Pre-event thoughts
I was unsure if I would enter any images this season.
Last year, I scrabbled around a little and had an image given a fair bit of praise that then tanked bang average in a competition, but that as we know highlights the subjectivity of judges.
I view critique and competitions as a hobbyist form of self-harm. You mostly hate it, with the occasional thrill of glory but it mainly disappoints and frustrates and you come back for more!
Image One – Harebell
I choose this image from a recent Summer Macro workshop hosted by Gill Moon.
This was my favourite image from the workshop and my fellow photographers and Gill were really complimentary about it.
Judge’s critique
The judge said the harebell was very powerful and liked the detail of the water droplets.
They said the depth of field was good but the reeds on the right hand side were too dominant and they would crop those out.
The judge finished by saying this image was competition standard and would do well.
Image two – Snettisham Sunset
I chose a recent image from a sunset shoot at Snettisham as I really like this shot (alarm bell: Liking a shot usually means it will tank!).
I am hoping this image is well received but who knows? Is it good enough to go forward to competition?
I think the light is gorgeous and the symmetry on the left top and bottom of the image really appeals to me.
Judge’s critique
The judge said this image had a nice pastel colour tone.
They said the image was a little cold.
They remarked that the author should consider moving left and taking the shot such that the posts go further towards the horizon.
They said they would be tempted to crop the shot or lose the two right most posts as they are too near to the land sticking out.
The judge finished by saying that this was a calming image and was competition standard.
Post-event thoughts
I enjoyed the evening and felt the judge overall was fair.
For both of images to be rated as ‘competition standard’ is a real compliment.
Regarding the harebell shot, I would not want to crop out the right hand reeds as I think it will significantly change the framing of the image – see below.
Regarding toning down the dominance of the right hand reed(s), this is a useful tip – see below.
On the Snettisham Sunset image, I agree removing the two righter most posts is a good tip and I’ve also increased the warmth just a bit and cropped in a little on the RHS – see below.
Overall very happy with the critique and feedback with most of the critique suggestions adopted.
Onwards and upwards…