Yet another "Help Me Decide..." thread. :)

Bend The LightBend The Light Registered Users Posts: 1,887 Major grins
edited February 4, 2012 in Other Cool Shots
Once again I need to decide what images I want to enter into this month's competition at my camera club. The competition is Open Mono Print, and so any mono work is acceptable. I think I most certainly will do the face/hand image, but choosing the second is tricky...any help would be appreciated. :)

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Squire Lock and Chains mono rust by http://bendthelight.me.uk, on Flickr

6807370567_d79c1415e5_o.jpg
Wagon Wheels mono aged by http://bendthelight.me.uk, on Flickr

6784466781_bc76138c1f_o.jpg
Gulls in food fight by http://bendthelight.me.uk, on Flickr

6783485037_e006d1040c_o.jpg
Reservoir Lock Mechanism HDR mono by http://bendthelight.me.uk, on Flickr

And this is the one I am almost certain to enter:

6691909553_a30e2744a5_o.jpg
Ruby Hands New Version mono horror by http://bendthelight.me.uk, on Flickr

Cheers

Comments

  • DemianDemian Registered Users Posts: 211 Major grins
    edited February 3, 2012
    Yeah man, you called it. That last image is incredible.
  • Bend The LightBend The Light Registered Users Posts: 1,887 Major grins
    edited February 3, 2012
    Demian wrote: »
    Yeah man, you called it. That last image is incredible.

    Thank you. I need a second choice, too. We can enter 2 prints. :)
  • TonyCooperTonyCooper Registered Users Posts: 2,276 Major grins
    edited February 3, 2012
    If your club is like my club, you should have a sense of what the judges like and don't
    like. While our judges (a panel of three including at least one outsider with either
    a pro background or a photography teaching position) are different each month,
    I've found that my candids and street photography submissions never go over.
    That genre has a limited appeal base, I guess. Nature photos score well. Even
    dead-boring landscapes do well.

    Your lock photo would not be well accepted. Too busy with no central point of
    interest. The seagulls would stand a chance for technical reasons because it's
    sharp and well-processed, but it's just another bird picture to me. The reservoir
    lock wouldn't do well because it lacks interest and it's somewhat soft.

    The wagon wheels would do well, and it's my favorite of the bunch. I would
    like to see some more vignetting on the right to balance the vignetting on the left.
    I think when you do this, you have to do it fairly evenly all around.

    The last shot has the most potential if your group allows "creative" compositions
    (multiple images combined) In my club, that's a separate category. I think, though,
    you posted a less dark version of this that, in my opinion, works better. You seem
    to have gone a bit overboard with the contrast in this version. This is a bit gloomy,
    but certainly a dramatic and interesting effort.

    Camera club judging is often predictable in that particular subjects or
    particular processing is either liked or not liked. You should be the one that
    knows which of the images above will fare the best.
    Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
    http://tonycooper.smugmug.com/
  • DemianDemian Registered Users Posts: 211 Major grins
    edited February 3, 2012
    Hahaha, apparently I should learn to read :X

    Alright... I gotta disagree with Tony :p The wagon wheel is my least favorite of the bunch. I've never been a fan of white vignetting, and I find the texture to the left distracting (especially compared to the smooth OOF section of the wall)

    I felt the opposite about the lock too - It's my second favorite(Behind Ruby Hands). The subject is clear; I focus immediately on on the lock and follow the chains into the darkness. Pretty cool.

    Good luck man :)
  • EaracheEarache Registered Users Posts: 3,533 Major grins
    edited February 3, 2012
    Demian wrote: »
    Alright... I gotta disagree with Tony :p The wagon wheel is my least favorite of the bunch. I've never been a fan of white vignetting, and I find the texture to the left distracting (especially compared to the smooth OOF section of the wall)

    I felt the opposite about the lock too - It's my second favorite(Behind Ruby Hands). The subject is clear; I focus immediately on on the lock and follow the chains into the darkness. Pretty cool.

    Good luck man :)
    15524779-Ti.gif
    Re: Squire Lock and Chains - of course I like the "Rust Junkies" version better - but the B&W works nicely too.
    Eric ~ Smugmug
  • CrokeyCrokey Registered Users Posts: 195 Major grins
    edited February 4, 2012
    I would go with the lock photo as the second choice also. But I think the HDR treatment has overcooked the out-of-focus areas and created a rather ugly Bokeh IMO. Maybe try layering the darkest exposure into the background so that it isn't as distracting from the lock. I can't look at the lock for more than a second without having my eye pulled away by the chain on the right and then the two bright blobs in the bottom left. Your choice is a no-brainer of coursethumb.gif
    Regards,

    Colin Croke

    http://colincroke.smugmug.com/
  • Bend The LightBend The Light Registered Users Posts: 1,887 Major grins
    edited February 4, 2012
    TonyCooper wrote: »
    If your club is like my club, you should have a sense of what the judges like and don't
    like. While our judges (a panel of three including at least one outsider with either
    a pro background or a photography teaching position) are different each month,
    I've found that my candids and street photography submissions never go over.
    That genre has a limited appeal base, I guess. Nature photos score well. Even
    dead-boring landscapes do well.

    Your lock photo would not be well accepted. Too busy with no central point of
    interest. The seagulls would stand a chance for technical reasons because it's
    sharp and well-processed, but it's just another bird picture to me. The reservoir
    lock wouldn't do well because it lacks interest and it's somewhat soft.

    The wagon wheels would do well, and it's my favourite of the bunch. I would
    like to see some more vignetting on the right to balance the vignetting on the left.
    I think when you do this, you have to do it fairly evenly all around.

    The last shot has the most potential if your group allows "creative" compositions
    (multiple images combined) In my club, that's a separate category. I think, though,
    you posted a less dark version of this that, in my opinion, works better. You seem
    to have gone a bit overboard with the contrast in this version. This is a bit gloomy,
    but certainly a dramatic and interesting effort.

    Camera club judging is often predictable in that particular subjects or
    particular processing is either liked or not liked. You should be the one that
    knows which of the images above will fare the best.

    I have an idea of what works, but I am always on the lookout for different opinions and for pointing out what I might have missed. The club does allow composite images...this catagory is OPEN which means anything goes, basically. I like the Wagon Wheels, and the HDR aspect is going down well at the club at the moment, but I am not happy about the white vignette at all. I like a more contrasty version I have done, but it's quite contrasty. :)

    As for the Ruby Hands...I chose this version for impact. I have run a test print and can see this large and mounted and dominating the display on judging night. We'll see. :)

    Thanks for your input, appreciated.
    Demian wrote: »
    Hahaha, apparently I should learn to read :X

    Alright... I gotta disagree with Tony :p The wagon wheel is my least favorite of the bunch. I've never been a fan of white vignetting, and I find the texture to the left distracting (especially compared to the smooth OOF section of the wall)

    I felt the opposite about the lock too - It's my second favorite(Behind Ruby Hands). The subject is clear; I focus immediately on on the lock and follow the chains into the darkness. Pretty cool.

    Good luck man :)

    I am tending towards the lock, and I think I need to burn out some of the bright spots to make the lock more the subject. Thanks
    Earache wrote: »
    15524779-Ti.gif
    Re: Squire Lock and Chains - of course I like the "Rust Junkies" version better - but the B&W works nicely too.

    Ha ha...since it's a mono competition, the Rust junkie version is a no go. I already won the Open Colour print competition last month. :D
    Crokey wrote: »
    I would go with the lock photo as the second choice also. But I think the HDR treatment has overcooked the out-of-focus areas and created a rather ugly Bokeh IMO. Maybe try layering the darkest exposure into the background so that it isn't as distracting from the lock. I can't look at the lock for more than a second without having my eye pulled away by the chain on the right and then the two bright blobs in the bottom left. Your choice is a no-brainer of coursethumb.gif

    I will re do the lock, I think. Thanks for the input. :)
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