All Forum Comments
Comment by aliengrove posted on Entries for fortnightly competition #61- Silhouette at 17/02/2011 - 18:36
Whoops! sorry judithAnn, don't know how I slipped up with your name! Apologies!
Comment by aliengrove posted on Entries for fortnightly competition #61- Silhouette at 17/02/2011 - 18:21
Apologies for being a little late with the judging, I got back from a 12 hour flight late last night and went straight to bed.
It has been a difficult one to judge, and once I picked my top three it was very difficult to choose the order, as they are all very good. Likewise, there are pictures not in the top three that are probably equally deserving of a place. The results reflect my personal choice, the pictures that most appealed to me, and those that I feel met the theme of the competiton best.
Glynm: Solar Radiometer.
My grandfather had one of these, a fascinating device where the square bits in the bulb are painted black on one side and silver on the other, so that light hitting the silver side bounces off and causes the rotor to rotate. The picture is very well done, I like the composition and also how the light passing through more glass at the edges has created a silhouette shape of the bulb itself. An excellent image, very well done.
Big Fan: Geordie01
A good silhouette, with the wind-turbine standing out well against the blue sky. I also like the halo of light around the generator itself. However, I think the large fan is a bit central in the composition, and think the picture would have been more effective without the large drum-shaped object on the right. Swinging the camera around to the left to show just the large fan and the tree in a row behind it would have made a better image. However, a nice picture and one that fits the theme of the comp very well.
Winter Beauty on the Farm: Darlene
Another good silhouette, and I love the dramatic sky. However, I feel that the composition could have been improved with a bit more foreground included. It would also be nice if the snow was a bit lighter, to throw the silhouette more into relief, but I appreciate the lighting would have been tricky to get this right. Perhaps an ND grad filter? The buildings also lean slightly to the right. A good entry nonetheless, and one that portrays the title of the picture very well.
Untitled : marklj
An interesting panorama, but overall the picture is very dark. I appreciate that upping the exposure would have stopped it being a silhouette, but the sky being lightened would make the picture brighter overall without getting rid of the silhouette effect of the hills behind the town. I like the lights of the town visible in the foreground.
West Kirby Wind Walkers: Tozza27
A great silhouette, and one that fits the theme of the competition very well. The walkers stand out very well against the bright water. It’s a bit of a shame they are so small though. Use of a longer lens to make the figures bigger, or, alternatively, the picture taken in portrait format showing just the two pairs of walkers on the right would, I feel ,have improved the overall balance of the picture. A good entry nonetheless, and one which
Regarding Modern Times: darkskies
I really like this picture, with the statue of Christ watching contrails in the sky. The statue stands out very well against the blue sky, and I love the halo effect of the light around the figure of Christ himself. Like a lot of religious iconography, the image is perhaps made more powerful by the subject matter itself ( a controversial picture posted on the forum a while back springs to mind) I would have preferred the contrails to be a bit more obvious considering the title (which is excellent), perhaps by using a longer lens from further away, but nevertheless a very good image.
Ballet dancer: Andyales
A great silhouette, against a very odd and effective background, which I assume is curtains. The statue itself stands out very well, and the composition is very good. However, the outlines of the dancer look a bit soft, with the curtains themselves appearing more in focus that the subject itself.
Tiddles (again): Dougf8
I love cats, and I like this image of Tiddles, especially the shadow on the desk. I also like the way the fur is lit up, yet the body is in silhouette. The shadow on the desk is also very good. I do find the bar of light at the top of the window a bit distracting, however, and there’s a bit too much dark on either side, but this is just a personal choice. A lovely study of your cat, though.
London gets ready to grow…mattwhittington
A great silhouette against a lovely orange sky. I especially like that the sky is graduated, either by use of a filter or in software? I think that the picture would have been more effective in portrait format, however, as I think including the top of the crane would improve the picture.
Seaside: Aiki
I really like this image. The composition, contrast and the texture of the sand, together with the silhouette of the two figures, make this a simple yet very effective image. I also love the ship in the distance, and the figures of people by the sea in the distance reinforce the feeling of solitude this couple are enjoying on what appears to be a cold day on the beach.
Under the wing of The Angel: davidtrout
A great silhouette, with The Angel set off well against the sky. I really like the three people standing on the left, but I think cloning out the photographer on the right would have improved the image. I would also personally prefer to see the whole of the wing they are standing under. A very good image of this perhaps over-photographed landmark though.
Path of true love: Dr Mhuni
This is an amazing photograph. I love the composition, the way the buildings are framed, and the dangling hearts in the foreground. The woman is positioned perfectly in the frame, and overall, this is IMHO the best photograph in the competition. However, I don’t think it fits the theme as the woman’s clothes have too much colour in them to qualify for my interpretation (and some online dictionaries, eg outline image, especially a profile drawing solidly filled in or a cutout pasted against a lighter background.) of a silhouette. I realise this may be a bit brutal, but much as I like this picture, and after much deliberation, it’s not going to win, purely on those grounds. The paradox is, had you darkened her clothes to fit the theme better, it would probably have been the winning image, but in doing so may not have been as good as the version you posted here!
Untiled: Darlene
A good silhouette against a beautifully coloured sky, but I wish you had include the whole bridge: as it is the composition seems rather cramped. I feel this would be better either showing the whole bridge, or, if just detail, then the triangular part on the right on it’s own.
A bit of the N141: Dr Orloff
I like the way the road reflects the light in this shot, and how the car stands out against the road, though, once again, I do not feel it quite fits the definition of silhouette. I like the starburst effect from the sun, which, unless a starburst filter was used, does not seem to fit with the supplied exif of f3.5: f22 or thereabouts usually produce this effect. The hexagonal flare also seems to indicate a smaller aperture? I think removing this flare would have improved the image.
So, after much deliberation, here’s my top three:
1st Place- Aiki: Seaside
2nd Place- GlynnM: Solar Radiometer
3rd Place-darkskies: Regarding Modern Times
Highly Commended- Dougf8: Tiddles (again), MattWhittington: London gets ready to grow….
Apologies to Dr Mhuni for disqualifying a fantastic photograph…..
It has been a difficult one to judge, and once I picked my top three it was very difficult to choose the order, as they are all very good. Likewise, there are pictures not in the top three that are probably equally deserving of a place. The results reflect my personal choice, the pictures that most appealed to me, and those that I feel met the theme of the competiton best.
Glynm: Solar Radiometer.
My grandfather had one of these, a fascinating device where the square bits in the bulb are painted black on one side and silver on the other, so that light hitting the silver side bounces off and causes the rotor to rotate. The picture is very well done, I like the composition and also how the light passing through more glass at the edges has created a silhouette shape of the bulb itself. An excellent image, very well done.
Big Fan: Geordie01
A good silhouette, with the wind-turbine standing out well against the blue sky. I also like the halo of light around the generator itself. However, I think the large fan is a bit central in the composition, and think the picture would have been more effective without the large drum-shaped object on the right. Swinging the camera around to the left to show just the large fan and the tree in a row behind it would have made a better image. However, a nice picture and one that fits the theme of the comp very well.
Winter Beauty on the Farm: Darlene
Another good silhouette, and I love the dramatic sky. However, I feel that the composition could have been improved with a bit more foreground included. It would also be nice if the snow was a bit lighter, to throw the silhouette more into relief, but I appreciate the lighting would have been tricky to get this right. Perhaps an ND grad filter? The buildings also lean slightly to the right. A good entry nonetheless, and one that portrays the title of the picture very well.
Untitled : marklj
An interesting panorama, but overall the picture is very dark. I appreciate that upping the exposure would have stopped it being a silhouette, but the sky being lightened would make the picture brighter overall without getting rid of the silhouette effect of the hills behind the town. I like the lights of the town visible in the foreground.
West Kirby Wind Walkers: Tozza27
A great silhouette, and one that fits the theme of the competition very well. The walkers stand out very well against the bright water. It’s a bit of a shame they are so small though. Use of a longer lens to make the figures bigger, or, alternatively, the picture taken in portrait format showing just the two pairs of walkers on the right would, I feel ,have improved the overall balance of the picture. A good entry nonetheless, and one which
Regarding Modern Times: darkskies
I really like this picture, with the statue of Christ watching contrails in the sky. The statue stands out very well against the blue sky, and I love the halo effect of the light around the figure of Christ himself. Like a lot of religious iconography, the image is perhaps made more powerful by the subject matter itself ( a controversial picture posted on the forum a while back springs to mind) I would have preferred the contrails to be a bit more obvious considering the title (which is excellent), perhaps by using a longer lens from further away, but nevertheless a very good image.
Ballet dancer: Andyales
A great silhouette, against a very odd and effective background, which I assume is curtains. The statue itself stands out very well, and the composition is very good. However, the outlines of the dancer look a bit soft, with the curtains themselves appearing more in focus that the subject itself.
Tiddles (again): Dougf8
I love cats, and I like this image of Tiddles, especially the shadow on the desk. I also like the way the fur is lit up, yet the body is in silhouette. The shadow on the desk is also very good. I do find the bar of light at the top of the window a bit distracting, however, and there’s a bit too much dark on either side, but this is just a personal choice. A lovely study of your cat, though.
London gets ready to grow…mattwhittington
A great silhouette against a lovely orange sky. I especially like that the sky is graduated, either by use of a filter or in software? I think that the picture would have been more effective in portrait format, however, as I think including the top of the crane would improve the picture.
Seaside: Aiki
I really like this image. The composition, contrast and the texture of the sand, together with the silhouette of the two figures, make this a simple yet very effective image. I also love the ship in the distance, and the figures of people by the sea in the distance reinforce the feeling of solitude this couple are enjoying on what appears to be a cold day on the beach.
Under the wing of The Angel: davidtrout
A great silhouette, with The Angel set off well against the sky. I really like the three people standing on the left, but I think cloning out the photographer on the right would have improved the image. I would also personally prefer to see the whole of the wing they are standing under. A very good image of this perhaps over-photographed landmark though.
Path of true love: Dr Mhuni
This is an amazing photograph. I love the composition, the way the buildings are framed, and the dangling hearts in the foreground. The woman is positioned perfectly in the frame, and overall, this is IMHO the best photograph in the competition. However, I don’t think it fits the theme as the woman’s clothes have too much colour in them to qualify for my interpretation (and some online dictionaries, eg outline image, especially a profile drawing solidly filled in or a cutout pasted against a lighter background.) of a silhouette. I realise this may be a bit brutal, but much as I like this picture, and after much deliberation, it’s not going to win, purely on those grounds. The paradox is, had you darkened her clothes to fit the theme better, it would probably have been the winning image, but in doing so may not have been as good as the version you posted here!
Untiled: Darlene
A good silhouette against a beautifully coloured sky, but I wish you had include the whole bridge: as it is the composition seems rather cramped. I feel this would be better either showing the whole bridge, or, if just detail, then the triangular part on the right on it’s own.
A bit of the N141: Dr Orloff
I like the way the road reflects the light in this shot, and how the car stands out against the road, though, once again, I do not feel it quite fits the definition of silhouette. I like the starburst effect from the sun, which, unless a starburst filter was used, does not seem to fit with the supplied exif of f3.5: f22 or thereabouts usually produce this effect. The hexagonal flare also seems to indicate a smaller aperture? I think removing this flare would have improved the image.
So, after much deliberation, here’s my top three:
1st Place- Aiki: Seaside
2nd Place- GlynnM: Solar Radiometer
3rd Place-darkskies: Regarding Modern Times
Highly Commended- Dougf8: Tiddles (again), MattWhittington: London gets ready to grow….
Apologies to Dr Mhuni for disqualifying a fantastic photograph…..
Comment by aliengrove posted on Entries for fortnightly competition #61- Silhouette at 17/02/2011 - 12:12
Thanks John...
Comment by aliengrove posted on Discussion for Fortnightly Competition #61- Silhouette at 13/02/2011 - 07:59
I agree, nice set,especially number two which is the standout for me, and I agree about chopping a bit off the top.
Comment by aliengrove posted on The sun shone in Durham at 11/02/2011 - 20:16
Great pictures, I can't decide if I like the first or the second one best: I love the composition of the first and in the second one the clouds are amazing. Nice work, and the processing is spot on.
Comment by aliengrove posted on Dull but Nice - Ullswater at 11/02/2011 - 18:07
Just been back to the shop that has the lenses, and it's closed! It's still the Chinese New Year holidays here, and only a handful of shops are open, unfrotunately I guess they decided to have the day off today! Will have to go back next time I am here.
Comment by aliengrove posted on Pentax smc M 50mm f4 Macro (K mount) at 10/02/2011 - 05:32
I don't think it's a Pentax....
Comment by aliengrove posted on CC's on my Bronica ETRS at 09/02/2011 - 18:11
I'll head back there in the morning and check them out properly......but the lens on it's own was deffo a 1.2 (said 1/1.2 on the lens?)
Comment by aliengrove posted on Pentax smc M 50mm f4 Macro (K mount) at 09/02/2011 - 18:03
Really? I may go back tomorrow after all. The fungus seemed to be on the inside of the rear element and covered about two mm on one side. Is it easy to get that cleaned? He had another one on a K1000 body for about £60 with the camera....I didn't look at that one. How much are they worth? He also had a few 35-70mm's that I didn't look at, and a Pentacon 50mm f1.8, is that worth looking at too?
Comment by aliengrove posted on Pentax smc M 50mm f4 Macro (K mount) at 09/02/2011 - 14:29
BTW AG, this is what I would have posted if the comp had been a couple of weeks earlier:
Looks familiar?!