Diary of an LPS Semi-Final Entry

peterst6906 · August 7, 2007

Dear all,

Since joining DGRIN back just before the start of the LPS competition, I've mostly stayed quiet, lurking in the wings and being constantly amazed at the skill and quality of images.

However, this last round I decided to submit a serious attemp myself; and luckily that has me in the semi-final this time around.

So, in the hope that this might be useful to someone else down the track (especially in later rounds of LPS), I thought I would document my approach to preparing an image for a competition.

DISCLAIMER: In documenting my approach over the next couple of weeks I am sure that I'm only doing what everyone else is also doing and I'm probably doing less than some. There is nothing special about my approach and I hope that others in the semi-final will also chime in with comments and posts.

So, for my first diary entry, please see the next post.

Regards,

Peter

peterst6906 · August 7, 2007

Day 1: 06:30, 7 August 2007 (The Hague, Netherlands)

Wake up early and go check DGRIN.

Woo hoo, made the top ten…..way to go!

After a brief to smile at the screen, my emotion quickly changes from elation to PANIC!!!!

What do I do now? Oh my god, I’m so going to come 40th out of 37 photos in the semi-final.

My professional photography is all in forensics where I’ve learnt to nail the exposure, DOF and focus; but creativity is not something that is appreciated in court. I’ve never had to explain to a jury how the subtle elements of a composition support the view that the defendant is guilty; and there aren’t too many judges I know who would look kindly on me waiting for the magic hour so I could take an artistic picture of a homicide victim.

As a result, while I can get just about any shot if I know what it is, coming up with ideas in the first place has never been one of my strong points.

Damn stupid left brain.

Ah well, no time to waste, I better get cracking.

I've never considered my tendency towards a logical approach to things as a strength in my photography, however in this case it might actually help.

I think for the semi-final, I might take a left brain approach to the capture of a right brain image.

That is, I’m going to logically plan and execute the image; and in the end, hopefully the composition will stand on its own and communicate the exact message I want to get across.

I’m also going to play to my other strength and tell a story, not just take a photo of a nice scene. In forensics I’ve always approached crime scenes with a view that I’m already on the witness stand. Taking photos imagining that I’m already using them in court to tell the story of the crime has allowed me to take photos that support the story all the way along. It’s an approach that in my experience has always helped a jury to better understand the series of events leading up to, during and after a crime.

As a result, I’m usually more drawn to images that tell some sort of story, so I think I will begin working that angle.

Also, since one of the strong themes of LPS is to challenge everyone and push them to try things they ahven't done before, I'm going to stay away from safe ground. I know that there are certain styles of image that I can capture well. But, if possible, I'm going to avaoid the temptation to do that for the semi-final.

Anyway, better go and work on my plan and start writing down some themes for my approach.

I'll post my workplan for the next couple of weeks in a few hours.

Regards,

Peter

Tentacion · August 7, 2007

Best Regards to you also Peter....Very Cool Blog Journal..

So your a forensics photographer...NOW that is even COOLER....That is something that could interest me....Although I hear that brain mater smells really bad...Ewwwwww (Yeah I said it...lol)

Look forward to reading more...Cheers
Donna

pyroPrints.com · August 7, 2007

My motto as far as photography goes is: Better to be lucky than good. I think I'll get into my car and just drive until I see something interesting.

peterst6906 · August 7, 2007

Tentacion wrote:

Best Regards to you also Peter....Very Cool Blog Journal..

So your a forensics photographer...NOW that is even COOLER....That is something that could interest me....Although I hear that brain mater smells really bad...Ewwwwww (Yeah I said it...lol)

Look forward to reading more...Cheers
Donna

There are worse smells...:nah:nah:nah

Actually at the moment I'm on sebatical from crime scene work and I work in the International Community as a Chemical Weapons Inspector. Still involves a lot of photography, but different subject and requirements...much more pleasant.

I hope you also drop comments in here and also, good luck for the semi-final as well.

Regards,

Peter

peterst6906 · August 7, 2007

Day 1: 21:00

Spent part of the day doing some initial research, some drafting of a workplan and then just throwing around some theme ideas.

I find that even in an open theme, having something more concrete to work with helps to give me some focus. So that's why I'm beginning to work on a theme.

In relation to the research, I went back through the images from the previous semi-final and aside from the quality of the images (see below), I also realised that 4 people who've already qualified for the final showdown are backing up in this semi.

That's annnna8888 (who from memory was the winner of semi #1), sherstone, vandana and seastack. In addition, the current semi has some other fantastic photographers as well (eg. saurora, fOOsion, Shamguess and Greensquared to name a few).

As a result, to make my image stand-out, it's not going to be as simple as come up with an idea and go and shoot it.

In my view, every element of the composition has to support the overall message I want to get across and the message has to be strong as well (more on that in a later post).

Having looked at the previous semi-final winning images, it's plainly obvious that a tight composition and technical excellence are the minimum requirements.

Only one of the former semi-final winners involved a busy composition. Swartzy's image had the most going on, but he used the leading lines of the bridge well to draw the eye from the interesting architecture of the bridge onto the cityscape (He also shot it at the right time of day with enough ambient light to give the sky some detail, but low enough to allow the lights to stand out in the city and the water reflection).

All the other images were fairly simple, but very strong compositions and they all had a very strong theme.

So, that's my starting point now. To come up with an idea that I can turn into a very tight composition and that I can capture absolutely perfectly from a technical point of view.

As a basic workplan then, I've got the current draft:

7 August

Develop basic theme ideas

8 August

Refine themes into a message for a photo Begin storyboarding the messages 9 August

Refine storyboards and include notes on compositional elements Select 2 – 3 storyboards 10 August

Scout locations/resources for the different photos 11 August

Shoot Download, archive and work images to show idea Identify weak areas of each image 12 August

Re-shoot scenes to improve compositions and make message stronger Begin post-processing for final images 13 August

Complete post-processing of images 14 August

Review original storyboards and select second batch 15 August

Scout locations/resources for each storyboard 16 August

Shoot and then do some basic pp work Identify weak aspects of the photos 17 August

Re-shoot photos to improve composition and message 18 August

Post process to final images 19 August

Select final image and submit Have a beer! (or few)

By the end, I expect to have shot somewhere around 100-200 (maybe more) images and out of that to have 4-5 that strongly speak the theme.

Regards,

Peter

Dee · August 7, 2007

Oh My......
I too went to the previous winners, and even compiled a list of names and who had won both. Pretty impressive group, and some are my favorite photographers.

Then I went through what kinds of photos were chosen... but dear me, not to the degree that you have!

And here I live in one of the most beautiful areas, probably in the world, and I'm totally stymied as to what to shoot. (Thank you summer fog!)

So much depends on lighting, weather, and being at the right place at exactly the right time (or camping out and waiting for that perfect moment -- at which point one misses other opportunities).

I do know not to shoot flowers, babies or children for this group! And no squirrels or seagulls either!

I need to get my left brain more in gear, but I'm more likely to drive somewhere looking for stuff that catches my eye. No wonder I "never" win any of these contests!

Then, do I go back to old favorite places, or look for new ones? What will produce a "knock 'em dead" killer photo?

I'm so glad you started this blog -- and I will be eagerly watching for more input. You so totally don't think the way I do that it fascinates me!

Nikolai · August 7, 2007

And I thought it was me with left-only brain...

Great effort, man!

As for me, I'm not gonna sweat it. But shall it come my way - I'll be ready

Shamguess · August 7, 2007

My Strategy
1. Try to find time to get out and take some pictures in the next two weeks.

2. Hope that something interesting happens in front of my camera.

3. Pray that at least a couple of the pictures are in focus (Mark III).

4. Bribe the judges.

Tentacion · August 7, 2007

I have to start shooting my "story" book photos, to see what works...I Already have 4 titles and what the "shots" should look like to represent, so as you said Peter, I have to shoot my story line, and see what works and what doesn't.

Yea, I work off of my titles, this is how I get creative.....I envision the title in my minds eye.....and then I flow with it, it gives me a start of what kind of a composition I want to create and build.

Talk Latah....
Donna

PS: Crime Scene Photography has always interested me, just don't know how well I could handle it..but curiosity (female or is that Pandora) would kill me, I would have to see more and investigate it in my mind...Wierdo that I am..lol

LiquidAir · August 7, 2007

Shamguess wrote:

1. Try to find time to get out and take some pictures in the next two weeks.

2. Hope that something interesting happens in front of my camera.

3. Pray that at least a couple of the pictures are in focus (Mark III).

4. Bribe the judges.

Looking at your galleries, that doesn't sound like such a bad plan... One tip: take at least a couple shots of things that are standing still just to cover #3.

LiquidAir · August 7, 2007

seastack wrote:

So plan, plan, plan ... make your own luck ... but slow down, look, be prepared for the unexpected ... be open to seeing it.

Yes indeedy. My LPS 9 and 10 shots were both born out of plans gone awry and as a result they captured things that I could have never planned.

As for the semi, I have several planned shots that will require varying degrees of luck to pull off and some half formed ideas that may develop if the opportunity arises. Finally I have one shot that I know for certain I can pull off if everything else falls apart.

Nikolai · August 7, 2007

One thing about semis is that while it's all great to learn and experiment, this is already a place where you better stick to what you do best. You had all the QRs to play. Now, if you consider who are you competing with, you better be good at it. As you said, technical excellency is required, but it's way not enough. I know for sure that if I go against Lord V with close-up, or against Seastack with shoreline, or against LiquidAir with intrinsic stock lighting, or against Lynnesite with equestrian shot - I'm so gonna lose big time.

Hence I better do what's mine.

And I agree with Tom and Ken: do plan, but be flexible. If my own experience is any indication, only ONE of my planned shots made it to the top ten, and that was LPS#1, when we got it easy:-) The rest of my winners (and I had a few) were totally spontaneous, while everything I tried very hard to pull didn't make it:cry . So, now, as I already mentioned, I'm trying to be a crocodile: relax, but be alert and be ready to seize any opportunity that would come my way.

HTH

saurora · August 7, 2007

This is my first semi-final and first time to shoot without a theme. ...Yikes! I don't feel I am a very creative type either. On top of that, I am not very organized and a huge procrastinator!!! The first few challenges I found myself dreaming up somewhat elaborate ideas, none of which I was ever able to bring to fruition. They usually involved other people, a location not easily accessible, etc. Too many variables that could go wrong within the short time frame of 2 weeks and the even shorter time that I have available to shoot (especially in decent light). I felt extremely overwhelmed and underqualified. I almost gave up entering and missed a few challenges which lowered my confidence even more. I also spent alot of time driving around and around on my lunch hours and after work trying to come up with a location or idea. I do a lot of my shooting on Sundays. I noticed after each challenge that quite often I had a shot that worked really well for the current challenge, but I had taken it one day too soon and it didn't qualify. Finally, I just resolved to go back to what I loved to do....shoot without pressure, shoot to relax, shoot whatever presented itself (like Seastack said, be flexible and prepared for he unexpected.) The more I shoot, the more trained my eyes become to what is around me. So that was a good thing. I also found that (low and behold) when you shoot something you enjoy or love you can (sometimes) pass that feeling through your work to your audience. I'm not saying you can count on this method, in fact, it is obviously preferable to be able to come up with an idea and go shoot it. But, meanwhile it has removed the pressure I put upon myself and relaxed me enough to get some decent shots and build back up my confidence. Hopefully I can once again attempt some 'planned' shots and be able to successfully pull them off. Right now, I'm just hoping not to forget to put the #@%!!! memory card in the camera when I go shooting!!

Tentacion · August 7, 2007

saurora wrote:

Right now, I'm just hoping not to forget to put the #@%!!! memory card in the camera when I go shooting!!

OMG, so I'm not the only one then, good thing I always carry spares...Too funny!!

Good Luck Saurora, I know you will do just FINE!!

Debboggy · August 7, 2007

Saurora were we separated at birth? You described me and my feelings almost perfectly! I feel so under experienced and really never thought I'd make it to this round when I entered #9. But for me, it's not the memory card I have to worry about as much as the battery. I don't know how many times I've been waiting for the kids to be out cold for their naps, grabbed the camera to head out for some shots, only to run out of power a few minutes later.

I have no idea what I'm going to pick and to make matters worse, we're leaving for vacation on Thursday. We won't be back until Monday, so that leaves very little time for a planned shot before or after the trip.

The good news is, we'll be going to Sea World, the beach and Lego Land, so you'd think there'd be some decent photo opts along the way. A little more difficult when factoring in a 9, 4, and 2 year old boys--without any nanny to grab runaways while I'm composing the perfect shot.

I think the hardest part of this for me is leaving the topic wide open. My brain is racing to come up with something. Anything. My camera is living around my neck 24/7 until the final day to enter.

By the way, for the semifinals do the entrants keep their entries to themselves until they officially post or are feedback threads allowed like in the qualifying rounds?

LiquidAir · August 7, 2007

Tentacion wrote:

OMG, so I'm not the only one then, good thing I always carry spares...Too funny!!

Good Luck Saurora, I know you will do just FINE!!

You get home and there's the card sitting happily in the card reader sayin' "Sup boss? Have a good shoot?"

Yep. Been there, done that. These days I carry 4 2gig cards everywhere.

Nikolai · August 7, 2007

Debboggy wrote:

do the entrants keep their entries to themselves until they officially post or are feedback threads allowed like in the qualifying rounds?

It's up to you. If you wanna solicit c&c - post away. If you wanna keep it a secret until the last minute - that's fine, too.

HoofClix · August 7, 2007

Having a daughter who's now aspiring to be a photographer, I actually got to a place today to shoot for SF2, opened my bag, and NO 17-55 LENS!!!!
:splat It was in her room when I got back home, but too late to do the shoot today... She takes and took good care of it, but....

The big deal in the SF that I hear is to shoot what you already do best. Studying the winners of the series only serves to show that a very good photograph that is only loosely linked to the theme will win out over a poor photo that hits the theme dead on. But the winners always have very good photos.

I've been spending a lot of time dreaming up a new technique to put in this, and I spent Monday afternoon trying to use it, exif requirments. What I got was OK, but not going to beat anyone on this board. I'm going to keep working on it, but this weekend is another horse show, and you can bet I'll be looking for something that'll be really good as a backup, just in case...

saurora · August 7, 2007

LiquidAir wrote:

You get home and there's the card sitting happily in the card reader sayin' "Sup boss? Have a good shoot?"

Yep. Been there, done that. These days I carry 4 2gig cards everywhere.

I now leave 2 spare cards sitting right next to my car keys every day. First thing in the morning as I grab my keys, I (usually) put them straight in my pants pocket whether I intend to shoot or not!!! I'm forever dragging cards out of the camera to the computer and forgetting to put them back. I now have 5 cards and 3 batteries!!!!
Good to know I'm in good company!

pyroPrints.com · August 7, 2007

Learned this the hard way.

Buy enough memory (i bought an 8 gig (80 bucks), it's not fast, but I rarely run out of space even shooting raw) and always carry it with you. Same with batteries, I carry 2. Still yet to get a car charge though =c/

There are enough obstacles, like weather, or lets say tresspassing laws

. Technology shouldn't be one

Shay Stephens · August 7, 2007

pyroPrints.com wrote:

Learned this the hard way.

Buy enough memory (i bought an 8 gig (80 bucks), it's not fast, but I rarely run out of space even shooting raw) and always carry it with you. Same with batteries, I carry 2. Still yet to get a car charge though =c/

There are enough obstacles, like weather, or lets say tresspassing laws . Technology shouldn't be one

I go to work with 13 cards and 3 batteries per camera. Why you ask? Paranoia hehehe. Forgetting things is valuable experience that makes you swear it will never happen again hahaha.

fashiznitsngrins · August 7, 2007

Nikolai wrote:

If my own experience is any indication, only ONE of my planned shots made it to the top ten, and that was LPS#1, when we got it easy:-) The rest of my winners (and I had a few) were totally spontaneous...

You made me stop and think about this - as I have been racking my brains like mad to come up with some cunning plan. I had one planned shot that got through in the first round and the other two were a matter of being at the right place, at the right time - with the camera! I wish I could just leave it at that and hope that something comes my way in the next two weeks, but my left-brain won't have anything to do with that kind of attitude!!!

It would be really interesting to find out at the end of the SF, how many shots were planned and how many just "happened"...

Good luck everyone

peterst6906 · August 8, 2007

Some great responses to this thread.

In relation to the planned approach in comparison to spontaneity, I don't want to make this next two weeks all about a clinical, sterile approach to the entry, but I do want to at least have a well thought out plan. As to looking for opportunities as they come along, I'm definitely up for that also.

I went out shooting last night with some low light images and a few of them initially look OK. I didn't go out thinking about the semi-final, it was just my normal routine to try to shoot everyday. But if something comes along then I'm all in for the old saying a*se beats class anyday....:D

Also, in relation to staying on safe ground for the semi-finals, I'm keeping that option open. My initial approach is going to be to try to rise to the challenge and produce something new, but I will also keep a comfortable option open for the second week if necessary.

Regards,

Peter

peterst6906 · August 8, 2007

Day 2; 10:00

The big advantage of the semi-final over the qualifying rounds is that it's an open round. However, the big disadvantage of the semi-final over the qualifying round is also that it is an open round.

In the qualifying rounds the theme is given and it allows you to just interpret as you see fit (and hopefully the judges agree), but in the semi-final it would be easy for me to just drift around without any firm plan unless I also come up with an underlying theme for my photos.

This might be something that only a few others do, but I decided to set myself a theme and then work from there. If I'd qualified in one of the earlier rounds then I would have had plenty of time to plan, but given the short timeframe, I want to get focussed as quickly as possible.

So after thinking through yesterday and this morning, I've come up with four themes and one additional idea (writing the themes in the same style as the QRs).

1. virtue or vice
2. old or new
3. tradition or technology
4. natural or industrial

The other idea is hard to explain, but I'll try in a later thread.

The seven deadly sins and seven holy virtues (virtue or vice) is something I've been thinking about for months, but I think that the images I have in my head are a bit over the top for a competition.

However, I also think that things that are old, traditional or natural are generally viewed as more honest, humble and trustworthy than things that are new, technology based or industrial.

So perhaps, for the semi-final I will pick one of the bottom three themes and try to give it either a virtuous or home-comfort feeling or an edgy, vain, angry feel.

I think the first approach would go better in voting, but I really like the idea of the second.

We'll see. I better go and do some storyboarding of a few ideas (I'll post some later).

Regards,

Peter

Nikolai · August 8, 2007

LiquidAir wrote:

You get home and there's the card sitting happily in the card reader sayin' "Sup boss? Have a good shoot?"

Yep. Been there, done that. These days I carry 4 2gig cards everywhere.

Funny... The closest I have been to this situation was during the last wedding. I always keep a spare card in a backpack, but this time it turned out that one of my daughters borrowed it for a summer camp weekly trip and didn't put it back - and I didn't check before leaving :bash. Luckily for me, DavidTO was there to save the day

After learning this lesson I jumped on the dgrin deal with 8Gb CFs, so now both of my 30D bodies are stocked with 8Gb (x133!) card each, and 3 2Gb spares rest comfortably in the backpack:-)

peterst6906 · August 8, 2007

Day 2; 22:00

There wasn't much happening this afternoon with the storyboarding, so instead I grabbed the camera and headed into town.

I was in a bit of an abstract mood, so I wasn't shooting for the entry, just enjoying myself.

Of the several different shots I took, here's the first I've processed (again, this isn't a potential entry):

Regards,

Peter

Nikolai · August 8, 2007

peterst6906 wrote:

Of the several different shots I took, here's the first I've processed (again, this isn't a potential entry):

Darn, man, this is awesome!

What is this?

peterst6906 · August 8, 2007

Nikolai wrote:

Darn, man, this is awesome! What is this?

Thanks Nikolai.

It's nothing special really. Just some temporary roofing being used to hide some construction.

Regards,

Peter

Nikolai · August 8, 2007

Peter,

peterst6906 wrote:

Thanks Nikolai.

It's nothing special really. Just some temporary roofing being used to hide some construction.

Regards,

Peter

You have a great eye to see some alien spaceship amongst constuction dust

Nice treatment, too!

Debboggy · August 8, 2007

Peter, if this shot didn't even make it into your 'maybe' pile, I know I'm in even bigger trouble than I first thought. :wow

:help

I did take one shot last night that I like for myself, but I'm not sure if it's a contender. We're leaving in the morning and I'm still not sure if I'll have Internet access or not while we're gone, so I'm going to try my best to come up with something tonight. I was so excited to qualify; I'd hate to miss out just because we're gone...

Diary of an LPS Semi-Final Entry

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