Discussion thread Weekly Comp #140 A trick of the eye

Right, this week’s theme is ‘Perspective compression’. I assume most of you will know what I’m on about but for those who don’t I’m referring to the optical effect of shots taken at longer focal lengths (ie. focal lengths of over ca. 33mm on an APS-C camera – or 50mm on a film camera) which give the appearance of objects being closer together than they actually were in real life. Here are some examples in case it’s still not clear:

link
link
link

As long as there's clear evidence of perspective compression the subject of your entry is otherwise completely wide open.

If anyone needs further clarification then don't hesitate to ask a question here...

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Mhuni

500px

Links not working?

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Colin

“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.”
Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797)

Colin, go to the links in the Competition section - they're not working here because I cut and pasted it from there, but the originals should be fine.

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Mhuni

500px

I was just talking about this on Friday. Spooky!
I now need to get some shots to show it

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Getting there! Thanks to you guys

Pentax K10d, *istDL, Kit lens ( 18-55mm ), 50mm f1.7 lens, Tamron 70-300mm lens, Prinzflex 70-162 manual lens, Various old flashes.

Just a tad harsh - IMHO - Mhuni - not everybody is blessed with either the time nor the eloquence of those like your good self and I feel that a restriction as harsh as that defeats the whole object of both the PU site and the fun competitions.Yes , certainly , the comments provided by some previous winners has been outstandingly thorough and I for one would love to have both the in-depth knowledge of our shared passion AND the ability to phrase judgement on my peers as some undoubtedly have.

With respect though , I feel that a pronouncement such as the quote above will be very off-putting to many - especially new members who are probably as nervous as I was in my first few months of membership with the idea of being heard OR being seen.

With deference to you obvious photographic skills and your seniority on th PU website.

Tony

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K20D,*istD ( now a dedicated M42 digital ),K100D,MZ5N,P50,ME Super,Spotmatic 1000,Spotmatic,ESII,ES,H2.18-55 II,18-55,75-300 FAJ,35-80 FA,80-200 F,28-105 FA,Sigma 24-70 AF Aspherical,Sigma 28-300 Hyperzoom , Praotor II 500 M42,Centon 500mm mirror,and a few Pentax M42 Taks,super-Taks,smc Taks,A and M lenses.Benbo trekker,7dayshop monopod and a Lowepro rucksack.

I am now on Flickr which is nice !

Tony - anyone can explain in brief, simple and yet clear terms what they like and dislike about a photograph. No-one expects deep technical analysis - although if it comes that's nice - all we ask is that the judge explains what worked and didn't work for them. It is a totally personal and individual opinion and there is no history of any dissent regarding any comments - just frustration when there are none!

You learn a lot when you have to think about why one photograph works for you and another does not so it's two way traffic.

Those who first language is not English do face an additional barrier but others manage and there are very good translation engines now.

Mike

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You can see some of my shots at my Flickr account.

Tony, I agree with Dr Mhuni because when people enter a competition they expect some feed back from the judge. Allowances are made for those who feel intimidated at having to compose judgements, expecially when English is not their first language. Very brief comments are acceptable and the least we expect is that 2nd and third and possibly commended pictures are listed along with the winner.
However I admit its easier for me than many of you - I'm retired and I have more time on my hands.(Don't tell Irene).
Two of my friends on this site, who shall remain nameless, have told me they won't enter the competitions because of the danger of winning. Believe me they are both more than capable of winning. One of them came second a while ago.
Now I'm looking forward to Dr Mhuni's competition - perspective compression. Andrew won't have any problems expressing his views on each picture.
david

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PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout

While I was a little surprised by the force of Dr M's pronouncement , I do agree with it.

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Tim
AF - Pentax K5, Sigma 10-20/4-5.6, Tamron 17-50/2.8, Sigma 30/1.4, Sigma 70-200/2.8, Tamron 70-300/4-5.6
MF - Vivitar CF 28/2.8, Tamron AD2 90/2.5, MTO 1000/11
Stuff - Metz 58 AF1, Cactus v4, Nikon SB24, Raynox 150, Sigma 1.4x TC, Sigma 2x TC, Kenko 2x macro TC, Redsnapper 283 tripod, iMac 27”, Macbook Pro 17”, iPad, iPhone 3G
Flickr • Fluidr • PPG • Street • Portfolio site
Feel free to edit any of my posted photos! If I post a photo for critique, I want brutal honesty. If you don't like it, please say so and tell me why!

I did actually say it was " a tad harsh " and did not say I didn`t agree in principal.

Having been the " little guy " most of my life I feel that someone should voice the views of the ordinary person on here who "might" just feel intimidated by the forcefulness of the pronouncement.

As I stated , I was very nervous at first , especially about sending in a photo , as I did not wish to be derided for my work.As it happened there were some helpful and constructive and encouraging remarks made , and I feel I have made some good friends on here.

I`m not sure I understand your comment , david , regarding "not entering because of the danger of winning" - that sounds a bit pompous considering we have already established that it is a totally personal and individual opinion and however technically good or bad a photo is , surely the judge will view it in an objective way.

Having just won the theme People - I am both elated and nervous about having to judge - but I shall do so as well as I am able regardless of the technical prowess of the entrant or the subject matter of his/her entry.

Sorry if this seems to be me banging on - but I genuinely do feel that the original statement was a tad harsh.

Tony

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K20D,*istD ( now a dedicated M42 digital ),K100D,MZ5N,P50,ME Super,Spotmatic 1000,Spotmatic,ESII,ES,H2.18-55 II,18-55,75-300 FAJ,35-80 FA,80-200 F,28-105 FA,Sigma 24-70 AF Aspherical,Sigma 28-300 Hyperzoom , Praotor II 500 M42,Centon 500mm mirror,and a few Pentax M42 Taks,super-Taks,smc Taks,A and M lenses.Benbo trekker,7dayshop monopod and a Lowepro rucksack.

I am now on Flickr which is nice !

Nothing pompous about my remark Tony. My two friends say they won't enter, not because they fear the judge's comments about their photos but because if they win they would have to do the following week's judging, and they would find that an onerous task. Perfectly reasonable point of view to my mind.
As for your being nervous about judging the next fortnightly competition, don't be, there's a first time for everyone. Everyone will respect your honestly given opinions.
david

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PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout

I agree with David, look forward to the judging it's quite fun if hard work.

I can't recall any time when anyone's work was derided in the competitions and if that did happen I am pretty sure that any number of members would weigh in and offer support so no-one should feel nervous on that front. I can be pretty blunt but I hope I never cross the line and come across as dismissive or deriding someone's hard work. If I do then tell me!

As for David's pussy friends the skill lies in coming second and they should be able to judge that to a nicety if they bide their time

Mike

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You can see some of my shots at my Flickr account.

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K20D,*istD ( now a dedicated M42 digital ),K100D,MZ5N,P50,ME Super,Spotmatic 1000,Spotmatic,ESII,ES,H2.18-55 II,18-55,75-300 FAJ,35-80 FA,80-200 F,28-105 FA,Sigma 24-70 AF Aspherical,Sigma 28-300 Hyperzoom , Praotor II 500 M42,Centon 500mm mirror,and a few Pentax M42 Taks,super-Taks,smc Taks,A and M lenses.Benbo trekker,7dayshop monopod and a Lowepro rucksack.

I am now on Flickr which is nice !

Tony,

I really don't feel I've been overly harsh. In the two years I've been entering the weekly (and, later, fortnightly) comp it has been standard for the judge to provide feedback on all the entries. Given that this has been established practice, I think it quite reasonable to point out that any entrant - in the event of winning - would be expected to do the same. On a few occasions in the recent past winners have failed to provide feedback to the frustration of many regulars - and as I said I viewed that as discourteous in view of the time and effort expended by previous judges.

The feedback doesn't have to be detailed or technically involved - just a statement of the judge's point of view. If a potential entrant is intimidated by the prospect of commenting on the images, or concerned by the amount of time required to provide feedback, then they can always post their shots in the Your Photos section.

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Mhuni

500px

Point Taken

TONY

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K20D,*istD ( now a dedicated M42 digital ),K100D,MZ5N,P50,ME Super,Spotmatic 1000,Spotmatic,ESII,ES,H2.18-55 II,18-55,75-300 FAJ,35-80 FA,80-200 F,28-105 FA,Sigma 24-70 AF Aspherical,Sigma 28-300 Hyperzoom , Praotor II 500 M42,Centon 500mm mirror,and a few Pentax M42 Taks,super-Taks,smc Taks,A and M lenses.Benbo trekker,7dayshop monopod and a Lowepro rucksack.

I am now on Flickr which is nice !

As a new 'un, I do understand what Tony is getting at - maybe I'm the only one - I think it might be a 'toe in the water' newbie's thing! Personally, it's really interesting what the judges think of each photo, and that is one of the main reasons why I enter, when I can - the comments are always constructive, which is a wonderful thing when you are starting out, and of course I learn from seeing other entrants' photos. I must admit that I was disappointed when a couple of judges didn't enter any comments at all, as I have to go to quite a bit of effort to post images on here, and so no feedback is a bit disappointing. Equally, I wouldn't have entered originally if I thought that I'd had a chance of winning, because the judging was SO DAMN GOOD! I now understand that people on here are in general very friendly and forthcoming with help, and so I feel that judging really would be ok, it would just be on your own terms.

Always seeing both sides,

Jo