Weekly Competition # 40 "Upside Down"

After last night's torrential rain.





Howard

Venice 24/10/06 *istDS DA18-55 @31mm ISO400 f8 1/180

ANGEL:

(dead flower - hanging upside down)




K10D - Sigma 105mm macro - F11 - iso 100 - 1/45

For Lilly



K10D / Sigma 105 / 1/90sec at f/16 / ISO800

At a Kyoto shrine




Mike

this is my sister Julia

K10D / FA77 / f2.4 / 1-90sec / ISO280

The Rebel

here is my Dad, modeling one of the new Pentax Sport Optics straps.




Taken today with my K10D and Tamron 90mm SP macro on a 2x SP converter.

Hello Everyone,

Please excuse my non-technical prose and inevitable gaffes as I've only taken up photography again in the last 9 months and have hardly scratched the surface of understanding. I'll freely admit my tastes may seem quite prosaic or obscure. I've tried to add praise and criticism for each photo and I'll probably end up offending and infuriating everyone equally

First of all, well done to everyone who entered and thank you for making my work all the harder for it

Here's goes my best effort:

Prieni - I thought for a while you'd be the only entry I really like the colours and texture to this picture. I do wonder if it could have been better cropped as I find the right-way-up boat a bit of a distraction to the whole effect. I also wonder whether a tweak in the lighting might help the overall effect and help with the rather dark left side of the picture - then again, it's the lighting as you have it that helps make the composition.

Deecy - I'm a sucker for animal photo's This sloth reminds me of one of our dogs - a lazy English bull terrier called Pickle. I digress - I really like the natural pose of the sloth as you expect to see it and the tight DOF gives a nice bokeh. Perhaps the obvious criticism is the tight vertical cropping does make it thin and long and I wonder if b&w detracts from the subject a bit too. I'd love to see the inevitable moss growing and dirt on more of the slovenly creature.

beakynet - Is that a lemur? I very relaxed pose and I do like the composition and humour in it. The contrast in colours gives the photo a nice feel. It's difficult with the black fur to really pick out the features of the animal, but I also know that you have to go with the lighting and angles you're given when shooting animals.

08tiger - OK, this one has me flummoxed I can see that we have an upside-down pump and the photo shows a great shade of blue which is striking against the water. Perhaps if there was more context to the pump being upside down in the water it would help tell a story that would give the picture more humour.

Tyr - I saw this picture when you had it the other way up and it had me confused (notably the flotsam in the water) This way makes much more sense. To me, you've controlled the contrast and lighting well given the sunlight through the clouds, the dark green of the foliage and the reflection in the water while keeping the building well lit. I love those Georgian windows. I do like pictures like this where I can find new things that catch my attention the more I look at it.

justgetoutandride - Black and white in the picture works very well for me. It emphasises the age of the old TV and the abandonment of it as dumped rubbish. I do like the way you've captured both the brambles and the trees in the background. I do wonder whether it might have had additional impact with a lower angle of view putting the trees more directly behind the TV.

Mannesty - That car is definitely upside down! It's amazing how people walk away from such accidents at the speeds that have to drive at, particularly landing on a section of concrete piping like that. A picture that tells a story. The lighting of the picture looks a little harsh.

Hyram - I really like the composition and colours in this picture. After pictures of animals, water is probably my next favourite photographic subject matter. One slight frustration which you had no control over - what is the name on the boat? It just keeps pulling my eye in I don't know if it was possible, but the crop feels quite tight and I do wish I could see a bit more of the mast and rigging.

Clarky - Wonderful close-up shot. I like the discarded limb hanging below the spider. The orange alongside the black make a striking combination and the background bokeh give a great muted contrast to the spider on its web. My one criticism would probably be the angle of the shot. A closer shot from the head down the body might add a little more drama to the composition.

Gasman295 - I almost missed the upside connection with the shot and then my OH pointed out the beer glass and it fell into place. A nice cafe scene with an interesting lower view angle out onto the street. I do find the blown highlights a bit too distracting and the glass being a little OOF detracts from the composition a little.

George Lazarette - Well, you've punched all the buttons with this shot for me. Wildlife, water and upside down at that. The lighting is great and even and the composition excellent. I like the way the flipper on the left looks about to break the water and how the water reacts with the motion of the seal. It left me wanting to see more shots if you had any of the subject and location.

Belinda B. - That's a whacky grass growing on the bank there. I like the lighting and cropping of the photo and the colour of the green grass helps add some definition to the dried part. It's a pity that the water isn't a bit more still to better reflect the grass to add more impact and I feel myself wanting to be a little bit closer.

GaryMoffat - Those are very pretty anenome shells reflected beautifully on the well lit surface. I do see the attraction of this type of minimalist work, but for my tastes it seems a little sterile. I can't fault the technical aspects of the picture, though.

Keith Grant - An interesting and colourful composition of boats at harbour. I do like the colours and the still reflection in the water. The only distraction for me is perhaps the white on the boats and buildings against the white of the sky. I don't know whether the sky is blown at all, but it gives that impression compared to the skys blue reflection in the water.

Don - A high impact picture making a clear statement. I'll admit to not being a huge fan of composite photo's (if that's the correct terminology). However, it's certainly a clever way to display your idea.

HowardJ - I've found photographing daffodils quite tricky when it comes to lighting. It's all too easy to have too much saturation or blown whites and you've overcome that problem very well with this photo. It looks sharp and the water on the flower sets it off well. For me, it's a little dark and perhaps lacks a little drama in its composition.

amilner - A very interesting shot in Venice. The reflection of the blue sky and the light movement of the water adds a lovely shimmer effect to the colours of the reflected buildings. The reflected tree is the focal point for me - what's a tree doing in Venice? And where is it growing? On the roof of a building? The only detraction for me is perhaps the right-hand side which, in shadow, lacks the impact of the left.

Nimitz - A lovely muted photo of a dead flower gone to seed. I had to look a few times before I got the Angel connection (OK, I'm slow). The lighting of the flower heads and the dark bokeh make the impact for me. Did you PP something out of the photo to the lower left of the stalk? It seems like it, unless it was something in the background of the image.

promhandicam - For me, B&W photography needs drama and impact to pull it off in the vibrant colour photography we see most of today. This photo of a slug pulls it off for me. The detail, grain and light work very well. In some ways, I'd like to see more of the slug, or something contextual in the distant background, but that would probably detract greatly from the impact of the composition.

mikew - An interesting subject and composition. For me, you've held the lighting and shade in good balance and the colour is worked well. For more impact I suppose I'd need to know more about what the subject is or represents, as on its own it's difficult to grasp. Perhaps the little bit of hose pipe showing (if that is what it is) behind the ladle head is a little distracting.

Boyo - Excellent use of the Competition subject. When I was thinking of the competition subject this week I was hoping someone would present a photo of someone doing a handstand - and here it is A lovely capture of your sister, and very well composed. It might benefit from a little more light and contrast to pull the subject from the background.

hefty1 - The red flowers on the upside down mug stand out very nicely against the white drainer. I also like the discarded spoons to the right of the mugs. for some reason, my eyes keep being attracted to the tortoise on the left most mug. Is that a little CA that I see on the top rim of each of the mugs? Probably just my eyes

johnriley - I really like the composition of this photo. It has good humour and simple appeal. I can't fault it technically and it's nice to have the light coming from the left to stop it looking flat.

Mongoose - A good composition which is sharp and with nice colour tones and well lit. It makes me want to look down at what it is that your Dad is taking a photo of. That Pentax Sport Optics strap looks nice and comfortable. I'd have been tempted to crop a little more off the top of the picture so that the eye travels more easily from your Dads face down the camera lens with less distraction.


And now the positions:

The Winner ... George Lazarette
Second Place ... Tyr
Third Place ... Boyo

Commended, in order of appearance:

Prieni
Deecy
Hyram
Clarky
amilner
Nimitz
promhandicam
johnriley

A SLUG! Are you trying to wind me up! That my friend, is a SNAIL, crawling up a piece of glass. You will probably be receiving a call in the very near future from Lilly who is very passionate about these much maligned creatures!

Aside from the incorrect identification, thanks for the comments - I was quite pleased with the result - it was far more interesting than the colour version.

Well done to George and to all the other entrants and well done on the turn around with posting the results too.

Steve.

PS. 'Boyo' is going to be one happy chappy tomorrow - beating his father in his first competition

Well, I'm totally flabbergasted! This is quite an honour. Thank you, Chirpy, and congratulations on another near-instant but thorough judging.

Cheers

G

Another stunningly quick (and very good) judgment - well done Chirpy! And congratulations George, look forward to next week's topic!

Oh yes, and there might be just a little CA visible but I don't find it offensive to my eyes so I tend to overlook it...

Congrats George. I look forward to your expert judging next week
A very quick and well judged comp Chirpy
Chirpy: I couldn't get over the top of my spider unless i had a ladder

I thought Tyr's entry was outstanding.