CCC: Season 3 - Mono Compeition 1

Starting the new season off in the Intermediate group. So, although not achieving enough marks last season to automatically move up, the club has to adjust members accordingly to keep the groups fairly even.  I'm not sure if this is fair but it is what it is.  My objective last season was to achieve one 10 in the standard group. So objective this season, in the intermediate group, one 10 and an average of 8 across the board.

Sunflower: Multiple Exposure using different focal lengths.  Not a great base image I have to say. But the best out of the bunch.  Needs a slight crop, convert to black and white and perhaps process in Silver Effect Pro.  Make the background white.

Sunflower: Final.  Converted to B&W, adjusted shadows and highlights as necessary. Minor crop.  Photoshoped marks from background (seen when zoomed in).  Processed within Silver Effect Pro - using Fine Art filter.  This made the background completely white.  Printed on Permajet Omega Rag 310g - giving it a 'pencil like' look.

Judges Comment: An interesting image. Liked the framing - however the images was not laying flat in the mount, casting a shadow over the whole image. Liked the crop of half the sunflower rather than the whole flower head, And liked the white surrounding the image. Score 8.5 

Note to myself. Image did not lay flat because the image paper was too big for the 'hole'. Need to ensure the print is cut to mount 'hole' and fixed down.

So..... Hot in the City.  Taken on a ridiculously hot day in Trafalgar Square.  I love the scene, so at ease with himself and the world. It is, however, a 'scene shot' - no interaction with the subject.  I loved the photo up until I tried to process and print the bloody thing!! :)

So basic image.  Needs of course, to be changed to black and white. Needs a good crop. I want the focus to be on the 'near naked' man (Bob) - not the man in the white shirt. The white shirt, on the man next to him, of course, is the first thing that draws your eye. 

The first draft.... now I like this image.  I like the three 'workers' - they give contrast to Bob.  I like the balance of the two ladies in the image.  I like the crop of this image - HOWEVER. The rule for club photography is uneven numbers in an image - so do I take the lady (far left) and the bin out of the image. In the draft first print the white shirt is drawing the eye - so some extra darkening of the image is required. Some cloning of dirt on the wall - and perhaps a slight lightening of  Bob.

Hot in the City: Final - So here we have it.... I do prefer the image above - but there is no point sitting listening to the 'rules' if I'm not going to work with them (although I am aware they are there to be broken).  I've had massive trouble trying to print this to size, print it light enough and make Bob the focus of the image. In fact, so much trouble - I've gone right off Bob. Put your clothes on and go home, I don't want to see you in any of my images again. :). Printed on Permajet Oyster. 271g - Please note: Bob was not harmed in the printing of this image.

Judges Comment: Very harsh lighting. print itself is too dark - unable to see the detail on the head of the middle man.  Use the radial filter to lighten up the middle man and the lady - but good scene. Score 10 (by default as the best image of the night in this section was printed so poorly).

When the judge introduces himself as a harsh marker you do sink a little lower in your chair, but when he follows that sentence with 'he loves street photography' and you've entered your first street image - you do a little inward 'yay'! Learnt an awful lot tonight. And have achieved one objective the first competition - a 10

CCC: Season 3 - Colour Competition 1

Starting Season 3 in the Advance Group for the Colour Print.  I don't expect any 10's this season, within this group - but I do hope to achieve no less than 8 for each print. My goal is not to be relegated back to the intermediate group at the end of the season.  This season I have my own printer allowing me to experiment further with paper type - hopefully enhancing my prints.  As I am now trying to process my images in a better/different way, I need to keep more details on how I achieved the final image.  I know some will find this interesting!

Honeybee. Meet Betty, Betty Bee - this is the original image. Taken within the hive, it really is click, click, click and hope that you have some luck.  Obviously thinking about composition is very low on the list of things to get right when you're head down in the hive!  Things wrong with the image on a basic level.  Below the bee there is an odd green bit, and something sticking up on the right.  Colour a little pale across the whole image (expected as shot in RAW).  A little too much negative space both to the left and the right of the bee.

Honeybee: Draft One. Obvious crop, removing the negative space all around the bee. Enhanced my shadows and highlights. Increased the clarity to try and make the bee face a little sharper. At this point I printed my first copy.  Previously I would have had to have sent it away, generally not allowing me to re-print to improve.  I would have entered this first draft in the previous season.  However, having printed it I can see in the bottom right hand corner a dark space - not really in keeping with the rest of the image - in the advanced group this will be commented upon, as an advanced group member - we should know better.  I know better, because I have watch and listened for the last two season but my skill level it not yet up to correcting it!   

Honeybee: Final.  Having 'played' with Photoshop for over two hours this is the best I could do. I'm not sure I'm in it to 'play' for that long - I'd rather have my head in a hive!  I would agree that I was right to try and remove the dark space at the bottom right - is my cloning good enough - we'll have to wait and see.  I can see clearly the cloning marks because I've seen the previous image - as have you but the judge won't have.  Printed on Canon Pro Platinum Paper

Judges comment: Good depth of field - optimising focus on the face - but the image could have been improved on having the 'feelers' in focus. Good background but would have liked to see the bright area on the left a little darker. Score: 8.5

Multiple Flowers: Multiple Exposure, Intentional Camera Movement. I can't actually remember how many exposures I took here but think it was three (this was achieved within my camera). With each exposure I moved the camera slightly. I very much like the image I have achieved here - it really is by chance you get anything good at the end.  Initially looking at the image I think the white flowers on the top right may be an issue, and perhaps the lack of detail on the far left of the image.  Overall though, hopefully just a slight crop and alteration of colour.

Flowers: Draft One.  Cropped off the left, enhanced shadows and highlights. For this image I have decreased the clarity. Printed off this draft version, and it did show a problem with the white flowers to the right of the image.  The eye is drawn to the lighter part of the image and I don't want that. I also don't think the they are 'sharp' enough against the pink flowers. Because I'm printing my own, I can have another go.

Flowers: Final.  Having originally cropped the left hand side off because of the lack of detail, I have reconsidered this area by rotating the image. Now at the top of the image, 'I think' it may add something.  Printed on Permajet Fine Art: Parchment Classic (285g) 

Judges comments: An image such as this does open up the debate of photography or art. Harmonious colours. Liked the centre image with the green around it. Loss of detail at the top. Score: 8.5