This was the fourth round of the Print Trophy Competition at Farnborough Camera Club in the 2023-2024 season on the 21st March 2024. There were no restrictions on the genre to be submitted.
Smile
It was very windy with blue skies when I visited North Cape in February 2024. This couple were very busy taking pictures of each other.
Summary of judge’s comments
… I don’t know what the story is , it almost makes me think of someone [at] the North or South poles , these Arctic explorers probably on a beach somewhere , but I think there is just that feeling of Arctic wastes and snow
… I have no understanding about who theses people are as they are silhouetted and there is no detail in the clothing at all so I am really working hard to get into this picture
… And when you perhaps as I am trying to look into the picture and there is not enough information to allow me to really get hold of the image and understand it, then it becomes a bit of a challenge
… because this picture has been printed on a matt paper – was that the approach of choice? , it is the sort of choice that I have said previously that might be taken if you are intending to be an “art photograph” ; I think this is more a documentary or record shot of a moment in time of these two (I guess) they are men
… I do not know what this is in the background , it might be a tent it could be a rock , I don’t know
… there is just not enough information in the picture for me to have an understanding about it and in the Advanced class I am looking for a little bit more photographic evidence to get to grips with this particular picture
… the slight warmth of tone in the print if it is a snowy picture I may have been inclined to move towards a cooler [] that would have reinforced the feeling of location and so I have got concerns about this picture it is not particularly sharp and is a bit soft
… the choice of paper and the flatness of the image which isn’t really doing it when compared to the digital image
Early morning at Llyn Cau
On the first morning on the 2023 Snowdonia Tour we climbed for 1.5 hours up to Llyn Cau to be there when the sun rose. As you can see it was well worth it!
Summary of judge’s comments
…OK I guess we are in [Wales], an opportunity to be out on the location as the light is just breaking into the lake is what this photographer is experiencing
… it is about the interaction of colour of the bands of blue , golden colours and this arrowhead of green finally to the reality in the upper half of the picture more closely represented in the sky in the top half of the picture
… []the concept of the picture is fine, I think perhaps at the taking stage , and we have all experienced it haven’t we?, you look at the scene and our eyes can control and adjust the brightness value , or the very bright values in the scene, but the camera sensor can’t do that and if you analyse this picture perhaps the half of this picture where the rocks are shown is just a little bit dull and the upper half of this picture is rather too bright
… and I suspect in the processing it would [not} be too hard to try and equalise the tones in a slightly more realistic way so that we can control the overall picture
… but as presented my eyes immediately go up to the top part of the picture and because it is divided by this very dark band there is a disconnect between the lower half of this picture and the upper half
… particularly when you are printing on a gloss paper as this photographer has done, that kicks the contrast up as well, so you have created a bit of a challenge by your choice of paper
… so I think it needed a little bit more care in the processing , you could [have] take[n] two images, one expose for this and one for the other half and then blend them , as you have an easy blend line along
… perhaps the colour saturation is a little bit to high and sometimes we can be a little bit brave on the saturation slider and that is a bit of a concern for me
… certainly you were there at the right time of day to get the exciting pictures it is the technical control that I am just questioning
The scores
There were 22 images in this round in the Advanced Division. “Smile” scored 6 and “Early morning at Llyn Cau” scored 7.5.
Smile
North Cape from Coastal Voyage
Early morning at Llyn Cau
Snowdonia Tour