MINI Challenge #181: People in Nature: Monochrome

1magineer1magineer Registered Users Posts: 95 Big grins
edited February 4, 2014 in The Dgrin Challenges
My theme for this Mini is People in Nature: Monochrome

That's right, it's time to flex your conversion muscles on new images or classics from your portfolio.

Here's what I'll look for:
  • The image works as a photograph, rather than is just something cool to photograph.
  • The image contains a person, or identifiable part of a person, that contributes to the overall feeling or statement of the capture.
  • The image evokes a mood or something about the character of the individual in the photograph. This can be an abstract feeling, and the person could be in the distance, or even out of focus, as in one of my examples below.
  • The landscape or nature image should work fairly well even if you took the person or persons out of it.
  • Extra points for artistic/judicious use of tonal range (in other words, if the shot calls for full scale, you've got it, if it calls for vignettes or silhoettes, or graduated neutral density, you use it. Get creative!)

Though this is regular fare for some photog's here, for others it might prove a little out of their comfort zone. My advice: go for it anyway!

This Mini will run from this minute through Sunday, February 2, 2014 @ 9:00PM EST.

************************************************** ************************

OUR UN-OFFICIAL GENERAL RULES
1. Have fun sharing and seeing what others share!
2. The host supplies a topic and YOU POST 1-3 IMAGES. The host judges the winners (1st, 2nd and 3rd) and is not eligible to enter. The 1st place winner becomes the next host, chooses the next topic and becomes the next judge.
3. Any photo you’ve taken is eligible, regardless of when taken or camera used.
4. Any amount of post-processing is allowed. However, it is helpful if you list your camera and lens along with your photo.
5. You may comment on other contestant's images. If you want someone to leave you some critique or criticism, just ask within your post.
6. The winner has up to three days (72 hours) to begin a new mini-challenge, or the honor goes to the #2 finisher and so forth.

IMPORTANT: ENTRIES DUE NO LATER THAN 9PM EASTERN TIME ON Sunday, February 2, 2014

Guidelines:
1. Enter 1-3 photos and put them in a single post.
2. Either embed your image in the thread or, if you must, supply a link to it. Keep in mind, however, most people don't want to click to open photos hosted elsewhere (i.e. on your website).
3. Also try and resize your photos prior to posting so they're sized appropriately for viewing without having to scroll (~800 pixels on the longest side works best.)
4. Give each image you enter a title.
5. Enjoy discussion with members about their images, don't let this just be an entry thread!
6. When quoting a post, change the IMG urls to a 200x200 size picture so it is clear your post is feedback and not another entry. (See here for help).
7. Don't be hesitant; share 'em and enter!

Mini-Challenge pointers:
1. Upon winning a mini-challenge round, your first step is coming up with a new theme and starting a new thread using the same format as others have used.
2. Make sure to notify the admin of this thread to update the main thread links with your entry thread.
3. Feel free to watch the thread as it grows or wait to the end time and look at all the entries all at once.
4. After the time/date has passed, then officially close the thread with a single post notifying everyone of the fact.
5. After you're finished judging, start a new thread (again using the prior formats) and post your Winner and runners-up. It is important to have runners up in case the winner does not show within the 72-hour window.
6. PM the winner with this info above and let them know they have 72 hours to set up the next mini-challenge.
7. If the winner does not show/start the next mini-challenge after 72 hours, notify the next runner-up and post a message on the Winner thread of the fact.
8. Remember, if you're the Winner, you run the next mini challenge!

Examples:

Everything's Solved by Walking
FisherMeadowsHiRes-L.jpg

Cold Heavy Air
WaterfdBeach_875-Edit-Edit-L.jpg

A Toe in the Water
PS_PEEPS-26-L.jpg
–Mark

"Conventional thinking is the ruin of our souls..." ~Rumi
_____________________________________________
My SmugMug Galleries

Comments

  • CHANDLERJACHANDLERJA Registered Users Posts: 400 Major grins
    edited January 16, 2014
    1. Isolation

    R96C3000-HDR2b6-XL.jpg

    2. Girls

    AN7O1126-HDR2b-XL.jpg

    3. Work

    AN7O0606-HDRb2-XL.jpg
    Jeromy
    http://snaptx.smugmug.com/
    Light is everything in life and photography.
  • davevdavev Registered Users Posts: 3,118 Major grins
    edited January 17, 2014
    Withdrawn
    dave.

    Basking in the shadows of yesterday's triumphs'.
  • 1magineer1magineer Registered Users Posts: 95 Big grins
    edited January 18, 2014
    Delighted with the entries so far!
    –Mark

    "Conventional thinking is the ruin of our souls..." ~Rumi
    _____________________________________________
    My SmugMug Galleries
  • lifeinfocuslifeinfocus Registered Users Posts: 1,461 Major grins
    edited January 18, 2014
    #1 Family Sledding (It was 15 degrees outside when I took the first two shots. Big snow machine off to the right adding snow to the air.)

    20131230%20Christmas-7072%20black%20and%20white-XL.jpg

    #2 Red Wings and Penguins (For non hockey fans those are NHL teams.)

    20131230%20Christmas-7077%20black%20and%20white%20v3-XL.jpg

    #3 Fly Fishing In Michigan (It was a beautiful 70 plus degrees for this shot)

    20130716%20AuSable-1591%20black%20and%20white%20v2-XL.jpg

    Phil
    http://www.PhilsImaging.com
    "You don't take a photograph, you make it." ~Ansel Adams
    Phil
  • kentwallerkentwaller Registered Users Posts: 158 Major grins
    edited January 18, 2014
    1. monrepos
    IMG_9238-L.jpg




    2. loop head
    IMG_2857-L.jpg




    3. ludwigsburg
    IMG_8244_Localtone-L.jpg
  • pixelpeeperpixelpeeper Registered Users Posts: 22 Big grins
    edited January 18, 2014
    1. Slightly scary seaside

    i-9vcWSJN-XL.jpg

    Moving on ...up

    i-LK5p5K9-XL.jpg


    We made it!
    i-bDDBRZ7-XL.jpg

    A nice challenge - its good to use monochrome for a change.
  • grandmaRgrandmaR Registered Users Posts: 1,941 Major grins
    edited January 18, 2014
    I'm struggling with the concept of "rather than is just something cool to photograph" as I don't know what the difference is between something that works as a photograph and something that is just something cool. I am interpreting that as an Art photo rather than a descriptive photo or a photo where the point of it is to show you how something looks. Almost all the photos I take are to show what something looks like. I rarely take a photo just because it will make a nice picture.

    Also having a problem with Nature as applied to this challenge. It doesn't seem to mean just trees and land and stuff like that, but also includes buildings. People I can figure out and I think I know what monochrome is. I had one of a fisherman, but the one already entered is so much better that I discarded it. I don't really care for monochrome work. I did it with film (Does anyone want an enlarger?) and back in the day, I tried printing color negatives in black and white but there are very few photos that I think are better without color. Mostly when I use black and white it is to hide a flaw in the photo.

    This Challenge will end when I am on a trip to St. Croix, so I'm going to go ahead and enter some things that I think might meet the criteria.

    Photographing a geyser in black and white
    x100_4860.JPG

    Walking through the past - sepia
    100_4860.jpg

    Showing my granddaughter Fern spores
    100_4385.JPG

    (I have tinted this green - the original is BRIGHT green and my hand is very pink)
    “"..an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered." G.K. Chesterton”
  • PhotoaddictPhotoaddict Registered Users Posts: 29 Big grins
    edited January 20, 2014
    This was easy for me as I love B/W and experimenting with it.

    Loneliness
    12072872295_c9f7acf524_b.jpg
    wishing you were somewhere else redo by Danny M. Long, on Flickr

    After the Big One
    12073245744_6da1a94457_b.jpg
    5061281544_cb49081cd1_o by Danny M. Long, on Flickr

    Flock of followers
    12072834715_74353531af_b.jpg
    5054012778_d8884e41c7_o by Danny M. Long, on Flickr
    "There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."
    Ansel Adams
  • Alans GrinAlans Grin Registered Users Posts: 346 Major grins
    edited January 20, 2014
    Mountain Photographer

    IMG_9513-Edit-XL.jpg




    Vallee Blanche

    IMG_5549-Edit-4-XL.jpg




    Aiguille du midi ridge

    IMG_0315-XL.jpg

    Please excuse the red copyright notice. I shoot quite a lot of snow and mountain scenes, and black, white or grey copyrights don't cut it and Lightroom has a one style fits all copyright setting.

    Alan.
  • billseyebillseye Registered Users Posts: 847 Major grins
    edited January 20, 2014
    Moonstone Beach
    Moonstone%20Beach-3-L.jpg

    Point Arena
    09.24%20Road%20Trip_130-L.jpg

    Eastern Sierras
    Parker%20Lake%206-L.jpg
    Bill Banning

    Check out billseye photos on SmugMug
  • 1magineer1magineer Registered Users Posts: 95 Big grins
    edited January 21, 2014
    Hi grandmaR,

    Glad you decided to participate. I'll try to address your your concerns.

    First, if you are interpreting my first guideline as "art photo," you re right on the money--you got it! I like to see the artfulness of the artist in the shot. Perfect. That "admonishment" of sorts was aimed at those who might find themselves tempted to take the lazy way out. ;-)

    Next, you'll have to use your best judgement on what constitutes nature, but I would err on the side of a photo in which the natural environs are obviously a big part of the image.

    Last but not least, who can argue preferences? If you prefer color over mono images, that is your privilege (though based on what I've seen if your work, I would not give up on making mono ones!). Some of us (me included) appreciate both the challenge of making, and the joy of be drawn into, a great black and white!

    Safe travels and thanks for participating in this challenge!

    ~Mark
    grandmaR wrote: »
    I'm struggling with the concept of "rather than is just something cool to photograph" as I don't know what the difference is between something that works as a photograph and something that is just something cool. I am interpreting that as an Art photo rather than a descriptive photo or a photo where the point of it is to show you how something looks. Almost all the photos I take are to show what something looks like. I rarely take a photo just because it will make a nice picture.

    Also having a problem with Nature as applied to this challenge. It doesn't seem to mean just trees and land and stuff like that, but also includes buildings. People I can figure out and I think I know what monochrome is. I had one of a fisherman, but the one already entered is so much better that I discarded it. I don't really care for monochrome work. I did it with film (Does anyone want an enlarger?) and back in the day, I tried printing color negatives in black and white but there are very few photos that I think are better without color. Mostly when I use black and white it is to hide a flaw in the photo.

    This Challenge will end when I am on a trip to St. Croix, so I'm going to go ahead and enter some things that I think might meet the criteria.
    –Mark

    "Conventional thinking is the ruin of our souls..." ~Rumi
    _____________________________________________
    My SmugMug Galleries
  • grandmaRgrandmaR Registered Users Posts: 1,941 Major grins
    edited January 21, 2014
    Thank you for replying to my concerns. I am having fun with trying new things in this group, especially since you all don't seem to hold my opinions against me :)

    THe firtst one was of my grandson who was interested in volcanoes, so I took him to Yellowstone. The second one was of another grandson on our visit to Pompeii. I think probably the only one of mine that shows anything about the human in the photo is the last one - I was a biology major and formerly taught middle school science. I tinted the last one green as I don't think monochrome necessarily means just black and white or sepia. This was an experiment. In case you are interested, this is the original of that photo - it obviously didn't start out as an 'art' photo.

    100_4385.JPG
    “"..an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered." G.K. Chesterton”
  • kdotaylorkdotaylor Registered Users Posts: 1,274 Major grins
    edited January 21, 2014
    #1 Fishing Buddies
    i-dGnzFcL-L.jpg

    #2 Multnomah Falls
    i-ZjrCFC2-L.jpg

    #3 Sisters
    i-7fMNm9F-L.jpg
    Kate
    www.katetaylor.smugmug.com
    "You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." Mark Twain
  • Gaby617Gaby617 Registered Users Posts: 218 Major grins
    edited January 21, 2014
    This shot was taken on my wedding day. Very small justice of the piece type shindig. We dated for 15 years prior to this day 5/26/12. This was a garden we used to sneak of to to meet since her parents did not like me. We probably havent been to this gaden in over 10 years. Ironically we drove past it the day of marriage and just had to stop and bring back memories. Set the tripod up, camera on a 10 second timer and after numerous attempts we both agreed this was our favorite.
    7363406160_885d4b8340_b.jpg
  • AllWeatherAllWeather Registered Users Posts: 1 Beginner grinner
    edited January 22, 2014
    1. Taking in the view

    IMG_0190-Edit-2-XL.jpg

    Canon EOS 5D Mark II
    ISO 100
    Focal Length 22mm (22mm in 35mm)
    Aperture f/18

    2.Rowing

    DSCF3263-Edit-Edit-XL.jpg
    FUJIFILM X-E1
    ISO 640
    Focal Length 50mm (75mm in 35mm)
  • ShootingStarShootingStar Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited January 23, 2014
    Fierce competition on that subject! I love a lot of the photos already submitted. You will have a hard time voting 1magineer.

    Here are my entries:

    1. Off the beaten track in Jordan
    P1000364-L.jpg

    2. The real Outback
    IMG_2000-L.jpg

    3. I really need to do a new travel as I keep entering photos of the Sahara…
    P1010185-L.jpg


    Claire
    Nature can be so different around the world but it is always amazing!

    Travel Blog English: http://www.zigzagonearth.com
    Travel Blog French: http://zigzagvoyages.fr
    Infoproduct Creation Blog : https://structurinfo.com
  • crevestcrevest Registered Users Posts: 51 Big grins
    edited January 23, 2014
    Heat
    Heat.

    This one was taken during summer in the very south of Morocco. 45°C and higher temperatures occur from 9am.
    The two men chat protected by the shadow projected by the wall.

    DSC_6996-L.jpg

    Everything is a matter of perspective
    http://www.in-perspectives.com/
  • 1magineer1magineer Registered Users Posts: 95 Big grins
    edited January 23, 2014

    Fierce competition on that subject! I love a lot of the photos already submitted. You will have a hard time voting 1magineer.

    Claire

    Claire, you've got that right! The response is way better than I'd hoped for, and the artists are rising to the challenge! A look over the thread every day, because I will need to see them over and over, and love seeing them over and over, before I make my choices. Big smiles here for my first mini. thumb.gifthumbthumb.gif

    ~Mark
    –Mark

    "Conventional thinking is the ruin of our souls..." ~Rumi
    _____________________________________________
    My SmugMug Galleries
  • TonyCooperTonyCooper Registered Users Posts: 2,276 Major grins
    edited January 24, 2014
    All right...the photographs already submitted are far too good
    for me to even consider trying to compete with them. So, I'll
    go for some light relief.

    They were all taken outdoors. That's nature. Right? They all
    have a people in them. That qualifies. Right?


    i-cwgBDKX-XL.jpg

    i-L3jtLt5-XL.jpg

    i-8wGk82v-XL.jpg
    Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
    http://tonycooper.smugmug.com/
  • Gary752Gary752 Registered Users Posts: 934 Major grins
    edited January 25, 2014
    I don't stand a chance against the great photos already posted, but thought I'd give it a shot anyways.

    Grandpa and grandson taking in the view aboard the historic river ferry boat
    i-cDMqLct-L.jpg

    Soaking in the sunshine
    i-w9rfF7D-L.jpg

    GaryB
    GaryB
    “The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!” - Ansel Adams
  • EaracheEarache Registered Users Posts: 3,533 Major grins
    edited January 26, 2014
    Great challenge theme Mark, and lots of cool images!


    I Am The Sea
    I%20Am%20The%20Sea-XL.jpg


    Up and More Up
    Up%20n%20Up-XL.jpg


    The Tempest
    The%20Tempest-XL.jpg
    Eric ~ Smugmug
  • 1magineer1magineer Registered Users Posts: 95 Big grins
    edited January 26, 2014
    This is a quick note to let you know that I am current'y at 37,000 feet somewhere over Indiana, and I am evaluating all the wonderful images that are the responses to this challenge. I hope to complete my comments in the air here, edit, then post them as soon as I can tomorrow (I get in very late tonight, Eastern Time).

    Thank you all for your participation! Not back to the difficult task of picking the winner!

    ~Mark
    –Mark

    "Conventional thinking is the ruin of our souls..." ~Rumi
    _____________________________________________
    My SmugMug Galleries
  • grandmaRgrandmaR Registered Users Posts: 1,941 Major grins
    edited January 27, 2014
    I thought this was to run until NEXT Sunday (Feb 2)???
    “"..an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered." G.K. Chesterton”
  • sapphire73sapphire73 Registered Users, Super Moderators Posts: 1,942 moderator
    edited January 27, 2014
    I've been away and was happy to see there was still time to enter this mini (for the fun of it) when I saw Feb. 2nd as the closing date. Maybe compromise and give folks a couple of days to enter? Either way, great mini and wonderful entries.
  • 1magineer1magineer Registered Users Posts: 95 Big grins
    edited January 27, 2014
    Yes, my goof. The deadline is Feb 2! My apologies! Laughing.gif! Put it down to temporary cognitive distortion due to travel!
    –Mark

    "Conventional thinking is the ruin of our souls..." ~Rumi
    _____________________________________________
    My SmugMug Galleries
  • grandmaRgrandmaR Registered Users Posts: 1,941 Major grins
    edited January 27, 2014
    I only knew because I was going to be away at the end of this mini and I haven't left yet :)
    “"..an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered." G.K. Chesterton”
  • RyanWsurfRyanWsurf Registered Users Posts: 6 Beginner grinner
    edited January 29, 2014
    African Beach Walk

    i-N8xK564-L.jpg

    Winery Life

    i-TZC5jFF-L.jpg

    Elephant Man

    i-MzDHf53-L.jpg
  • sapphire73sapphire73 Registered Users, Super Moderators Posts: 1,942 moderator
    edited February 1, 2014
    1. Time for Reflection (Honolulu)
    i-7RdxTKs-L.jpg

    2. Sunday Afternoon (Maui)
    i-B3vDzjT-L.jpg

    3. Climber (Joshua Tree National Park)
    i-h3cTWLJ-L.jpg
  • grandmaRgrandmaR Registered Users Posts: 1,941 Major grins
    edited February 4, 2014
    I can't find the results of this. Have they been posted?
    “"..an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered." G.K. Chesterton”
  • JAGJAG Super Moderators Posts: 9,088 moderator
    edited February 4, 2014
    I guess that Mark is still in India. Lets give him a couple more days to get the result thread done. In the meantime, this thread is CLOSED to any more entries!
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