It’s the second of three digital image competitions for this season.
Theme for digital round 2
The theme for this round is “Nature’s Abstraction” with the description of the theme below:
Zoom in or step back to uncover the hidden designs in nature — textures of bark, patterns in petals, ripples in water. Push the boundaries between photography and abstraction. Turn the natural world into art. “Nature’s Abstractions” invites you to uncover the unseen patterns and beauty in our environment — with your digital eye for design.
The judging criteria is as follows:
- Creativity in seeing patterns or forms
- Use of focus, depth, and framing
- Visual impact and originality
- Natural subject must be recognisable but abstracted
Image 1 – Sunflower Field Reimagined
My first image is of a sunflower field shot in infrared and I’ve modified the colour channels to create a yellow and blue colour tone.
I shot this in the Summer in my very first outing with a newly converted camera – blog post here.
This image has been reworked compared to the original I did back in Summer – see below:
As you will see, I’ve removed a lot of distractions from the foreground, and cropped in tighter to make the main sunflower more prominent.
I’ve made the sky a little less blue and contrasts but not too much as I felt the cloudy sky offset the field.
Self-critique (pre-judging)
First up, it’s worth getting the huge expectations out of the way.
Of course, I love this shot and in my view it’s a “ten” all day long and must surely meet the theme? What could possibly go wrong?
The judge may just not like it – we’ve all felt that with some of our images.
There is a lot of noise in the mid-back of the image.
When I revisited the image, I hadn’t realised that I set ISO at 2000 so there’s been a lot of noise, and I’ve not managed to clean it all up with denoising.
Aside from the noise, there is some softness in the foreground leaves which I’ve been unable to sharpen or recover detail. For ultimate perfection, a shot like this possibly needs to be focus-stacked.
This is probably a huge risk to losing points, but you would have to zoom in and peep to notice.
My decision to crop was genuinely to remove distractions, but also due to the noise and perhaps focusing, the large leaves in the foreground of the original shot were soft so effectively I needed to take them out of view to avoid distraction.
The penalty for the crop is to lose a little depth in the image but I still think it’s a very strong candidate and I would be very disappointed if I didn’t get 18/20 minimum or held back.
Judge’s verdict
The judge liked the image.
They wondered if the sunflower in the foreground was too dominant, and that perhaps the image would be just as strong with it cropped out (it wouldn’t)…
The judge questioned whether or not this image was nature’s abstraction, and that it may be better suited to an open competition.
They liked the reduced tones of the image and elsewhere the mono look, and the way the viewer’s eye is taken through the image from the sunflower to the other ones, and to the tree.
The judge felt the photographer had done a good job, and held back the image. In the shortlisted round, the image was awarded a 19/20 score.
Post-judging thoughts
It is obvious that I’m delighted to score so highly. I think given my reservations (albeit the flaws I highlighted were not noticed), I have no complaints.
Yes, please do not adjust your electronic devices folks, no complaints.
(Fear not readers, normal service will resume in the very near future)! 🤪
Image 2 – When Force Becomes Form
My second image is of a large ripple captured on a sunset shoot at Happisburgh – blog post here.
This is an image which I have more doubts about, which usually means this will do better than the one I have less doubts about!
There’s some emotional attachment to it… oh dear, we all know that is a sign of potential doom and gloom coming in, because my mind is warped into convincing myself this is good enough for a top score.
I won’t repeat the whole blog post from the shoot but this was the second of only two ripples I witnessed at this spot on the beach that evening.
After the first one, I set my camera up not realising that the outbound tide meant the next one would the only chance to capture it. It’s that aspect that holds some pride and achievement for me, plus it really ticked the ‘something different’ objective I’ve been looking to aim for recently.
Let’s look at the original capture, and see what I’ve done to it.
First up, I reflected on colour or monochrome, and decided the latter.
Firstly, although there are some pleasant sunset colours, they’re not epic and the main subject and focus of the viewers eye is the ripple, the shapes, the curves surrounding it and I felt mono would showcase those elements much better.
Also, the cliff top in the original image was a little soft and hazy so cropping a little of the left off and brushing in a little more contrast has removed that possible criticism.
I did quite a lot of tidying up of some distractions in the water but abandoned the temptation to try and clean up some of the foam deposits – it would’ve taken ages and unsure it’s necessary, and the time needed would not be worth it.
A crop has brought the ripple more into view without losing the shapes and I used a Nik Silver Efex filter to bring out the best detail and appropriate level of contrast.
Self-critique (pre-judging)
This one is difficult to critique, but I’ve said I don’t think this image is as strong as the other one so why?
Could it be a rather flat composition or angle? Is the foam and its deposits presenting too many distractions? Is it just “not that interesting” as one judge recently commented on one of my images? 😡
On the hand, it’s quite unique, it’s certainly an abstract of nature, it’s a ripple (explicitly mentioned in the brief), and obviously expertly curated! 🤪
After writing this self-critique, I think it would disappointing to get less than 17-18/20.
A hard one to judge.
Judge’s verdict
The judge said they liked this image.
They liked the shape and felt that mono works well. They said that colour would’ve been too much.
They liked how the eye moves from the left round to the sea going out.
They felt the light was right and also liked that there was some detail in the sky, and asked to hold back the image.
In the final shortlisted round, the judge awarded the image top marks 20/20 and it was awarded third place overall.
Post-judging thoughts
Well, if I can’t grumble over a 19/20, how can I whinge with top marks?
I am thrilled that this image did well, and it exceeded my expectations.
The image was a special moment for me, capturing a moment on location that came and went very quickly.
I’ve seen potential, made some good choices in post-production, and took a punt which has paid off.
Reflections
To score 39/40 (97.5%) is none too shabby.
My objective of achieving higher scores has been met in this round so very pleased.
With a print round next and two club exhibitions, the printer is going to be rolling off some images very soon.
I also need to warn Kathryn that some ‘effing and jeffing’ is coming up, which usually happens when I start cutting mounts and they aren’t perfect. 🫣
Onwards and upwards…