Dgrin Mini-Challenge #265 - Bokeh and soft backgrounds *** RESULTS ***

pegelli

So after a good night sleep I'm ready to post the results as I see them.

First of all thanks to all who entered, all very worthy entries and the few with front bokeh also qualify for me, even though it wasn't specifically mentioned in the brief.

First some comments:
@JAG : Especially the 2nd and 3rd are very good, where the oof background repeats or frames the main subject
@sarasphotos : lovely colours in the first and great background in the third
@grandmaR : Your first blew me away, very good use of busy bokeh to enhance the subject and mood, the third is a fun shot as well.
@Cavalier : The background in the first works extremely well with the subject and the bokeh balls in the third are really special
@lkbart : the humour in all your 3 shots is great!
@jwear : great catch and nice repeating blue colours around the main subject
@sapphire73 : Very good use of repeating colours and shapes
@puzzledpaul : very nice shots, nice bokeh shapes in the background and perfectly executed. All 3 are top shots!
@DavidRGillespie : Quite a contrast between 1/3 and the 2nd, you can smell the rose and the repeating pattern in the first works very well
@CHANDLERJA : Nice humour and well composed shots, the second is also a memory to be treasured for years.

And now the difficult task of picking the winner(s), as you can see above I liked all the entries so I found it very difficult.

So to start, everybody gets an HM, I know it's a cop-out but there were simply no bad entries in my mind.

3rd place goes to @grandmaR for her joyous shot "Bokah Xmas", the selfie, reflections on the ball and wild surroundings just fit together very well

2nd place goes to @Cavalier for her "Sryinga (Idaho's state flower) with Palouse farm in the background", a nicely composed shot and beautifully converted to B&W

1st place and honour of winning this mini (and setting up the next one) is for @puzzledpaul with his shot "Curiousity":

The hint of the girl in the background in a similar colour of the flower just grabbed me from the first time I saw it
so congrats to @puzzledpaul

I enjoyed running this mini, hope you enjoyed it as well and I'm looking forward to the next one.

JAG

Nice work on another great round Pieter ( @Parnelli ). Your just getting up to start out your day and I'm just closing up my day before turning in for the night. Have a great day!

Congrats to @puzzledpaul and the runner ups, @Cavalier and @grandmaR for your placings!

grandmaR

An interesting mini and a really nice analysis - Thank you for the 3rd place and congratulations to everyone

sarasphotos

Thanks Pieter for the great challenge and congratulations to @puzzledpaul and all of the winners.

puzzledpaul

Thanks, Pieter for choosing my pixelated daub - I just got lucky.
As I indicated in my entry post, I managed to use the occasion of daughter's wedding to add a bit more glass - a 24/105 f4 L and went out on this day to one of my std. waterfowl locations - a path between two local villages, (lakes either side of path, with low level access) found this flower, set up as if taking pics of same - but really waiting for background action to happen. various frames of dog walkers, cyclists, mums with kids in buggies etc - then this girl appeared on scene and wondered what the heck I was doing
Colour co-ordination was a bonus.

Pic as taken, btw - cropped from orig frame, but no additional / pp blurring.

pp

lkbart

Congrats pp for a great shot and the win! Exactly on theme & great color even if lucky catch. Congrats to the runners up and all, and thanks to Pieter for a great contest, commenting and judging! Great round!

sapphire73

Thank you, Pieter! That was a lovely challenge in every way. And congratulations to @puzzledpaul, the runners up and all!

Cavalier

Thanks for the 2nd place nod, Pieter. And thanks for the fun mini - well run.