest. Can't argue with the orange though!

Orange Stairway by davidtrout

This is a fantastic picture, it reminds me of an abstract of an M.C. Escher drawing with all the mad angles and stairs leading (seemingly) to nowhere. The architectural details keep me looking over and over and the use of orange is super too; the stairs standing out from the blue/purple background and leading the eyes through the picture. One that makes me smile.

2nd Juiciness: 4 points
3rd Vibrancy : 3 points


Orange Tip by Daniel Bridge

A very well executed photograph of one of my favourite butterflies. I've no problem with the technical aspects but this is another photo where the orange - although present - isn't really the main event here. My attention is always drawn to the little fella's eyes rather than his wing tips unfortunately.

Leaving Harwich. by Tony-O

Another sky shot and what a lovely one it is! Plenty to look at in the foreground (and bathed in an orange glow - very fitting) and all those dreamy ribbon clouds in the sky - very pretty and relaxing. There's no EXIF data attached here so I'm going to assume this was taken on your Pentax and not your Ricoh.

Orange sky by STEVEPOXON

I'm glad you reloaded this at a decent size as I can now see the details in the trees that weren't visible before. I like silhouettes and this one is particularly pleasing with a really nice framing - I'd be happy to have this hung on the wall. The orange is more of a backdrop here though as the trees are (rightly) the main focus. Unfortunately I was really after photos where the orange was the main event so it won't win this competition but I do like it very much as a picture.

magic robin by alteropa

The image is soft and it's badly under-exposed, I really shouldn't like it but I do! It reminds me a little of an oil painting and it's the technical imperfections that give it a real atmosphere. From an orange point of view I think the colour is the main focus of the picture (a good thing for this competition) but it's a little too close to red for it to be a "proper" orange in my eyes. A strangely pleasing picture.

safran by Aiki

The focus on this image is absolutely perfect with a nice sharp staymen in the centre of the safran (we call them crocus in English - very pretty flowers) but I'm not so sure about the framing; there's a lot of wasted green space to the sides and I'd have been tempted to crop in much closer for more impact. The orange certainly takes a large role in the picture but I'd say the blue was actually the dominant colour here. You won't be winning this week but keep trying, it's taken me nearly two years to get my first win so there's hope for everyone!

Orange over London Docklands by piotro

Another lovely orange sunset but I'm not quite happy with the framing on this one. I'm wishing the camera had been tilted upwards slightly to capture more of the clouds we can just see at the top of the frame and less of the river (well, the part below the orange reflections anyway) - maybe even a shot in portrait rather than landscape format..? The setting sun does give a lovely orange glow to the undersides of the clouds and the reflections in the water so the picture certainly fits the theme of the competition.

Orange VW Karmann Ghia by Bob and his Pentax

Someone knows how to grab my attention! It's a car and it's orange - usually my two criteria for a perfect photograph! My only real gripe with this picture is the composition which somehow doesn't quite hit the nail on the head for me. I think it's the wall in the background that I find too distracting (and ugly) - if this was one of mine I'd run it through Photoshop and put a plain black background behind the car instead. Also, I'd have been tempted to get the "nostrils" (driving lights) in the picture as that's my favourite Type 3 K-G feature. Can't fault that glorious orange paintwork though - it really makes the picture jump out!

Pumpkin bites back by Coriander

I love the shadows criss-crossing this pumpkin and giving it an even spookier feel than the carving alone. I think I'd have liked to have seen a little more of the right eye (left if you're the pumpkin) but otherwise the framing is very good. As for the colour - what could be spookier than orange? Perfect!

4th Vibrancy : 2 points

Orange Lifeboat by GlynM

A nice picture-postcard shot with plenty going on to look at, although there's a bit to much open space in the lower left which is rather at odds with the rest of the picture which bristles with life. Good use of orange here though as it immediately draws my eyes to the lifeboat and dominates the picture - just the sort of thing I was hoping to see.

5th Vibrancy : 1 point

Poppy by GaryJohn

An unusual and very effective view of a common flower. I like the way the sunlight makes the petals take on an almost tissue paper like appearance and the focus on the stem is spot on. It's a shame the sky wasn't a little more blue on the day though as I think that would have made a nice offset for the orange. Never mind, we can't control the weather...

Astors by saliakbari

A lovely floral abstract and one where the orange really does glow! I really like the framing and if I had any criticism it would be that I would have liked to see just a little more depth-of-field to bring the lower petals into slightly sharper focus. An intrigueing shot though and I really love the little droplets of water.

North Berwick Law by Night by Puds52

A very surreal landscape and one that I like very much from a colour point of view - this has excellent orange credentials! Not quite so sure about the framing though. I can see why you wanted to include the tree to give a sense of the openness leading up to the hill but it leaves the picture a little unbalanced in terms of having all the empty foreground space on the right. I think I might have moved a few steps to the right so the hill itself was more on that side of the picture and the tree could occupy the left hand side. The light really is super though!

Orange Flowers by beakynet

Well there's nothing wrong with your choice of subject matter but I have to say in all honesty I find the background very distracting. The main subjects are struggling to distance themselves from the pattern behind and it can be tricky at first to see where one stops and the other starts. This is one where a lens with a longer focal length would help as it would blur the background more and heighten the contrast between the two areas.

Orange Load by josh

A good documentary-style picture of someone loading a (lifeboat?). The orange certainly dominates the picture and you can see why the colour is so commonly used on objects that need to stand out from their surroundings - the sea in this case. Focus and framing are good but I'd have liked to see a little more of the guy's face I think to make it more of a picture and less of a catalogue shot.

An orange out and about by mikew

In this competition literal is good - yet this is the only entry that actually features an orange! As soon as I saw it it made me grin, he really does look like he's catching a few rays while watching the boats go by. I like the framing; the lock, canal and blue sky in the background and - most of all - our orange friend. I like pictures with humour and this has it in spades, excellent work!

1st Juiciness: 5 points
2nd Vibrancy : 4 points


Tobermory Lighthouse by Dogpaws

Another lovely sunset picture which is really nicely balanced in terms of where the key elements appear in the frame. Considering it was shot into the sun there's a suprising amount of detail retained in the nearside of the lighthouse and I love the reflection in the water which reminds me of a kite's tail somehow. A much more subdued orange than many of the other entries - almost a peach in fact - but a very mellow and relaxing one nonetheless.

Woman and child, Lalibela by Dr. Mhuni

Wow - what a doorway! I wouldn't fancy my chances of filling that with something off the shelf from B&Q! A nicely captured shot and the figures give a good sense of scale. The orange on the other hand gives a good sense of the heat that must beat down on this area, those walls don't look like they get to see much rain - no other colour would convey this quite as well so this is the best example of orange being irreplaceable in my eyes. The textures are really nice here too and it's the sort of shot I could see gracing a book on travel - very good effort.

1st Vibrancy : 5 points

Tangerine Dream Machine by Snappycaz

I can't ever get enough of orange cars so this is a welcome addition to the competition. I'm going to stick my neck out and say it's a '37 Ford - probably a Coupe? Whatever it is I love those gorgeous curves around the teardrop headlights, which leads me to my criticism: I'd have liked to see both the headlights in full and I could have done without the patch of ground in the lower left; a panoramic letterbox crop could have worked nicely here. The colour's great though and I like the way the upper cream portion really looks like its been poured on.

Orange coral gemstone jewellery by Haworth

This is another of those shots that looks like its come straight from a catalogue. It's a fantastic product shot with perfect lighting and spot-on focus, unfortuantely, for me that's also its downfall. It lacks any "soul" to me by being too slick and polished. If I was trying to sell the necklaces featured I'd want you as my photographer as you've done a textbook job, but it fails to really say anything to me on an emotional level other than, "So how much are they?". A nice orange though - the first real amber hues we've had this week so a thumbs up for the colour.

Try to reach the Sun by ZuZa

This to me conjures up mental images of the seaside better than any landscape and gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. There's so much to see here and you can almost hear the kids shrieking and laughing as they bounce around - the one in the bottom right looks like she's about to launch herself at the others and adds to this being a good fun picture. There is orange here but I don't think it's in any way the subject of the picture, rather it's the backdrop - hence this lags behind many of the others in terms of what I was looking for in this competition, but I think as a standalone piece this is quite lovely.

5th Juiciness: 1 point

My orange red bubble by aminstar

Another good quality abstract with some really nice texture detail on the left and even the less-in-focus right throws up some interesting blurry shapes. They actually make me think a little of flames licking around a log with something in the middle melting into them. From another angle I can see a face with the central blob now taking the part of a nose; there's certainly a lot to look at here! Unfortunately, although there's a lot of orange in the picture I couldn't say that it was the dominant colour (with so many others to compete with), nor that it could be irreplaceable. Close but no cigar I'm afraid!

Blooms by womble

With blooms the size of these it's often possible to overlook their existence let alone take time to photograph them, I'm glad you did though because I love the delicate shades of pink on their backs which complements the (main event in colour terms) orange very well indeed. I like the composition too with one small exception: The out-of-focus flowers directly below the main subjects are a little distracting and don't sit quite "right" in my eyes, I'd have probably employed a little judicious cloning here. A very spring-like and warming picture though.

Sunset by PentaxKid37

Don't worry about originality - it can be highly overrated as a concept. This is a wonderful sunset picture with all the right ingredients and the bonus of some stars visible, one of the best of its ilk I've seen in a long time! The balance is just right; the trees, sun and stars all being just where they should be in the frame and the lighting on the undersides of the clouds is perfect too - an excellent example of what I wanted this week in terms of orange domination.

Orange on an ocean of green by Ben76

A beautiful flower head with a very pretty and delicate petal structure - and of course the colour's great! Unfortunately though the tone is too similar to the greenery behind making it blend in more than stand out. With this sort of shot it's often a good idea to get down on the ground and shoot upwards to lose a lot of the grass which is a bit of a distraction. I do like the orange/yellow shades though.


Now that just leaves the final positions to be announced and based on my own scoring system I make it...

WINNER! mikew with 9 points
2nd davidtrout with 7 points
3rd Dr. Mhuni with 5 points
4th GivingTree with 3 points
5th= lenscape and Coriander with 2 points
7th= GlynM and ZuZa with 1 point

Everyone who entered should give themselves a pat on the back - some great photos there!

Over to you for the next one Mike and good luck!
Joining the Q
GivingTree
Posted 04/05/2009 - 04:23 Link
Well, a very original judging system! Thanks for a good, thoughtful round, Hefty.

And thanks for my 3 juicy points!! Someone pass me a napkin.

(BTW, loved loved loved that orange staircase by davidtrout.)
"Just put your eye to the camera and push the button-thingy."
Flickr page:
link
JudithAnn
Posted 04/05/2009 - 05:23 Link
Thanks for all your hard work in the judging Hefty. Thanks especially for your comments on my photo.

Congrats go out to Mikew.... First place; orange you glad you won!?!

I have to say though that Davids staircase was my first pick. It was waaay cool. I stared and stared and stared at that. Wow the blue behind that orange was fantastic!

Congrats also to all the runner-up!
Dr. Mhuni
Posted 04/05/2009 - 06:11 Link
Great, humorous judging, as always Hefty. Congrats to MikeW whose shot was particularly juicy! I also liked David Trout's staircase. And thanks for my third.
Mhuni

500px
womble
Posted 04/05/2009 - 06:42 Link
Well done hefty, excellent and helpful comments on a difficult competition. The orange made me grin too, and the staircase was stunning.
Kris Lockyear
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera… they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.

My website
mikew
Posted 04/05/2009 - 07:17 Link
Well I'm both surprised and delighted as I thought David's staircase would be impossible to beat! It was a very good topic and created some very good shots. Thank you Hefty, now for a new topic!

I took the orange around a number of spots but that one shot seemed to sit best of all for some reason. It was a fine orange and I was lucky to get it in the greengrocers but I fear it will be consumed today. No more travels for that fruit.

Mike
---------------------------------------------------

You can see some of my shots at my Flickr account.
Snappycaz
Posted 04/05/2009 - 07:50 Link
Thanks Hefty1 for judging this, it looks like it was hard work. I wasn't sure about my entry & realise now that I could have cropped it more. But then that's a matter of taste. I loved the way you marked the entires & I'm glad the ORANGE won. I have to say I loved the starcase too, stunning. BTW I think you were right about the model of car it was on a card on the windscreen but I only glanced at that as the orange just took my eye.
Caz
"IF YOU OBEY ALL THE RULES, YOU MISS ALL THE FUN." - KATHERINE HEPBURN
Hyram
Posted 04/05/2009 - 07:52 Link
Congratulations to mikew and thank you to hefty 1.

I can see why he decided to create a scoring system with such a diverse set of images.
Hyram

Bodies: K20D (2), K10D, Super A, ME Super, Auto 110 SLR, X70, Optio P70
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Prieni
Posted 04/05/2009 - 08:26 Link
Well done Hefty and Mikew!
Difficult round to judge, lots of great entries here, quite a few deserved to win. But there can be only one.

Prieni
How inappropriate to call this planet earth when it is quite clearly Ocean. - Arthur C. Clarke
Prieni's PPG page
Tony-O
Posted 04/05/2009 - 08:36 Link
Fine looking orange Mikew,congratulations on the win.Well done Hefty on your ''judging'' baptism.It's a bit of a shock first time innit!
And my pic was definatley all Pentax,honest. Tony.
K7,DA*50-135, 35mmLTD Macro, 21mm Ltd, Voightlaender 58mm 1.4 NOKTON SL,Ricoh GRD,GRX, Zeiss 100mm f2 Makro Planar.Zeiss Ikon ZM,Zeiss f1.5 C Sonnar.

It ain't no sin to take off your skin,and dance around in your bones.Tom Waits.
johnriley
Posted 04/05/2009 - 08:39 Link
Nicely judged with a careful and considerate eye!

This was a good competition was it not? Although seeing all that orange in all those thumnnails was quite dazzling.
Best regards, John
davidtrout
Posted 04/05/2009 - 08:47 Link
Many thanks Hefty, you did a great judging job. Your marking system was spot on. I couldn't have been more pleased with the result, second place and all the appreciative comments from yourself and other members but no worries about judging the next competition.
My congratulations to MikeW for a worthwhile win and to Dr Muhni, Giving Tree, Coriander, Lenscape, GlynM and Zuza - I loved all their pictures and many others in this classy competition.
Edited by davidtrout: 04/05/2009 - 10:22
josh
Posted 04/05/2009 - 13:28 Link
Great comp topic and judging Hefty. Congrats to MikeW.
JOSH.
Posted 04/05/2009 - 15:19 Link
Many thanks Hefty. Great job on the judging and topic choice. Congratulations to Mikew for winning but I must say the orange stairway by davidtrout was my favourite. The abstract nature and the vibrant colour did it for me.
Aiki
Posted 04/05/2009 - 16:40 Link
THAT was a lot of judging work ! So many entries !
great !
As to explane my pic name. This little orange part (upper part of pistil) of Crocus sativus is what safran actually is. That spices makes the cakes etc so yellow. To be honest its not the right crocus speies on my pic, but it looks very similar and belonges to the same family.

No worries, I cope with waiting for two years
These two years promise to be a lot of fun

btw, if you find time, show me, how would have you cropped ???? I tried! I really did. Didnt find a better solution. Or some frame added?(post me a link to your "view").
Aiki

----
Pentax K20D; SMC DA 18-55mm II kit; Sigma AF 70-300/4-5.6 APO DG MACRO
GIMP Flickr
PPG
hefty1
Posted 04/05/2009 - 18:17 Link
Hi Aiki - thanks for the botany lesson, I learn something new every day!

I can't post a picture in this thread so I'll post a cropped version of your entry in the comments thread (in the Competitions forum) so you can see what I meant.
Joining the Q
lenscape
Posted 04/05/2009 - 21:01 Link
Nicely judged and congratulations to Mike.

Thank you for your comments.

You were right about orange not being the focus of the image. The original was yellow and I had to tweak it slightly in Gimp. Actually, I prefer the orange.
lenscape
K20D, K10D, K-m, MZ3, Metz 58-AF1, Optio MX4 & Linux.(No Windows)
(Gone: *istD, ME Super, Super-A)
Coriander
Posted 04/05/2009 - 22:22 Link
Hefty,
Thanks for your comments and the obvious effort you put in judging the competition, it couldn't have been easy with so many excellent images entered. Round of applause to everyone!!



.
K10D with Grip, 28mm,50mm,135mm,18-55,18-200,70-300mm, Meade 2000mm catadioptric, dodgy tripod and luck
piotro
Posted 05/05/2009 - 09:04 Link
Grats for winner and the judge .
Dogpaws
Posted 08/05/2009 - 19:31 Link
A deserved winner, thanks for judging and taking the time to comment.

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