Photo Challenge 10 – Photographer

Well, we come to an end after 20 weeks of the original strict Photo Challenge format. We’ve lost two contributors along the way, with a third just hanging in there.

I am benefiting creatively by shooting in styles I am not familiar with, so instead of setting formal challenges online each fortnight I’m going to change the structure into something far more casual.  Any reader wishing to suggest a theme or get involved in a challenge should feel encouraged to do so, no matter what level they believe their photographic skills are at. Whatever I receive, whether it be a photo or an idea, will inspire me to shoot for that idea, and I’ll ask that you help me by continuing to contribute your thoughts and comments.   In other words, I’m going to post whatever theme I feel like, whenever I like,  in response to whatever conversation I’ve been having either online or offline with you guys.

Sounds like fun?  Well, it does to me.

On to our theme for this particular challenge – Photographer.

Steve’s submission

My thoughts:

My camera and tripod was still out after shooting a passport photo of myself, and when I moved it out of the cinema room (my “studio”) the cats showed their usual over-curiosity. Cue “ding” noise in sync with light bulb appearing over my head.

I took three images I really liked, and had a tough time choosing one, but this is as close as it gets to a cat setting up a “still life” photo of the outdoor BBQ. It so happens that the BBQ is the one spot the two of them can jump on to see over the fence. In this case I believe Mishka may be doing some rainy day reconnaissance so she is better prepared to make an escape bid when the sun reappears.

ISO 200, F2.8, 1/60

Joepi’s Submission

Joepi says:

The battle for the best spot to get the best shot.
There were more photographers at the back just waiting for their turn. I decided to get away first before I add to the non stop clicking and excited Photographer chatter.

My thoughts: As soon as I saw this image it reminded me of an image I took of a horde of male photographers swarming around a Japanese mini-celebrity in Akihabara. It’s unlikely that you’d see this sort of photographer/subject interaction on a Melbourne street. I’m not sure if that’s because Australians don’t take street photography seriously, or because the potential subjects so often display a bad attitude towards being photographed.

Joepi exhibits excellent paparazzi skills by being in front of all the rest.

Mat’s submission:

Mat says:

I took this during an Asleep In The Park gig where there were a few other photographers roaming around. I took this at 3200 ISO because it was a pretty dark venue then as the original shot was done in bright red light I fed it threw a gentle sepia filter in dark room to make it look less like a photojournalist visiting hell. I was tempted to
lighten up the camera but then I thought the photographer is the subject here and the camera is really irrelevant. At first I was amused at the way this guy has his left eye all screwed up in a painful looking squint…until I realised that I probably do the same thing!

My thoughts: Nice image, Mat. Well composed and exposed. I’m very impressed that 3200 came out this well. Seems like I might have to upgrade my 30D to the something with a new chip after all. I’m glad you didn’t lighten up the camera.  The photographer is, and should be the subject here. Definitely makes me squint when I look at it. In fact there are days when I wonder if I’m going to get my regular focal length back in my left eye, especially after staring at a bright stage through the viewfinder for an hour. On the flip side (excuse the pun) I feel very uncomfortable when I notice he is using his right eye to focus.  That just doesn’t seem at all right to me.  Well done in bringing back the image texture. After shooting once at Revolver under those bad red lights, I’ve chosen not to go back – at least not with my camera.  Note – Tyrah Banks thinks that lump above his left eye makes him uniquely photogenic. You may wish to suggest he try out for Cycle 13.

PS – “dark room”? You going backwards in your progression and fallen into film techniques, Mat?

Next Challenge

The next challenge is to think up the next theme for the masses to go crazy about. (Sarcasm is one of the services I offer).

I have some ideas for things I’m going to post when I get the urge, but if someone wants to put a rocket under me any earlier than that, then be my guest.

Photo Challenge 9 – Seven Deadly Sins

There is a lot of scope to be particularly creative on this one, and I did think about that for my own personal submission.  However, I also felt it was important to remain true to my particular style, and moving into a more artistic world does not represent who I am as a photographer.  I don’t think there’s a lot of scope for varied interpretations of the theme itself, so it is with hope that each of the following images represents our respective photographic styles, as opposed to radical re-readings of the theme.

Steve’s submission

My thoughts:

I like to think I’m an observer of the world around me, rather than the creator of dazzling imagery, so my submission is a snapshot of something I saw a lot of in Osaka.  Part of me wanted to created a more picturesque, or visually appealing image for this theme, but I kept coming back to one part of society that truly represents the seven deadly sins.  In Melbourne it’s the Crown Casino. In Japan it’s Pachinko.  I was forbidden to take images of the machines or the patrons, so this is a sneaky snapshot taken one night just as the sliding doors were about to close behind a doomed gambling zombie. In a world of cute, tiny shops that battle to make the most of expensive real estate, Pachinko venues are large, noisy, lurid, garish and unappealing. Notice the repeated word “Get” standing out like a sore thumb. “Get more” ,”Get money”, “Get successful”, “Get happiness”.  All lies in this den of iniquity. More like “get lung cancer, liver disease and destitution”. I say “Get lost”.

• Lust – for all the things money can buy
• Gluttony – for self-punishment (you almost always lose when you gamble)
• Greed – for cold hard cash
• Sloth – both brain and body atrophy together
• Wrath – “Life is unfair”, “I never win”, “Leave me alone”, “I hate this machine”, “I hate this habit”, “I hate myself”
• Envy – Wishing you had the lifestyle of the rich and famous
• Pride – This is referring to me. I usually take no for an answer, so in this case I am proud that I was able to snatch an image of something immediately after being told not to.

There is significant noise in this image, as it was taken with my point and shoot at high ISO to capture as much light as I could.  I think my style is not at all about technical perfection, but about capturing a moment or some energy.  I hope this image does so.

ISO 800, F3.2, 1/50

Joepi’s Submission

Joepi says:

I haven’t been diving this weekend, and when I don’t dive, my thoughts end up where a girly-girl’s thoughts usually end up: SHOPPING. I realized as well how deadly it all can be. All 7 deadly sins can be committed, thought, seen or caused all in one setting. I also realized how much stuff I have in the little square space that I call my room, that I can actually do a shopping mall set up! LOL!

Now for the photography aspect: the little point and shoot was used for this one as I left my tripod in the office and I used the nifty little rotating screen on that camera to see myself as I shot the photos as I needed to see expressions and proper framing for the right message to be captured. Will having a remote and then tethering my camera to a laptop give me the same set up of a live-view on my laptop screen?

My thoughts: Brilliant! When people submit things like this it really inspires you to make more of an effort next time.  This took a lot of time, planning and effort, and the end result is well worth it.  I love the colours, the high-key backgrounds, and Joepi’s many expressions.  It made me laugh out loud, which is not something I do often.  In answer to the question about tethering and a remote – Yes. You USB the camera to your lappy, then you can either use it to view the images taken, or you can set it up to actually monitor what you are shooting. You can change settings and actually take the pics directly from the laptop.  The wired remote works fine, but you then have the problem of seeing it in your shot.  Therefore the Canon RC-5 wireless remote is the answer.

Mat’s submission:

Mat says:

I decided to be lazy this time and go with Sloth – cue obvious joke involving leaving the lens cap on and sending a completely black image. But no, not even I would stoop so low.
I’m sure some will be horrified to hear that this image was shot on a mobile phone – a Sony Ericsson w960i which has a 3.2megapixel camera which is quite capable for snapshots. The shot is taken from one of the upper levels in the Melbourne Central shopping centre and shows a security guard contemplating a spilled milkshake left behind by a very slothful person indeed. Or maybe the security guard is being slothful in that he’s using his radio to call for somebody to come and clean it up.
I played with the depth of field function in Paintshop Pro X2 and fiddled with saturation and sharpness in order to fake the tilt-shift effect that can make real things look like models. I’ll leave it up to you to decide how effective this was but I quite like the result!

For those who are interested you can see some spectacular tilt-shift shots here:

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/11/16/beautiful-examples-of-tilt-shift-photography/

My thoughts: Cool effect. I would have cropped the superflous space out and presented a landscape image letting the people themselves speak, rather than play with effects, but it does make me want to fiddle around with this technique for some fun. That said, cropping a mobile phone image would reveal the total inadequacies of this medium for presentation-quality photography.  (Don’t take that too seriously – using my point and shoot at anything higher than ISO 400, as I did for my submission, is about on a par with using a very good cameraphone).

The people do look like plastic toys, and that’s what has my attention here.  The curve on the right and mass of blur underneath is driving me nuts, and I find the subject of the image becomes insignificant to me. I also query whether this is sloth, rather than carelessness.  Today’s youth (who else but a young person would drink a milkshake whilst walking in a shopping centre) are definitely lazy, but I think they are more careless than lazy. I think sloth is a an intrinsic way of “being” rather than just how you would describe an event or action.

Katy’s submission

Katy says:

Hail, Sinners. Hope you all have enjoyed this challenge as much as I did. A feeling of utter excitement took over me as soon as I found out that the seven deadly sins were up next.

I confess that this time my head was boundlessly buzzing with ideas – some of which will be carefully hoarded still. Bear in mind that a considerable heap of images will be protected by the inherent confidentiality of my bedroom.

And just so you know, I had all seven sins photographed – too bad I had to rule the other ones out. But the depicted sin that definitely stood out from the pack was gluttony. I couldn’t just help myself when I set my eyes on that ravenous little caterpillar. I had to have it shot for one main reason: caterpillars are the most voracious feeders ever known – therefore, the perfect portrait of gluttony.

My thoughts: I would have preferred to post the other image Katy considered – the one she posted on Flickr.  I think with some tweaks it is a much better image from an artistic, creative and thematic point of view, and in my opinion represents Katy’s style better.  I think this image above shows survival or opportunity, not gluttony, and it needs some thought put into the light source, composition and background.  I wonder what sort of butterfly that little guy will turn into later?  I’d also like to put up a direct challenge from our locusts. I reckon a few of them would have something to say about the voracious feeders debate.

Next Challenge

This was the penultimate challenge for which I am going to be the organiser and collator.  I know people like to read without commenting, but I’m not getting as much out of this as I am putting in.  Even though I receive many emails and IMs from people saying how much they like the Photo Challenge, so far the cost-benefit analysis shows too much weight on the cost side.

I recently posted a link on Facebook to an article incorporating thoughts on the trend for people to write about themselves online, but not be very good at contributing to discussion. I feel like this challenge has been about me doing a lot of writing and, with the exception of some occasional comments, I’ve been unable to ignite vigorous debate or even promote educational tidbits for those of us looking for self-improvement.  I often find that the best discussion occurs behind closed doors, via email or chat programs. That’s not much help to all the readers of this blog.

I will provide a final theme and I’ll post the results up as always.  However, I am looking for volunteers to run the challenge from this point forward.  To make it happen you’ll be given editing rights and some brief training on how to use the post template.  You’ll need to be both punctual and committed.  I’ll approve the final post before publication of course, but I’d like to take a back seat on driving the challenge itself for a while.  If there are no volunteers I’ll put the challenge to rest for a while, or at least reconsider how it can be run more effectively.  I might look at tapping into an already existing online challenge, if that’s possible.  Of course I am open to input from you, the readers and contributors.

The next theme has been submitted by Mat, and it is appropriately entitled “Photographer“.

Please submit your images by midnight on Sunday March 8th (in whatever timezone you reside).

Photo Challenge 8 – Texture

This was a fun theme, and for mine, the hardest part of shooting this was trying to nail it down to one image. There are so many textures one could shoot.  The other thing this challenge did was make me realise how much I need a macro lens. In the end I had to crop my final choice as I simply couldn’t focus closely enough to compose it totally in camera.  Not the best way to end up with the result I wanted.  A confusing result from this challenge was the difficulty a couple of the other challenge participants had in shooting a suitable image by the deadline. Whilst I believe that I could take 60 quality shots on this theme within 60 minutes, others see the world around them very differently. I suppose it simply illustrates how uniquely each of our minds work.  I hope this particular challenge also helps some of us find a different way to look at our surroundings as fuel for photography.

Steve’s submission

My thoughts:

After a few of days of moping around the house reflecting on our horrific fire disaster, I realised that the texture of my own 3-day growth was waiting to be shot. After all, it’s at least as interesting as the study materials I’ve been staring at. So, being the very lazy photographer that I am, I grabbed my 350D with the 50mm 1.8 lens, shuffled into the bathroom and took a couple of snaps into the mirror, with careless guesswork being my means of determining a focal point (obviously I couldn’t look through the viewfinder). After shooting three images whilst trying to stifle yawns, I chose the last and dialed down the saturation a little.  The unnatural yellow you get from down-lights lends it some character, and all I really had to do was crop closely and fiddle with the curves to improve contrast.  To shoot this properly, I should have waited until daylight, used my 30D and the 70-200 USM 2.8 lens on a tripod, with a remote control and me sitting next to a window.  As I said, I’m lazy and that was way too much work. Hence this quick and dirty, hand-held marvel with my toy SLR.

ISO 200, F4.0, 1/30

Joepi’s Submission

Joepi says:

This Ao Dai is my favorite souvenir from my travels. I took this for the photo challenge to show the texture of the fabric and the embroidery. I love the details on the dress – the stitches along the edges, the colorful thread used, and the satin on the collar. This beautiful softness is offered to you for your viewing pleasure. Shot with my Canon 400D on a 50mm lens.F1.8 1/40 shot in natural light.

My thoughts: I love this photo. I love the Ao Dai (pronounced “Ow Yay” in the south and “Ow Zhay” in the north) – Joepi has immortalised her stunning garment just beautifully. I love the collar as much as I do the design, the composition is very good, and the image is so sharp I feel like I could reach out and touch it. This photograph successfully transfers the feeling of texture from my eyes to my fingers.

Mat’s submission:

Mat says:

I’ve struggled with this one for the last two weeks trying to come up with a concept I would enjoy shooting. The main problem I had is that to me texture is something you feel, not something you take photographs of! I’ve had this silly pun in the back of my mind for at least a week, and as I haven’t been able to come up with any better ideas I decided to shoot it. I fed the shot through some of the interesting texture effects in Paintshop Pro to give the smooth wood and wall a far more textured feel. I think I’ve surprised myself by actually coming up with an interesting photo and not just a silly pun, but here it is: Textchair!

My thoughts: Mat said it himself. This was a bit of a cheat on his behalf (so was mine last week), but in fact there is texture everywhere in this image, the most obvious being in the post-processing. However, the chair has texture in the grain and feel of the wood, as does the floor it sits on and the plaster of the wall behind it. I for one, have ignored his play on words and thought immediately of how smooth the polished chair feels in the hand as you follow the bumps, grooves and stretches of timber shaped by the lathe. No matter what the purpose of the image, it’s actually quite an interesting one to look at.

Ken’s submission

Nope, it’s not an error – there are two images for Ken. Read on, then make your comments as necessary.

Ken says:

I set out to photograph some familiar rock formations along the coast for this weeks challenge. However, as i was getting into the processing, I kept glancing up at a postcard I’ve previously printed and pinned on my wall. It was from a set of the very first photos when I began getting back into photography in August 2004. I had just bought a Nikon D70 kit with an 18-70 f3.5 lens. The lens was terribly slow but still very sharp. This is a small alley near the Prahan Market on a very wet day. My original goal was to shoot the whole alley which was lined with plenty of graffiti along the walls. My favourite of the set ended up being this shot for its simplicity and texture. The addition of the sepia improved the contrast and mood.
…..whilst digging the alley photo out of the archive I have come across another which also fits very well with the challenge. I will let Stephen decide if two photos would be appropriate. This was a crab net on the docks in Port Fairy. I was travelling back from Adelaide and stopped in Port Fairy to spend the night. I was delighted to come across this old net on the dock. It lends itself well to being black and white as there is little contrast in the colour shot with the rust blending in with the background dock

My thoughts: I know sometimes we have a lot on our plate, so I’m OK with archival shots every now and then – this time Ken submitted two from his archive. One I’ve seen before and absolutely love, but I initially picked just one – the crab pot because it’s new to me.   Then I saw how much Ken wrote, and I know he doesn’t like putting pen to paper so much. I didn’t want to edit his submission, so here you are – two images.  As I said, they’re both awesome images, but I’m concerned about starting a trend in shot selection, so let’s hear your feedback first.

I use the word challenge because I want people to think about the theme for the best part of 2 weeks and actually get out there and shoot a new image.  Another part of the challenge is to be able to select and edit – I know how hard that is for me, and Ken’s got a lot more good stuff coming out of his camera than I do.   Ken, I know your busy, but am I going to have to pick you up and take you away from the house, camera in hand, a couple of hours a month?  Actually it would do me some good and get me some Vitamin Sun.

Katy’s submission

Katy says:

I’ve always been a texture enthusiast. Yes, I’m that kind of nutcase who goes shooting for textures every so often, especially during the rainy season – don’t ask me why as I can ramble on that for hours.

Looking back on my previous photo database, I could discern that every other image I took had been strewn with layers of textures ranging from fur to parched paper. Unluckily, most of them were merely experimental and not prone to be ever displayed in public. For what it’s worth, I’ve got a reputation to uphold.

For this shot, the aperture was at 9.0 and the shutter at 1/160 setting focal up to 55mm on me amid pine trees on a bright sunny day of Sunday.

My thoughts: Well, the timing on this is perfect – Survivor series 18 started yesterday, and it’s set in Brazil.  Katy looks like one of the competitors after a tough immunity challenge.  And if it wasn’t for the strap of her singlet I could imagine she is the wild woman of Borneo running and hiding in the forest whilst trying to remain a myth.  I’m glad someone photographed a pine tree. They are about the most enduring memory of texture I have from childhood. Most country schoolyards had them, I think.  One thing I’d really prefer to see here is a sharp crispness of the tree, as that is actually what my eye is drawn to. I suspect it was there in the original, but might have been lost in post-processing? Katy – any thoughts on that?

Next Challenge

It’s time to give Katy a go. She came up with a real doozy and I’ve been trying to figure out how to do this exactly.  The theme is “Seven Deadly Sins“.
For those of you not up with sinning, and I sure as hell (oops) am not, here’s what they’re said to be:

1. lust
2. gluttony
3. greed
4. sloth
5. wrath
6. envy
7. pride

Personally, I can’t see anything wrong with any of them.

Now, I’m not going to ask you to submit seven photos, nor am I going to spread this out over 14 weeks.  So, you have two choices.  You may either shoot one image that encompasses all seven, or you may pick your favourite sin and make it happen in a glorious 2D photograph.

IMPORTANT – I hate censorship as much as the next person, however this blog is read by people of all ages and I’m not quite ready to introduce password-protection or adults-only sections.  So, if you just can’t help yourself, send those images to me separately for private evaluation, but I can only publish the PG – M rated shots.

PLEASE submit your images by just after sunset on Sunday March 1st (Australian Eastern Standard Time for you internationals).
Most importantly – have fun shooting!

Photo Challenge 7 – Technicolor

Yeah yeah, I used the American spelling. Less characters to type, and technicolour just looks weird.

Tech⋅ni⋅col⋅or

/ˈtɛknɪˌkʌlər/ [tek-ni-kuhl-er]
1. Trademark. a brand name for a system of making color motion pictures by means of superimposing the three primary colors to produce a final colored print.
–adjective
2. (often lowercase) flamboyant or lurid, as in color, meaning, or detail.

Steve’s submission

My thoughts:

This is representative of my typical way of thinking about things – left of centre, although I’m sure Mat would have thought of this too.  This is a collage of “technical colour” things around my house.  I don’t have much else to offer about this image today so I’ll leave it to others for a change.  And thanks to Joepi for her help on how to use Photoshop to create a montage/collage or whatever it’s called.

Joepi’s submission

Joepi says:

Sinulog is a festival held in Cebu every year on the 3rd weekend of January. It is the Philippines’ version of Mardi Gras (sans the nudity as this is a religious festival).
The colors you see being displayed for you in the Grand Parade are just plain fabulous and earns the “WOW Philippines” tourism tagline. Among the hundreds of photos I took that day for the uber-technicolor event, I chose this particular photo obviously for the many colors in the photo but also because of the challenge I had in trying to bring out the colors despite a gray sky which dampened the color in a lot of my photos. If anyone has more tips on how to bring out sunny colors on a dreary day, please speak up!
Taken with my Canon 450 D Portrait lens.

My thoughts: An extremely bright image which I think fits the criteria of our theme perfectly.  Excellent choice of crop, too. I like the tightly cropped portraits. I’ve seen the entire set of Joepi’s Sinulog photos and I have to say that the colours are just great the way they’re presented. In my view the overcast day actually helped them to stand out. Personally I dislike shooting in bright sun as it tends to wash out colours for me. Ken is the light expert, someone might want to wake him up out of hibernation and get his opinion.

Katy’s submission

Katy says:

This shot was taken in a park nearby ages ago. I tried to play with the color blend a bit by rummaging up on PS – channel mixer basically and monochromatic noise set to 15 to make it look old. However, I’m not convinced whether I got the idea right.

My thoughts: This is actually quite similar to how I imagined technicolor movies might look (I don’t watch anything that isn’t in full colour, with lots of explosions and CGI).  In my view it also has an old Kodak (or was it Agfa) slide look about it. Hmmm, wonder if that’s why Katy used a slide in the image – to make that connection…

Ken’s Submission

Ken says:

This is a photo i took some time ago of Victor Pender, a local Melbourne musician.  I really like the shot as it very much represented his personal style. I like that it has a kind of retro/disco/techno feel.

Victor was sitting on my dining table with black muslin draped behind him. I used a pair of Bowens monolights, one high above to create the butterfly lighting and the other behind to give the green backlight. The spot in the corner and lens flare was applied in Photoshop.  I knew as soon as I fired the first shot of this sequence that it would be the best shot of the night.The sharp shadows are created using a small reflector on the light source and keeping the light close to the subject to minimise the light depth of field.

This was shot with Nikon’s 28-70mm at f8.0 ISO 100.  I tend to always stick to the middle aperature on the Nikon lenses when in studio as they prove to be sharpest and  have no distortion.  I control the exposure with the lights power adjustments.

My thoughts: I always remember a couple of things that Ken has taught me, and one is the use of F8 on my studio lenses to get the sharpest images.  I also marvel at how he thinks through the lighting to create the end result. Years of experimentation and practice, I suppose. This is a superb portrait of Victor with a lovely touch of dreaminess to take it into the realms of rock. The colours of the lens flare are very cool, and I like the slightly muted, rusty tones.

Mat’s Submission

Mat says:

I was considering heading into the Melbourne CBD to shoot some of the fantastic graffiti art that decorates the city, but with the high temperatures we’ve been having lately I was worried that my camera might melt, or I may spontaneously combust, so instead I decided to shoot a portion of my unfeasibly large collection of t-shirts.
I took a few shots at different exposures and played around with the HDR Merge function in Paintshop Pro to come up with something nice and bright but also a little unnatural. And yes, I do wear these t-shirts on a regular basis!

My thoughts: Yes. Mat does wear these t-shirts. I regularly go home with a headache after he insists on accompanying the orange one, which delights in shouting boorishly at anyone who will listen.  Another excellently thought out and composed photo.

Next Challenge

It’s Ken’s turn this time with his suggestion of “Texture“.   For your enticement I have a very intriguing and possibly difficult theme coming up after that, suggested by Katy.

Looking forward to all images being submitted by close of the clock on Sunday 15th February.

Photo Challenge 6 – Temptation

My journalist friend, Veena, gave us a tough theme this time.  Almost everybody rose to the challenge.  Almost.
I don’t think I put enough effort into mine,  so don’t be afraid to get stuck in to me for that.  And I haven’t heard from Ken so we’ll run with four images this time.

Temptation means one thing to most people, and many things to the rest.  To creative people like us (cough) I think it can mean thousands of things, and I’m glad of that because I didn’t want to be posting five images of young hunks and spunks at the beach or the like.  So, do we keep it simple and present a direct connection with the theme?  Or do we go for something far more subtle, that might be a little left of centre and promote discussion?

Let’s see what we’ve done.

Steve’s submission

I struggled for two weeks to come up with something, and failed miserably. In the end I decided to portray one of my cats – Mushroom, trying so hard to resist his natural urge to explore whatever is on the other side of his fence.  Watching him in live action portrays “temptation” far better than my still image ends up doing, as he prowls, stares, moans, whines and murmurs, begins to wiggle his tail in readiness to jump before turning around to pace the fence once more.

My thoughts:

The thoughts running around my head at the last moment, as I was getting some selection input from Joepi (i.e. cheating) on my final two-image shortlist follow:

I like the aesthetics of the first (the image above), but perhaps the link to the theme is too subtle and requires some creative thought.  I like that he is staring directly through the gap.  But if you weren’t told the theme first you could think it was simply curiosity.

The second (cat is in initial stages of a leap) is more obvious, but it could still be interpreted as something else – like escape or opportunity.  He does actually jump on this attempt, so even though he is only poised at the photographic moment, it would take some prompting from me to have the viewer imagine him as being tempted, and not already have made his decision.

I don’t think temptation should be directly associated with action. As a state of mind, I think it is definitely more closely related to curiosity, so that’s the image I chose.

Katy’s submission

Katy says:

As soon as I laid my eyes on this month’s challenge, I thought of an apple – the shape the word ‘temptation’ has taken along the years, at least for me. But then I gave the theme more careful thought and came up with something a bit more original than simply placing an apple against a plain background and shooting it macro. Anyway, next thing I did was to get my spice-things-up dice out of the drawer and roll them to see what my luck was.

So get tempted…

P.S. : The word displayed on the first die is the Portuguese for ‘kiss’. 

My thoughts: This is why I love having photographers from distant lands involved in this. We are treated to broad interpretations along with somewhat alien concepts and experiences.  And I get to learn a new Portuguese word!  The out of focus question mark on the second die is brilliant, and I love the red rich sensuality of the scene.  This image  makes me try harder to be more creative next time.

Mat’s submission

Mat says:

This is my good friend Max (from top Aussie rock band Asleep In The Park) posing in front of a Melbourne shoe shop. I experimented with a few different shutter speed settings to show other people as a blur while Max held perfectly still. This one at 0.6 seconds and f/22 turned out the best. I adjusted the levels and curves in Paintshop Pro and cropped to highlight the Soul Sale sign – after all, true temptation always costs us our soul!

My thoughts: Mat’s on a roll. This is a wonderful image that could well be used commercially. The blurred passers-by are exactly as they should have been treated.   The composition, particularly with “Soul Sale” adding to the number of ways we can interpret this, appeals to me. The shoes and boots are well arranged, creating a space in front of Max who is playing the role of the “will I or won’t I” shopper to perfection.  The entire image may seem a little claustrophobic at first – there’s a lot going on in a small space – but I kind of like that.

Joepi’s submission

Joepi says:

Temptation by my own thought is the act of wanting what is Naught.
Not yours to keep, Not yours to feel. Not yours to see and what’s Not meant to be…
Temptation by my own thought is not following what is taught.
It’s not yours yet you touch. Don’t touch yet you reach.
Close your eyes…Yet you peek.

 

So here’s the thought behind the image: Fishnet stockings have always been a symbol of sensuality. They have a “come hither” quality about them that is absolutely irresistible and yet their naughty taboo reputation also keeps a number of folks away (some even with raised eyebrows ;-D) This pose of seated, raised and closed yet slightly spread legs also screams “come hither.” But the notion is being waived off as the legs are closed with hands to cover and the instructions to not peek should be enough to deter you from coming closer… right.
f5.6 47mm focal length 1600ISO 1/20sec

My thoughts: I think Joepi’s image is a poster ad waiting to happen. Just have to figure out what is being sold – perhaps a new perfume called “Temptation”?  Hard for me to fault this shot. Great lines and exceptional imagery.  I hope it tempts you readers to weigh in with your thoughts…

Next Challenge

Hmmm, let me dig into my old calico bag of themes and see what I can drag out…
And the winner is… Sydney!  No no no, wrong announcement thanks Juan Antonio!  Try again.
Ok, the winner is Joepi so our next theme will be her suggestion – “Technicolor“.
Please have your photo to me by Sunday February 1st.

This should be fun, and you gotta be in it to win it.

PS – I was thinking that if this challenge  thing continues to hum along nicely, I might have to introduce some incentives for you readers to submit the most thoughtful, incisive or enjoyable comments. I’ve a heap of crap in my back rooms that I could give away – books, CDs, stuffed toys, old sporting trophies etc.  You know, stuff people really want.  Let me know what you think…

Photo Challenge 5 – Christmas

Sorry for the delay in this one, folks. Xmas tends to throw things into disarray.

I was just about to press “Publish” after writing that we’re “Ken-less” again this challenge. He’s stuck somewhere in the Canadian boonies with sporadic Internet access (and probably no electricity, telephone, food or water and fending off grizzly bears).  However just as I hovered over the button I received Ken’s submission.   We also have Katy from Brazil submitting her first photo, so I have five images to share with you this time.

First, some housekeeping – Katy has given me a little bio to publish.

“First of, I have to confess that photography has taken over my life. I’ve always loved taking pictures. Passion that flourished when I was a little girl with a Zenit 12XP.

So now let’s talk about my work. I take self-portraits mostly – as you might have noticed on Flickr – because I get complete satisfaction being able to express myself thru art along with the fact that I am the only model I have. Shooting myself allows me to have full control and I also have a lot of fun doing it. It is, beyond doubt,  a challenge I enjoy taking on for two main reasons: it allows me to grow as an artist and as a person myself – I used to hate having my picture taken because I don’t really think I’m very photogenic. 

Photography to me is a package. There is so much to it from setting up the shot to taking the image, and the processing – I tend to use editing software on most of my photos, though I try not to overuse it, unless I’m doing more illustrative work, which I love.

Please feel free to criticise, praise, or comment on any of my pics either here or on Flickr. 

Thanks for your time and, of course, for taking me aboard.”

Thank you Katy – now, on to our photos.

Steve’s submission

My thoughts: Xmas in Australia is represented by warm weather, blue and cloudy skies, simple cold meat or roast feasts, christmas pudding, quaffable Australian beer and the cricket on the telly. Here’s the chimney Santa tried to slip down this year in a typical suburban Melbourne dwelling. As long as he doesn’t break the aerial on the way down he’s always welcome.  Just wish he’d take some of the children back with him to work as elves through the year.

Shot on my Panasonic FZ18 with some Photoshop curves and mask magic applied to bring the chimney back out of the shadows. 

Joepi’s submission

Joepi says:

There are several things that can depict a Filipino Christmas. There’s the Belen which is a diorama of the Nativity scene; the Simbang Gabi (Night Mass) which is a 4am mass several days before Christmas; vendors selling Puto Bumbong and Bibingka - made with rice sugar and coconut sold after the mass; and lastly my favorite: Christmas Lanterns or the Parol which depict the star that shone the way to Bethlehem. Parols are made from whatever material you can find at home as long as in the end it forms a star! Of course, if you’re lazy and have had your share of Parol making as a kid (like I did with my dad!), you can actually go out and buy yourself one. This photo is one of the first corners in Manila that sold the more extravagant lanterns. It was always a sign that Christmas is in Manila (which typically starts in September) when these stalls are put up and the nights are lit with blinking stars.

This photo was taken on the 23rd of December – Christmas is already in full swing in Manila, but this hopeful is still waiting to sell more of his merchandise. Now I know I need more help in the whole shooting at night department, so I apologize ahead of time for the noise. This was shot at a very high ISO 1600 at f1.8. Somebody tell me how to get better photos of alternately blinking lights at night without using flash! It was drizzling too, so I was in quite a rush!

Oh and Merry Christmas to you Steve, Mat, Ken and Katy! Cheers!

My thoughts: Xmas in the Philippines sounds like madness. Just like every other aspect of it.  Good madness, mind you.  Love to have experienced it.  Re shooting this better than you already did – ask Ken.  I think you did fine.  A little fill flash, if you can work out how to do it on that cam, might have helped.  And cropping more tightly would stop me from straining my eyes to see the detail. 

Ken’s submission

Ken says:

Technically this shot is all wrong. I had no flash and only the Christmas lights to illuminate Cameron. I also had to push the ISO all the wait up to H1 (1600 i think). 50 mm lens at f1.4.  This is straight out of the camera as I have no editing tools in Canada. Actually, I have no decent pc even to open the files. Thankfully I found an late night Walmart to buy a USB cable.

This is Cameron’s first Christmas and I loved spending every minute with him.  He didn’t cry when sitting on Santa’s lap and enjoyed the tearing of Christmas wrapping paper to discover his  new toys

My thoughts:  Should have bought a Canon, Ken  But seriously, not-so-little-anymore Cameron in his Santa suit looks very cute and very warm in what must be a chilling Canadian winter.  This photo looks like it could have been taken in any Australian home on Xmas morning, and I doubt there are too many differences between us other than the weather.

Katy’s submission

Katy says:

Thinking of my concept for Christmas wasn’t a struggle at all.  First, I really love the whole Christmassy atmosphere all around the globe. Second, Santa has always been my favourite Xmas character of all – as for many others.

Cheer up, y’all! We, the Santa Katies, have something for you. All you have to do is drop us a line or give us a call, and “we’ll bring your shopping to you”!

Well, it may sound a bit harsh, but that’s exactly the idea of what Xmas has become to me. Nobody, broadly speaking, can be bothered getting off their seats and actually getting outside to buy something meaningful – as Christmas itself should be- to the ones they love.

That was my very brief description. Hope you work out the rest.

This picture was taken with my Sony DSC-W55. Yeah, still haven’t purchased a decent camera! I did some kind of Photoshoppery to that image: Multiplicity or Clone Shot, which most of you have heard about. It is a simple process of taking two or three images of oneself in different areas of the same frame (ideally mount your camera on a tripod) and layering each figure into one frame on PS using the pen tool and moving layers into the master composite.

My thoughts: Katy, this is an absolutely perfect start to your contribution to our little club.  Having also seen some of your other shots, I like the way you think your ideas through to every little detail of the composition – possibly something the rest of us don’t do quite to this extent. The shadow on the wall & the props really add story elements, and of course the stockings are a real attention grabber as well as a talking point.  This is an image full of conversation starters, and I think your style will add yet another level of balance to our group. I’ll chat to you offline about cloning/multiplicity, as I don’t know how to use PS to that extent yet, and am interested.  I was thinking of creating a collage but didn’t know how to use PS to make a professional one, so had to choose one image.  You might be able to help me skill up in that area.  Once again, welcome.  I just hope the boys in our club are going to be able to objectively critique your images.

Mat’s submission

Mat says:

Christmas often seems to be about family and food. As my family are
all on the other side of the planet, here’s the food that I enjoyed on
this Christmas Day.

My thoughts: I saved the best for last.  I absolutely adore this image. I could see it up on my wall. Great presentation of simple, yet telling images. Even the mobile phone in the breakfast composition helps to tell the story.  For some strange reason I think that baked beans “meal” is being eaten off a placemat on your polished floorboards!  Well done, Mat.

Next challenge

Time to do something a little different.  Well, not really that different. I’m just going to turn over the choice of themes to you guys.  BUT – to give you all time to send me suitable themes, the next challenge has been chosen by one of our readers, Veena Rusli.  V is the Bureau Chief of Berita Harian (Wikipedia is your friend) in Sabah, Malaysia. She’s a top journo in other words. So to have her as one of my regular readers is an honour. Mind you, she seems to be more interested in words than images, but you can’t win ‘em all.

So, V has suggested “Temptation”, and I’ve gone with it because I know it will challenge some of you in a new way.  Please have your submissions in by Sunday 18th January.

Photo Challenge 4 – Transition

I’m impressed! I honestly didn’t think the gang could keep it together for this many challenges, but to all of our credit we’re still moving forward. Not only that, but we’re expanding our numbers.  As of next challenge I am very pleased to announce a new contributor – Katiane Goes.

Katy lives in Brasilia, the capital city of Brazil.  Katy is a teacher, and a beach lover who lives 1300 km from the nearest beach.  She has an excellent photo collection on Flickr which I invite you to go check out now. Welcome aboard, Katy!

Transition can mean so many things to so many people. And therein lies the fun of asking four very different people to apply their creativity to this theme.

Steve’s submission:

My thoughts: I’m not sure I should go first this time, as I don’t think my photo is really indicative of my style, nor a particularly good shot.  However, it does show the constant cyclic transition that nature experiences. In this case an old tree comes to a possibly untimely demise at the hands of farmers, but way below the eyeline, as yet unnoticed, the tree’s offspring raises it’s youthful head ready to take up the challenge of survival.  Shot on the Canon 30D, 45mm, F22, 1/50, ISO 100. Primarily processed in Lightroom 2.1 and all the really tough stuff cleaned in Photoshop CS3.

Mat’s Submission:

My thoughts: Mat, this is a fantastic idea.  I really love what you’ve come up with.  Next step for you is to build your technical skills to allow you to present the very best version of your ideas that you can. Ken is the post-processing master, so go drop in on him unannounced, with a bottle of wine of course, and get him to give you the works. Your photos will love you for it, and the less creative of us (i.e. me) will be bowing in deference.

Mat says: I struggled to come up with an idea for this one. I had some thoughts about sunsets or nature scenes where one landscape transitioned into another one, eg grass to beach to sea, or field to freeway, or parkland to car park – but the very wet Melbourne weather this weekend made me somewhat disinclined to venture into the great outdoors.

So I ended up deciding that with every tick of the clock we are transitioning from one time into another. I used a 5 second exposure to capture 5 ticks in a fairly gloomy room, then I massaged the result with some of the filters in Lightroom and Paintshop Pro to give it a slightly more abstract and grainy feel. I wanted an old fashioned look which is offset by the word QUARTZ showing it is actually a modern clock – hence indicating a transition from the old clock-work world to our modern electronic one.

 

Ken’s Submission:

My thoughts: I think Ken might still be having trouble with my Aussie accent, because he’s given us “trainsition” instead. This image had me believing the trains were both moving, making me wonder how on earth he took the shot. I love the character and details in Ken’s images, so even when I’m through thinking about the life analogy delivered by the passing trains, I can analyse the rails and stones to see what I can find in there.

Ken says: I must say…I have struggled with this week’s theme!  I understand why Stephen chose it, but once again I did not want to entertain the obvious and therefore set out to find something left of field. 

Whilst shooting the various images to compile this particular shot, U2’s Running to Stand Still was drifting through my head. For me, this week at least, transition is a train wreck in the making… We sometimes struggle to transcend without tearing down everything and beginning again. With all our optimism we set out with the lesson previously learnt in an attempt to make the transition to a better, happier life… Our problem is that we never really apply what was learnt and fall desperately back onto the same ol’ twisted tracks. All the while it seems that everyone else is on the fast train…passing us by…getting somewhere… anywhere….or maybe we are all just running to stand still?

U2 – Running to Stand Still (first verse)

And so she woke up

Woke up from where she was lying still
Said I gotta do something about where we’re going
Step on a steam train
Step out of the driving rain
Maybe run from the darkness in the night

This was shot with my trusted Nikon D2X, Nikon 28-35mm f2.8 lens. (shot at f8 at about 1/300 , ISO 200) 

 

 

Joepi’s Submission:

My thoughts: I left the best for last. This is the most tangible and definable transition of all, and Joepi’s presentation of herself in this collage is a little self-deprecating, a trait Aussies love.  I’ll leave it to Joepi to explain the story behind the image.

Joepi says: I had no plans of actually sending this,but I did put the collage together for the challenge just for the giggles.

The transition from drab to fab is every girly-girl’s favorite activity. And every woman goes through these transitions at least once in their lifetime, others do it too often, others too little and most, like me, do it for fun (especially if it’s a free make over!) 

Next challenge:

The next challenge will be a little different but the theme is a tad obvious – “Christmas”.

This time I am not looking for abstract images or unusual interpretations, but rather something that represents your personal impression of or experience with this particular event.

“Christmas” should be submitted by Sunday December 28

I’d also like each of you (including Katy) to submit a theme idea, and I’ll randomly use one for each of the upcoming four challenges.

Photo Challenge 3 – Blue

Our previous challenge was potentially a little difficult for a bunch of busy bees (although everyone rose to the occasion), so this time it was back to basics – “blue”.

Steve’s submission:

My thoughts: Personally I found it very hard to decide which way to go. I’m a fan of the Carlton Football Club, AKA The Blues, so the obvious way to go was with them. Then I had an idea to create an abstract shot of a blue sequined glam top I have, using a technique called light painting. I keep telling people I am not really creative, and my dismal failure with this idea proved it at least to myself.  Perhaps it was too late at night and I was using the wrong torch, but either way I hated the results.  So in the end I have gone with an image of a little girl at a market stall in Sa Pa, Vietnam.  She was sitting there for a long time, looking just miserable. Granted she may have been asleep as Vietnamese girls do work very hard from a very young age. What I saw surrounding her were plenty of signs of a daily battle to simply keep starvation at bay, so I read her body language as being a combination of both weariness and misery – she’s blue on life.

Shot on a Panasonic FZ18 at 1/320sec, F4, ISO 200

Mat’s submission:

My thoughts: I love this mirror, and I love the idea. I’d prefer for Mat to be more heavily exposed in the mirror, but I do get a rather ethereal feel from it, which by the sounds of it was Mat’s intention. I don’t see his blue expression, but I can imagine it from the body language. Without explanation I am more likely to think it is just someone walking through the frame. With a longer exposure or wider aperture I could see the expression more clearly.  I’d also like to see the walls whitened using curves and colour balance.

Mat says: For this shot I used the theme in three ways. The blue frame on the mirror, my blue shirt and the somewhat blue expression on my face. I shot this in low light with a 30 second exposure giving me enough
time to walk into the shot and pose for a few seconds before walking out of the shot again to give my reflection a faded ghostly appearance. It took a few attempts before I got one that looked ok.

Joepi’s submission:

My thoughts: I really like this shot a lot.  The blue dress sets off the little girl’s carefree smile just perfectly.  Joepi has captured her in a position that shows vibrant movement, and I can imagine her skipping. I’m not at all distracted by the background, which makes the blue dress really stand out.  If I was going to be picky at all, and this really applies less to travel photography as we’re often documenting fleeting moments the best we can, I’d like to see the rest of her front foot and her bag and right hand not hidden by her dress.  A bit sharper in the face would be ideal too.  But at f1.8 from a moving tuk tuk she’s taken a great shot.

Joepi says: I was being carried around the city on a little bike tuktuk when I had a chance to take this shot. I like how her blue uniform just stood out amidst the gray city background, not to mention her smile as she realized my camera was pointing at her. It was quite a challenge to have a moving subject and me moving at the same time. After several clicks I was happy to have gotten a few good shots of this pretty little Vietnamese girl heading to school with a ruler in her pocket and her lunch in hand.

Next challenge:

Photo Challenge 2 – Submission

I’m really pleased with the “submissions” for this fortnight’s challenge. All four photographs are very well thought out, technically and conceptually interesting, and once again show four very distinct photographic styles.

Steve’s submission:

My thoughts: Shot on my Canon 30D at 55mm, ISO 100, F8 & for 1/2 a second, this is a natural light image with some Lightroom and Photoshop treatment. I solarised a copy in Lightroom then layered the result onto the source image and painted back most of the original detail.  I love the effect this has on the shadows, turning them into what could be a power lead, and giving the previously dull laptop text some futuristic personality.

Regarding the concept – originally I wanted to shoot myself on all fours with the laptop on my back, but realised that was far too obvious (and I was too shy). I like this idea better.  It doesn’t necessarily reflect my own personal opinion on the often unhealthy relationship between computer and geek, but it does raise questions about who controls who, and by what means.  Perhaps you might ask those same questions about human to human relationships. Those stilleto boots could assist you in your analysis.  This photo is intended to be completely open to your interpretation.  Now please discuss it amongst yourselves and let me get back to my computer.   Thank you.

PS – This arrived in my mailbox today. China classes Web addiction as clinical disorder. Personally, I think not being plugged in and wired up is the real clinical disorder! Phone calls and actual human contact are so 20th Century, people! Get with the program!

Mat’s submission:

My thoughts: I was hoping to see something like this from Mat. He’s a creative guy and I like it when he puts his creativity into action. The only one of us to present an image directly referencing the sexual definition of the word, he is also the only one I would have put my money on to do so. His chosen digital treatment enhances and perhaps sanitises what could have been an uncomfortably personal photograph (at least for me). I like that I can choose which of the four versions works for me, although in the end I’ve decided that all four are inseparable, working together to present a lovely textured aesthetic.  Andy Warhol might have created something this interesting with a bit more practice and a mentor with good taste.  Unlike Andy’s rudimentary creations, this could actually hang on my wall.

Mat says: Here’s my submission for Submission. Which kinda means I could send in anything and it would fit the theme because it’s a submission, but I went for the sub part of the mission and here’s the result.

The most fun part of this shoot was getting to tie my girlfriend up in her lingerie, because it was for an artistic challenge. At least that’s what I told her. I fiddled with the final shot in Paintshop Pro to add a frame and some arty textures and then merged four of the best results together.

Joepi’s submission:

My thoughts: This shot scares the crap out of me, and I think it fits the brief very well. Great use of lateral thinking by Joepi. The look on the guy’s face is priceless, and from this distance even she looks rather hesitant. I think for one moment they’ve forgotten the modern submission associated with marriage (he submits his credit card, and she submits her domestic abilities) and are truly submitting to the all powerful Him who must be obeyed.   Either that or the guy is actually one of the Reception Centre waiters who was called in to replace the groom at the last minute when he scampered.  Hmmm – looking at the clothes he’s wearing I’m going with that option.

Joepi says: Submission is spelled in three ways in this photo. One would be the obvious submission of the couple to each other. The other is the couple submitting to the looming figure of the pastor as he lays down the foundations of their marriage. And lastly to the commitments the pastor is asking them to verbalize through that microphone to make their submission public.

Canon 400 D
Focal Length 18.0 mm
Exposure: 1/30
Aperture F/4.5
ISO 1600
Edited in Picasa

Ken’s submission:

My thoughts: You may not be able to read the fine print down the bottom, so in summary Ken has provided five dictionary definitions of the term “submission”, and chosen to present the first, “Yielding, or readiness to yield”.  At first glance I thought this was an accident waiting to happen, and apparently it almost was.  However, Ken explained he used multiple exposures to drive (Get it? “Drive” ha ha – hmmmm, why is it so quiet in here?) his interpretation of the theme home.  One thing is for sure, Aussies don’t seem to be able to understand roundabouts and the simple rules governing their use. And I imagine many Aussies think yield is how you describe this year’s wheat crop.

Ken says: This was a little more challenging as i wanted to think as far out of the box as possible.  You may recognise the intersection on Boardwalk Blvd.  I shot this intersection with the Tokina 12-24 at f22 and 1/13th second (iso 100).  It is amazing how many times i experience the failure to yield at this intersection…!

Photo Challenge 1 – Garden

Photo Challenge 1 – “Garden”

This week’s challenge was initially deemed an easy one by some of us.  However I quickly pointed out that it could, like any theme, be interpreted in a very obvious way or in a totally obscure manner.  The artist defines the interpretation, not the public expectation.

Steve’s submission:

My thoughts: I don’t go out into the garden unless it is to sit in the sun and read a book, or play with the cats. And even then, it’s not for long.  But I do like to collect information. Therefore a bookshelf with gardening books is my own garden.  I shot this with the Canon 350D at ISO 400, 1/40, f2.2 and 50mm. The result is barely any depth of field, which shows on some of the books, and not a terribly sharp image due to motion.  However, I am a lazy photographer and just like to capture something as soon as I see it or have the idea.  So no amount of time was going to be spent on lighting this bookshelf any better, and I didn’t feel like adding any image noise that Ken might be want to bag me about.  I chose to desaturate all except the greens, simply because gardens are supposed to be green.  I kept some yellow because dying lawn is yellow.

Ken’s submission:

My thoughts: Ken didn’t let me down with his first submission.  He chose to apply strong compositional rules with his use of lines drawing the eye through the image, and his placement of the fence post. There is a natural border created by the shrubs in the foreground, and the shot was taken with extreme wide angle to create a panoramic effect.  What is most striking to me is the definition of the clouds and, to a lesser degree, the plow rows.  He does this with a combination of HDR, in this case created from 7 separate images across the exposure spectrum, and good contrast management in post-processing. The result, a hastily finished image that would still look amazing on a wall.  The connection with our theme is that it is a market garden near the Point Cook RAAF base.

Ken says, “Most of the fields are filled with Cauliflower and I suspect this one has just been readied for a new crop.  This photo is a blend of seven bracketed photos and shot with the Tokina 12-24mm on a Nikon D2X. I merged the images in Photomatix Pro and tone mapped accordingly.  It could use a bit more work with burning and dodging, but due to time constraints i will leave as it is.”

Mat’s submission:

My thoughts: OK, there is either a lot, or very little to say about Mat’s shot, from the point of view of an uninformed observer.  I personally don’t like the shot for many reasons, but that’s not to say the guy next to me doesn’t love it. As you will find out over time, Mat has a very different way of looking at things to me.

This shot was taken at Campbell’s Cove near Point Cook, on the smelly seaweed garden that gathers over the Point Cook coastline during the winter then rots as the summer heat kicks in.  I guess the bland colours and flat lighting, combined with an uncomfortably claustrophobic crop and a forlorn seagull poking me in the eye, work well to tell the story of unpleasantness this “garden” presents to the visitor.  Note to anyone wanting to travel down there to capture a better beach image – Campbell’s Cove is the home to what is probably Australia’s most revolting nude beach.  The inhabitants are about as unattractive as the location.

Mat says, “The rotting seaweed garden of Campbell’s Cove.  Come for the decay, stay for the stench.”

Joepi’s submission:

My thoughts: This is a simple but beautiful and natural image, that immediately calms and relaxes you when you view it.  Long-term staring may bring attention to technical issues, or scruffiness of some of the flowers, but that would be taking away from the intended enjoyment of the image. You wouldn’t critique a cut flower arrangement instead of being soothed by it’s simple placement in a vase, would you?  I’ll stick my neck out and critique it anyway.   Whilst the depth of field is OK, the white flowers directly behind the main subject serve to take away from the definition of the flowers. A cleaner backdrop, even if made up of leaves and branches would help the main orchid bunch to dominate the image.  The darker leaves around the outside make for a nice vignette.  The lighter, unopened buds to the bottom left distract me a little.  But I’ll finish by saying that the moment this file opened on my desktop my immediate reaction was “ah, very nice”. Just as a bouquet of flowers may do.

Joepi says, “Orchids have always reminded me of my Mum’s garden. The color contrasts of purple and yellow-green off-set by the whites just make for a very fresh and clean feel. This photo was taken in Tagaytay last Sept. 28. Canon EOS 400D, 1/2500 sec f/1.8 at ISO-200. Edited in Picasa.

Next

I hope this first post serves to raise a few hackles, soothe a few savage beasts, and get the juices flowing for another round.  The next challenge theme is tougher. It is “submission“, and is due by Sunday 16th November.

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