Heres my recommendations for the portraits. I will give reasons why too!


http://www.flickr.com/pho...725453628/

nice and simple, good use of side(ish) lighting

http://www.flickr.com/pho...725453628/

another good use of lighting, this time coming from a natural source. Also uses good use of lines to bring you to the main focal point of the photo (being her face)

http://www.flickr.com/pho...725453628/

This one is an interesting one as you could say its not fully a portrait, but it really is. That being said the pilar is on or very close to the 3rd (rule of 3rds if you don't get me) which then brings you into the portrait and does a good job of that. Nice and simple colours that go together too

now for the open 3

http://www.flickr.com/pho...687397100/

I like this one because of all the grey and then BAM! The sign hits you. Good use of leading lines too and 3rds as well. But the use of the colours is what does it

http://www.flickr.com/pho...687397100/

This one is interesting, its got good tones in it and the whole composition of it is very nice.

the last one is a bit tricky to but I would go for...drum roll

http://www.flickr.com/pho...725453628/

The contrast of colours is really good here. The small blotches of green from the trees and then the colour of the ground, then just get blown away by the water. Nice composition on it as well.

Those are my opinions, hope they help

I will try scan some of my old photos at some stage. I really need to get me a good SLR one of these days

thanks heaps!
This has really been a great help - you have made me very confident of my choices

Phew, that is not easy... First because there are many photos that stand out and second because "judging" photos is sooo subjective.

Anyways, I'll try...



Technically perfect picture and the man is communicating to me.




It's brave to choose this because of the white space. It's modern, maybe too modern for an 80-year old judge... But your picture has to stand out of the rest. This one does.

and this one:
http://www.flickr.com/pho...337035899/

I know you didn't choose it but I like it. I'd consider it...

Now to the open category...




A perfect example for breaking the rule "do not put the horizon in the middle". I think it works! Maybe you can make the clouds & sky a bit more dramatic.




This one clearly shows that you have left the program mode on your camera. Nice high-key example with the little fly as bonus.




Looks like a painting. Great color. It will stand out.




This one is also quite nice but I have seen similar pics many times before. It depends if the jury is looking for something fresh and new or if they are following common rules.


http://www.flickr.com/pho...689727307/

Now that is a cool pic! Wow!

HTH!

Peter said:

Thanks heaps Peter (and Martina for giving you the link )

Our club is so small and the talent is totally all over the place standard wise, this is the first time I'm submitting anything.
A lot of the members are oldies too, the youngest one are me and my friends, all late 30s early 40s bit of kids never goes astray for them

I like the blue lake one for graphic reasons, it's like 3 stripes, or layers, and it makes me laugh every time because I did not play with the colours.

Tell me about program mode! I have had this camera in manual mode since I got it I make loads of mistakes but every now and then get it right

horatio said:

back in the olden days one could shoot on slide film and still develop it using the negative developing process, and it would produce unpredictable colours. There are "actions" you can use in photoshop to replicate that effect - this one is called Urban Acid, but I toned it down a bit.

Sometimes I'm disappointed to see my shot looking much duller than how I remembered something, or the colours muddier, so I might use auto contrast or something to bring more punch into the image.

Then there is a thing called HDR
http://en.wikipedia.org/w...ge_imaging
which easily results in images that look artificial
I can't stand it

god you are good!

You're very talented Charlotte.

JustErin said:

it took me a minute to choose. All of them are very good

god you are good!

dawntreader said:

Thanx dawntreader. I appreciate it.

I think ZombieKitten is a pretty good as well.

G0d said:

you annoy me with your stupid questions.

dawntreader said: