My entries into a local photo competition

[dansig]

I have a College degree in photography, 15 years ago that meant something but today when everyone has a digital camera and every day over 1 billion pictures are taken worldwide it's getting harder and harder to see really good pictures, I see a picture that makes me go WOW maybe once every 6 months.. all the rest is at best average.

I mostly stopped taking pictures in 2007, lost interest since photography has died as a profession except for a few exceptions and those might not even have the proper education.


of the pictures in the first post there are some average and some not so good.. the railroad spike is by far the best of the bunch..




I still managed to take a few good pictures before I quit...

here are a few of my pictures, all of them did pretty good in competitions a few years ago..

 

[Chism G]

I have a College degree in photography, 15 years ago that meant something but today when everyone has a digital camera and every day over 1 billion pictures are taken worldwide it's getting harder and harder to see really good pictures, I see a picture that makes me go WOW maybe once every 6 months.. all the rest is at best average.

I mostly stopped taking pictures in 2007, lost interest since photography has died as a profession except for a few exceptions and those might not even have the proper education.


of the pictures in the first post there are some average and some not so good.. the railroad spike is by far the best of the bunch..




I still managed to take a few good pictures before I quit...

here are a few of my pictures, all of them did pretty good in competitions a few years ago..

"Beauty Lies in the eyes of the beholder" A true saying even for those with a degree in photography.


Glenn

 

[dansig]

"Beauty Lies in the eyes of the beholder" A true saying even for those with a degree in photography.


Glenn

that's true, but usually judges in photography contests have some education in photography and they all tend to have the same "eye" when it comes to judging...

 

[Chism G]

that's true, but usually judges in photography contests have some education in photography and they all tend to have the same "eye" when it comes to judging...

Based on your educational background in photography,what makes the Rail road spike photo the best of the bunch? Just curious.



Glenn

 

[dansig]

when looking at photographs to critique them the subject is irrelevant, it's the use of "the rule of thirds" leading lines, "photoshop" work and other things like that, after looking at all things then you look at the subject and see if it fits the thought that went in to making the picture.

hope the owner forgives me for putting lines in his picture for clarification...

we "read" pictures just like text, start from the upper left and end at the lower right corner, if there are no leading lines to take you through the picture your eyes goes straight between corners and you might miss out on the main subject.

vertical lines create the feeling of weight, horizontal lines create the feeling of space and diagonal lines create tension.

the eye finds the lines without us knowing and will follow them through the picture, only someone that's trained in looking at photographs notices these lines, other just see them as part of the picture.

the intersection of the straight lines through the picture (rule of thirds) are the points where the main subject should be located, if the main subject is located in the center the eye will not like the picture because it will not focus on the main subject.. there is a space between the eyes and therefore there should be a space between subjects in the picture and that space is usually the center of the image...

that's why most people say WOW when they see a well made photograph even without knowing why they like the picture.

 

[Chism G]

when looking at photographs to critique them the subject is irrelevant, it's the use of "the rule of thirds" leading lines, "photoshop" work and other things like that, after looking at all things then you look at the subject and see if it fits the thought that went in to making the picture.

hope the owner forgives me for putting lines in his picture for clarification...

we "read" pictures just like text, start from the upper left and end at the lower right corner, if there are no leading lines to take you through the picture your eyes goes straight between corners and you might miss out on the main subject.

vertical lines create the feeling of weight, horizontal lines create the feeling of space and diagonal lines create tension.

the eye finds the lines without us knowing and will follow them through the picture, only someone that's trained in looking at photographs notices these lines, other just see them as part of the picture.

the intersection of the straight lines through the picture (rule of thirds) are the points where the main subject should be located, if the main subject is located in the center the eye will not like the picture because it will not focus on the main subject.. there is a space between the eyes and therefore there should be a space between subjects in the picture and that space is usually the center of the image...

that's why most people say WOW when they see a well made photograph even without knowing why they like the picture.

Thanks for the explanation. Could what you described be termed"Elements of Composition" in photography? Good to know what the Judges will be looking for. I hope TomD lets us know how this photo faired in the Competition.



Glenn

 

[Bill Wynne]

These photos are not for a grade in a college class room, they are simply for pleasure. Personally, I see no great beauty in a rusty railroad spike regardless of the angles but some do. To me it just means something else to fix. Now the cat is beautiful. Without the benefit of training, the cat enjoys the simplest of things. We should be so lucky.

You have a real talent for finding beauty, Tom. Thank you for sharing.

Concho Bill
but what do I know.

 

[alinwa]

I have a College degree in photography,

but your pictures won't post on Google Chrome

 

[dansig]

but your pictures won't post on Google Chrome

that's googles fault, not mine

Chrome is junk, Firefox works.. my pictures are hosted at ephotozine.com maybe their setup doesn't support google chrome.

 

[TomD]

that's googles fault, not mine

Chrome is junk, Firefox works.. my pictures are hosted at ephotozine.com maybe their setup doesn't support google chrome.

They don't show with Firefox either.

 

[Chism G]

Dansig Photos

Try this link.
http://www.ephotozine.com/user/dansig-28283




Glenn

 

[TomD]

of the pictures in the first post there are some average and some not so good.

In my extraordinarily humble opinion, this statement is more of an indictment of yourself than of my photography. Even if true, and it probably is, no person of refinement or character would have said it.

 

[dansig]

In my extraordinarily humble opinion, this statement is more of an indictment of yourself than of my photography. Even if true, and it probably is, no person of refinement or character would have said it.

so you are making it personal ?

I gave my opinion as a photographer on your photos, you and the rest of the world can take billions of photos, luck will give some of you great pictures once in a while, one in every 1.000.000 pictures you take might be amazing, but that just how things are today... 50 years ago those pictures might have been great but when everyone has a camera the standards have been raised so high that it's almost impossible to make great pictures unless you have an amazing artistic eye, based on those pictures you unforunately do not, I don't either that's why I rarely take pictures anymore.. mostly family portraits today...

look at some of the great photographers like Mary Ellen Mark, Jill Greenberg, Annie Liebovitz, and the old schools like Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier Bresson and others...

then you'll see what I'm talking about.. it's not that your pictures are bad, it's just that there are billions of pictures just like them... everyone that owns a camera has their own set of almost identical pictures....

 

[TomD]

so you are making it personal ?

Of the various internet boards that I've inhabited, br.com is the most adult and will probably weight your statements, and mine, on their merits.

Buy if they, and you, will allow me this small example of spite, denigrating your perceived inferiors is the mark of an insecure person.

 

[Bill Wynne]

In my extraordinarily humble opinion, this statement is more of an indictment of yourself than of my photography. Even if true, and it probably is, no person of refinement or character would have said it.

Tom, of course you are correct in your last sentence. Dan comes from a group to whom harsh criticism of photography is the normal. They love to pick each other's work apart. Perfection is their goal. Dan's photos are very good and we should resprect his detication to his art form even while we accept his criticism for what it is.

Conch Bill

 

[TomD]

Last year the competition had several hundred entrants, a number of whom are professional photographers and submitting pictures into 12 categories. I won 1st place in 3 categories and 2nd in another. Here are my 1st place winning shots.

 

[Ian_Owen]

Last year the competition had several hundred entrants, a number of whom are professional photographers and submitting pictures into 12 categories. I won 1st place in 3 categories and 2nd in another. Here are my 1st place winning shots.

Tom where was this photo taken? Ian

 

[dansig]

Last year the competition had several hundred entrants, a number of whom are professional photographers and submitting pictures into 12 categories. I won 1st place in 3 categories and 2nd in another. Here are my 1st place winning shots.

these pictures are just so much better than the pictures you posted before.

if you really want to compete in photography contests then you should join dpchallenge.com one of the biggest photography website in the world and many competitions every week.

there you can get critisism from amateurs, intermediates and professionals.. if you don't like harsh critisism then just don't ask for it..

the only way to learn and get better is to get someone to tell you what you are doing wrong.. if everyone gives you thumbs up on a crappy picture then you will continue to take crappy pictures, but if someone tells you straight out what is wrong then you might learn from it and get better... or go all personal and and sh** and never learn anything....

it's the same with shooting... turn the gun upside down the first time and if everyone tells you that you are doing good then you'll keep holding it upside down and never learn from your mistakes...

but since you can't take criticism then I won't critique your pictures anymore and you can keep thinking you are the best photographer in the world an there is nothing that can improve perfection....

 

[Ian_Owen]

Tom, of course you are correct in your last sentence. Dan comes from a group to whom harsh criticism of photography is the normal. They love to pick each other's work apart. Perfection is their goal. Dan's photos are very good and we should resprect his detication to his art form even while we accept his criticism for what it is.

Conch Bill

Tom I have to agree with Bill........to me the 3 photo's you entered last year are so much better than the first 10 photo's you posted in this thread and I would rather have Dan's comments and to know why so I can improve.........and I am assuming that since you enter photo competitions you do want to improve.

If you or anyone else wishes to see some of my photos take a look here, they are all "tourist" photo's but I'm told some are really good........now I just want to know which ones and why they are really good. Don't mean to hijack your thread.
http://s21.photobucket.com/user/kiwishooter/library/USA 2010?sort=4&page=1

I appreciate honest criticism, to me that is more important than anything.

Ian

 

[TomD]

Tom where was this photo taken? Ian

That is inside the original fortification at Fort Pickens, completed in 1834 to guard the entry into Pensacola Bay. The facility was continuously occupied and upgraded as a Coastal Defense site until the end of WWII. The photo of the gun (shield gun) with the barrel stretching out of the picture is also from the site and was the last active battery before the site was decommissioned in 1947. The Union Army held the fort during the Civil War and engaged in several shootouts with the Confederates.

There are gun emplacements all over the site dating from across the 113 years of active duty history.

Here's a WWI era disappearing gun from Fort Pickens. You can see the "shield" gun in the background


Disappearing Gun by TomD77, on Flickr