Sky Arts ~ Masters of Photography

I think the problem with the surfer shot was not the shot itself - as one of three that showed he enjoyed he life, it was fine, but it needed the other two shots to provide the 'transgender context' - rather than having all 3 shots showing he was happy.

He did sort of do that though, one of the shots was of him with a resigned look at the medication he needs to take to stay male, so they weren't all photos of him being happy and I felt they told his story as well as any of the others had managed, and a lot better than some of them. Federica's shots for example, while being decent enouigh photos, didn't seem to tell much of a story at all and the judges had to add narrative themselves to justify a positive review.
 
Another very tame episode this week, it's not a patch on previous seasons. None of the photographers have any character, they're far too eager to simply please over letting themselves go.

A gear Q: I know nothing about Leica, but is the flash they are provided really crap? Because none of them seem to be capable of achieving decent results with it. The images look more like on-cam pop up flash was used, at best, even though they are using it off cam.
 
It s a bit strange that when you consider this is the 3rd season, few of the photographers seem to know whats expected of them in the series. You would have thought that when applying you would have watched the previosu series and really seen where previous contestants went wrong. Perhpa sim being harsh and in the environments your put in its difficult to think.
 
It s a bit strange that when you consider this is the 3rd season, few of the photographers seem to know whats expected of them in the series. You would have thought that when applying you would have watched the previosu series and really seen where previous contestants went wrong.

I dunno how many viewers it gets, but I'm A Celeb gets millions, and the participants on that, who are in for a far harder time than Masters of Photography, don't seem to know what's going to happen to them and haven't watched the show, so I'm not surprised the photographers haven't seen this one :)
 
I enjoyed the last two series but this one isn't really doing it for me. Perhaps it's the heat or just rose tinted glasses looking back.

I understand it's difficult for 'personality' to come across during filming, especially given the difficulty in working in a second / third language, but I do feel that in previous series, the photographers were able to successfully do so through their photography. Gillian Allard - last years winner, was very successful at this, but also do where a lot of the entrants.

This year, everything seems very generic and bland - perhaps it's the topics selected, the briefings from Judges or the editing that we don't see as I find it hard to believe the contestants themselves are suddenly drawn from a different pool. Are they editing to make the judges more 'Simon Cowell' like? Nasty, the contestants are all rubbish etc?

Either way, I'm not waiting on the next episode like I was last year.
 
How did it take this long into the series for the English judge’s Geordie accent TP appear?
 
Another very tame episode this week, it's not a patch on previous seasons. None of the photographers have any character, they're far too eager to simply please over letting themselves go.

A gear Q: I know nothing about Leica, but is the flash they are provided really crap? Because none of them seem to be capable of achieving decent results with it. The images look more like on-cam pop up flash was used, at best, even though they are using it off cam.

I think it’s called “art”. To me though it looks like they don’t know how to change settings!!
 
Another very tame episode this week, it's not a patch on previous seasons. None of the photographers have any character, they're far too eager to simply please over letting themselves go.

A gear Q: I know nothing about Leica, but is the flash they are provided really crap? Because none of them seem to be capable of achieving decent results with it. The images look more like on-cam pop up flash was used, at best, even though they are using it off cam.

They do seem to lose the point of the challenge when trying to contrive a ‘theme’.

As for the flash, theyre trying to be ‘creative’ with a limited piece of kit. You can tell when its off camera because the shadows show us, but theyre lighting to create dramatic shapes rather than well lit photos.

My guess is that for most of them, using speedlights creatively is a new skill to learn.
 
They do seem to lose the point of the challenge when trying to contrive a ‘theme’.

As for the flash, theyre trying to be ‘creative’ with a limited piece of kit. You can tell when its off camera because the shadows show us, but theyre lighting to create dramatic shapes rather than well lit photos.

My guess is that for most of them, using speedlights creatively is a new skill to learn.

I think they're all far too timid when it comes to challenging the judges, especially toscani. From what I remember of precious seasons he likes when they bite back, he likes to see passion. This bunch are too 'yes sir, no sir'

On the flash, I wonder did Flint's first round winning shot over influence? Some of them trying to replicate that full on harsh effect hoping the judges will again deem it a powerful effect? It just seems like they're doing it wrong, the images look like pop up flash went off almost accidentally
 
Yes it was a good episode.
The English judge said at the start they didn’t want family shots of their grandparents.
Well they praised the Italian guy for just that.
I’ve noticed in the past Italians tend to be favoured.
The English amateur was lucky to make the final.
The wrong guy was sent home IMO.
Salgado, what a guy.
 
That annoyed me!! I actually thought the Italian guy did some good shots but yes, contradicted what was told.

Wayne’s last image was very good. His first though was a joke. Lucky to get through but by favourite.
 
No way Wayne should be in the final, he's scraped through every week and not once been good. Haven't been impressed at all by any of his work, ideas, or approach.
 
No way Wayne should be in the final, he's scraped through every week and not once been good. Haven't been impressed at all by any of his work, ideas, or approach.

But that seems to be the flaw with the competition, its better to be safe and scrape your way to the final than to take risks and be star for 2 weeks then ditched the next.

Maybe points each week then after 5 weeks the weakest 2/3 leave etc...
 
But that seems to be the flaw with the competition, its better to be safe and scrape your way to the final than to take risks and be star for 2 weeks then ditched the next.

Maybe points each week then after 5 weeks the weakest 2/3 leave etc...

Yeah a points system could work but probably isn't dramatic enough for the producers. I'd much rather see work from people like Flint that is different and interesting, rather than just rehashing clichés like Wayne has been. I thought his images and ideas behind them this week were particularly 'amateur' and are things I've seen numerous times.
 
Yeah a points system could work but probably isn't dramatic enough for the producers. I'd much rather see work from people like Flint that is different and interesting, rather than just rehashing clichés like Wayne has been. I thought his images and ideas behind them this week were particularly 'amateur' and are things I've seen numerous times.

Flint has been very hit and miss - IIRC weeks 1 and 2 were amazing but the 7 sins was poor. Thought his ideas on this week were pretty good and interesting. Federica seemed to play it a bit safe. I really did like Waynes ghost image though.
 
Flint has been very hit and miss - IIRC weeks 1 and 2 were amazing but the 7 sins was poor. Thought his ideas on this week were pretty good and interesting. Federica seemed to play it a bit safe. I really did like Waynes ghost image though.

He has weeks that are better or worse, for sure - but every time it's at least interesting and I get what he's trying to say. I really liked his seven sins image personally, I totally identified with what he was doing there. Having said that, he's definitely not for everyone and can see why some people would hate what he's doing. He's also pretty much the only one who's been able to introduce humour successfully, when everyone else is being very serious.

Wayne's ghost image is an ok idea but hardly an original one, and the execution and composition was a bit off for me. The image was too cluttered and the ghosting affect was inconsistent - he spent more time with his son so you were drawn to right side of the frame more, and the other family members he was noticeably fainter for. I also think converting to B&W for this series of his was a big mistake as the colour tones he originally had were very good and added to the images - B&W didn't add anything.
 
I also have to agree in the winner. Was a difficult series to watch so canned the last few episodes. I was surprised based on previous episodes that those who were left were indeed left. So long as your consistently average you get through each round. If someone who is brilliant has a bad week it can be gameover. A bit of a flawed way to run the competition to be honest.
 
I also agree with the winner, they had shown improvement and a unique style, especially in the last 3-4 weeks of the competition so they deserved it I think. I agree the standard didn't seem as high as previous years overall, though I think this series may have thrown up more unique photographers than previously, which made it interesting but also a lot more hit and miss.
 
I watched all three series over the last few weeks and the latest was a disappointment compared to the first two. I agree that the winner was probably the most deserving but overall I didn't really engage with them as a group and I found the judges quite irritating at times with their inconsistencies. The guest mentor/judges were probably the most interesting parts of each programme.

As discussed earlier in the thread, a points system and league table might encourage more 'risk taking' and individuality than the current format but they have clearly opted for the drama of kicking out one contestant each week. It's a shame that almost the only TV series aimed at photographers was so underwhelming this time.
 
I agree that she was the right one for the win..............


Bang goes the ‘no spoilers’ rule:D:LOL:



I do agree with all the comments. This series has been the weakest of them all. They do seem to be struggling with the presentation and I think that their obsession with trying to make it seem ‘high brow’ makes for a very clunky and slightly uncomfortable show.

When they reviewed the images from the previous episodes, I thought the winners images were head and shoulders above the others and really showed some creativity. A lthough still fairly ‘ordinary’ considering these were supposed to be amongst the best Europe had to offer.

I did notice that the loser really wasn’t happy and didn’t even clap the winner at the end. I think they thought they had it in the bag.

Will I watch next year? Probably, just because it fills an hour and is bettter than a lot of the other cr*p that gets aired nowadays.
 
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I do agree with all the comments. This series has been the weakest of them all. They do seem to be struggling with the presentation and I think that their obsession with trying to make it seem ‘high brow’ makes for a very clunky and slightly uncomfortable show.

When they reviewed the images from the previous episodes, I thought the winners images were head and shoulders above the others and really showed some creativity. A lthough still fairly ‘ordinary’ considering these were supposed to be amongst the best Europe had to offer.

:agree:
What niggled me was that if someone followed the judges suggestions, they were later criticised for being predictable, but if they didn't follow their brief, they were accused of 'not following the brief'!
 
I'm happy with the end result, I didn't think the other 2 really deserved to be in the final and they showed their weaknesses when it counted the most. No scraping through when it's winner-dinner time! What was Wayne thinking with all B&W with footy shots?
 
Bang goes the ‘no spoilers’ rule:D:LOL:



I do agree with all the comments. This series has been the weakest of them all. They do seem to be struggling with the presentation and I think that their obsession with trying to make it seem ‘high brow’ makes for a very clunky and slightly uncomfortable show.

When they reviewed the images from the previous episodes, I thought the winners images were head and shoulders above the others and really showed some creativity. A lthough still fairly ‘ordinary’ considering these were supposed to be amongst the best Europe had to offer.

I did notice that the loser really wasn’t happy and didn’t even clap the winner at the end. I think they thought they had it in the bag.

Will I watch next year? Probably, just because it fills an hour and is bettter than a lot of the other cr*p that gets aired nowadays.

I think they thought they had it in the bag from the first episode, I found them too cocky all the way through so was glad they didn't win. There's no denying they can take a decent enough photo, but I think in the latter rounds where they were submitting multiple photos they relied too heavily on just getting colours to match to give consistency across them all. I felt it required more than just that to achieve some kind of narrative and meet the brief.
 
For all it’s flaws I will still watch the next series... I hope they do another series. Agree with the winner.
 
For all it’s flaws I will still watch the next series... I hope they do another series. Agree with the winner.

Same, The first 2 seasons were more enjoyable IMO, if you missed them check them out. This season was disappointing, but I'll still watch the next if there is to be one. I enjoy being an armchair critic :D
 
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