I can see already that this is going to be another hard one to judge...

Dan

Sorry for keeping you all on tenterhooks, here's my judgment for the theme of 'Solitude'...

I have to say, when I set the theme, I wasn't really sure what sort of image I was expecting to win. I suppose the classic wide landscape with lone person in the middle distance, obviously alone, not necessarily in black and white. The varied interpretations have thrown up some surprises, but also shown (to me) that although there may be one person in an image, it doesn't always convey solitude. One thing I've been very aware of when looking at most of these is the presence of the photographer...


Gartmore: For some reason this reminds me of Monty Python. I like the composition and the frame of the small window, but it doesn't say solitude to me. Might just be because of the Monty Python thing. Sorry.

Lilly: An amazing looking scene, and one that looks as though there should be more people in it. I think for a real sense of solitude I would have preferred a landscape shot, showing a completely empty street on the left hand side, but this works as it is, and it's my Third Place.

Amoringello: As a note to anyone who's entering a competition I'm judging (in case it ever happens again), make sure your horizons are level! This pic is wonky, and that puts me off straight away. I like the subject, and it's detached enough to convey solitude. However, I prefer it with the wreath on the left cropped out, and the contrast increased a little.

Zach Abubeker: I'm not usually one for street photography, but I do like this. It's not as sharp as it could be, but the moment has been caught, and the feeling of isolation, even though the subject is on a city street, is very evident. A good range of tones, dramatic lighting with deep shadows and good composition make this my Second Place pic.

Lenscape: Debate about colour versus black and white aside, this doesn't work for me as a composition. The lamppost, the muddy area at the top, the edge of the tree coming from the top of the girl's head...

Justgetoutandride: Yes, I've checked your horizon and you're spot on. Lovely sunset, nice colours, but the problem for me is that that is what I see - the person is incidental to me, so the pic is not a representation of their solitude, but a nice sunset that has someone fishing at the side.

Prieni: This is one of those images that tugs at the heart-strings, knowing that the baby turtle is venturing out on a life in a huge ocean, fraught with danger. It might not even get off the beach. And it's a journey it has to do on it's own. Whether this image conveys all this or not, I like it because of the thoughts it provokes in me, and it's my Winner of the Week!

Dirk1000: The wife likes this one a lot, and it reminds me of a painting, albeit a monochrome one. It has a timeless quality that's lacking in modern Essex, but I think the figure and his load would be better seperated from the tangle of trees behind. Good moody shot though.

Spaceraider: Quite frankly you can see why no-one wants to sit next to him, the other end of that bench looks most unsavoury. I feel there's too much going on here, with lampposts, signs, heads and railings all vying for attention, and the focus isn't crisp enough to guide the view to the subject.

Ammonyte: Lovely image, with a good range of tones, varied and interesting clouds, and I like the panoramic format. From this angle though, I'm thinking that there could be a horde of ramblers just out of shot, or just down the slope from the stones. I know from your desciption there wasn't, but I feel a different angle (however impossible ), showing more of the empty valley beyond, would have made this a better 'solitude' image for me.

Stevejcoe: Close proximity (and the harsh flash betraying the photographer's presence) preclude this as a solitude image for me. Sorry, just doesn't feel right.

Pschlute: Good use of colour, and a path to lead the eye down to the boy who's red top makes him instantly visible. He looks longingly at something unseen, in my mind, and it gives the sense of solitude nicely. Only niggle is that thing on the path before him, I can't figure out what it is and that's annoying. Highly Commended.

Hefty1: Hmmm, again I'm not feeling solitude with this. I don't get the impression that people are deliberately ignoring the subject, just that they don't happen to be nearby, and the subject has a companion (dog), so again, it doesn't really work for me in this context.

Clarky: Perhaps more 'solitary' than solitude, but an entertaining shot with an expressive model! Like it a lot, but not a winner in this comp, I'm afraid.

Galoot: This is one of the ones I had trouble getting a sense of solitude from, mainly from the obvious interaction between subject and photographer. Nice shot, a good environmental portrait, but not solitude to me.

jb: Although I feel this may have been taken tripod mounted, by the person in the pic, I don't think so. I think we're a bit too close to the subject to be able to see how solitary they are, a broader view with the person smaller in the frame may have worked better for me. Also, if the head was turned slightly so it wasn't the back of the head showing so much, I would have preferred it.

StrawberryBeret: This feels more like peeping tom than solitude, and although the subject's nicely framed by the leaves, I can almost hear the heavy breathing coming from the bushes...

Nimitz: Boosting the contrast on this really helps, it looks a bit flat to me. I like the image, but I don't think of statues as enjoying/suffering from solitude.


I'm sure, more sure than normal, that some may feel hard-done by today, but that's the way the cookie crumbles! Usually I try as hard as I can to avoid people in my photos, and whether that had an influence on my decision I don't know, but Prieni produced a great shot, with a nice, clean composition, which only just pipped Zach's image to the winning post.

So Prieni, what's it going to be?

Dan

This competition is now closed, I will post my judgement later on today. Got to go out for a while now so we can escape the noise of the drilling going on next door...

Dan

I've had a think, and decided the theme for this week's competition is:

Solitude


I look forward to seeing your different interpretations.

Good luck!

Dan

Think you'll have to post examples, or at least tell us to what size you're making them, whether you're sharpening them etc.

Dan

These go for about £200 usually so you've got an absolute bargain. This is the same model I use on my K10D (and *istD before that) and it performs excellently, so I see no problems with your DL2.

Dan

With reflections I always try to use the reflection itself to level a pic. A point and its reflection should always be vertical (lens distortion aside), so I would suggest using the right hand edge of the central post in your photo. Use the 'straighten tool' in photoshop (I have it in Elements 4), which will turn the image on its side when it straightens it, but you just have to rotate it back 90 degrees.

Looks good to me using this method.

Dan

Yes it is, how long have you had the camera? Tested my K10D today (having already voted with a 'no' in the poll, because I was sure I would have noticed if there was a problem), and it's fine, absolutely straight.

If mine leaned as much as yours, I would take it straight back to the shop.

Dan

I don't think anyone would disagree with you, certainly not me. But that's not the context of the debate. The point was raised as there were several posts that were very hard to read, simply because the spelling was bad, punctuation was fairly non-existant, paragraphs were absent etc. I just got tired of trying to wade through the message, figuring out exactly what was meant.

If the poster had taken a little more care, as he has shown himself capable of doing, then I would care more to answer.

Absolutely not, but the alternative was that people would just ignore him and stop replying. Surely it's better to point out something that is going to be beneficial in the long run?

We all make spelling (amongst other) mistakes now and again, but there are genuine mistakes, and there's simple carelessness, and if the poster of a question doesn't care, why should I care to answer?

Dan

Hence I didn't really use the Jenoptic, but eventually got a Minolta Scan Elite 5400, which was lovely.

But then I went digital, which is even lovelier!

Dan