June 2012
Topic: "Silhouette
"
"Worker"
Relevance to Topic
9
Composition
8
Use of Light
8.5
Wow Factor
7
I wish I took this!!!  
8
Variety
7
NEXT MONTH SUBJECT: Black and White photography
set by Sean
Overall with weighting 6.98 / 10
Martin's Pick - score and comments:  "Worker"

Stock standard silhouette with nice composition and excellent background exposure makes Worker1 the winner
for this month. Crisp edges against both cloud and sky, as well as a sense of purpose in this shot also made
this image a stand out for me. I see that you had to dodge.... Where?? I would have thought some burning to
the subject would have been the order. But then again, a proper setup would not require any PP to get the
desired silhouette effect. Marks taken off in the matrix for this. Was this a kid??
[Yes] Just sayin as the subject
is lacking a bit of masculine form. I likey nontheless.

Other shots in order of my merit:

  • Light at the end: Hmmmm. I have seen this shot many a time, and yours is good, not great. Loving the
    "through skirt", but if you had taken a lower point of view you would have had a much more pleasing
    symmetry and a punchier silhouette. The overexposed background is also distracting.

  • Rider: At first glance this is a top shot. Dig a little deeper and improvements come to light. Maybe a
    couple of notches slower on the shutter to show movement? Maybe a looser crop to the left to show
    where the rider is going? Maybe a warmer monochrome to enhance the apparent desert location?

  • Sand Runner: Thats one funny running style.... More like shuffling. Reflections off the sand make this
    shot. Without it, I think it would just look underexposed and lacking punch.

  • Butler: If a human was in shot, then it would'nt be down here.....

  • Samurai: I just dont know whether I like it or not. Certainly interesting DOF. Set up has me puzzled.

  • Venus: Not crisp enough. Looks like a shot from one of those amateur astronomers who need their neck
    wrung. [tough crowd - if you saw what improvisation i went to god-dangit! - sun spots too!]

  • Brandy and Orient: These are too weird for me... Even coming from your lens that is saying something.
    [Its called being creative and experimenting! Grrrr Wooff!]
"Samurai"
"Brandy"
Sean's photo notes:

Ok Ok here is my lot
(first as usual too!)

  • Brandy, cropped, sharpened

  • Butler, cropped,

  • Light at the end, cropped,

  • Orient, Cropped, levels,
    brightness (blue paper with
    holes in for stars)

  • Rider, Cropped, levels, noise
    reduction, desat

  • Samurai, Cropped, brightness

  • Sand runner, Cropped, desat,
    brightness

  • Venus Transit, Cropped,
    levels, Sharpened, filtered.

  • Worker1, Cropped, dodged,
    brightness.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Orient"
"Beautiful Vermin"
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Light at the end"
Other images Sean submitted, click to enlarge
"Kayak"
"Angler"
"Twisted Sister"
Relevance to Topic
8.5
Composition
7.5
Use of Light
8.5
Wow Factor
8
I wish I took this!!!  
8
Variety
7
Overall with weighting 7.35 / 10
Sean's Pick - score and comments:  "Blossom"

Here we are for the month of June already!

Looking closely at your shots this month I kept coming back to one that jumps out at me and the one that appeals
to me the most : “
Blossom” I like the flare from the small aperture looking also like a rather large blossom along
with the layered approach to the silhouette with the background trees. The colour work has resulted in a bit of grain
coming through - all good though.

Other image notes in order of merit:

  • Twisted Sister:  This one come in close to 1st place, I like the play on hair with the barbed fender and
    interaction with light. The cockatoo crown is quite amazing but perhaps singled out only with the sun would of
    worked better for me -as there is probably too much going on for full appreciation of the photo.

  • Eucalypts: nicely composed with the colour bands running through perpendicular, taken at your park hey.

  • Goddess of Love: Technically I know what you went through here, and yeah I see Venus - sweet! I don’t
    see the sunspots and the gradient shadow puts me off a little - good 1st transit!

  • Kayak: I would have burnt the paddler out some to truly qualify for a nice silhouette, it looks a bit washed out
    where it matters – perhaps a bracketed series would of have greatly assisted in another selection?

  • Angler: Again I would have liked to fully see that fisherman blacked out as I can make out his green shirt etc
    etc the kayakers are well exposed in the afternoon light, a different angle may have produced more pop for
    me.

  • Beautiful Vermin: Sort of like your blossom shot but not as good.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Other images Martin submitted, click to enlarge
"Rider"
Martin's photo notes:


We have had some pretty nice weather down
here of late – very spring like.

Here are my shots, first as usual.

  • Kayak – cropped, curves

  • Twisted Sister – cropped, sharpened,
    levels

  • Eucalypts – cropped, colours

  • Angler – cropped, curves

  • Goddess of Love – cropped,
    sharpened, colours

  • Blossom – cropped, colours

  • Beautiful Vermin – cropped,
    saturation, sharpened, contrast
"Blossom"
"Butler"
"Goddess of Love"
"Sand runner"
"Venus Transit"
"Eucalypts"
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