Image edits to fit accepted norms set by judges.

Cluster

Cluster

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803
Name
Dave
Edit My Images
Yes
Here's one of my favourite images from the last couple of years. (This may have been posted before the recent edits).
Taken on a fixed focus/aperture/shutter P&S. It is on film, but that is not relevant to my post.

View attachment 482141ShadowsSm.jpg

Now a new member of a photographic club, I'm planning on entering this in our mono section for projected images. Some of the other members have seen my image and suggested that the judge might not like: (1) The very dark bottom corners, totally blocked. (2) The blobs of light at the top right, causing some distraction ("bright areas compete for attention"), (3) The image is essentially two images, top half and bottom half.

I had decided not to enter it. No-one enters film images and the resolution isn't great. Now I am rethinking my entries, I had incorporated a few edits as per suggestions received.
(3) the image is split into two, it is what it is. I feel that the metalwork of the bridge helps emphasise the oppressive shadows below and add to the "narrative". No change as the only change available is to scrap the entry.
(2), The blobs of light in the top right. I'm not sure about this, I thought it helped balance, but I can accept that some may see it as distracting. Maybe crop.
(1) The dark of the bottom corners is what made the image, but I do agree that some detail in the shadows might work. Edited.

I must say that this image is one the the first ever images that I have applied selective editing to, courtesy of several Darktable tutorials.

Here is the latest version...... I'm not sold on the big crop to cut the light in the top right corner..... Maybe I should give it to them as I like it, rather than anticipating the judge's comments.

Out From The ShadowsSm2.jpg

What do you think?
EDIT, for some reason, the image appears darker when posted than when viewed in my image viewer......
 
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Great leading lines in the second Dave

Arrows at the girl with dog and the other side pointing at the lovely sand bank at the rivers edge.
Second is better IMO
 
I know someone who used to be secretary of a camera club and he had a note book with the preferences of individual judges. I prefer the first but suspect some judges may say that the bottom corners are blocked whereas the second has more detail.
 
Now that I can flick between the two versions, I can see how the light blobs in the top RH corner are the first thing to grab my attention as I switch to the top image.
 
The crop is better on the second but....the lady walking the dog doesn't quite stand out so much...probably lifting the shadows and reduced contrast a little too much.

I am a regular club-competition entrant and I tend to find judges a bit of a mixed bag, once they are fixated on a particular flaw on one image that is being judged then any other images with the same 'flaw' will be marked accordingly. We regularly have images submitted to international salons in our comps that get judged down to 7/10, and every time we have the 7.5/8/8.5 lottery - where the comments don't quite match the mark given...
 
Why are you kidding yourself that these are accepted norms by judges when you colleagues told you the same and I agree with them. The image is in two halves and the blocked up areas at the bottom are awful and presumable due to using film which has a much poorer dynamic range than digital.

Dave
 
Cluster said:
Here's one of my favourite images from the last couple of years. (This may have been posted before the recent edits).
Taken on a fixed focus/aperture/shutter P&S. It is on film, but that is not relevant to my post.

View attachment 482141View attachment 482144

Now a new member of a photographic club, I'm planning on entering this in our mono section for projected images. Some of the other members have seen my image and suggested that the judge might not like: (1) The very dark bottom corners, totally blocked. (2) The blobs of light at the top right, causing some distraction ("bright areas compete for attention"), (3) The image is essentially two images, top half and bottom half.

I had decided not to enter it. No-one enters film images and the resolution isn't great. Now I am rethinking my entries, I had incorporated a few edits as per suggestions received.
(3) the image is split into two, it is what it is. I feel that the metalwork of the bridge helps emphasise the oppressive shadows below and add to the "narrative". No change as the only change available is to scrap the entry.
(2), The blobs of light in the top right. I'm not sure about this, I thought it helped balance, but I can accept that some may see it as distracting. Maybe crop.
(1) The dark of the bottom corners is what made the image, but I do agree that some detail in the shadows might work. Edited.

I must say that this image is one the the first ever images that I have applied selective editing to, courtesy of several Darktable tutorials.

Here is the latest version...... I'm not sold on the big crop to cut the light in the top right corner..... Maybe I should give it to them as I like it, rather than anticipating the judges comments.

View attachment 482145

What do you think?
EDIT, for some reason, the image appears darker when posted than when viewed in my image viewer......
Click to expand...
I think the idea that "judges" have set accepted norms, is a poor starting point.

Every judge is going to bring their own views and prejudices (as we all would), and this may or may not include the vast knowledge base collected over centuries that lies behind our understanding of graphic design, aesthetics and art along with a wider understanding of how different people use and appreciate photographs.

The points you raise about what different judges might think, and how valid they are, depend on your intent behind the picture.

The benefit of studying design and art is not to learn a set of rules or norms, but to develop some insight into how people see and react to pictures.

You can then apply these insights, as you see fit, to help make a picture that best expresses the reasons behind making it.

Judges have to guess your intentions entirely from the picture you give them, and I think the role of camera club judges is to not only to decide a "winner", but also to give some guidance on how you might improve a picture, given their interpretation of it.

If you want to win competitions and ensure nice comments, then learning about the likes and dislikes of a particular judge might be a good policy, but, for me, a rather pointless one.

I think it's worthwhile thinking about what you want from a picture, and carefully consider how well it conveys what you want it to convey. Asking other people to comment on your picture can be helpful in understanding how others see your picture compared to how you see it.

For me, I like the bridge, I think it’s a striking image to bring you into the picture, and it works well with the canal in conveying an industrial environment, which is visually captivating.

I also like the Hauiku aspect of the picture, where having established its harder industrial credentials, you suddenly notice a softer aspect of the scene with the woman and her dog.

I don't mind the dark lower corners, but I would crop some of the bottom to emphasise the bridge and canal, delaying even further the discovery of the women and dog as they will be in a less central position, and intensify the visual surprise of finding them.

I like the canal detail in the second example better than in the first.,as it makes the picture look better balanced to me.
 
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Thanks for your comments.... To be clear, I was not knocking judges at all... As a beginner at club comps, I figured from comments received that this image may have some elements that are generally perceived as "faults". I have other images that will be entered that (at least) I am happy with regardless of their faults.
I have decided not to enter this image in that comp and to work on a replacement digital image of the same scene that offers more scope for post processing if required.
 
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