Stunning set, the third one with the willow is my favourite too, but they are all very good. Nice work.

Thanks for all the great entries: I've really enjoyed judging my first competition. The subject I chose is one of the areas where I would like to improve my own technique. I love the look of chrome/silver in mono, but it's a difficult subject to get the lighting right for: it seems very easy to get blown highlights from the reflections, especially when using an artificial light-source. I have had great difficulty deciding on a top three. Although I wanted pictures of shiny things, it was open to interpretation, and there were some very creative interpretations of the theme.


Running Tap by GlynM

I really like the inclusion of the running water in this shot, and the chrome of the tap itself looks lovely! It's this sort of chrome look I had in mind when I set the competition; it suits mono conversions so well. The exposure is perfect, and brings out the chrome really well. However, I think it would perhaps have looked better with a darker background, to make it stand out from the background more. I also find the crop at the bottom of the picture a bit tight. Overall, though, a very nice shot that fits the theme of the competition perfectly!

One day...maybe by Bforbes

I like bikes myself, having nearly bought a Harley recently. (the roundabouts of Doha putting me off!) I love the reflection in the marble table-top, but the bike itself is a bit devoid of detail which no doubt helped cause the blown out highlights on the tank and seat. As I mentioned, I always find this is one of the problems of photographing metallic/silver objects, especially against a dark background that you want to keep the detail in. I think this shot would look very striking if it was just the reflection.

Waiter's Friend by Sandanista.

I like this picture, but almost wish I hadn't seen the first version which was replaced due to it being taken before the comp began. That version had a darker background, which I think worked better. The background here is a bit distracting, being a similar tone to the bottle-opener and with a strong texture. However, I do like this shot, it looks almost like some sea-creature. There are some blown highlights on the handle, but not enough to detract from the overall image. The composition is very nice too.

The Killer Knife by Cardiff Gareth.

The exposure on this is very low-key, and brings out the surface of the blade very well. I really like the shadow and the dark background, though I feel it could do with a bit cropped off the bottom, and perhaps a bit off the left-hand side to bring the blade onto a third, but that's just personal preference: it's a very graphic image. It's also a bit sinister, which I believe from the title was probably your intention! I also like the light-painting technique you've used, it's something I have tried myself and I know how difficult it is to get it right.

Olmeca by Dr Orloff.

The lighting, composition and background of this shot, together with the subject itself, make for a very striking image, and I like the composition. I am guessing it was lit with a table lamp or something similar, and the angle of the lighting brings out the features very well and also the texture of the silver-plating itself. Excellent.


Chrome Fish by Hyram.

Great out-of -the-box thinking on this picture. It is not what I expected to see in this competition at all, but it fits the theme. Well done; considering the challenging conditions under which it was shot, it is very well composed and taken. For a shot from a compact using supermarket lighting, especially so. The silver of the fish gleams without any burnt-out highlights, and the way the fish are packed together makes it almost abstract.

Super Ag-Cat A/450 by i-Berg.

One of my favourite aircraft, in fact the first ever purpose-built agricultural aircraft. I do like this picture, but, perhaps knowing this aircraft as I do, I know it is yellow (they all are), and it's very dirty, so the chrome-like feel to the picture is more a result of processing than showing what is actually there. I would have preferred to see more of the engine and the cylinder heads, push-rods and constant-speed unit on the prop, and less of the aircraft itself. However, overall it's a great picture of a classic aircraft!

Christmas Bauble by Prieni.

A festive shot that fits the theme of the competition perfectly! What impresses me the most with this picture is that the reflections are in focus yet the foreground and background are not. The exposure is spot-on, and my only criticism is the slightly distracting background on the left hand side, and, if I was to be finicky, the cropping off of the top of the loop attaching the bauble to the tree. Overall, though, a very nice picture.


So, after much deliberation, the winners.

1st place: Olmeca by Dr Orloff
2nd Place: Chrome Fish by Hyram
3rd Place: Christmas bauble by Prieni
Special commendations: Everyone else, for entering!

Over to you, Dr Orloff!

And here's me thinking I'd made it into a flattering portrait

As I mentioned, I really only have one technique so far for processing portraits, which I used on all these shots. Photoshop is an ongoing learning curve, and two years in I am starting to realise how little I know about it! Add to that my beginners status with flash, and I think it'll take me a while to get where I would like to be with portraiture.

As no-one has commented yet, I thought as you asked for feedback I'd post a reply. The first thing that strikes me is most of the pictures look very soft. Are you using spot focusing? I find it's the only way with street photography to get the subject in focus all the time. If you want the subject off-center then focus using half-shutter press and recompose. A smaller aperture helps too, to get more DOF. I think Tim sets his camera using hyper-focal focusing from what I recall, and doesn't use the viewfinder.

Of all these shots, Pensive seems the best composed, but unfortunately the camera has focused on the wall on the left instead of the woman. It's also not quite straight. The second shot, the woman is in focus but her legs have been chopped off.

I've not had much success with street photography myself. I tend to rush shots, perhaps out of fear of being seen. The best ones I have got have been here in Doha where it is better to either use the furtive technique (camera dangling from my neck and guess what will be in the frame, using as small an aperture as possible), or ask people first. Wider angle lenses give more DOF so are perhaps better suited to street photography. I think the 18-55 if you have one is a better choice for this type of photography. I tend to use the Sigma 10-20.

A friend of mine who is very good at it chooses a spot he likes and hangs around until he gets shots he is happy with. He uses the smile-when you've been-spotted technique. He gets some amazing pictures, but he has been accosted twice by the police in Manchester!

Great shots, padlock for me too, but I like it as it is in colour.

Thanks for the birthday wishes! I used a trial version of Nik Silver Efex Pro a while ago, maybe I will have to get it....

Here's a picture of the softbox. It's made from a plastic container about six inches across with tin-foil inside it, and two layers of the foam paper stuff the flash came wrapped in ovet the top, with a hole cut in the back to fit over the flash. It seems to work pretty well.

Very seasonal! I like the first shot, but there's something odd about the branches top left? Fatspiders one is lovely too.

Lovely set, the first one is beautiful, and I like the duck/swan one very much too. "Hedge" is nice too but could do with all of the rock and none of the ree on the left hand side.

Love the skyline shot! Last time I was in Shanghai the visibility was so bad this shot would have not been possible!

This is something I have never tried before, apart from street shots and a few in daylight. They were all shot at my 50th birthday party. I'd appreciate any input, tips on how to improve etc, as it's a new field for me and I think I like it! At the moment I am only getting anything I like with one method of processing.

All taken with the K7, 18-55WR, a Tumax on-camera flash, and a home-made softbox.


Gavin




Gavin and Julie




Morgan




Gillian




And lastly, my lovely wife Jackie