Photo Contests-Jan '11-Results and Critiques

[Call_Me_Bob]

THANK YOU ALL FOR ENTERING!
here they are....

1ST PLACE - HELP - PHAL NOID
2ND PLACE - CK YEO - BATHING APE HIDING IN THE FLOWER
3RD PLACE - TIE
VAL - THE AWAKENING
CAMILLE - Dendrobium aphyllum

A- Val- nice colors. nice use of lights and darks. composition could use some work. the background is more distracting than complementary

B-Val- THIRD PLACE- same as above, nice colors, but the composition could use some work. the flower in the background is distraction and creates to many mergers/ try taking the picture from a different angle. good clarity on the bud

C-Val- a little boring. my eyes are drawn to the edges of the petal. i cannot find the focal point. try experimenting with the cropping

D-CK Yeo- SECOND PLACE- nice composition nice depth of field. good movement and lines.

E- Help - FIRST PLACE - nice composition and good clarity. good depth of field as well as good movement.

F - Help - huge hotspot on the top left. Too many mergers. The main orchid had nice back lighting, but needs to be brighter.

G - Help - not very focused, bad mergers on the right and the flower in the back. The picture does have nice angles, especially along the bottom.

H - Camille - Mergers on the bottom left. Focus could be better. Work on the composition a little more. The gray pixely background is a distracting. Nice negative space!

I - Connie Star - small picture, so I can tell if it is clear or not. Try to to eliminate the spike in the back - it is a merger and leads the eye off of the picture. Otherwise, nice movement. The flash on the bloom is a bit bright.

J- YSA - Nice focus. Flower merger on the right. Composition too centered. Flash is harsh. Looks like a snapshot rather than a piece of art.

K - YSA - distracting background. lines lead my eyes out of the picture. very nice plant tho! try it again using a simple dark background (poster board, black material, etc)

L - YSA - picture is grainy. The bud is the sharpest part of the picture, but is too far to the bottom. Try to recrop it bringing the bud to better focal place. The partial flower at the bottom is distracting.

M - Jim Blanford - nice clarity. flash is a bit harsh. the stake and frame are distracting. the orchid is slightly crooked.

N - Jim Blandford - vignette is too big and distracting. Nice composition and movement, but cropped in too tightly. needs to be more in focus. the center petal is too bright.

O - Jim Blandford - distracting background. Bottom petal is a merger. frame doesnt add to the picture. More of snap shot than a piece of art.

P - Silken - subject too close to the edge of the picture, otherwise, good composition. Background has spots on it. the light on the top right petal makes the eye focus there, but the picture is clearest in the center.

Q- Silken - the water drop is a little distracting, seems fake. The top right petal is the most clear part of the photo, but the lips should be the most clear since the are the are main focus of the photo. the frame is cool idea, but doesnt quite work for me - the petals to the right need to be complete and not cut off.

R - Silken - I wish this picture was focused more sharply. The sharpest part seems to be the bud which is out of the focal range. The top and right side are cropped too tightly causing mergers. Almost a really great picture.
Because of the mergers, I can't tell if the pink border adds to the picture or not.

S - Camille - THIRD PLACE - good light and focus, nice texture. I am bothered by the merger at the top left and feel that it is too tightly cropped on the top. Try cropping the left side also - as it is, the stem leads my eye off of the picture a little

[Call_Me_Bob]

Thanks for your comments. This is the part where we can really learn

A merger is when there is something in he picture, that is cut off somewhere. Like a petal just barely off the picture, or a part of a bud that is jut barely poking in from a side, or behind the subject. I'll see if I can find an article online. I'm having a hard time explaining.

As for the judging, I didnt judge, so I won't speak for the judges.

You can call me Bob

[camille1585]

Thanks for explaining what merger was, I was really wondering. But what the heck do you do about it? Was I expected to hack some blooms off so that don't show up in the corner of the pic?

Another comment on my first pic (H) that I don't understand. The judge says it has a gray pixely background. But on my laptop and the PC I use at work it shows up as a nice black background. Anyone else seeing it as gray??

[Call_Me_Bob]

Try using different angels to take the picture. Sometimes it's inevitable, especially with plants, and thats okay. Try darkening that spot a little, to try and make it not stand out. Plenty of pictures have mergers, most actually, you just have to try to eliminate them by camera angles. Or darken the spot.

For your background, I see it a little bit. But it isn't that bad. I actually talked to the judge about it, and it wasn't a Factor when it came to placing.


Remember, the point of these contests is to learn and therefore improve our photography


You can call me Bob