I need to enter two images in the next round of our UK Camera Club projected image competition. I have three possible images as below I would be grateful for both a critique of each image and a choice for best two. BTW it's a male judge
Niall
Three very different an appealing images for various reasons. I can see your dilemma.
I like #3 the best, but am wanting to make adjustments to the color cast.
#2 confuses me with the lighting seeming unnatural as though it is coming from multiple different directions.
#1 is an interesting dichotomy of the organic water & sky vs. the formal lines of the buildings and the round sun. I'd like to see a little more separation to the ships, or them be not there at all ... preferring to have them in as part of the story.
In order to choose, I have to go with the one I like least, rather than the two I like best.
#2 seems static to me, and it also reminds me of a model shot to try and look like the real thing, given the incongruous (seemingly) lighting to what would be natural (i.e. sunlit only).
RustyBug - thanks very much. The ircraft is almost as shot as it passed overhead upside down at FArnborough this summer - a bit of noise reduction was all I did to it - but I agree it looks like a model. The Istanbuls shot has those groups of three beloved by judges - in fact I elongated the left-hand ship so both ships and tower went big to small as left to right. I did increase saturation on the sailing ship. Hmm I'll see what others think
Thanks again
Niall
Nice touch on the elongation to mimick the towers ... I noted the symmetry and is likely the reason I prefer them in. Of course, when it come to judges ... go figure what they'll like on any given day.
I've had them say they wanted this, then awarded that. At the end of the day, you put forward what you want to convey to your viewer ... the rest is outa your control.
If you'll excuse the crude workmanship (program crashed midstream), here's a rough direction (screen capture) I was considering @ cast changes ... (ignoring the purple and the heavy halo), to put the ship in the warm morning light and mitigate the mountain blues.
I like the direction RustyBug is taking the image, adding warmth to the boat and sails. I would suggest straightening the horizon, a touch high on the right side. You could possibly crop some off the bottom.
The second image is interesting, but if the judges are looking for art, you'd probably do better with one or three. For those, consider some cropping and, for the second, about .053 degree CW rotation. For example:
Karen, I'm not diggin' the crops ... especially cutting off the small ship with the frame edge on the Istanbul Sunset. I think these need the negative space to breathe.
I'm good with folks seein' things differently than I do. I offer suggestions for consideration. If they were mine, I'd crop for what to my eyes is better visual dynamism. As they say, differences in opinions makes a horse race.
Best for me is #2. You don't see that angle very often, and it's a crisp catch. Second choice is #1 because of the colors and silhouette, though I wish it were more tightly cropped on the Sun, buildings and two right barges.
The third one is nice. However, I wish the ship were more 3/4 profile, rather than straight on. Also, the water line is crooked.
