Atherton & District Amateur Photographic Society

Oh Boy - what have I done?

I should have set a different subject, say, swimming with sharks and then I might have had just one or two images to look at and judge, but no. I got a load of pictures instead and now have the difficult task of not only picking three winners
but having to make comments on all of them. I must be a masochist.

Well here goes.
Tracey:- 'Ted' is a typical T.M. portrait taken I believe at Blist Hill. Bags of character and I love the treatment which evokes the era it represents.
Stbourne:- What a picture. This face and her expression would melt steel let alone hearts. Could you have darkened the background a touch to make her stand
out a little more? Maybe but who cares? Belting picture my friend, but I bet that she will be getting her way with looks like that.
Alasdair:- I like this a lot. Nice pose, great expression and nicely exposed but the thing that spoils it for me is the skull/rock on the scales which drags my eyes away from the young lady. Might be in keeping
with the overall setting but maybe if you were to make a square crop of her face to her wrists it would have even more impact and a possible winner in the competitions.
Yachtsman:- A real character here. You could stuff a pillow with his sideburns alone but the background is too obstrusive for me ant the big white van a distraction. Sorry!
Mrs Yachtsman:- Nice image (like the legs under the statue) and no doubt a nice reminder of one of your trips but I'm afraid it doesn't quite fit the bill in this case especially with the opposition.
Big John:- As usual from you a great image, clear and sharp, good expression but the large shadow from the cross lighting is a distraction. Once again, considering the other entries doesn't get my vote sorry.
Andy:- Trust you to come up with something different. You are that kind of Guy. Wouldn't want to meet this character for an argument. As usual, very sharp clean image. Good stuff my friend but not a winner here.
Mel:- Another good study Mel but I would rather have seen eye contact. The background is nicely diffused and great detail iin the face and hat.
Janice:- I like tis image. A good character study with lovely lighting , nice and sharp with a plain non distracting background. Well done.
Paul:- What I would expect from an accomplished photographer such as you. Could it benefit from a slight crop with less grass - possibly not. Not sure about pose and her legs take me out of the picture a little
but it's got your style all over it.
Phil:- This is a very poignant picture of a very well loved member of the club which makes it very difficult for me to make a judgement of it. Let's just say that it serves as a tribute to a great friend
of many and leave it at that if you don't mind.
Sue:- Wonderful picture and well posed. Two heads are better than one here and what lovely heads they are. Superb!!
Philip:- This is a great image. The singer is very sharp and the focus of attention with the other guitarist adding to the picture. Is the other microphone in keeping with the Gig? Yes but for me a distraction
and maybe could be cloned out. If you are happy with it who am I to disagree?

Well. Sorry for the 'War and Peace' (epic) folks but it's your fault for sending so many entries. I hope that I haven't offended anyone with my comments but if I have please accept my apologies.

RESULT:-

3rd place goes to Alasdair. Lovely expression but please consider the crop that I mentioned.

2nd place goes to Sue and her lovely ladies.

Winner is Shaun. A winner from the start. Those eyes take you in, the lighting is first rate and if I had taken this picture I would be very chuffed and it
would be on my wall right now. Well done.

O.K. That's it for me so over to you Shaun and good luck mate.

Well judged Michael! Congratulations to our worthy winners!

AN APOLOGY

I'm sorry for the sloppy presentation of my judging/comments above.

I had typed in double spacing and fairly neatly (by my standards anyway) everything last week. I thought that I could
transfer the comments directly to the Forum but failed, so decided to print them out so as to re-type them here.
Printer had run out of ink and was playing up with replacing same so I sent myself an e-mail of the original comments
to my laptop and then had to type up again on this site. By this time, having spent the day at the Animal Park I could
hardly read what I had written and then I nearly lost everything when I pressed the wrong button.
Must confess after that and at nearly Midnight I just pressed submit and went to bed.

Sorry about that. Must try harder next time if there is a next time.

Michael

It's not your fault Michael - the forum software condenses things anyway, to save space. Just look what happens to the formatting on the committee minutes!

Shaun - your picture is fantastic, as soon as I saw it I knew it was a winner, you have captured the little girl perfectly, the look of inquisitiveness of her face just draws you in, those eyes, what can I say, amazing.......!

First class image, very well done.

Mike - Good judging, I know you wasn't looking forward to it but you needn't have worried, you did a great job

Tracey x

Thank you Mike I will take your advice and thank you pick as third place
Alasdair Field

Thank you Michael for the 1st spot and comments especially amongst some
great images.
Tracey thank you for the kind words and encouragement.

I have no idea for a subject as yet but will think on and post it tomorrow.

Regards

Shaun

Hi Alasdair

Well done you deserved the third place my friend. But for Shaun and Sue you would have won.

This is what I had in mind when I mentioned a crop. Hope that you like it. A bit more darkening on
the white piece of paper and a bit lighter round the top of her head?

Shaun. Fantastic picture and a winner from first glance.

A great set of images and a very worthy winner. It is a picture that just grabs you. Well done once again to everyone, and Alasdair I must say that you are producing some really nice images, well done on third place.

Looking forward to your choice now Sean.

Jan

A great photo Shaun, well done! You must be very proud of this photo. One for the mantlepiece!

Thanks Mel yes loved it straight away.
There are a few prints in the grandparents houses.
It's one I think I'll get printed large & framed etc.

Cheers

Yes I do Mike it has give it a edge
Alasdair