Competition no. 44 'Rain'

K10D / Sigma 105 / 1/4000s at f/3.5 / ISO 800 / Aperture Priority / No flash / Real rain!

Rainy Sunday in Lomé

As with others - just after the rain




Mike

I have to congratulate everyone on what was a very strong set of submissions – the best I have seen so far, I think. In fact – despite my judging responsibilities – it would have been nice if there’d been more entries. Unfortunately, sod’s law seems to have been in operation in that this appears to have been an unusually pleasant week in the UK (though rain in Memphis appears to have partly made up for this). I noticed that there was a massive downpour in Lancashire yesterday afternoon during the match between Wigan and the rags (am a diehard, or should that be long suffering, MCFC fan – hope you’re on the right side of the Manchester divide too, John R – though if you are you’ll be rueing it today ), though this was probably too late (and too localised?) for competition entrants.

Anyway... let judging commence:

Deecy – Window, rain, tree: A great way to start. Love the rain on the windowpane, the halo-like effect it has on the tree, and the nicely saturated splash of green grass at the bottom. Perhaps would have been enhanced if you could have got all the raindrops in focus, but all in all a really pleasing image.

Lilly – Hoi An, Vietnam: You keep on coming up with the goods Lilly! Another great image. Like the framing of the shot – including the left hand bike leading your eye into the picture. Inclusion of trees and other vegetation adds nicely to the atmosphere of a tropical deluge. Meanwhile, the couple pushing the cart provide a good off-centre focus and round off the picture with a nice humorous twist.

Justgetoutandride – This is not my garden: Some wonderful shapes in this pic give it bags of character – the fallen(?) tree, the collapsed stone wall, and the straight tree trunks in the background. However, while it certainly looks damp – it doesn’t really say rain to me.

terje-l – Newcastle puddle: Great reflection pic, with really nice muted shades but at the same time good clarity. Like a window onto another world. Proportionately more reflection/puddle, and less flagstones, would IMO have really enhanced this though.

Hyram – Umbrella: Lovely image. Nice sharpness on the raindrops and fabric. Pleasingly saturated reddy-pink umbrella material contrasting nicely with the OOF grey ground below. Good composition – the right amount of umbrella. Like the drops falling off the umbrella too – though if you could have frozen these this might have been the icing on the cake.

Galoot – Marybank rainbow: Beautiful shot of a rainbow in a Scottish valley. Lovely warm tones in the fields and trees (judging by the light I assume this was taken late-afternoon – or early morning?). However, the rain doesn’t look all that imminent.

HowardJ – After the rain: Great plump raindrops sitting on pinky-purple leaves make a pleasing image, though there’s something I can’t quite pin down which is lacking for me. Perhaps it’s the absence of an obvious focal point on which the eye can rest. Detail on the in focus drops nice, though greater depth of field would have enhanced the picture overall.

Hefty1 – Fly and leaves: Nice saturation and detail on leaves contrasting with the fly. Also I like the composition with the fly in the top right hand corner and the leaves unfurling to dominate the rest of the frame. Though I do feel the crop makes the image a bit narrow. Meanwhile, the drops of water are rather diminutive – suggesting a rather light shower rather than a proper downpour!

Keith Grant – Oxford in the rain: Classic framed photo of a beautiful neo-classical building. The intrinsic attractiveness of the building itself makes for a pleasing image – though it is topped off by the figure in mid-step with the umbrella and the soaked paving in the foreground, giving the picture a strong atmosphere, redolent of a damp English day. Nice varying tones of brown on the buildings and the paving in the foreground. Love the reflection of the columns on the paving. The only thing missing is detail in the sky, which does detract a little from the overall image – though I understand how this would have been difficult to achieve without ruining the rest of the shot.

Johnriley – Pentax user in rain: Cute! I can spot the family resemblance (at least I think I can). Like how you’ve captured the rain going diagonally across the picture.

dirk1000 – Garden say thanks...: Glistening plant in foreground and water overflowing from roof above nicely captures the saturation that occurs with a tropical downpour.

GivingTree – Tonight in driveway: Fabulous. Evocative lighting makes what probably isn’t the most promising subject into a really atmospheric shot. And it’s the rain – perfectly captured – which makes the photo.

GlynM – After a storm: Atmospheric shot. It reminds me of those summer storms back in England that occur after a(n all too rare) heatwave, when pavements are turned into raging torrents and, in contrast to most of the year, it’s actually envigorating to be out in the rain. Like the light from the streetlamp(?) on the redbrick bridge.

Clarky – Thai elephant party: You get the ungainly gait of the elephants nicely. The vegetation shows the effects of a lot of rain (and sun). Eroded path suggests how fierce the downpours are when they do occur. But there’s not much sign of actual rain in this shot.

Promhandicam – Rain drops: Great photo. Love the progression in size of the water droplets. Nice shape to the tiles(?) that the water is falling from – and in this picture I think the noise here adds to the overall image. My only problem is that it doesn’t really capture this subject (‘rain’) so well – it’s a technical and aesthetically pleasing image more than an evocative one.

Only got a chance to look at the next two this morning...

Boyo – Rainy Sunday in Lome: Good atmospheric shot, with the view outside the car nicely distorted by the rain on the window. Even retains enough detail to make out the overcast sky, which is good.

MikeW – After the rain: Good shot of the aftermath of a downpour, with sodden ground and a mini stream. Like the contrasting textures of the vegetation, the water and the tarmac(? – it looks like treacle toffee). The Ford hubcap(?) in the middle provides a well positioned contrast to these. Captures the effect of rain very well.

So now I have to decide on a top three, and I’ve got to say that this week you’ve made the decision for second and third really difficult. While, for me, one image did stand out it was very hard to pick out the next two from an excellent group of shots which each had their own distinctive strengths. Anyway, the winner is:

Giving Tree for an image which is wonderfully atmospheric, capturing this week's theme brilliantly well.

Second and Third go to, respectively, Hyram for the vibrant and detailed umbrella and Keith Grant for the damp day in Oxford.

However, as there was barely the width of a cigarette paper (if that) between these and some others I am reviving the Commended category this week. In truth I would have liked to have given a second equal to all the following (as well as Hyram & Keith), but instead they will have to make do with ‘Commended’:

Deecy
Lilly
Mike W

Thanks again everyone for your photos, I enjoyed them a lot this week.

Well done Dr Mhuni - another excellent bit of judging and so fast!

I apologise for submitting so late but I was going to Wales on Sunday and we all know it always rains in Wales (but it didn't). How I regretted not capturing the torrential downpour I was caught in while visiting Vienna earlier last week before I knew the topic.

Congratulations to the winners!

Mike

Congratulations to Giving Tree - a definite winner IMHO.

Many thanks to Dr. Mhuni for the excellent judging, for my coveted second place and for the fabulous weather that we have enjoyed over the past week in the UK

Many thanks to all the paticipants and to Dr Mhuni for his usual thoughtful assessment.

Giving Tree - well done! - please set a new subject in a new thread and just wait for those entries to pour in.

Excellent judging Dr Mhuni and congratulations to Giving Tree - a worthy winner!

Well done GivingTree, my choice also, a very wet & atmospheric shot that was enhanced by being produced in mono, nice choice in all Dr Mhuni.

Thanks for your judging Dr M and congrats to Giving Tree with a great shot. The rain here yesterday was really peculiar (for Africa) in that other than a short down pour it could better be described as drizzle.

Steve

Well done Giving tree, My favourite also and a deserved winner.

And another well done to the Doc for job well done.
BTW i thought the Raincoats and umbrellas were enough to convince you it was raining

They are all fantantastic photos. Wow! Well done everyone.
Congratulations to the winners.

Thanks, Dr. Mhuni, for the thorough feedback, and for the third place. I'm honored, given the many strong entries!

Cheers!

WOW! Thanks for the win, Dr. Mhuni. As a true novice (been into photography only a few months now), I'm honored to be chosen. Glad I could eek something out of a miserable night that was dark as pitch.

Thanks Dr.Mhuni for the good judge. I feel honored my image was seen in Ethiopia.

Congratulations to the winners. Great images…


Best regards.
________________
Dirk TROTTEYN.
K10D+ Sigma 18-50 1:2.8 DC; DA 10-17 fish-eye.
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