Sky Arts Master of Photography TV prog

Pretty much agree with that.
Ruperts home photo of him ironing, I thought was very strong, but the other two images were awful,

Love to find a copy of Laura's irish landscape photo online, the one she didnt submit, or her lying on the black rocks. You think it's a close up of pebbles, but theres the tiny body, indicating the scale of the landscape.
 
Byker28i said:
Pretty much agree with that.
Ruperts home photo of him ironing, I thought was very strong, but the other two images were awful,

Love to find a copy of Laura's irish landscape photo online, the one she didnt submit, or her lying on the black rocks. You think it's a close up of pebbles, but theres the tiny body, indicating the scale of the landscape.
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Yep I really liked the one where she curled up in a ball on the rocks, much better than the one she chose IMO.
 
Andrew Moore said:
I'd agree it was if the contestants all remained and were awarded points. As it was an elimination series she shouldn't had been offered the chance to improve week in week out. Bottom two or three every single week pretty much until the last two where blind luck saw her perform and even that that was subjective.
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As we can see from the disagreement of the two male judges when the younger one seemed very frustrated with Mr Misery's blinkered view of social commentary and politics being compulsory, it is all subjective and, at times, seemed to be peppered with glib pronouncements which said more about the judge than the words used. Glad it is coming back. Didn't really like the result but there you go. I thought Gabriel's series last week was something to do with the emporer's new clothes and given how staged one of his final images appeared, bit surprised really. They must have enjoyed the guest mentor's critique of their work tho...
 
Didnt have a problem with the staged shot as I thought it was clever use of the flag. Missed where the flag came from, or why the people participated. Seemed a little setup? Rupert was refused, MArtha was told she could shoot but not with the cameras, a much more normal situation?
 
ashtennisguru said:
Best part of the final was watching David Lachapelle be incredibly positive about photographs that the judges had savaged in previous weeks :)
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I thought that.

I might watch the whole series again, just to see how I feel now I know the result.
 
I thought Gabrielle or Marta should win but I think Ruperts "I'm a soldier" line got to me in the end and just annoyed me. I didn't like his final 3 images but I could see the middle one had some merit with the fragmentation. Disappointed they all went for the rich/poor theme and not something more positive or harmonious. It just seems so cliched now. None of them really went for anything new or different.

I enjoyed the series tho despite the normal silly fake drama of talent shows but hope next time there is less emphasis on reportage and more on other genres. I felt a bit sorry for Yan as I think he struggled more than the others to communicate his images verbally but maybe that was just the editing.
 
Byker28i said:
Didnt have a problem with the staged shot as I thought it was clever use of the flag. Missed where the flag came from, or why the people participated. Seemed a little setup? Rupert was refused, MArtha was told she could shoot but not with the cameras, a much more normal situation?
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Gab's subject were gypsies weren't they?
 
Byker28i said:
Didnt have a problem with the staged shot as I thought it was clever use of the flag. Missed where the flag came from, or why the people participated. Seemed a little setup? Rupert was refused, MArtha was told she could shoot but not with the cameras, a much more normal situation?
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They bought the flag at the same time as the chocolate.

As pointed out, in Bucharest the subjects were Romanees.

In Athens the authorities granted permission to film in an area dedicated to Syrian refugees.

The camp in Paris is self 'governing' and potentially effing dangerous - in the same way as the Jungle can be and Sangatte was.
 
Cheers must have missed that bit. The missus was watching/chatting it with me..
 
Very much enjoyed the series although the judges did manage to wind me up a number of times, particularly Oliviero Toscani. Just a few observations on the overall contest;

  • A couple of the episodes seemed to be as much about the photographer being able to think on their feet and change plans spontaneously as it was about the ability to take a photograph: 'London Backstage', in particular, was an example of this when the photographers were confronted by a tiny underground theatre with restrictive view points rather than a full size stage with plenty of room. The 'Celebrity Portrait' was another example where much of what was achieved also depended on the mood of the celebrity. In Gabriele's case photographing Michael Madsen, I would probably have scrapped my plans to photograph him when he opened up and bared his soul about his work with Tarrentino in an attempt to get the personality showing through during a clearly emotional moment. (Said in hindsight, unfortunately, I would have missed the opportunity myself.)
  • I liked the fact that they showed some Exif data with the final product and was surprised that the photographers were using very high ISO settings in many cases. Some of these were as high as 50,000 on occasion and I am planning on taking my camera out one evening and giving it a try. (I have used 12,800 on occasion which I thought was pushing it but was still pleased with the result)
  • As this was the first time they had aired a competition like this, I expect there will be changes for the second series* as they streamline the format. Really hope they make the judges give more constructive criticism rather than just try to copy the formats of other talent contests.
They are taking entries for the second series from 14th Sept. You can sign up for an email notification for entry now by clicking HERE if you fancy giving it a go.
 
Gyles said:
@Penfold711 due you think that high iso numbers where there to showcase Leica's performance....... Or am I being cynical? :rolleyes:
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The high ones were Marta's where she was pretty much shooting in pitch black so it was either this or get a blurry mess ;) Are Leica any better than Nikon or Sony at noise handling? I didn't think there were as good TBH.
 
Byker28i said:
Agreed, a couple have given very good feedback, which has also been ignored and people have gone home as a result.

The final tonight isn't it?
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Though much of the comments shown were just putdowns.
 
What Leica were they using as I've just been and looked at a handful on DXO and none score more than 900 for ISO, that's abysmal :eek:
 
I've not had Sky TV for the past 16years and up until this thread started it was never missed. Don't think one series alone would justify it for me though.
 
Gyles said:
@Penfold711 due you think that high iso numbers where there to showcase Leica's performance....... Or am I being cynical? :rolleyes:
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Possible and even probable but as Snerkler mentioned, circumstances dictated the high ISO. I know my Canon coped well at 12,800 but I've never considered trying higher - could be an interesting exercise, probably with horrendous results.
 
Barrysprout said:
I've not had Sky TV for the past 16years and up until this thread started it was never missed. Don't think one series alone would justify it for me though.
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There are many ways of getting sky arts without signing for Sky. :)
 
I was surprised that Gabriele one mostly due to being pulled up twice for staging photo's and not making them believable. To do that again at this late stage means that he has learnt very little through out the whole process.

I also noted (although maybe mistaken) that they did not use Marta's submission of her on the rock naked for the end selection process, which seemed a bit odd?

Going by overall growth, development and success I would have thought that Robert would have been the natural winner. Not all his work was strong, but he was more consistent than the other two and be the brief vague on occasion he was also more able to fill it with some sense of purpose better than the other two more consistently.

Having said that, Gabrielle did do some good work and is probably one of the candidates that had the most personal growth through out the procedure, even if he didn't always take in or listen to advice that was given. During the final he was given advice on his photo's right up to the bitter end, so not sure how he got picked as the most accomplished?

I think the next series will likely have a slight mix up with regards to the judges. I have a feeling that one male judge in particular was a tad difficult to work with :)
 
Byker28i said:
Didnt have a problem with the staged shot as I thought it was clever use of the flag. Missed where the flag came from, or why the people participated. Seemed a little setup? Rupert was refused, MArtha was told she could shoot but not with the cameras, a much more normal situation?
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I think he was bribing them with a bag of sweets earlier so likely gave them something for their participation and likely he bought the flag. The staging was only classed as a failure as it 'looked' staged. If he had managed to make it look more 'natural' it would have been fine and that was their point. When you put something together try and think how you can make it look real.
 
my better half has just asked "how do you become a master of photography"? (apart from winning on sky tv ;) )
 
I still think the prog' could have been so much more and the contestants should've have produced much more
 
Byker28i said:
in what way? Could you expand?
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I don't really know tbh, as I've been told before, I know nothing of making a tv programme.
It lacked some kind of spark in my opinion.
I found it so-so in all aspects, not great just so-so.


Perhaps the new series will have taken on feedback, it may well just need a new presenter and a panel with more enthusiasm to fire up the contestants.
I'm not talking dumbing down the thing with a comedian type presenter, only giving it a bit of oomph.
 
I know what you mean about the presenter, she seemed to be on happy pills all the time, didn't seem to add anything to the programme.
I think the issue was in squeezing it into an hours programme, perhaps following it's sucess theres more opportunity to be made from the wedsite, why they chose the equipment, what they chose, more of the images online rather than just the few they submitted.
There's a definite feeling of left wanting more
 
I think there were too many contestants and not enough time to allow them all to have sufficient time to express themselves. The way the programme edited just didn't allow it. The longer the completion went on, the more time contestants were allowed to actually participate on screen and comment etc, the more I actually began to enjoy it. I think cutting the number of contestants next year would be a benefit as well as introducing a better way of scoring tasks rather than knocking someone out each week.
 
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Byker28i said:
perhaps following it's sucess theres more opportunity to be made from the wedsite, why they chose the equipment, what they chose, more of the images online rather than just the few they submitted.
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The website is terrible IMO. Not only is there not enough information, it's also a classic case of form over function. It's horrible to navigate around, and when you do get the pictures, they're in a naff, low resolution carousel type thing.
 
tom24 said:
I don't really know tbh, as I've been told before, I know nothing of making a tv programme.
It lacked some kind of spark in my opinion.
I found it so-so in all aspects, not great just so-so.


Perhaps the new series will have taken on feedback, it may well just need a new presenter and a panel with more enthusiasm to fire up the contestants.
I'm not talking dumbing down the thing with a comedian type presenter, only giving it a bit of oomph.
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The show was a pan-Euro production, so I guess they wanted something fairly neutral in terms of style (and language).
 
DemiLion said:
Had you thought of clicking on them by any chance?
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Yes, I did. They still appear in a naff carousel in the first place though, which is unnecessary. It's poor website design which, going on personal experience in the field, probaby came about because the marketing team thought it looked flashy without giving any consideration to the user experience.
 
I think some form of documentary discussion with the contestants would have been good - why they interpreted the brief the way they did, why they shot those particular images, what were they thinking. And, I agree that the judges need to offer better crit - you can't say an image is just poor, you need to explain why it's poor.

Also when it comes to the session in the studio after the images have been taken, it would be useful for the judges to go through the brief so they can say what they were expecting the contestants to do. The first episode, in Berlin, so many of them missed the brief and personally I thought it was very straightforward, but then I'm not in the competition... :)
 
Applications have opened for the second series if anyone wants to apply: http://www.masterofphotography.tv/

Before completing the form you will be required to submit:
  • A photography portfolio consisting of 5-10 images
    For your portfolio you must choose from one of the following styles: portraiture, reportage, landscape, urban, commercial (e.g. food or fashion), conceptual
  • a short introductory video
    The video must be in English and be a maximum of 2 minutes
Reading the T's and C's, Sky reserve the right to use any images submitted as a portfoilio, and captured by contenstants during the making of the program.

Prize money is the same as last season at 150,000 Euro.
 
Overall I enjoyed the series, for a first season it did a good job. Refreshing to watch a program aimed at photography. I feel it a few tweaks could improve it:

1. Introduce a "masterchef" style challenge in a real life situation, such as covering an event using reportage and proving and editor the images, going through the cut process and making it in to a publication by a deadline. Who gets published wins the task. I think that would be really interesting to see the process and put them under pressure.

2. Where's the wildlife section... I mean proper wildlife shooting, long lens/macro, behavioural stuff that takes skill on the camera, real patience, good research and an appreciation for the environment. Not just sending them to a zoo to shoot.

3. Make one of the judges/experts join in on the task and present "how it should be done" after the contestants have. Got bored of hearing how good the pro is and how Mr Judge (you know who) kept banging on about how they have missed the point... Well show us then!

4. Maybe and element of viewers voting, who ever reaches the final their public votes, over the series, count towards the final decision. Because David Lachapelle showed, that the images they had hammered, others can see in a different light, and once he explained why you could see past the negativity from the judges.

Hats off to Sky Arts though, I would love to see more "real photography" on the box, As the other judge said in the final "an image doesn't have to carry a political, emotional message" to be great.
 
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cmjt_uk said:
Overall I enjoyed the series, for a first season it did a good job. Refreshing to watch a program aimed at photography. I feel it a few tweaks could improve it:

1. Introduce a "masterchef" style challenge in a real life situation, such as covering an event using reportage and proving and editor the images, going through the cut process and making it in to a publication by a deadline. Who gets published wins the task. I think that would be really interesting to see the process and put them under pressure.

2. Where's the wildlife section... I mean proper wildlife shooting, long lens/macro, behavioural stuff that takes skill on the camera, real patience, good research and an appreciation for the environment. Not just sending them to a zoo to shoot.

3. Make one of the judges/experts join in on the task and present "how it should be done" after the contestants have. Got bored of hearing how good the pro is and how Mr Judge (you know who) kept banging on about how they have missed the point... Well show us then!

4. Maybe and element of viewers voting, who ever reaches the final their public votes, over the series, count towards the final decision. Because David Lachapelle showed, that the images they had hammered, others can see in a different light, and once he explained why you could see past the negativity from the judges.

Hats off to Sky Arts though, I would love to see more "real photography" on the box, As the other judge said in the final "an image doesn't have to carry a political, emotional message" to be great.
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I agree with you on most of what you say, although I think it would be difficult to do your first point, as you have a mixture of amateur and professional photographers in the running and an amateur would not necessarily know or understand the procedure, which would put them in an unfair disadvantage.

Personally I would like to see more of the actual critique process and how the judges battle it out between them to get to their joint decision. They have said a few times that they were not unanimous and it would be good to know why and how then they came to a decision. Did someone compromise or back down and why?

I think it would be great if one of the judges did the task as well, so we could see how they would fit the brief and they could show it at the end after seeing the contestants work as a contrast.

Viewers voting would be good too, as it would be good to see if the general public are in line with the judges. They could always use the public vote as a bonus card to stay in the running, so if it is a close call for whatever reason it saves them from elimination.

I would like to know more about the equipment they are choosing as well. They could put the info for each used photo up on the screen with the photo, so we know the ISO, shutter speed etc.

All in all it is a great programme though and possibly like Master chef that has several different formats for different countries and has changed and developed over the years, they can do the same and keep improving it with each series.
 
tom24 said:
I still think the prog' could have been so much more and the contestants should've have produced much more
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I think Isabella Rossellini summed it up when she commented that if none of the contestants met fulfilled the brief, perhaps it was the brief that was at fault! I agree that it would be interesting to get the judges to put up something in response but then perhaps their own strengths lie elsewhere?!
 
cmjt_uk said:
Overall I enjoyed the series, for a first season it did a good job. Refreshing to watch a program aimed at photography. I feel it a few tweaks could improve it:

1. Introduce a "masterchef" style challenge in a real life situation, such as covering an event using reportage and proving and editor the images, going through the cut process and making it in to a publication by a deadline. Who gets published wins the task. I think that would be really interesting to see the process and put them under pressure.

2. Where's the wildlife section... I mean proper wildlife shooting, long lens/macro, behavioural stuff that takes skill on the camera, real patience, good research and an appreciation for the environment. Not just sending them to a zoo to shoot.
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1. I thought they were already working to a deadline (had to put the memory card back within a time limit), and they then had limited time to choose and edit their final submissions.

2. I'm sure there was a Product Placement logo at the start of the program, and the cameras and lenses featured were mostly by one manufacturer. This manufacturer doesn't produce long telephoto lenses. Whilst interesting for some, I expect that filming people planning a wildlife shoot in detail, then sitting in slience in a hide waiting for something to appear (or not), might not make as good viewing as letting the contestants roam free at Berlin during the night and capturing their thoughts as they went along. Same could be said for many other genres such as sport, transport, macro etc. Being slightly cynical, the competition asks for a portfolio of images from a limited range of genres, which I guess are they ones they are interested in (judges have experience of) and have perhaps some commercial value if used (or sold) at the end of the series.

Instead of just eliminating one contestant at the end of each show, they could perhaps have a scoring system for each round, with scores accumulating at the series progresses. Each judge would allocate a score to each contestant (they don't need to award anyone top marks if they felt they didn't meet the brief), as well as the guest on each episode. This could allow an audience score to be counted as part of the final round, though this would need to be a live round instead of pre-recorded and edited. The person with the lowest cumulative total after each round would be eliminated, and the person with the highest total overall would be the winner. Would also allow for a 2nd, 3rd and 4th place etc.
 
JohnStewart said:
1. I thought they were already working to a deadline (had to put the memory card back within a time limit), and they then had limited time to choose and edit their final submissions.

2. I'm sure there was a Product Placement logo at the start of the program, and the cameras and lenses featured were mostly by one manufacturer. This manufacturer doesn't produce long telephoto lenses. Whilst interesting for some, I expect that filming people planning a wildlife shoot in detail, then sitting in slience in a hide waiting for something to appear (or not), might not make as good viewing as letting the contestants roam free at Berlin during the night and capturing their thoughts as they went along. Same could be said for many other genres such as sport, transport, macro etc. Being slightly cynical, the competition asks for a portfolio of images from a limited range of genres, which I guess are they ones they are interested in (judges have experience of) and have perhaps some commercial value if used (or sold) at the end of the series.
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1. Just thought that adding a real life deadline, working in the industry would add another dimension to it.

2. Good point about the old "Product Placement" we just can't get away from the corporates controlling us I suppose :(. If you look at the latest BBC documentaries they always put a got 10 mins at the end for the making of and I think it works well, plus obdoc's manage to pull in decent ratings.
 
cmjt_uk said:
If you look at the latest BBC documentaries they always put a got 10 mins at the end for the making of and I think it works well, plus obdoc's manage to pull in decent ratings.
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The main programme is <50min to allow for adverts in US etc.
 
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