Photo Competition - May

[Shambles]

I think lin's got it spot on.

From "here's what came out of my camera" to "here's what came out of my pooter".

Big BIG difference.

Or maybe the title "Photo Competition" actually refers to Photoshop not Photograph, as mentioned previously..?

[{{909}}]

like slarti says, u cant polish a turd, a photo has to be a good photo before it goes into photoshop.
Im sure if photo A is a better photo than photo B, no matter how much photoshop is gonna change that.

Enter your photos Lin, its only a bit of fun in the end afterall

[Simate]

If you think that photoshop can somehow magically polish a turd then you're also mistaken.

That is very true, I've taken some awful shots that PS couldn't make look any better, photoshop isn't anybodys fairy godmother!

Lin, why don't you just enter whatever pictures you've taken, it's the taking part that counts. It is afterall only a light hearted competition, there's no cars to be won or anything, it's just a bit of fun.

[leerolo007]

lin from what ive seen on other photo forums your camera is more than capable of taking excellent quality photos like the one below if used correctly. my camera gear has cost in excess of £2000 and i have struggled to take pictures as good as that one in the past.

[Simate]

http://www.digital-forums.com/showth...ht=Photo+Month

Don't be disheartend by the competition.

[lin]

If you don't want to learn how to use an image editing program that's up to you, if you don't want to learn how to use your camera to the best of it's abilities that's up to you, if you don't want to learn the basic rules of composition, lighting etc etc that makes a good picture then again that's up to you, but don't start whining when others do learn, simply because you feel it's unfair.

I have no problem learning how to use my camera better, again, missing the point, it's a photo competition, not a photoshop competition, and I'm not whining, as you so nicely put it, just pointing out the inequity of the rules.
No, you can't polish a turd but you can show it in better light, it's the turd we want to see, not the modelling afterwards.

Enough, I'm fighting people who are so good with Photoshop that they can't appreciate why others choose not to use it. For all I love all the pictures on here and especially yours, Slarti, I can't and won't compete with a program.

Thanks for the answers peeps, and if I am allowed to I will continue to vote because of the efforts gone into the pictures (I never manage to vote for the winners) but I bow out (as gracefully as I can)

[leerolo007]

also having looked over this months entries i havent seen anything that has been modified/tweaked in a big way, certainly nothing that couldnt be done (in camera) by using the controls of an average dslr.

[Simate]

Lin here's some more photos taken with the camera you have

Spoiler:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ctures/bug.jpg

Spoiler:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...rpleflower.jpg

Spoiler:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...rkfountain.jpg

Spoiler:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...harborshot.jpg

Spoiler:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...tled-7copy.jpg

Taken from

Spoiler:

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.co...d.php?t=194791

[[wingnut]]

Been reading through the comments / discussion with some interest this afternoon. Firstly I am studying A'Level photogrpahy, not learning A'Level photogrpahy, there is a very huge difference, in the 9 months I've been on the course not once has our ttuor taken us to one side and shown us how to manipulate images in PS, shown us the basic's of composition etc etc, I have learnt that myself, what I am studying is the appreciation of photography, discussing images and drawing up research to then go take our photo's based on our chosen subject... The quality of my images comes purely from my previous hard graft to learn it.. If anything my course is more art and research based than photography.. I was hoping for msome work with 35mm camera and darkroom, but that's all gone now we are in the age of digital, but I have got off my arse and brought a cheap 35mm caera and am learning the techniques that go with it, I will one day scan them in and share them with you,, but as you'll appreciate 35mm film doesn't scan wel on a cheap scanner.. So what I ahve gained from my course is an appreciation of photography, not a greater level of photogrpahy skill, in fact someone on my course who has never taken a shot with a camera before the course is heading to get a better mark than I am due to her research...

As for the comp, I firmly believe you can easily notice a heavily photoshopped image over a lightly tweaked one, I use PS for colour conversion and adding a simple frame nothing more, there maybe the odd dust spec I remove but that's all. Personally excessive use of PS turns me away from an image and i will either note vote for it in these comps, or in my course work bluntly state I dislike it. Echoing the voice of others, you can't polish a turd.

My only gripe about these comps is this. Firstly I feel all exif data should remain intact and untweaked and once you have entered an image that should be your entry. And it is only a minor gripe that is. I think it was {{909}} entry this month that propmted me to say the last one, as it felt like he posted it to guage a reaction as to wether it was good enough to be considered a winner or not. All I can say is spend a few mintues / hours researching the work others have done the chosen subject, formulate an image in your mind before you pick up the camera, 9 times out of 10 the image you then shot will be a good one. And if your happy with it, then it's a good image. I know for sure I have kicked myself as I have rushed taking the shot and regretted it after.

These comps are meant to be fun, please let's keep them that way. I have entered loads of comps in national magazines only to get rejection letters, has it detered me, NO, what it has done is make me hungry to take a better picture next time and learn from previous mistakes.... And I urge everyone else to follow suit. Wether it's submitting an image on this forum or somewhere else, don't get disheartened, keep at it...

And to follow on from someones request here's my entry this month..

Spoiler:

And here is the original one.

Spoiler:

I used my Canon EOS 350D, the standard kit lens that came with it (18-55mm) and a warm up filter as the sunlight that day was a little harsh, I shot the image in RAW mode and converted it to jpg in Capture OnePro, from there I used the channel mixer to adjust the colour ot monoshrome and set the colour slides to RED +56% / GREEN +160+ / BLUE -100%, then cloned out the baot and two people from the background as I felt it made the image look a little too busy and added a simple black and white frame to it along with my name which i always do for copyright reasons.

[{{909}}]

wingnuts points are very valid, but i don tthink lin is going to listen, you cant change a womans mind afterall.
Re wingnuts comment towards me, i havnt asked if my entry was good enough to win, i was just asking if people think my second photo is better then the other, just for opinions really, ive already decide which im going to enter. i dont really think i have a chance of winning anyway.

I think were all taking this too serious now.

[WRATH OF BOD]

At a size of 800x600, the camera used to take the photo is largely immaterial, if you think a DSLR somehow magically takes better pictures than other cameras then you're mistaken.

If you think that photoshop can somehow magically polish a turd then you're also mistaken.

If you don't want to learn how to use an image editing program that's up to you, if you don't want to learn how to use your camera to the best of it's abilities that's up to you, if you don't want to learn the basic rules of composition, lighting etc etc that makes a good picture then again that's up to you, but don't start whining when others do learn, simply because you feel it's unfair.

As for letting someone who's studying photography enter, how many times has wingnut won ? Once.

Maybe we should also stop WRATH OF BOD from entering as well because he's won it twice.

The competition stays as it is, if you don't like it don't enter, don't vote, don't have anything to do with it.

come on will have less of that...i cant help being good at it...lmao(or is it just dumb luck)

[[wingnut]]

Re wingnuts comment towards me, i havnt asked if my entry was good enough to win, i was just asking if people think my second photo is better then the other, just for opinions really, ive already decide which im going to enter. i dont really think i have a chance of winning anyway.

Mate the comment wasn't directed at you, it was just seeing your comment prompted me to post my comment. And besides I liked both your entries and both stand an equal chance of winning. I think what matters the most is you are happy with your entry. To hell with everyones elses comments, did you get pleasure from going out and taking the picture?? To me that's more than half the pleasure of photogrpahy.

[cosmicma]

i think this is being taken way too seriously win lose good bad who cares just submit a photo let everybody else decide if it's good or bad with there vote.
ok it's nice to win but we can't all be winners. the way i look at it is if you don't post you'll never know

lets keep it a bit of fun like it's intended
i don't know about the rest of you but i love showing off a good photo on these forums just to see what the rest of you think

as for photoshop unfortunatly all digital photo's ( especially those taken in raw format ) go through some kind of procesing i do agree to some kind of limit to how much but it does become pretty obvious if somebody as gone too far with it

just post your photo's lin i've seen the other photo's you have posted and there not half bad

[WRATH OF BOD]

i dont think it should matter if we have a 50 quid digi camera or a high end its all just a bit of fun.
we all enjoy going out to take the snaps.some of us may edit or sharpen etc.to enhance.but its not like we copy & past another foto on top of another.a touch here and there.bit of red eye reduction.sorted
i think this is being taken way too seriously IT ALL A BIT OF FUN.

[Pongo]

To be really honest here, I have to agree with Lin totaly, I'm an "old school" AMATEUR photographer, where what you see is what you get. If the exposure is wrong it's corrected in development NOT with digital manipulation,(but I'm an old fart who still has a darkroom). P/shop is GREAT, but has no place in this sort of competition. I actually entered ONE photo that had been "played with" in p/shop, but that was a trial to see what other people thought. OK I DO use P/shop for adjusting levels((exposure) And thanks to Slarti for the tips !), but at the end of the day, it's what the CAMERA sees, not what the manipulator does, that makes a good photo for me.

Oh BTW I'm pished right now, so I hope I make some sort of sense.
*edit* And as Wrath says. it's all a bit of fun ;o)

[TheFincher]

Now thats all died down id thought id submit my entry for this months competition

Thought of this when i was out pushing my lad about trying to get him to sleep

We have a cemtary very local to us and it is very poorly kept with the expetion of a few graves (recent ones) so i decided that was perfect for this months theme.

Took loads and loads of shots but this is the one that i liked the most in the end




I have done a little Photoshoping but its only very minor as im still learning it.

Walking round a graveyard is quite depressing but im pleased with the results i got

Anyway...... Hope ya like it

TheFincher

[Simate]

Oh no not photoshop lol. Nice pic Mr Fincher.

[TheFincher]

Oh no not photoshop lol. Nice pic Mr Fincher.

Cheers Simon

Its the first time ive used Photohops since the competition has started, i figured i cant do much worse using it so i gave it a go

[wavesta]

ok here's my effort for this month point and shoot with only a little photo shoppery. It took me a while to deside on this one as I think I got a few nice shots so I'll post some of the others that didn't make it for entry.

I have to say though @ Lin get out and just take some shots I had a lot of fun wondering about taking pics of stuff, it makes you think about what is around you in a different way when you have a camera in your hand...cool stuff to be found all over the place. I have no real experience with photography only quick snaps and I'm only starting to learn about PS.....Go on Lin have a wee bash!



here's the original photo without PS

[Frogwell]

When I saw the theme for this months competition I was quite excited as I seem to spend a fair amount of my time photographing old buildings, farm machinery and vehicles in varying states of decay. So for this months competition I thought I would be totally spoiled for choice with regards to subject matter.

The powers that be of course couldn't be doing with that, so I have either been glued to my desk or on the rare occasions when I have had some free time the weather has been so bad that I have not even wanted to take my camera out of doors for fear it would get blown away or water logged.

So my entry this month is a rather disappointing snapshot of Finlarig Castle in Killin which I managed to grab in between rain showers on the 6th May.