Judging for "My Home Town"

All very good shots.

“The ‘Concorde’ Fontains, Paris” by Spiritx - 3 points
“Foggy Night” by Gianluca - 1 point

I think what Sanjuro started was a very good idea. Just giving points without any feedback will not help us learn anything I feel. I'm no expert so please don't be offended if I criticize something. You are all wonderful photographers and I'm just offering my perspective of things!

1. “The ‘Concorde’ Fontains, Paris” by Spiritx: This photo is gorgeous. The golden colors just lift off the page and it came pretty close to being the winner among the lot for me. But somehow the angle seems a little touristy to me. Yes, it is a new angle to see the Eiffel but maybe excluding that and including more of the beautiful fountain pedestal on the right would have enhanced the work.

2. “Sydney Storm” – by Eleshun : The skyscrapers and the clouds make a very interesting contrast lending an ominous tone to the photo. However, I think the water occupies too much space in the front. I don't know if cropping is permitted or not but I think the composition would have been much tighter if some of the water in front was cropped out.

3. “Belfast” by DaveMac: This photo has a very documentary feel to it and in that perhaps best fits the theme of this competition. But it is little bit too mundane for me. There is nothing that holds my eye for long.

4. “Postcard from Mostar” by Samir: This is another beautiful shot. I'd love to receive this as a postcard from someone! Having said that somehow it does not make the final cut for me. There is nothing wrong with the photo. It is just that I cannot give three points to two photos!

5. “Cleaner” by Cleaner: I really liked the composition of this photo. The photo captures the apparently forlorn look of the cleaner and this coupled with the empty space lends it a mood of loneliness. However, the whole effect is spoiled by the strong contrasts. The light is too harsh I feel and thereby the shadows do not have much detail and the highlights look too bright. If it had been shot during the magic hours the photo would have been perfect.

6. “Power of Nature” by phOtOman: This is dramatic and perfectly captured. To capture lightning a great deal of skill, luck and intuition is needed. Because the flash is over in a second and essentially random there is no indication where it will strike next. Therefore, the photographer really needs a strong dose of intuition to capture it. And this photo demonstrates that. The composition is great, the color of the sky enhances the dramatic tone and makes the lightning flashes stand out. Even though the trees in the foreground sort of spoil the effect the photo is still very strong.

7. “Foggy Night” by Gianluca: This photo should be a textbook example for what mood in photography is! It is that good. Perhaps it is my personal preference but I prefer moody and melancholic photographs. They speak a different language to me. And this photo does that very well, be it the fog, the light, the statues leading off into the distance or the still reflections in the water, everything just adds to the whole mood. Great shot!

So finally here are my scores. It was pretty tough as all were equally good and if it was possible I'd have given three points to three photos! But sticking to the rules:

“Foggy Night” by Gianluca: 3 points
“Power of Nature” by phOtOman: 1 point

-Anil

Edited by arthedains - 16 November 2005 at 11:42

arthedains, we really appreciate the time you have spent in your post. It's great to read some comments !!
Thank you !!

It's hard to choose from so many great shots.

Here's my vote:
3 - “Sydney Storm” – by Eleshun
1 - “Foggy Night” - by Gianluca

I have moved some posts from this thread (that I found very, very interesting) to a new thread.
I just wanted to make it easy to follow the voting process, but at the same time I wanted to have an interesting discussion open. I would love to see this discussion growing, since like I said, I found it very interesting.


Edited by brettania - 17 November 2005 at 12:33

belfast - 3points
foggy night - 1 point

power of nature 3
foggy night 1
Actually I do believe that foggy night is more beautiful but I've made lots of foggy shots myself and never succeeded to get a good lightning shot