Marko
12-07-2014, 06:05 PM
Hi members,
In case you are new around here this is where the Admin (me) chooses one (occasionally 2) excellent photos nominated by other members from the Member's monthly choice forum (http://www.photography.ca/Forums/members-monthly-choice/22539-nominate-another-members-photo-here-round-four-2014-a.html). Once 10 images are nominated, I choose a 'winner'.
Just so it's clear, the photo(s) I choose are not necessarily the best ones of the month. I've come to realize it's not really logical to pit images from totally different genres against each other. That's why there are categories in photo contests. My goal is to simply choose an excellent photo and talk about why I think it rocks.
This round of nomination yielded images of exceptional quality and I was unable to choose just one. In fact it was quite difficult to choose 2 but I forced myself to do so. The quality just keeps getting better and better.
This round's two winners are Dragon fly 5 by Jude01 (http://www.photography.ca/Forums/animals-mammals-birds-insects-etc/22762-some-recent-shots-last-few-months.html) and The lonely rider by Michaelaw (http://www.photography.ca/Forums/black-white-monochrome-monotone-photography-forum/22789-lonely-rider.html).
I chose these images for several reasons;
Dragon fly 5 by Jude 01
1- Sharpness/shutter speed - This is a very difficult shot to make and Jude01 did an excellent job! Look at how sharp the dragonfly's face is....I swear I can see it smiling. The choice of shutter speed was essential here as dragonflies fly quickly and beat their wings super-fast. I really like how sharp the face is compared to the wings which clearly show speedy movement.
2 - Selective focus - This image was made with a long lens and I love the background bokeh (area of unsharpness) compared to the clarity in the face. Focus on the face is fantastic.
3 - Post processing/framing - I really like the cropping in this image which changed its original framing. I love how the dragonfly flies diagonally through the darker part of the background of the image toward the more colourful circular background detail.
The lonely rider by Michaelaw
1 - Mood/shutter speed - Mood is one of those elements in an image that's easy to spot but often hard to describe. It's almost always a combination of elements that creates 'a mood' and in this image it's the combination of shutter speed, existing light and post processing. Shutter speed is a big star in this image and I love the movement here. If the shutter speed was slower, the passenger would have been too blurred and if it was faster the subway would be more frozen which would have diminished the movement.
2 - Composition - The composition here is fantastic! I really like how the scene is divided into the static platform and the moving subway. The lines framing the subway add to the scene and give us visual interest. I really like the absence of people on the subway platform and in the subway as it adds to the 'loneliness' of the rider. I especially like where the passenger's face is placed in the scene.
3 - Post processing - The black and white works really well here and helps support the mood. I can see sharpening and dodging on the rider's face but it is not over-processed to my eye and helps separate the focal point of the image (the rider) from her surroundings.
For all these reasons, these are my choices for round 4. Since we all have opinions, some members may disagree with my choices. That's cool but THIS thread is not the place for debate over my picks, NOR is it the place to further critique the image. The purpose here is to suggest strong elements in the photos that we may learn from.
Congrats again to Jude 01 and Michaelaw!
In case you are new around here this is where the Admin (me) chooses one (occasionally 2) excellent photos nominated by other members from the Member's monthly choice forum (http://www.photography.ca/Forums/members-monthly-choice/22539-nominate-another-members-photo-here-round-four-2014-a.html). Once 10 images are nominated, I choose a 'winner'.
Just so it's clear, the photo(s) I choose are not necessarily the best ones of the month. I've come to realize it's not really logical to pit images from totally different genres against each other. That's why there are categories in photo contests. My goal is to simply choose an excellent photo and talk about why I think it rocks.
This round of nomination yielded images of exceptional quality and I was unable to choose just one. In fact it was quite difficult to choose 2 but I forced myself to do so. The quality just keeps getting better and better.
This round's two winners are Dragon fly 5 by Jude01 (http://www.photography.ca/Forums/animals-mammals-birds-insects-etc/22762-some-recent-shots-last-few-months.html) and The lonely rider by Michaelaw (http://www.photography.ca/Forums/black-white-monochrome-monotone-photography-forum/22789-lonely-rider.html).
I chose these images for several reasons;
Dragon fly 5 by Jude 01
1- Sharpness/shutter speed - This is a very difficult shot to make and Jude01 did an excellent job! Look at how sharp the dragonfly's face is....I swear I can see it smiling. The choice of shutter speed was essential here as dragonflies fly quickly and beat their wings super-fast. I really like how sharp the face is compared to the wings which clearly show speedy movement.
2 - Selective focus - This image was made with a long lens and I love the background bokeh (area of unsharpness) compared to the clarity in the face. Focus on the face is fantastic.
3 - Post processing/framing - I really like the cropping in this image which changed its original framing. I love how the dragonfly flies diagonally through the darker part of the background of the image toward the more colourful circular background detail.
The lonely rider by Michaelaw
1 - Mood/shutter speed - Mood is one of those elements in an image that's easy to spot but often hard to describe. It's almost always a combination of elements that creates 'a mood' and in this image it's the combination of shutter speed, existing light and post processing. Shutter speed is a big star in this image and I love the movement here. If the shutter speed was slower, the passenger would have been too blurred and if it was faster the subway would be more frozen which would have diminished the movement.
2 - Composition - The composition here is fantastic! I really like how the scene is divided into the static platform and the moving subway. The lines framing the subway add to the scene and give us visual interest. I really like the absence of people on the subway platform and in the subway as it adds to the 'loneliness' of the rider. I especially like where the passenger's face is placed in the scene.
3 - Post processing - The black and white works really well here and helps support the mood. I can see sharpening and dodging on the rider's face but it is not over-processed to my eye and helps separate the focal point of the image (the rider) from her surroundings.
For all these reasons, these are my choices for round 4. Since we all have opinions, some members may disagree with my choices. That's cool but THIS thread is not the place for debate over my picks, NOR is it the place to further critique the image. The purpose here is to suggest strong elements in the photos that we may learn from.
Congrats again to Jude 01 and Michaelaw!