Film Photographer of the Year - The shots that didn't make the cut

Flower shots benefit from colour for obvious reasons, but I think black and white allows you to better appreciate the structure of flowers. Textures and component parts oftem make themselves much more apparent when the colour has been removed.

True but erm my brain has been modified from my childhood (common excuse for criminals why not me) o_O :rolleyes: with B\W cinema films, B\W TV, B\W camera film (cheaper than colour) etc ......and it was a relief to see\have colour for those things. ;)
 
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Well I'm probably narrow minded in my view but to me even if a shot is technically excellent etc... all flower shots should be in colour, well for humans as some insects (e.g. bees) see them in UV etc o_O:rolleyes:
I think Edward Weston, had he still been alive, would disagree.
 
Well I'm probably narrow minded in my view but to me even if a shot is technically excellent etc... all flower shots should be in colour, well for humans as some insects (e.g. bees) see them in UV etc o_O:rolleyes:

I know what you mean, flowers kind of lose something with out their colours but as above I think I'm less interested in showing a photo of the flower and more just playing with the light and composition the fact I'm focusing on a flower is kind of by the by. (besides colour sheet film is eye wateringly expensive!)
 
I think Edward Weston, had he still been alive, would disagree.

Hey Nick..Nige has covered this by saying "but I think black and white allows you to better appreciate the structure of flowers. Textures and component parts oftem make themselves much more apparent when the colour has been removed. " ;)
 
Here are my alternates for Mostly Black. The first two were takes that I discarde because I preferred the one I used, the last shot wasn't even considered as I didn't scan it in time for inclusion despite having the negs in plenty of time. I suspect it might have have fared better...

Shots 1 & 2:
Nikon F80
Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AF-D
Ilford HP5+

Shot 3
Holga 120N
Ilford HP5+.

1

FILM - Mostly black
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

2

FILM - Mostly black
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

3

FILM - Threshold
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
I thought the shot you entered was top drawer. Was quite surprised it didn't get the votes. Just goes to show that I know nothing... This was my alternative...

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Was too grainy though, and the composition wasn't quite right for me. Retook a better version in Feb, but it wasn't dark...
 
I thought the shot you entered was top drawer. Was quite surprised it didn't get the votes. Just goes to show that I know nothing... This was my alternative...

Thanks Ian. I think I know nothing too, apart from how to repel voters. :)

Actaully, I shouldn't complain - while I've never won FPOTY, I've done reasonably well in them. Not sure how it'll go this year looking at my current placement in the scorebaord though!
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Was too grainy though, and the composition wasn't quite right for me. Retook a better version in Feb, but it wasn't dark...

I've had shots like this. I like them and then decide that the million speckles I'd need to remove in Lightroom mean I don't like them that much. :)

I had an idea for a mini-project taking photos of bus shelters, but the majority of the ones I see around Sheffield now are identikit modern versions, so if I do do it, it'll be an extremely occasional project when I come across an unusual shelter, or one in an odd location or something. Maybe a run out in the countryside might throw up some interesting wooden or prefab concrete examples though.
 
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This was to have been my original entry, but I liked the leaves one instead. (n)

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I like this one Peter. IMO it's stronger than your entry of the plant leaves. However, as I am seemingly a master of entering photos that I think are good choices, but which then attract few votes, you may want to take my opinion with a pinch of salt. :)
 
Thanks Nige. It seemed to be a bit samey after the first 2 entries were tunnel shots, so that tilted me away from it. I generally seem to have more problems with getting a decent black than anything else, and that's really been a disappointment when I've tried printing some negs last month. The enlarger almost made it as an entry, though. ;)

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Thanks Nige. It seemed to be a bit samey after the first 2 entries were tunnel shots, so that tilted me away from it. I generally seem to have more problems with getting a decent black than anything else, and that's really been a disappointment when I've tried printing some negs last month. The enlarger almost made it as an entry, though. ;)

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You'd probably have attracted bonus brownie points for that. :)
 
This was one of the alternatives I had in mind:

2001EPMEBW Castle chamber.jpg

Kenilworth Castle chamber

Pentax ME, not sure of the lens, Film Ferrania P30 Alpha

I might say that the P30 Alpha turned out not to be a good choice for low light shots, as there appeared to be a lot of scratching on the film substrate across many of the frames. I hope this is part of what they've been fixing with the full release.
 
#3 is an interesting take on the subject. I like it.
 
I bet you wish you could sell yours for what Gursky got for his :)
I didn't like to look, as money is so vulgar. :oops: :$ Mind you, with the price of Fuji colour film nowadays ..........
 
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£2.7 million........

I've taken shots like that and they've not even sold for £2.70.:oops: :$
 
It's in the "eye of the beholder", apparently. Now what would be interesting would be to see it "re-imagined" in different colours, so maybe next time I'm down the canal .............. :whistle:
 
I agree but it does bring up the old question of what is art and who decides what art is worth.....can, worms, opened. :)
 
I agree but it does bring up the old question of what is art and who decides what art is worth.....can, worms, opened. :)
You could do time-lapse or video of the worms escaping from the can and that might be an entry for the Turner Prize? Clearly time-lapse with film would be artistically more valuable.:cool:
 
I saw a video recently of a guy making a gif using tin-types, totally OT but there you go!
 
what is art and who decides what art is worth
I can recommend Grayson Perry's Reith Lectures for "what is art" https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03969vt in one them photography even gets a mention and is described as "problematic"

It's worth what people will pay for it, no more, no less. It's perhaps the most laissez faire market there is, artists make art, it goes to auction and people with more money than sense get to ostentatiously demonstrate their wealth.
 
I saw a video recently of a guy making a gif using tin-types, totally OT but there you go!

What about the guy who did selfies with tin cans...? :police: :police: :police: ...........................:exit:
 
We probably need to do this on another thread, but it seems to me he is making a significant category error. Sport is something "we don't have to do" and in particular watching sport is not something we have to do but the world has a consensus that sport is not art. Few or us need to fish for food, indeed most fishermen throw the food back and yet fishing is not art.

I also think when people ask questions around "what is art" they are generally talking about the a specific category of art, i.e. modernist/contemporary art in galleries. Most people agree that music is art, that paintings by Constable and Turner are art. And similarly most people agree that a repetitive pattern on a dinner plate is a craft skill but is not art.

Art in the conventional definition deals with the "human condition" i.e. emotions and feelings. You cannot know what it feels like to be me and I cannot know what it feels like to be you, we can create representations of how we feel about aspects of the human condition as art, music, paintings, photographs, poetry, literature. As Greyson Perry put it "art is created by artists for the purposes of art"
 
Wild:
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2 reasons for rejection... well, three... 1. It's staged, 2. I didn't put enough dev in the tank hence the stripe and 3. It's a bit boring really.
 
I always seem to forget about this thread. Shot a lot of photos for this theme mainly of the same few subjects, looking at the voting I should have gone with something else but I liked what I entered.
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A subject that I don't usually tackle, being bokeh and blurry. I went for the full-on blurry just to see how it would fare, but here are a couple of alternatives.

#1 Birdbath in focus with mirror lens doughnuts behind.
2020-06-22-0031-copy-tp-copy.jpg

#2 Unfurling ferns F80 & Kodak Gold
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#3 Another unfurling ferns F80 and Kodak Gold
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I went for the full-on blurry just to see how it would fare,

Yours was the first image I saw that made me think "what if the subject should be blurry?" and picked up one of my votes because of it. I might have voted for #1 but almost certainly not the others. I think you nailed it with your entry. However I'm in a minority....

This is an interesting thread I think. And proves (to me) that this comp is more about just getting out, thinking about the theme(s), taking photos, then marvelling at how others tackle them - as well as kicking yourself for not thinking of something quicker! I thought my chickens were a bit cheesy but was determined to enter every month. Perhaps this thread is *more* important than the comp itself, because seeing the thinking behind the image is (to me!) quite insightful.

Anyway, this was my 2nd choice.

2020-06-16-acros2-eos3-17.jpg

Similar to Chris' (@sirch) entry with the subject being oof, but I didn't think it would get any votes so I didn't enter it. Also, I think I can do better with this idea but not within the timeframe of the comp.
 
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