RAF Photographic Competition Winners 2012

im not overly sure myself. I wouldnt mind seeing the unedited photos as it seems like the gaurdian has cropped them a bit.

however there are some cracking shots in there
 
Some good stuff but also some very mediocre stuff too. I think that having the access to some of the areas to shoot these images gives an advantage to the photographers.

Right place at the right time...Saying that they have to release the shutter at the right time.
 
I really am no expert, but it's the oversaturated colours that put me off a lot of these photos. Any of the more seasoned photographers agree?
 
Some interesting views. Have to say, I thought some of the images were particularly strong this year and the judges had many years of relevant experience behind them.
 
There's the odd one or two which are great and I'm reluctant to say it really, but overall I'm left a little underwhelmed by what has been entered.

I nipped over to the RAF website to try and find more entries and see what they say about the competition; the header they have written for the competition is:


RAF website said:


Each year the Royal Air Force celebrates a year of photography through its annual photographic competition culminating with an awards ceremony.

The aim of the competition is to encourage high professional standards within the Services photographic specialisation and to enhance the positive profile of the RAF. The RAF has more than 200 professional photographers, employed in all areas of the Service including station PR activity, technical, intelligence, reconnaissance, combat camera teams, videographers and airborne trials work.

The competition is open to uniformed, MOD civilian and contractor photographers, professional and amateur, who work for the RAF.
A selection of images from the competition can be found here.
Click to expand...


So reading the above you are left to think that entries are from 'photographers' within or contracted by the RAF. This worries me a little as one would believe that the competition should be the pinnacle of RAF photography and some of the pictures are just snapshots really. In my humble opinion.

You can see more entries in each of the categories by following the below link and clicking on the category header.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/gallery/2012rafphotographiccompetition.cfm
 
I think it's worth pointing out that one of those categories is a Cadet entry (the lad was 14 iirc) and another was an amateur category (although the techie who took it is now transferring to the photographic trade.)

Which shots do you consider 'snaps'?
 
I think that's a moot point really, as there are many young photographers out there who are creating work that is equal to or better than their Adult counterparts. For example, looking at the junior categories for the Veolia Wildlife Photographer Of The Year can often substantiate that.

I'll exemplify my opinion ( 1. 2. 3.), it could be right and often the opposite. As such, I don't wish to be engaged in a debate on what entries are good and what are not so; as that detracts from some better work that has been taken.
 
I'm not looking for a debate, far from it. I'm only too aware of just how good youngsters can be at photography; we usually have around a dozen work experience kids a year and some of their work has been outstanding, just as some of the images taken by our resident spotters at the fenceline have been too.

The only reason I asked was to see if you could justify your opinion, rather than just saying you didn't like them. This is the only place I've seen any negative feedback from the competition images, and they're all over the net including facebook. I think you need to bear in mind that this competition isn't simply a "best of", most of the images you see aren't a result of hours of setting up followed by days of processing. They're usually taken as part of the daily work, and the processing is rarely any morenthan darkroom techniques. The judges (all with a ridiculous amount of experience and one a picture editor for a National paper) deemed them worthy of the exposure they have since received, and they're all chosen to be suitable enough for RAF PR purposes.

Like I say, I'm not here to tell you should or shouldn't like these images; photography is hugely subjective and I'll even admit I thought there were some stronger images that didn't make the grade. I'd just be interested to hear the negative opinions expanded a little. :)
 
18 great pics i would love to be in the position to take pics of this quality.
lets all support our hero's because without these people we would have Anarchy.
just remember all gave some and some gave all.
ex lance corporal royal electrical mechanical engineers
 
As nice as some of those images are, they wouldn't have even been considered for the competition. Like I said, it isn't a "best of" comp; there are set categories and Corporate branding is a key part for future PR purposes. I've seen hundreds of photos come back from Afghanistan of children, and I've only seen one of a Hurricane flying over Buckingham Palace. That doesn't particularly make one better than the other, but I'd hardly call it bland.
 
Whilst my original post may have seemed harsh, a second look still makes me stand by my comment, although 2 or 3 are noteworthy on the whole they just don't do it for me. Bland my have been a strong word, technically they are good shots but this is a competition highlighting the RAF - the images should be thought provoking and emotive regardless of the categories, the majority of them are neither and are pretty flat.

I should have clarified posting the previous link, I think there are stronger images on Boston Big Picture of aircraft and serviceman.

I really am no expert... I'm from a creative background so I'm probably seeing this from a different angle! Purely my opinion! :)
 
the image of the chinook in flight is fantastic
 
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