CHAT - Weekend Competition 11th Jan - 13th Jan 2013 Beautiful/Beauty

[donoreo]

Originally Posted by nick_gray

If you had taken your daughters along, you could have done 'Beauties and the Beasts'

Nick

They were with me, that was why I was there. They do not stay still long enough there for me to take a photo.

[kerbside]

Well must say i thought that the "Beautiful Sunset" was just right for the topic however i gave my vote to Nick for the composition factor.

Would like to thank Sabrina for her vote, must admit i was hard pushed to find a suitable topic.

Up - my little beauty

Great take on the topic and what a subject, lovely features. Cant say a lot more about the picture, i may of tried and darkened the leather a tad but thats about it.

Beautiful Sunset

Great picture just missed my vote Dave as i tghought it just a tad dark and prefered the earlier picture or HDR cionversion, however wish i was there, great composition with the boat etc:

[Sabrina_De_Winter]

Congratulations Dave, nice picture

Up: signs of beauty
I don't know really what to say about it. I like the idea and the composition is good.

Down: Beautiful Stained Glass Window
A beautiful picture of a beautiful art. I voted on it, the picture attracted me some way.

[wavemachine]

Wow thanks, I really thought Nick was going to win this week or at best I would draw with him even still it was a tight margin so well done Nick on a great idea and a great shot.

Thanks to Cutter, DigiDiva, hssutton, Jimbojumbo, mabbutt, nick_gray, tcaisley, wil59 for my votes.

Jeff thanks for the crit I agree it is a tad dark but that is easily sorted

It was a tough call between Nick and HSuttons - Winter Beauty but Harry's just sucked me in, I loved the colours and the silky look of the flower petals so well done Harry.

Up - Kerbside - Beautiful Stained Glass Window

I think you did a great job getting the exposure so well controlled i.e. the detail of the glass and the lovely texture of the stone only picky thing is the converging verticles make the shot look a tad squiffy so wonder if a bit of fiddling with the transform tool in PS could have straightened them out. A good shot that was superbly exposed.

I have a few ideas for the next theme and will post it up soon

[DigiDiva]

Congrats - fab win, well done critiques etc later

[nick_gray]

Thanks for the close run competition Dave, in early running I thought you were going to win easily with your great sunset, but thanks to some really appreciated votes for mine, it got close, right up to the finishing line with you eventually being a very deserved winner.

My daughter was really pleased with a photo of her doing so well, and I think she might actually pose for me again in the future now.

My shot was a moment of inspiration that I immediately acted on before I forgot what I was going to do (something to do with my age). It was the second time I'd used my speedlite in a shot (the first being my beer bottles last week), I had to aim the flash 180 degrees away from my daughter, else the shot was bleached out, but it gave the strange eye highlight, which is a picture on the wall behind me in my hallway. I might take the photo again, but I think I'd use natural window light for the catch light. I've also bought a book on using the speedlite and now know how to turn down the flash power

UP

The End Of A Beautiful Affair:

A great idea, and pretty good execution. However I felt that the shot was a little cramped, I'd like to have seen a wider shot, with a bit more of the shirt as it took me a little while to work out it was a collar, and perhaps a little more of the rose bud being in focus.

DOWN

Signs of beauty:

At first glance I thought this was a one of those ransom notes you sometimes see in films, it wasn't until I went to your flickr site that I read that it was a collage of letters from shop signs that formed the word, so very clever idea and photo title - once I'd worked it out, sorry for being slow. I wonder if it might be better with a thinner border, or more white space between the characters and the border, I think at the moment the border is swamping the letters.

Hopefully you'll read these as light-hearted suggestions and remember that they are only my opinions.

Here's to next week, where I'm sure Dave is just trying to make it harder for us. I, as usual don't have any idea what I can do.

Regards

Nick

[nick_gray]

Originally Posted by donoreo

They do not stay still long enough there for me to take a photo.

I know what you mean, but you wait, in a few years they'll really slow down, and keep saying "can we go home yet"!!

Nick