Fortnightly competition 93: "Two"

I've managed to have a sit down for an hour and have a good look at the entries.

I know judges are always supposed to say this, but it has been extremely hard this time. Not a huge amount of entries, but of a very high standard. Not sure why the fortnightly always attracts far fewer entries than the weekly, but it might be something the mods want to look at. Probably because the photo has to be taken for the competition (which is a good thing), rather than be able to use a photo from the back catalogue, but I suspect that having to provide a link to the picture rather than simply upload it has an impact as well.

JudithAnn - Two Royals

I love this and it was a super start to the entries. Beautifully posed, but looks totally natural. Great sharpness, beautifully lit and charming subjects. Certainly made me smile and that's been rare this week A great portrait.

bforbes - Lean Two

With a quick glance this might not appear to be anything special, but I think this is great. Super composition with the leaning doors and the angle to the outbuilding. You almost feel that you could reach out and feel the textures it's that well shot. A super interpretation of the theme too. Reminded me of our granite outbuildings when we lived in Scotland as a bonus.

JAK - Two Tone

Another good interpretation of the theme. It's a well composed picture and the granite stones contrast well with the flowers. For me just a greater contrast between the two flower colours would be better, but a good entry as well.

geordie01 - Just Two

An original take on the theme and a good interpretation. A very sharp, well lit photo which shows off the abilities of the lens in an unusual way. I almost feel like I could reach out and dial it.

Sphere - 2 Prancing Horses

A good interpretation of the 'Two' theme. Nicely focused and well lit. For me it's been cropped a little too tightly around the cars. Ideally they need a little more room to breathe. It might have been worth experimenting with aperture and depth of field rather than have everything crisply focused, but a good entry.

dougf8 - a piece of 2 by 2

It took me a while to see this which makes me a bit thick. My daughter saw it immediately. I can see it now and it's a witty interpretation of the theme. Difficult to comment on the photo qualities as it's a picture of a computer screen, but it's all about the interpretation.

darkskies - It Takes two to Tango

A really nice picture and I have a bit of thing for macros, though none of mine are anywhere near as good as this. Great subject and interpretation. A lovely sharp, well lit macro and a nice blurred background which makes the subject stand out. A super entry.

dannyh - Two Blues Guitarists

Another very good entry. Good interpretation, nicely framed subjects and good bokeh. Some people aren't keen on blurred foregrounds, but I think it works very well. It's sharp and shows good use of natural lighting. I like it a lot.

GlynM - 2X2 Trail

Another unusual interpretation which works really well on several levels. Nice and sharp, good depth of field and well lit. This made me smile so extra kudos for this one, too.

tyronet2000 - two mouths to feed

This is nice. Another good interpretation and a great subject. Possibly a little over exposed if I am being really critical and I'd have preferred a greater DOF so that all the three starlings were in focus, but a lovely shot all the same. Another bonus point for a smile

TOZZA27 - We two - growing old together

This a tender shot, even if it is of an ornament! It's beautifully focused and very well lit. Great composition too. Very nice indeed. Another one that raised a smile.

Blythman - Double Trouble

I thought I had a vague idea of the winner, then this came along late on to mess things up. It's a stunning photo, but then all of Alan's are. I can't really think of anything to say that hasn't been said before about Alan's photos. It's just stunning and whilst I would have been proud to take most of the pictures on here, this is the one that I would have liked to have taken the most.

So there we are. I find it hard to be critical of anyone else's photo's whilst still a relative novice myself, but have tried to be honest and objective. If there are any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors, apologies, but it's been a hell of a week and my brain is dead. A month's sleep should do it.

So the winner. It really has been very hard and any one of four could have won. I think the squirrels by blythman is technically the best photo and it's hard not to give it first place, but, personally, I have just given the edge to bforbes's Lean Two. It might not be everyone's choice, but I think it was the best combination of interpretation and technique. it could just as easily have been JudithAnn's or blythman.

First - bforbes - Lean Two
Second equal - JudithAnn's - Two Queens and blythman's Double Trouble (cop out, sorry)

A special mention to dannyh, darkskies and TOZZA27 and well done to everyone else. It's been fun, if exhausting.

Chris

Congratulations to Barrie , and all others who entered excellent pictures.

Thank you for your kind critique Chris. Its very much appreciated. Unlike some others I didn't specifically set out to take a pic for this competition. It just happened. Having entered for the first time in ages, hopefully it'll give me the push to enter more regularly. So thank you for that too

Congratulations to Barrie and the runners up. If I'd been judging I think I would have had to toss a coin to choose the top entry so well done Chriss on very good judging.

Thanks for your efforts Chris. Personally i like having to take a picture for the comp (but then i have time to do it) Uploading and linking pics etc did flummox me for a while but after my first success, twas plain sailing if a little tedious

Dan.

Congratulations Barrie and the runners up and thank's to Chris for setting and judging there were some belters in there.

Many thanks to Chris for setting a great subject that was open to some wonderful interpretations. Thanks also for your very prompt excellent reviews and judging.

Congratulations to Barrie for the wining shot and everyone else for another set of diverse and well crafted images.

It is great to be back in these competitions .

Glyn

Well done, Chris. A good subject which solicited some very good entries.

Well done Barrie and the others for great shots. Like Alan, I didn't set out to take a shot of 2 damselflies copulating for the comp, it just happened! The light was a little too harsh for a really good shot, but I thought I'd enter it anyway.

Thanks to Chris for hosting this competition, and for your constructive comments on my entry.

Personally I like the idea of having to interpret the theme, and then taking a photo to submit. If I can find more time, I'd enjoy the chance to enter more of these.

Some very interesting and well executed ideas amongst the entries, there's a fair number of them I'd be very proud to have taken. So much to learn!

Congrats Barrie et al, thanks for the judging Chris, mine was binary numbers, 2s, computer style on a tv as a background with the number two shaped with an abacus as the blurred foreground, I might knock the concept on the head and do something mono in a vase next time

Well done to the top three and to Chris for his judging. A hard comp to judge in the end but I think I agree with the result. My entry was a retake of a photo I'd taken a couple of days before the competition was announced.


I'm sure both issues have an impact on the on the number of entries. It's actually a bit confusing having two different systems for competitions on the same site and not everyone has or desires a dedicated account to host photos on the web and some who do seem to get confused in the process of linking them. A quick upload to the gallery like the weekly comp would seem to make sense and keep the photos available to see by viewers in the future. Hosted pictures will almost certainly get deleted in due course.

John

Well my money was on "It takes two to tango". Thank you Chris for your time in setting the competition and in judging such close entries. I'm just back from a few days away, so I'm hoping I can set up number 94 tomorrow. Thanks again Chris.

Wonderful - always happy with a special mention - especially against some very high quality competition...................great judging and very hard I would surmise - well done to our winner though I loved lean two (although Double Trouble blew my mind as well)Two royals was evocative and some great runners up.

Many thanks for the incentive

Tony