CHAT "MOTION" Weekend Competitiion 12th/13th December 2009

[chriscraft]

You know what they say...never work with children or animals...and especialy not fish!!! lol.thanks for the critque

[bsmith]

Thanks for the kind words Andy, I was tempted to vote for your fine shot, it was my second choice so well done. I honestly think that for posting first yo should get the "bonus point" and be declared winner.

A great range of ideas and fine shots this week congratulations to all that entered.

I 'm just back from collecting my wee dog from the vet, following a knee Op so will do my above and below bit later, who else is in favor of Andy getting the bonus point

Bob

[jinky]

As someone who has had two joint firsts - and posted first on each occasion - I still think there is nothing wrong with a tied win. After all the comp says the image can be taken within in a given time frame but then a latyer poster can be penalised maybe becayuse their planned event took place later in the time framnme allowed not because they could not be bothered but because they waited. Given there is no prize involved I like thelaurels to be shared out and I don`t think it hard for joint winners to agree a theme and share up the tasks as me and Bob and Ian did.

As ever though in this democracy I will go along with the majority and you have my "vote". We are never very good at agreeing / sticking to rules are we

[oggalily]

Well done to the winners. Again (at risk of repeating sentiments expressed above) a wide variety of entries and lots of interesting takes on the theme.

Above and below:
Delamanda - Music in Motion cool shot and really well captured. My only crit is the composition as you can't really tell what instrument is being played. I would have placed the subject a bit more to the right. Great softness and great timing in the capture.

TommoR - long way to the try line - the lighting and pose on this shot are great. The motion blur looks like a post-processing addition (correct me if I'm wrong here) and whilst it effectively isolates the player from the background it looks a little unreal to me. It's a tough balance to strike as I suspect if you toned it down a bit the crowd behind would start to play a more prominent part of the picture than you would like. I do like the sense of anonymous excitement though.

[matt wilson]

Sorry I didn't enter but would like to say I voted for the Phoenix .It grabbed me as soon as I saw it .However I think I would have called it Peace as to me I instantly thought of a Dove floating above the Earth..

Bob your sports shots are top notch there's no doubt about that .

The Santa dash appealed too..as it does give a sense of movement.

If possible I wouldn't mind a bit more info re the light painting .(was it freehand or was the torch aimed at an object?)

Originally Posted by jinky

As someone who has had two joint firsts - and posted first on each occasion - I still think there is nothing wrong with a tied win. After all the comp says the image can be taken within in a given time frame but then a latyer poster can be penalised maybe becayuse their planned event took place later in the time framnme allowed not because they could not be bothered but because they waited. Given there is no prize involved I like thelaurels to be shared out and I don`t think it hard for joint winners to agree a theme and share up the tasks as me and Bob and Ian did.

As ever though in this democracy I will go along with the majority and you have my "vote". We are never very good at agreeing / sticking to rules are we

I totally agree that a tie is a tie and insist the laurels be shared Especially as I'm new to this sort of thing and will need assistance setting the Thread, Poll etc., - Although I have an idea for the next challenge - (on its way by email to Bob)

Originally Posted by matt wilson

Sorry I didn't enter but would like to say I voted for the Phoenix .It grabbed me as soon as I saw it .However I think I would have called it Peace as to me I instantly thought of a Dove floating above the Earth..

Bob your sports shots are top notch there's no doubt about that .

The Santa dash appealed too..as it does give a sense of movement.

If possible I wouldn't mind a bit more info re the light painting .(was it freehand or was the torch aimed at an object?)

Info on how I created the image:-

The basic principle of digital photography is 'the process of recording the light reflected off the objects or scene via the cameras sensor, and Light painting works in exactly the same way by recording the light source from a torch / illuminated object utilising a long exposure.

To create the image Silver Phoenix, the camera was set up outside in the dark, in manual mode as follows; ISO 100 (to minimise, avoid any digital noise) F stop f/8, and an exposure time of 4 seconds (although these settings can be increased or decreased to suit the desired effects you are after).

An LED torch was then swung around in the dark in front of the lens by my son (taking care not to shine it upon himself or adjacent objects) and each swing or successive stroke of the torch is accordingly recorded for the duration of each take, showing brighter when the light is directed at the lens.

Effectively, I ended up choosing two, of about 15 photographs, from simple streaks, to bundles of figures in 8s, circular configurations and ovals, With the notable 3 dimensional effect arising from the direction in which the torch pointed, and the physical shape of the beam of light provided by the three LED bulbs (set in a single row) producing the thick and thin effect, like an italic nib.

Choosing the 'globe' effect as a starting image, a colour balance adjustment was made to emphasise the Blue (and as with any post processing you can select small areas to tweak, introduce any effects you desire). A new layer was then opened, and the Phoenix element (created from a figure of 8 motion) was then pasted in, resized and positioned to suit the composition.

The combinations and creations are limitless - have fun.

[bsmith]

Thanks for the write up Andy very creative indeed, and for the ideas, I have posted the chat for next week already so there is no excuse for lack of time this week

Above and below crit

Ghost fish: I thought the idea was a good one, and making use of what is about you to make your image is also great, it didn't quite grab me though. I think ( and its easy to crit after the event) concentrating on one fish so a tighter crop with deeper colours would have been better.

Race Motion: another very good shot worthy of entry, to improve this shot it may have been better taken as the rider was parallel to the lens so that the hedge was a complete background, rather than having him split over the building, the reflective element at the lower edge is also distracting. The speed used to take the image is great giving just the right amount of blur and colours are also very well balanced and exposed, so close to being a great shot , this makes me think about what I'm doing and will pay closer attention to my backgrounds.

All the best, Bob

[Delamanda]

Well done Beaux and Bob!

Above and Below: Both great images with motion - former implied and the latter visible. Either one could have got my vote if it hadn't been for that phoenix, which just did it for me!

Del

[HinFrance]

Congrats to our joint winners. I will try to get an entry in this weekend, but I feel that it may again be compromised by the reality of Christmas demands.