… I contemplate this blog with the judge’s unscheduled sound loop still ringing in my ears (a Max Headroom moment?). But this was just a minor technical hitch that interrupted this evening’s ‘Fast and Furious’ themed Photography Challenge.
The club committee have been trying various formats for the Challenge evenings and this one is the latest attempt to find one that works well. It was a bit risky inviting an external judge along just to comment on our photos but not to mark them. Did it work?
Our judge was Lloyd Moore DPAGB BPE5 EFIAP from Kings Langley. He began by saying how refreshing it was not to have to give marks to the entries. He also pointed out that normal competitions are a monologue from the judge, and it was good to have a more conversational style hearing comments from those who had taken them. So he seemed relaxed and willingly entered into the spirit of it. I think most would agree that this was the most constructive and enjoyable formats that have been tried out so far.
There was a total of 31 entries so it was a bit of a squeeze getting comments from the judge and everyone else in the time available, but we managed to see all the images in the end. I’m going to use blogger’s prerogative and pick just one image from each entrant.
First Bubble blur by Alfred. Lloyd said that the lad in green reacting to the bubbles was the star of the show. He said that street photography is what it is and it’s usually impossible to avoid distracting elements creeping in. He said that this was one of the strongest pictures he had seen so far. Alfred said it was taken on the South Bank and was one of many he took at the time.
Falling with style by Brian. Lloyd said he enjoyed this image which neatly shows the journey down of the sky divers trailing coloured smoke. Brian said it was taken at the British Grand Prix and was a single shot rather than multiple images.
The Sunbeam Pioneer Run by Chris R. He commented that this was a technically perfect panning capture of the subject in every respect (wouldn’t expect anything less from Chris would we?) Chris said it was taken at the Epsom to Brighton Rally.
Somersault by Dave S. Lloyd said he wouldn’t want to change anything in this image. Dave said he wanted to show the whole arc of the motor cyclist’s trajectory which was taken at the Edenbridge Show. It was a combination of multiple shots but he had greyed out and faded alternate captures to stop overlap from confusing the movement.
Waterfall by David A. Lloyd said this was one of the more successful waterfall shots he had seen tonight and one he would have held back had this been a competition. David said it actually it hadn’t done very well in competition. Judges…
Got the giggles by David P. Lloyd liked the storytelling in this one although it would be shot to pieces by the judge in a competition for its technical shortcomings. However, it was a great picture with emotional impact. I am grateful to my neighbours for allowing me to use this one which was taken on Christmas Eve on an iPad in poor light. A lively bunch they are, always full of fun!
The Great Leap Forward by Mandy. He said this was a very nice capture. He might have cropped the image a bit and he wondered if the squirrel had been trained to lift its head up for the photo.
All the fun of the fair by Martin. A nicely caught moment in time. It’s not easy to capture images under these conditions but the lighting had been handled well with some nice detail in the sky. Martin said that this was just a snapshot, but he was pleased with the way it came out.
Dedicated to win by Mike S. Lloyd described this as a classic panning shot showing good shutter speed selection to keep the bike sharp but blurring the background and wheel spin to show movement.
Muybridge was right by Philip. Lloyd said more space was needed at the bottom to show the horse’s shadow. As you know, Muybridge was the first to demonstrate that there is a point in a horse’s gallop when all four feet leave contact with the ground, and this would be confirmed if the horse’s feet don’t make contact with the shadows they cast.
I’ve always been a bit sceptical of Muybridge’s evidence for this. He took multiple images of a galloping horse that ran past a line of plate cameras lying on the ground whose shutters were released by trip wires the horse ran through. Call me an old cynic if you like but I think the horse noticed the trip wires and its feet left the ground because it was trying to jump over them. So I am grateful to Philip for providing incontrovertible evidence that Muybridge was in fact right!
Philip has just sent me details of a new book about Muybridge that he says is very good so I will share it with you in case you’re interestedly. It’s called Pour une Fraction de Seconde. It’s a cartoon book designed for adults that tells the story of Muybridge – pioneer of photography, pioneer of cinema, murderer… The French is pretty straightforward he says, and the illustrations are brilliant.
Thank you Lloyd for giving us a very entertaining evening with your interesting commentary and constructive criticism. We hope to see you again.
0 Comments