OK, here it is:

Daniel Bridge. We would be nowhere without hands, so they make a perennially interesting subject. What makes this particular picture is the position of the hands.

Clasped hands symbolise many things, usually positive - love, friendship, agreement, peace - and in this case they suggested to me that their
owner has made peace with his condition - old age - and that he is content.

So, there is something to think about; the composition works; and the light is good, leading to warm, rich, subtle, colours.

First Prize.

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Prieni. These teeth are made more interesting by their location. It almost seems as though a shark had tried to bite through a tree, and been forced to leave his teeth behind. Well-lit, and an intriguing subject.

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Zach Abubeker. I don't think this really works on a computer screen. It's a strong composition, with good textures and contrast, and it positively demands to be printed large and hung on a wall. Right pic, wrong competition.

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Clarky. Now I am confused. The picture you entered in the self-portrait competition was clearly of someone different. Which one is the real you?
Amusing shot, and well-exposed.

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Dirk1000. To an antediluvian like me, this picture has strayed beyond the realms of pure photography.

However, the rules, such as they are, don't say anything about pure photography, so I shall judge the picture on its merits.

This image is on-topic, and works very well in showing that age differences are about more than just physical decay. Here innocence meets experience, and I especially like the way that the two most
important indicators of facial expression - the eyes and the mouth - are clear to see in one, and obscured in the other. The certainties of youth give way to the ambiguities of age. Thoughtful stuff.

Third Prize.

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StrawberryBeret. This is a pretty straightforward picture comparing the impact of the years on hands that, unsurprisingly, bear a strong resemblance to each other. Am I reading too much into it by wondering whether the jewellery is significant? Fun stuff on the youngest wrist, commitment on mum's third finger, and nothing on grandma's?

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Ratcatcher. This picture holds a certain fascination. It's not as sharp as it might be, and I wonder whether the single flash necessitated a bit of red-eye removal.

But whilst Junior looks slightly bored, Dad has a magnificently stalwart look that would not be out of place in a Chinese picture of heroic workers
overcoming great obstacles in the name of the revolution.

I don't think it says much about age, other than showing two generations, but it has a certain noble quality.

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Justgetoutandride. I quite like the composition and the lighting of this picture of ancient oak leaves, but in an image of this sort the textures and colours need to be better. This is a bit muddy. I don't know
whether the lens is to blame. Perhaps somebody else has some ideas.

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Lilly. This is very good. All the credit to the photographer, not least for her choice of lens!

I love the use of the slightly brownish black. For a competition print, some darkroom work might tone down the slight over-exposure on the right cheekbone, but that is my only criticism (except that a real print would be even better).

Second prize.

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Spaceraider. This is slightly over-exposed, and not quite as sharp as it might be. Perhaps they were moving too fast?

However, there are some nice tones and textures here if you turn down the gamma a bit. I would suggest a bit more post-processing could yield a more satisfying result. It might even be possible to derive an abstract by homing in on the closer shell.

Aren't they tortoises, not turtles?

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Ammonyte. This is an effective shot, just slightly marred by two things. First, I think the point of focus could have been a fraction closer, to make the beak and crumb sharper; and second, the picture looks a trifle over-sharpened to me - perhaps you were working on that beak.

But a very good capture, nonetheless. Little birds don't hang around.

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Legasso. This is a cheerful shot, and not bad at all for a three year-old. Or isn't that your card?

In a situation like this, flash (or a more powerful flash) would have worked well. The colours would have gained punch. As it is, the card looks a bit drab against the bright background.

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Pschlute. This is a very attractive shot; and technically nearly flawless. However, it does appear to be listing to starboard. Possibly this is just an illusion caused by the angle of the banks, but I think I would be inclined (no pun intended) to straighten it out.

Commended

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Amoringello. Ice age, stone age, iron age. Well, you've got the theme right.

Of the three, I think I prefer the first. It immediately triggered a hankering for a gin and tonic, so it obviously speaks directly to the gut.
I think the second one, like the oak leaves, could have done with being a bit crisper, though I like the lighting.
In the third, I like the strong background colour and the limited DOF.

An interesting intepretation of the theme, and well executed.

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HowardJ. Arres? Or Arras? It's difficult to come up with a new way to photograph graves, and although this didn't really grab me immediately, I think the rather faded look is aposite ("Old soldiers never die, they only fade away", and has possibilities.

For me, a more conventional sepia tint might work a little better, and perhaps a stronger contrast in the foreground fading away to almost nothing at the back.

When I see war graves, I always think how the calm orderliness contrasts with the horror of how these men met their ends. For some reason, I hadn't read the poem "Dulce et decorum est" until recently. I'm glad I finally did.

No need to apologise for the sombre tone. Or for reminding us to remember.

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Overbeyond. This isn't a perfect picture, but I do rather like it, especially the way that what is alive has colour, and what is dead has none.

Personally, I would crop it a bit on the left and thereby accentuate the face whilst elongating the picture. It's a bit square. I toyed with the idea of increasing the saturation, but it probably works fine as it is.

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Galoot. Make that 80, not 60, unless Tara is a smoker. But it's that thought that makes this picture - the idea of the circular nature of life, and second childhood.

I wouldn't hang this on my wall, but it works.

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Bettyswollocks. A great picture to end with. The composition demands a shallow depth of field (to keep those bins visible but vague), and this raises the question of which eye to focus on. I don't think there's a right answer. The picture works fine; and the soft light and muted colours are very attractive.

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Well done all who entered.

G

Hello,

My apologies.

I am on a trip, and have found it very difficult to get access to the Internet long enough to do a proper job of judging.

I shall be back on Sunday, and will deliver the full judgement then. However, so as not to delay things any further, I will announce the winner now so that he can set the next subject.

The winner is Daniel Bridge. Well done, Daniel.

G

JR has asked me to judge this competition, and the subject will be "Age".

Interpret it as you will, though not so obliquely, please, that nobody can see the connection.

And fear not, I shall endeavour to confound the doomsayers by being kind to all who enter!

G

I have a simple policy when it comes to buying camera equipment.

Unless I specifically want an out-of-production camera, I always buy camera bodies new. You don't know where a second-hand one has been, or what it has done.

With lenses, I always buy second-hand, unless they are so new or so sought-after that there is no alternative to a new one.

You can get a good idea of the condition of lenses just by looking at them. And most lenses never go wrong, unlike camera bodies.

So to me, a 31mm Ltd is not an £800 lens, it's half that.

And by the way, although the 31mm is superb, I would personally rank the 77mm slightly above it.

G

I've never heard of Woot, but if it works for you, that's fine.

G

Irfanview creates webpages with thumbnails very quickly.

You can edit the template it uses and customise it to your heart's content. Then you just point Irfanview at a new folder of pictures and it will do the rest.

I fully endorse using CSS rather than frames. For an idea of what CSS can do, look here:

http://www.csszengarden.com/

G

That just shows that standards are improving.

G

Good point.

Of course, studio lights will take up rather more space, if that is a consideration.

G

No.

Three reasons:

1 The studio kit should be much more powerful, which gives greater flexibility for positioning, and allows for more even illumination

2 The studio kit should recharge much more quickly.

3 It will be easier to attach interesting equipment such as barn doors, big soft-boxes, etc.

On the other hand, the 540s are much more portable, which would be a consideration if you travel a lot.

G

Give the man a chance. He hasn't replied to Chris's post yet, so it's a bit early to predict he'll never be happy.

G