POTN G-Series Speed Challenge #2 -Joy - Results

[BottomBracket]

Hi all,

Thanks for bearing with me. I am currently recovering from the flu and I feel so much better compared to yesterday. Thank god I have 24 hours to complete this judging :)

I have had problems viewing the photos in the right size. While most images show the required 640 pixel a side, several did not and I pm'd the people concerned. All replied that they have resized it correctly, and I have concluded that there must be something wrong with my browser. Anyway, I have decided to make everyone eligible (except for the photo taken with a Dreb) since there were no pics that were overly big or small for the challenge.

I like all the entries, and it was really difficult to choose the winning three. In the end I thought to myself, imagine that you are leafing through these snapshots in your hand. Which one reaches out and grabs you, especially when you have joy in mind? Which one brings you a smile to the face more readily than the others? My choices simply reflect that - my choices.

With this in mind, allow me to present the winners.

POTN G-Series Speed Challege Winners

First Place - "Opening The Christmas Present" - Teekay

http://community.netidea.com/teekay/temp/OpeningXmasPresent.jpg

There is no mistaking the emotion what the subject feels in this picture. I'd say that this is Joy in RAW format. I would imagine that the photographer knew what the reaction would be and was ready to snap away when the moment comes. I even like the interplay of colors, how the green sweater matches the yellowish wall and the blue gift against the reddish tones of the bureau and candles on the side. Compositionally I was thinking that it would be better to crop out the candles, but then again, they are there to remind the viewer that this is a special occasion, perhaps Christmas or a birthday.

Congratuations Teekay! You have up to Wednesday midnight to post our next challenge! the ball is now in your hands.

Second Place - "Gotcha!" - Rich Lawrence


http://photography-on-the.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2673

I know, I know, it's a still life picture of toys, but I think it was very nicely set up. At first the eyes are drawn to the captain's smiling face, and then directed to where he is gazing at - a perplexed fish. It is perhaps the interplay of these emotions that got me - one makes the other seem stronger by comparison. I like the colors, how the blues and yellows stand out against a dark greyish background, which I assume is some sort of trash bag made to look like waves, I believe. Don't discount that big wave behind the boat, which threatens to inundate the whole scenario and possibly freeing the fish. What happens next Rich?

Third Place - "Baby Joy" - Pradeep1

http://www.photo.net/photodb/image-display?photo_id=3120258&size=lg


Even a hand cannot hide the emotion of this little guy. I am usually not a fan of frontal flash, but in this picture, it produced an aura around the head, as outlined by the the lighter shade around the head's periphery deepening as you go away. I love the expressive eyes, and makes me long back to the times when my son was much younger. Well done.

Please feel free to discuss the results at the original forum.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=58067

Some Comments on the Runners Up

Judging this was much harder than I anticipated. My basic parameters were show of emotion and the usual compositional elements, but all images had their pros and cons. In the end, I had to choose from what I feel are the best from a good lot. Please take my following comments constructively, and I'm sure some may not agree with me on some of them, but they are just comments from a fellow G-series enthusiast.

Paladin, I like the facial expression on the subject, but I was too distracted by the arm in the foreground and the woman on the right. I would prefer a bit of cropping, but that's just me. Also I believe a bounce flash would yield a softer image and eliminate the harsh shadow. Perhaps a diffuser on the 220EX would help?

KC, That's a great expression on the subject, but I found the skewed horizon a bit unsettling. The image would benefit from a level hrizon.

Pamela, an excellent pic! But as with KC's, I was distracted by the tilting horizon. I love the pose of the three subjects, it really seems like they are enjoying the beach.

Booyah, another great beach shot. I like how the droplets are suspended in midair.

Txfirebug, you have a very interesting pic. Though I liked the subjects' expressions, ultimately, they seemed to blend with the background, which is interesting in itself.

Raj, I really like this pic, and I appreciate the effect you were trying to achieve. It worked out for me. I would prefer though that the image wasn't so closely cropped, giving the granmother a full coiffure. Excellent shot.

ToddlerJoy, this is an excellent shot. I like the image of the baby boiled down to simpler elements. with just a hint of a smile to give character to the pic. Ultimately though, it somehow said "innocence" to me rather than joy.

Mguna, another excellent shot, among the best here. It's just one of those shots that can make their way into a poster or card. But looking at it, gazing at it, I felt it said "peace" or "inspiration" rather than joy.

Leela, another picture I really like. I love the pastel colors the softness of the image. But it seemed to say "wonder or "innocence' rather than joy.

Don, a great portrait. I like the dignified expression of joy. It is just muted when compared to the others' expressions here.

TheFly, I like this shot. What better source of joy than from a friend? The overall picture though has too much background in my opinion. Perhaps cropping down will catapult this from a great one with more oomph.

Whew, there you are folks. These are just my views, and they are meant constructively. I really enjoyed being part of this challenge, and I even feel better now that I'm passing the host duties to someone else! :) Thanks for bearing with me, it's off to a little nap once more....

Pio

[Raj]

Thanks Bottom bracket :-) Nice job & good to hear you are recovering from flu
& congratulations to the winners !! :-)

[thefly]

Congrats to teekay and the other placegetters.

Lee

[paladin]

Pio,
Hope you're beating the flu and on the road to recovery. Thanks for the comments on the photo. I simply could not figure a way to crop her Sis's arm/hand out and still have enough material (literally:) ) to convey why she was so happy. Such is life when one is at a birthday party in a saloon (bar) with a bunch of young girls!:D Thought of taking a diffuser/bounce with me but had enough on my hands with the camera/flash/girls and - I believe - it was Scotch on the rocks that night ... anyway, thanks again for the comments, hope you're feeling better, I had a blast and congrats to the winner(s) and all who posted. Each photo was/is delightful and a true "winner" in its own right. Thanks to all for sharing.
Gil

[Raj]

Pio, for my photo, I simply didnt had any time to compose, it was not a posed shot of grandma, I just wanted to capture when I saw her emotions watching us (me & my wife, she is my wife's grandmother). Just had enuf time to boot up the g3, boost iso & switch to B&W & shoot two quick shots, this one came out better :-)
Thanks for your comments, I am learning :-) :-)

[mguna]

Thank you for allowing me to participate.

Understood your view points.

Regards
GunaM
:)

[deermatt]

none are that great or give me any kind of emotional reaction

[pradeep1]

Yeah...third place. :)

[Don Ellis]

none are that great or give me any kind of emotional reaction
Joy is one of the hardest emotions to capture... it's like a sunburst that comes and goes in a flash. Capturing it requires that the photographer know it's coming and be prepared for it... as in the winning shot. Or by catching it accidentally.

I've taken about 100,000 photos... and not one has joy in it. I think you'll find the same is true for your own shots.

Don

[Pamela107]

????? on the results.
Maybe you should have waited until you felt better.

[Don Ellis]

????? on the results.
Maybe you should have waited until you felt better.
The rules don't allow that...and I'm appreciative of the fact that he met the deadline. For what it's worth, I thought Pio chose the most joyful photo as the winner.

With still lifes, you can shoot your way to compositional perfection. With joy, it's like catching a meteor in the sky.

Cheers,

Don

[rich lawrence]

Don't discount that big wave behind the boat, which threatens to inundate the whole scenario and possibly freeing the fish. What happens next Rich?


Pio
Bizarely, the wave knocked the fisherman onto the sea whilst projecting the fish into the boat....the fish was able to save the fisherman by using the rod and they remain good friends to this day! (the 'sea' was actually a gauzzy scarf borrowed from my understanding.... if slightly bemused wife.)

I'd like to think the placings in both this and the preceding challenge is perhaps some reward for taking pictures in response the challenge laid down...it's the first time that I've done this and have learnt much accordingly. That is not to say that I shall forever eschew the 'back catalogue'.

For what it's worth...I thought Raj's portrait was unlucky not to be placed at least...
judging the balance between good technique and answering the subject matter is going to test our judges methinks.

Well done Pio(aka BottomBracket) for your not inconsiderable efforts.Pleased to hear you're on the mend

Rich

[Pamela107]

Whoa
I wasnt trying to be rude to Pio, I meant otherwise.
On this forum we I think care about each other, and if someone is ill, etc, that we would understand a delay. Honestly I felt that there were other photos better then mine.
Im sry if Pio or anyone else thought I meant to be rude. I guess I should have explained what I meant better. ( I will be more careful when half asleep , and making a replying next time)

Pio you carried your duty through properly and I DO Appreciate it

Thankyou
Pamela

[Don Ellis]

Whoa
I wasnt trying to be rude to Pio, I meant otherwise.
On this forum we I think care about each other...
Pamela
Oh, I didn't jump THAT hard, Pamela. :) But your message did come on the heels of deermatt's terse remark (and I took the time to look up his other posts to get a feel for his responses and they're usually short and sharp), so I did take it negatively.

Judging is the worst part of these challenges. We have the host judge the entries in the interest of time, but I think all of us would like a vote casting (which is not possible for several reasons).

My apologies if I was a bit heavy.

Cheers,

Don

[teekay]

I'm rather surprised I won this one, but thanks! The photo was one of a series of candid flash shots, the under very awkward lighting conditions, made more difficult by the amount of wine I had consumed :-). But it was indeed a joyful moment although far from a good shot technically speaking.

Personally, I thought the two girls by TheFly was the best - really liked the composition and it showed joy. The animation one just left me cold, so it just goes to show how hard it is to judge any photo contest, let alone get consensus.

I will post the next challenge very shortly - thinking of a topic being a challenge in iteself.

[thefly]

Teeday,

What's our next challenge!

[BottomBracket]

Hi all,

Thanks for the get well thoughts, I feel much, much better today. When I first posted the challenge, I didn't think that the word "joy" would be a difficult theme to judge. Boy was I wrong. It is a challenge that is open to many interpretations - I knew that while deciding who was going to win, and I know it more now in these discussions. I had to pick three, and that I did, though I wanted to pick some 6 images as winners. If ever I host a challenge again, I would narrow it down to a specific theme, such as 6 legged striped creatures balancing a ball on their nose. Now that would be rather easy to judge! Anyway, I apologize for the confusion and hurt feelings, if any, and none are taken on this side.

It is good that we can discuss the images here, because what I feel is important in these challenges is not merely winning but learning. That is why I tried to (As Don did) to interject what I felt some of the photos needed. That is not to say that what I suggested is correct, it is merely my feedback on the photos. Others may agree or disagree, but what is important is that we discuss it here, so we can all learn. I'm learning a lot too.

Thanks again Don for getting the ball rolling - I see that it drew out lurkers and oldtimers alike, which is good. Pamela, no need to apologize, no hard feelings this side. Gil (Paladin), you are right when you said all are winners in their own right - to tell you the truth, I agonized over your pic, knowing that it really conveyed joy.

I was quite taken aback by Deermatt's terse, curt post, which seeked to insult all in so few words, with no punctuation even. But a quick review of his past posts revealed that this is typical of his messages, caused one member here to withdraw a posted pic of his daughter, and that he dwells more at the Marketplace forum than anywhere else. I beseech him to have a more positive outlook on life, join the challenges so that we can learn from him, for he seems like a very learned photographer. Only than can he perhaps see joy in other people's images.

Thanks all, Teekay, you have the ball!

Pio