Following the first digital competition of the new season, it was now time for the first print competition.
The theme is “Open” so basically anything goes!
Thanks to getting out and about a lot, I have a decent volume of images, but whether they are of any worth in a club competition context we shall find out.
Also, I was very conscious that my print scores from last year (averaging just over 17/20) were not good enough so really going to try harder this year to improve those.
As it happens, I printed loads of test prints on quite a few different papers and I’ve certainly blown a bit of monetary value on this round.
To offset impending nitpicking, both my final prints are ones that will make in onto my living room wall at some point – in fact, one of them (a second copy) is up there already.
Image 1 – Frosty Shore at Dawn
For my first image, I chose an image I really like. Well, that statement has now cast an evil spell to ensure the score will be bang average!
I captured this image on a cold winter morning where frost was visible on the surface of the sand.
What I especially enjoy is the curvature and undulating nature of the mound of sand, which appeared to my eyes to be something I’d not seen before.
The sky was very attractive on this morning too (no harsh light) and patterns which are chevron-like.
I made sure I captured movement from the incoming wave and the ship on the horizon is a small and potentially unnecessary additional element of interest.
In final editing, and with soft proofing enabled, I cropped a bit off the right-hand side, cloned out any distractions and made sure any over-bright areas on the lighter colour huts were toned down.
Printing
The phone image of the print below doesn’t do it justice so just take it as seen. The print ended up looking best (to me anyway) on Fotospeed NST (Natural Soft Textured) Bright White.
Mounted Print: Frosty Shore At Dawn
The paper has a texture but it’s not overdone – I had bought this paper ages ago on the back of Nigel Danson promoting it, and originally didn’t like it so it was pleasing to see it successfully deployed on this occasion.
Self-critique (pre-judging)
I’m going to see if I can roast my own image!
What could the judge say, other than be a bellend?
- They could say it’s a well known location, a polite way of saying “Boring, seen this a thousand times so you can have a couple of marks deducted straight away…”
- The blue colours on the huts are very strong – I didn’t notice this until after printing and mounting but I don’t think this is a problem, not for me anyway
- Frost cannot be seen – well there’s frost on the rooftops of the huts and the sand, although I’m not convinced the sand frost can be easily noticed
- The ship on the horizon is soft / not sharp – well, my answer to that is just F*** Off!
- Too much sand? As a good friend of mine said when I suggested that… Too much sand? At a beach? How very dare you?
Of course what I might get is a score with absolutely no feedback other than drivel guesswork about how I took the image.
I expect this image to either get 18 and just miss being held back or 19 and held back.
I suspect it won’t win simply because this is an open round and there will be huge variation of images and print styles.
My main aim is to beat my previous round scores which as I said earlier are on average just over 17.
Judge’s verdict
My image was first up which often is not ideal as judges may have a steady start to scoring, perhaps even subconsciously if not consciously.
The judge liked this image said the cropping the row of huts could be tricky in terms of full huts or half huts but they didn’t mind this crop.
They said the grasses on the right hand side balances with the huts.
They said apart from the blue hut, a subtle colour palette has been used which they enjoyed (I was right about the blue colour!).
They liked the sky and observed the remnants of snow on the sand.
The image was held back and was awarded a score of 19/20.
Post-judging thoughts
With my print being first up, I was sure I would be doomed so of course with a hold back and 19, I am very pleased and have not much to moan about.
No, really, no moaning… I sense a little disappointment? Oh alright… do read on though. 🤪
Image 2 – A Storm Brewing
For my second image, it’s another Southwold shot and if I think the judge won’t fancy familiar scenes then why oh why am I submitting another one?
Well, this image is perfect! We’ll see about that I can folks shouting back at me! 😂
Let me explain…
What I mean is that the image was captured with very good quality. I know when I first shot and edited the image, it was one of those where the right exposure and aperture have led to a sharp and crisp image, and the shutter speed provides my favourite combo of movement in the water but with texture.
This one had quite a bit of thoughtful editing follow-up applied.
Knowing that some judges leap in if they see (heaven forbid) a bright area of an image, I cloned some areas out of the sky or toned down the brightness.
I scouted for distracting oddities in the sea or anywhere that could be obviously spotted. For example, there was a internal blueish light which looked blown out in one of the pier shops so I got rid of that pronto.
Printing
Once again the Fotospeed NST Bright White paper made this image look great.
Self-critique (pre-judging)
Let’s roast my own image…
- A familiar and well-known location is a risk of losing marks straight away – I’ve accepted that risk and (rather foolishly) hoped the judge would look at the image not about whether they are bored or not!
- There is still room to pick at highlights, but they won’t find anywhere on the page that doesn’t have ink!
- They could say too much sea, and not enough sky as the title suggests storm coming so they want to see more sky – I did try cropping off bottom of sea but I didn’t like losing the wave
- They don’t like the print, paper or mounting – well it’s printed on Matt paper slightly textured, colours are wonderful and mounted to a high-standard
Again, and as always, they could just score and leave me with absolutely nothing to go on other than the image didn’t float their boat. I think the familiar scene is probably the biggest risk to not achieving a top score.
I would of course given my own assessment (ignoring the roasting) like to see a score in the 18-19 range but I do have hopes this goes all the way.
Judge’s verdict
The judge glanced at it and declared what they described as an ‘oddity’ with the pier lit.
They said the sky was dramatic and not overdone and they liked the colours.
Coming back to the light on the pier, they said the oddity was that there’s only one sun, implying that editing has made the image false in that light is on the pier from two directions.
Despite the judge’s claim of ‘oddity’, they would hold it back, and it was awarded an 18 score.
Post-judging thoughts
Well, given the judge’s initial thoughts on their perceived oddity, I am fortunate to get this held back.
It’s disappointing in terms of I thought this print was perfection but not in a big-headed way, in terms of the quality of image and its printed presentation.
I have looked at the print again and my (biased of course) opinion is that I don’t think I’ve lifted or overdone the exposure, shadows or highlights on the pier, and if I have it wouldn’t be to present an oddity! If you look closely at the reflections in the window glass, you see light which to me means it was bright at that time of the morning, and it’s not yellow or orange sunlight, it’s morning light.
Perhaps that morning, it was suitably bright after sunrise and that was now it was?
The author doth protest too much methinks? Guilty as charged M’lud?
What I will do when I have more time is to check out the edited file and see if I have inadvertently taken it too far. It’s perfectly possible I have done.
This print is still a stunning image and the oddity in no way means I wouldn’t be proud to have it hung up framed on the living room wall.
Reflections
I did well in this round and overall reached and exceeded my target aim (average 18.5 score compared to last seasons average of 17.33).
Frosty Shore at Dawn did very well and A Storm Brewing didn’t quite reach the very top I had hoped but this was a good round, a good “performance” so overall I am pleased.
Frosty Shore will qualify for automatic selection in the club’s annual exhibition whereas Storm Brewing would have to be my free choice to put forward for consideration so a soupçon of disappointment with that one.
Onwards and upwards…