Photo Competition Results

[spicedogs]

I had my photo competition meeting today. The judge was a photographer from the National Geographic Society. Boy, was he good, and I learned a lot. One thing I learned is that I will definitely take classes at our photography school not far from my home. It is an accredited and respected school. Brian was informed and we will budget time and money for my photo education.

I submitted 5 photos and won 2 honorable mentions. Not bad for a woman who only took pictures to record family events. And, even that, I started doing after Meghan was born. Meghan in 8 months old. So, yes, even if I have to say so, I am proud of myself.

What makes me feel supergood is the critiques that I received from the judge. He didn't know who took what picture. But when each picture was presented in front of him, he told us what was good and what was bad.

Anyway, here are the pictures that didn't make it:



He said that he loved the composition and the colors were superb. What he didn't like was that the background was quite prominent and it took away your total focus. You are supposed to look at the tree only, but the eyes tend to focus on the houses as well and that makes the shot not as strong as it should be.

I took this shot with a point-and-shoot camera. I didn't have much to work with. I still like what I see and he did, too. But he said that it just wasn't strong enough to win.



He loved the shot and the idea. The problem with this picture was that the main focus was way to the side. (However, he doesn't recommend centering your subject.) And the items on the left distract the eyes and avert the focus off of the dog sitting on the bench. In fact, he recommended that I crop the grill as well.




Here's what he thought the picture should have looked like. (Once again this picture was shot with a point-and-shoot camera.)



He said that the girl was gorgeous. The picture's flaw was the flash. It gave a shadow and took away the strength from the picture. I guess that I could have PhotoShopped the shadow that the flash made. (Once again, the picture was taken with a point-and-shoot camera.) I am beginning to see a trend here.

The winners were both honorable mentions. I am pleased. This man was a great judge, who had high standards and to win two honorable mentions was amazing.

Here are the winners:



His first reaction upon seeing this picture was to say this: "Sweet. This is a photographer's dream: Buzzards on a rooftop." Whenever, he had to eliminate a picture to get it down to first, second, third, and two honorable mentions, he kept saying that he wanted this picture to remain. He really liked it. He said it was sharped, well focused, and great composition. (The photo was taken with the Nikon.)





When he saw the crab, his first words were "Oh, let's have fun. I love it."

He loved the colors, the sharpness, the composition. It was also taken with the Nikon.

Yep, the Nikon seems to be the camera to use if I want to win some ribbons.

So, all in all, I had a great evening.
 

Comments

[miss-sophia.livejournal.com]

Wow, two honorable mentions? You're on a roll! That's awesome! Although I do have to disagree about cropping the shot with Cocoa in it: I like the original, because it shows more of the wintry scene. Cocoa is supposed to be a focal point, yes, but I like how small she looks in the grand scheme of things. She's just a lone black dog in the midst of a grand snowscene. I can understand cropping out the grill, but the stuff on the left adds to the picture, IMO, especially those pine trees on the way left.

And yay, classes! You'll have to tell me more about them. I'm glad Dad acquiesced...although I'm sure there was bitching and moaning.

[spicedogs.livejournal.com]

Actually, there was no bitching or moaning. Just total acceptance. I think he likes the club members. He told me that he doesn't understand the art, but he doesn't disapprove of the hobby. Yay....

Ps.: I agree with you about Cocoa. But I could see what he had in mind. I do like what the original picture says to the audience.

Unfortunately, because of time constrains, we cannot explain what we were trying to convey with our photos. All the judges complain about that policy. They say that talking with the photographer would give them a better insight, and they could then concentrate on judging the technical aspects of the photo.

[miss-sophia.livejournal.com]

Do the club members have PhDs? ;)

[spicedogs.livejournal.com]

At least, one of them does. His name is Fred. And that's good enough cod him.

[miss-sophia.livejournal.com]

Sad. Very sad. *shakes head*

[spicedogs.livejournal.com]

I have a love-hate relationship with iPhone. The "co should be "for."

[greyrider.livejournal.com]

I may get an iPhone for Christmas, although my students are lobbying hard for me to pick the new Blackberry Storm.

Also, I'm thinking about this camera to replace my Nikon that you have, my old Coolpix, and my digital video camera that I sent in that puzzle gift: http://www.nikonusa.com//Find-Your-Nikon/Product/Digital-Camera/26134/COOLPIX-S60.html

I'm jealous of really enjoying your photo posts and want to do ones of my own, but I want macro capability, and this one has it in a size I'm willing to carry and at a mega pixel rate I love. Still a point and shoot, so the quality won't be as good, but with I still think it would be fun.

[galileah-galile.livejournal.com]

That tree is amazing!

[spicedogs.livejournal.com]

I thought so, too. I am going to try to photoshop the background according to his directions.

[shalimar77777.livejournal.com]

Congrats! I totally thought the tree would take it, but I'm so happy for you and like that you are pursuing this. :-)

[mr-henry-gale.livejournal.com]

The lesson here is obvious: use the Nikon, not the point-and-shoot! Hehe.

[ben-munchkin.livejournal.com]

Well done hun!!!!! to me they are all great pics!

[polvodestrella.livejournal.com]

Two honorable mentions, that's great! Congrats sweetie, you're an amazing photographer and you deserved them! :)

[greenleaf-y.livejournal.com]

Your Red Tree (I voted for him) and The Birds is really professional pics. I'm glad for your win! I think, your teacher did very useful remarks.

[katje0711.livejournal.com]

Wow, Edith! Congrats!! I've told you before I really like the crab pic.

[greyrider.livejournal.com]

These are gorgeous, but you already know I think that.

I can understand the cropping with the snow dog pic, and I like how you cropped it with the judge's directions, however, I do feel the cropping changes the story of the picture. I guess the cropped one does have more immediate impact, so I can see why the judge wanted it.

Congratulations on the honorable mentions! I'm so happy for and proud of you!