POTN Macro photographer of the year (CLOSED) [Archive]

Big_B

3rd of October 2006 (Tue), 01:22

This competition is a way of showcasing your best photographs from the last year. Its all in the name of fun so please don't take it too seriously! Everyone is welcome to enter and I look forward to seeing all the great submissions!

BB :grin:

Prizes! UncleDoug has very kindly offered to send the winner, free of charge, a 18x27 print of your winning photo on either PhotoSemiGloss, hot or cold press rag or gloss canvas.

Entry requirements:
The photo must have been taken in the 12 months preceding the closing date
The photo must not have been entered in the 2004/2005 POTN photographer of the year contest
Each member may submit one photo to each of the contests
This photo may be changed at any time up to the closing date for submissions
Post processing - nothing that substantially changes the original composition of the image.
Photos must be no larger than 800 pixels at the longest dimension and a maximum of 200kb
No framing of pictures, text or copyright notices.
Send your photos to potncontest at gmail dot com
Please include your username when you send me the photoYou can view all the latest entries here: http://www.pbase.com/sam_blackie/potnmacro

In2Photos

3rd of October 2006 (Tue), 08:01

I see that the name of the competition has changed from Photographer to Photograph. Excellent idea.

Big_B

3rd of October 2006 (Tue), 10:19

Sorry Mike, a typo. I'm leaving it as photographer until we have an alternative system in place. Oone of the members is coming up with ideas at the moment, but please feel free to share any ideas you have on how it might be operated.

LordV

9th of October 2006 (Mon), 03:42

No link to entries ? ?
Brian V.

Athena

9th of October 2006 (Mon), 20:30

Has no one entered??

Big_B

10th of October 2006 (Tue), 01:11

No link to entries ? ?
Brian V.

There hadn't been any entries and so the gallery wasn't set up. The first two entries are online now and can be found at http://www.pbase.com/sam_blackie/potnmacro

LordV

10th of October 2006 (Tue), 07:15

There hadn't been any entries and so the gallery wasn't set up. The first two entries are online now and can be found at http://www.pbase.com/sam_blackie/potnmacro

Thanks- wondered if that was why :)
Brian V.

photobitz

11th of October 2006 (Wed), 07:04

Is stacking something that "substantially changes the original composition of the image"?

Big_B

12th of October 2006 (Thu), 01:11

Do you mean HDR?

photobitz

12th of October 2006 (Thu), 01:51

HDR? I mean focus stacking i.e. with CombineZ5 or similar...

Athena

12th of October 2006 (Thu), 04:15

With macro the DOF is so small. To get around this limitation, some people take a few photos with different focus points and combine them for extended DOF.

Somewhat similar to using HDR to extend the light range.

photobitz

13th of October 2006 (Fri), 00:08

Ah... thanks Athena for clarifying my jibberish ;)

dpastern

13th of October 2006 (Fri), 00:58

Have emailed my entry :)

Dave

Big_B

13th of October 2006 (Fri), 02:40

Big_B

13th of October 2006 (Fri), 02:47

Oh, and 4 more photos online

photobitz

13th of October 2006 (Fri), 03:13

Thanks Athena :) The basis of the rule is that if you can do it in a dark room, you can do it in this contest. My understanding of what you said is that staking would not be allowed in this case, however I'm happy to have a conversation about it if I have misunderstood you.

It could possibly be done (with some extreme difficulty) in the darkroom with a lot of masking/burning/dodging etc. of several exposures (I wouldn't be game!) but essentially it is digital editing (the reason we all bought DSLRs!?!?!?).

If you don't want to include it, that's fine. I just wanted to clarify.

Thanks ;)

photobitz

13th of October 2006 (Fri), 03:17

Oh, and 4 more photos online

I love that gecko. Pity about the res on it though.

LordV

14th of October 2006 (Sat), 04:20

Thanks Athena :) The basis of the rule is that if you can do it in a dark room, you can do it in this contest. My understanding of what you said is that staking would not be allowed in this case, however I'm happy to have a conversation about it if I have misunderstood you.

Oh-Oh my entry is focus stacked, however as I'm not adding or subtracting anything that is not already there I would have thought it was within the rules.
To see the subtlety of this please take a look at this tutorial on the use of focus stacking in dedrop pictures- you will see the difference between the sequence of shots is very minor and it could easily be achieved in the darkroom using masking.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/macroviewers/discuss/72157594313729574/

Brian V.

Big_B

14th of October 2006 (Sat), 06:05

Thanks for the link Brian. I checked back through threads from earlier competitions and it turns out that we've allowed HDR. Given this it seems to make sense to allow stacking and that's what we'll do. Apologies for the confusion.

photobitz

14th of October 2006 (Sat), 06:10

Oh joy!
lol

dpastern

14th of October 2006 (Sat), 19:26

Good, I'm glad stacking is allowed. I can understand the reasons for limiting manipulation of images etc, but I also perserve this as a limitation on digital imaging, which is a lot more flexible than traditional photography. I sometimes wonder why photography competition stick to a century old set of rules that really don't apply to digital photography. Why should digital photography be limited by the limitations of traditional print photography? Especially when we consider that print photography is all but dead. Sure, a few people might still use it, but for all purposes it is dead, just like vinyl LPs. That doesn't mean digital photography is better, it just means it's more popular [for a variety of reasons]. Applying traditional print film limitations to digital photography is silly imho and one reason why I refuse to join the local photography club. I don't really manipulate my images other than very slight adjustments to saturation and contrast and a simple colour balance, as well as USM and Neat Image, but I disagree with the 'old boy' film school atttitudes and that is why I refuse to play by their silly games.

Dave

Big_B

15th of October 2006 (Sun), 04:17

Points well made Dave. The philosophy behind the rules is that the competition is for photographs and not digitally constructed images. In other words, I'm trying to draw a distinction between digital photography and digital art.

photobitz

15th of October 2006 (Sun), 09:33

OK, that's a fair basis for the comp.

Big_B

15th of October 2006 (Sun), 11:50

Great. I love your sig by the way!

PhotosbyKev

15th of October 2006 (Sun), 16:25

Big_B, entry sent :)

photobitz

15th of October 2006 (Sun), 21:27

Great. I love your sig by the way!

Thanks :)

I can't take credit though... I saw it in a magazine somewhere. It made me chuckle at the time being a computer geek and all ;)

catsith

16th of October 2006 (Mon), 14:18

Applying traditional print film limitations to digital photography is silly imho and one reason why I refuse to join the local photography club. I don't really manipulate my images other than very slight adjustments to saturation and contrast and a simple colour balance, as well as USM and Neat Image, but I disagree with the 'old boy' film school atttitudes and that is why I refuse to play by their silly games.

hmm, very old school club then, we all use a bit of it , some a lot of it in our club comp. In fact, the last judge just about photoshopped every photo he was critiquing on, and that annoyed me a bit, as not everyone has the skill or the software.

catsith

16th of October 2006 (Mon), 14:19

okay, i must be a bit slow this morning, but how do i vote?

LordV

16th of October 2006 (Mon), 14:27

okay, i must be a bit slow this morning, but how do i vote?
Tina don't think voting starts until after the comp entry closes on 30th Oct
Brian V.

catsith

16th of October 2006 (Mon), 14:43

okay, thanks brian

photobitz

16th of October 2006 (Mon), 16:21

hmm, very old school club then, we all use a bit of it , some a lot of it in our club comp. In fact, the last judge just about photoshopped every photo he was critiquing on, and that annoyed me a bit, as not everyone has the skill or the software.

I can't help you with the skill so much, but have you tried GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)? It is a GNU public license (that means free) application that was originally written for the linux OS. There is a Windows client available these days and also a plugin (GIMPshop) that gives it a layout similar to Photoshop. I'm pretty sure the functionality is quite similar.

Big_B

17th of October 2006 (Tue), 14:50

More photos online! :D

ron chappel

18th of October 2006 (Wed), 08:08

Number 08 is funny
I can just imagine someone getting in real close with the tripod and closeup lens :lol:

Big_B

18th of October 2006 (Wed), 15:53

I'm going away on business for a couple of days, so will upload the next batch of photos at the weekend

photobitz

18th of October 2006 (Wed), 17:03

Number 08 is funny
I can just imagine someone getting in real close with the tripod and closeup lens :lol:

From the reflection in the eye, I'd say they weren't "too" close. Besides... tree snakes aren't generally agressive. :cool:

There's some very impressive shots on there now! This should be a very interesting competition. ;)

dpastern

18th of October 2006 (Wed), 17:16

Excellent series of images so far, come on guys, let's get a few more entries :)

Dave

johnstoy

18th of October 2006 (Wed), 17:26

we need more entries...I'm waiting to vote...

Personally, I feel that "stacking", are several pictures of the identical subject by the same photographer, just at a different depth of field and focus...IMHO, it should be permitted...

sirsloop

18th of October 2006 (Wed), 20:22

One of those photos was done with the EF 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS lens... i'll let you ponder which one! :D No tubes, converters or anything like that was used. If you saw the photo posted elsewhere, keep your trap shut! :lol: :mrgreen:

photobitz

18th of October 2006 (Wed), 22:29

ingi

18th of October 2006 (Wed), 23:27

i did it (i think) - i just entered my humble photo into my first potn competition

sirsloop

19th of October 2006 (Thu), 08:15

Was it reverse mounted?

yep....

photobitz

19th of October 2006 (Thu), 11:54

:D lol

ctgirl

20th of October 2006 (Fri), 21:43

emailed you a photo, hope you got it (I did it a couple of days ago) Let me know if I have to resend. Thanks.

Big_B

23rd of October 2006 (Mon), 01:45

The next batch is online now :D

dpastern

23rd of October 2006 (Mon), 01:52

Superb entries, damn this is gonna be a tough contest!!!

Dave

photobitz

23rd of October 2006 (Mon), 02:46

Wow! Can I get 8x10s printed out of all those to hang on my wall?

I seriously need to get out of the office and take more shots for this.

sirsloop

23rd of October 2006 (Mon), 09:39

Well, hovering in flight and out of the blue looks like they were the hardest to capture. That hovering one... luck, or patience, probably both! HAHA! Out of the blue is repeatable, but i'm sure wasnt easy to get without a photogate or something. The lighting is fantastic on it though. Definitly a sharp bunch of images all together!

Athena

24th of October 2006 (Tue), 09:13

to enter...or not to enter...
and if so...what to enter...

dpastern

24th of October 2006 (Tue), 17:35

Go on, you know you want to!!!

Dave

Athena

24th of October 2006 (Tue), 22:34

But what to enter? Water droplets, wasps, a beetle, a spider, metal, a frog, a lizard, a flower...?? Too many choices. ;)

Big_B

26th of October 2006 (Thu), 02:06

Another photo online. Keep sending them in people, only 4 more days to go!! :D

photobitz

26th of October 2006 (Thu), 05:16

Ah crap... hopefuly some decent weather on the weekend for the bugs!!!

ron chappel

27th of October 2006 (Fri), 06:25

But what to enter? Water droplets, wasps, a beetle, a spider, metal, a frog, a lizard, a flower...?? Too many choices. ;)

You mean you have so many good pics you can't decide which one ;)?

ron chappel

27th of October 2006 (Fri), 06:29

Ah crap... hopefuly some decent weather on the weekend for the bugs!!!

Don't worry too much about bugs,everyone does those :rolleyes: :).There are other good macro subjects around-did you see the 'macro metals' comp from a few months ago? That pic of the rusty lock was awsome!

photobitz

27th of October 2006 (Fri), 10:01

Don't worry too much about bugs,everyone does those :rolleyes: :).There are other good macro subjects around-did you see the 'macro metals' comp from a few months ago? That pic of the rusty lock was awsome!

I know, I know, but I have a plethora of bugs in my yard that I have not seen before, let alone seen photographed. I'll take my chances with them then look for some still life if that fails.

Athena

27th of October 2006 (Fri), 11:29

You mean you have so many good pics you can't decide which one ;)?

well....yeah, I guess I do. ;)
Unfortunately none of them shines out above the rest for me as THE one. Wanna help me decide? :D

Graphyfotoz

28th of October 2006 (Sat), 09:10

I finally got mine to size but yet to see it posted in the gallery!:confused:
Got 2 more days before deadline. :eek:

Big_B

30th of October 2006 (Mon), 02:19

I was away for the weekend so apologies for the delay in replying to all your PMs. There were various questions about entries that I was unable to respond to before the deadline so I am extending the deadline by 24 hours to the 31st October