Fortnightly Competition # 33 - STAIRS

Yes, I kept chewing my nails, until I got some promises from the comment thread.
Last days have been full of damned bad luck in my life. So I am a bit out of energy for the competition. I hope you forgive me when my comments are lacking sth or are too much carried away by emotions. I didnt find the time for playing with all the pics in my Gimp. That would have made me easier to explane, what I would have preferred or done.

I expected interesting pics and I have got them. I think you agree that it is not so easy to choose the winner. Any of these has got its charm. There are so many equal ones, that all of you could share the honoured places.
Thank you very much for participating – and doing it with so great pics.

GlynM – Footbridge

Picture of stripes = lines. Lot of different lines that repeat the stairs in different ways. And the lines are nicely placed. The more I look it the more I like it. It is quite gray and I thought of BW version. But returned to the peaceful desat look. Too much contrast would ruin it and make a fuss.
I must say I like it !

Tim – Going up

A jeee- you know me a bit already Or the theme just fits you
Wonderful shadows, wonderful colors ! If I compare this pic to the another one in flickr (being a fav of most) I must say, I still like this one here. Because of the deeper red, because of the stairs being not flat. Here it is 3D ! (I think the red edges of steps make it) And the shadows are still great.
The only (but huge) drop of tar in the honeypot is the carpet. My solution would be a crop. Get rid of the lower part, and the steps and shadows still work. At least for me.

Pnjmcc

Lovely. Tender plants. Maybe I am wrong, but the week point for me is the focus. My eye always goes back to the white blossoms and the leaves stright behind these. Somehow it annoys me that the focus is not there but on the lowest part of the pic. Maybe f 2.8 is too wide here. Just a bit.

Bob and his Pentax

Very nicely composed.
It makes me feel that I have to step carefully there. I feel the depth. And I like that you make me feel like that with just a photo.
A bird has teased you. It draws my attention.

Hyram – old railway

From distance it is as if wooden. Or has the inspiration for PP come from Cadburys chocolates ?
That could have been even the title.
How did you do the PP ? (I am not so good on this field, so just curious)

Hefty's paperwork

Worth of special prise for the great preparative work It would be interesting to try doing the same. The yellowish table is not the best. It could have been also BW, maybe (I didnt try). Also I think the scissors are too much for the composition. The knife, ruler and the silhouettes are enough to build all up. I would also like to see the surface (texture) of the paper, just to understad what type of paper it is.

Prieni - plan B

Fan of stairs. Beautiful ! You have done it just opposite way to Bob and his Pentax ! There is no depth. The steps are almost as if on the same level. Master of colors you are too !

Davidtrout- Stairway Spotlight

At last SOMEBODY USING the stairs ! The stairs have a purpose!
The pic makes me look long. So bold contrasts. And quite a lot going on at the pic. The area around the lady's shadow is bit busy for me.
The brick-wall is as if from another world.
All this pic is as if from another world. But it keeps me looking at it and I cant get rid of it. Great !

DrMhuni – spiral staircase

You make the textures to come out so well. You have used your lens to bring out the spiral well (as you did with curves), but it is all somehow restless. My eye goes to ceiling – a more „clear“ place.

Mikew

Really good image! But somehow sad !
eeee....I do not know what to say. Of course: I like it.
It is all so well balanced! The lines of the stairs play so well. And the wall with dirty stripes gives a good balance.

Matwhittington – Welcome
(sry, I gave it a title)

It is again a combined picture, where the stairs are not the only eyecatchers. I would even say, the statue to be more important subject. The stairs are only leading to the welcoming statue. Also I stretch my eyes to the wall, trying to see the texture. The wall takes quite a large part of the pic, so there should be sth to see. It is nice pic, but maybe I was looking for sth different.
That is the trouble with the judges – they have their more or less typical taste.

Womble – Old Market

Again I must say that there is too much happenig for me. I want to go closer. Catch some of the detail. At least in color version.
It turns much more peaceful in BW !!!! A jee, then I like it quite much !

And so...I have stepped through all your stairs. Nice walk it was.

results.....results.....
If you didnt have the carpet on the image, you would have been my sure favourite, Tim !!!
I feel myself even a bit quilty, as I was „chewing my nails“ in the comment thread and maybe made you rush a bit.

1.Prieni –Plan B (Fan of stairs)
2.Tim friendly with Mikew
3.Davidtrout

Special prize for preparative work: Hefty
Special prize for choice of PP: Hyram
I must also mention Bob and his Pentax.

Winners: all of you me too !

Congratulations to Aiki for very impressive judging and of course to Prieni for his gymnastic efforts with his very appealing upside down stairs

Thanks for my special PP prize

The weather in the UK has been terrible for the past two weeks, so finding subjects has not been easy

Yes echoed from me - excellent topic and judging, for which many thanks, and well done to Prieni and in fact everyone! I do like the comps on this forum!

Regards

Mat

Many thanks for your well thought out set of comments and what must have been some difficult judging.

Congratulations to everyone for such a good collection of submissions.

Glyn

Congratulations Ralf, another fine image from you and a worthy winner. Top class effort from you Aiki, it couldn't have been easy seperating this lot of fine photos.
Many thanks for my third place.
david

Thanks for the judging Aiki, I hope your luck changes

Well done to all.

Regards
PaulM

Well done to Ralf and thanks to Aiki for good judging - did you have a child's birthday today as well? Then you had two big tasks today!

Mike

Thanks for judging and great comments Aiki! I knew Ralf's photo would win, it was so awesome. Mike and I even had a little side bet on (See what we are up against? Even Ralf's Plan B is incredible )

I totally agree with you about the carpet in mine. I didn't notice how bad it was until it was too late

Well done Aiki. The quality of the images in this round was superb, I wouldn't like to have made the call myself.

Best wishes, Kris.

Excellent judging Aiki and thanks for my Special Prize! There isn't really any detail to see in that paper, it's just a sheet of regular photocopier A4.

Well done to Prieni - loved the patterns and the colours so a very worthy winner.

Thanks for the judging and setting a good subject, Aiki. Was disappointed not to have managed to get out to shoot properly for it, but I haven't been particularly well recently.

Congrats to Prieni. Great shot. I remembered the Your House version and wondered if you might re-stage it!

Thanks Aiki for giving my entry the top spot. I'm sure it wasn't easy. Liked Mike's stairs (fantastic construction), Dr. Mhuni' fisheye and David's spotlight best of the very good crop. Hefty produced a very good entry AND a nice paper staircase, the special prize is well deserved.

My plan A was to find an interesting staircase and get it's shadow only. But without the sun it is difficult to achieve.
Also had a plan C with the home staircase...

I better get thinking about the next theme...

Prieni

The judging day was really my childs birthday. So you had to wait until everybody was in bed and I could sit behind my laptop. Luckily the day was quite peaceful, as the party was held in the weekend.

Thank you once more for the great effor you made for getting the images !

I keep looking the pics, saved in a seperate folder. I hope you do not mind me keeping them

I think Aiki should get a special prize for setting such an inspiring theme!

Now to ponder long exposures. Shame I won't be in Cornwall over the next two weeks...