This was the first print competition that I had entered since February 2020 and was the first round of the Print Trophy Competition at Farnborough Camera Club in the 2021-22 season. This was an open round with two images.
Another set of firsts as this was my first in-person visit to Farnborough Camera Club at the Cody Sports & Social Club.
This way!
This image was from my delayed Creative Image workshop lead by Vehbi Koca. We were on a street corner and I noticed cyclists passing by and tested my panning skills.
Judge’s comments
… we don’t see much street photography in club competitions … it is not an appreciated genre … but it is difficult to take and each one has its different narrative and set of stories and is key to street photography
… the way that things juxtapose against other elements in the picture also create a narrative in street photography …
… the photographer here has panned with the subject and very effectively , a good sharp focus both on the cyclist herself, all the detail is there in the face, her clothing and the bicycle itself
… you’ve got this feeling of movement from the panning of the camera , blurring on the background and on the wheels , so the whole thing creates a feeling of movement
… it is not just a static picture of a girl on a bicycle, she is moving through the picture
… the juxtaposition that I was talking about , I like her underneath this sign with the arrow pointing the way that she is going , all adds to feeling of movement
… from a personal point of view I would like to see a little more space on the left hand side and maybe a little more on the right, I feel that she is a little bit cramped in this picture, it may be that there are things here that are too distracting and you decided that this was the best crop, more space either side I think would open up the picture a little bit more
… but it is a very good illustration of of the art of panning , you still have to get an interesting picture, and I think her detachment from the world with her hear plugs and the look on her as she cruises through the back streets works well
Reaching for the sky
This image is one of the many I shot on our morning on Bass Rock. These two birds were on top of one of the ruined buildings.
Judge’s comments
… this has a nice soft feel about it
…gannet pictures are ones that are quite popular with photographers, they go to nesting islands where there are gannet colonies
… you don’t always have to show masses of birds to create an interesting image
… you have illustrated this intimacy between the male and female gannet , this little touching of the beak , the way the eye is looking
… it creates a feeling of tenderness between the two birds which I think that is what you are trying to show in your picture
… we don’t need to see all of the birds, we just see the head and neck and this eye contact there
The scores
There were 30 images in this round in the Advanced Division.
‘This way!’ scored 9 and ‘Reaching for the sky’ scored 8.
The original images
‘This way!’:
ISO 100 35mm F8.0 1/80 sec
The most important edit was to have the image level! Then after copping, Saturation, Vibrance, Dehaze , Clarity and finally Exposure.
‘Reaching for the sky’:
ISO 100 300mm f/5.6 1/800 sec -(1/3rd) exposure compensation
I made a lot of adjustments to get the image that I wanted. Exposure, highlights, more Sharpening, Vibrance, Saturation Clarity and the Dehaze. Plus of course a square crop.
Bass Rock TBA