Our last photo assignment was Adventure and we had lots of great submissions. But there can be only one winner. And the winner is IMG_1182 by kyleplattner.
This photo is heavily processed. And the technique is a popular one that is very hip these days. Accordingly, it’s not typically something that I enjoy because let’s face it – I am hardly hip. But this particular combination of crop, composition and process created a very impactful image that works well. If the winner sends us an e-mail, we’ll get busy sending them all the prizes.
The runner up was Adventure Keith Rowell. We liked this image because of its drama. It was a close call between the two.
Thanks to everyone who entered.
This week’s assignment – should you decide to accept it – is to photograph WATER. That’s it – no other guidelines – (other than keep it clean – remember our TWIP Flickr Group rules – kid-safe photos only please.)
You can post ONE image to the new Flickr – the TWIP CONTEST POOL and we’ll do the rest. You can also just use the old tag system if you prefer and tag the image with the current theme.
We’ll pick one or two of the images we really like to talk about and feature on the blog – and if we really like something, we’ll send a free book, (or two or three or whatever we have tossed into the prize pool that week) to the winner.
So have at it. You have until June 18th at 5:00 PM – PST to post your images. You can still post images with this theme after the deadline – but we won’t consider them for our TWIP Photo Assignment Competition.
If you’d like to chip in, please suggest some future themes you’d like us to explore in the comment section below. Have fun.
This post sponsored by Lensbabies.
Theme Suggestion: Darkness
I honestly think you guys called this one wrong.
The clever use of shadows in the runner up picture yells “Adventure” far louder than the winner.
Maybe someone will tell me this trick has been pulled before and that sort of use of shadows is a bit cliched. I don’t though think I’ve seen anything quite like this.
No disrespect to the winner but when all is said and done it is a fairly routine photograph of a woman who happens to be splashing in some water. The rest is all rotation and other processing in Photoshop.
Dennis we get told we got it all wrong every single time we run one of these competitions. And that in and of itself is a good lesson. If 100 judges were put in charge of this competition – we’d probably get 80 different winners.
As for the rest of your comments, they can be instructive to future participants because they will help them understand what we’re looking for – and what we’re looking for is the END RESULT.
We don’t care one little bit how hard – or how easy it was to make the final image. We don’t even mind cliche if done right. We don’t judge the process. We judge the result.
While I agree that the margin between winner and runner up here was as close as it’s ever been, there was just something about the flair of the first image that did it for me.
Fair enough, Scott. Like many forms of art (which I consider photography to be) there are no right and wrong answers. Appreciation of a photo is subjective, and different people will value different aspects.
Which means you can’t declare a winner without someone like me arguing about it, but it is your call and that’s all fine and dandy.
Scott,
I agree with you regarding the subjectiness of photo contents.
After all, it is the TWIP Photo Assignment. If a person’s only reason to particiapte in this is to win, then I beleive they are missing the point of the whole thing.
As a person with limted shoot time, I use these to focus my attention and to experience what the world of photo journalism would be like. Not to mention the valuable feedback I get from the other members of the various pools.
I can understand some people’s frustration with the various picks not matching what would be thier choice but that is exactly it. The ‘winner’ is the photo that attracts the attention of the judges, something so highly subjective it’s not funny. If you are looking for a checklist on how to win, unfortunaley there is only one box: Stand Out Above The Crowd
@Dennis actually I appreciate your argument. I am glad you posted. This is exactly the kind of disagreement I embrace. When it’s presented in the way you did it – it is in fact helpful and sparks intelligent, beneficial discussion. Thank you.
How do you figure Keith Rowell did that dual-sun effect on his pic…one shining from the left, and another seeming to rise or set in the north? A neat effect…looks like it was taken on Tatooine. :-) A double exposure I guess…gives me ideas.
Cheers for those kind words, Scott. All I have to do now is get my photography up to the standard of my commenting!
;-)
Dennis, I’m glad you liked my image, thanks :)
I have to say though, I totally agree with Scott. It is the TWIP photo competition after all and the winner is whatever the judges choose. I’m totally thrilled to have my image as runner up. If Scott could just correct the spelling of my name (Keith Rowell), I’d be even happier :)
Congrats to Kyle Plattner and his winning image by the way, great shot. As soon as I saw the image I knew it would be a possible winner.
This makes me think that some people believe that the quality of a finished photo can only be judged in the quality of the initial shot (how hard it is to take, what kind of camera used, etc…) and that post processing is negligible, whereas others weigh the post processing to get the final image just as much as the initial capture. I’m biased, having a digital techie background, and appreciate the effort that goes into editing, but it’s an interesting debate.
For what it’s worth, although both photos are great, I feel that Keith’s shot is more representative of the Adventure theme. The shadows offer a sense of intrigue, mystery. Who are these people, and what are they up to?
Kyle can’t resubmit that for the water assignment right? because nothing wins photo contests better than a wet lady :)
Scott, or anyone else:
How much digital processing can you do to a photograph before it stops being a photograph and becomes, for want of a better term, a digitaly created artwork?
Although I like the winning image, to me it is more digital artwork than photograph.
Perhaps having been involved with archieve photography in the past, where the authenticity of the original image is paramount, I am more sensitive to this issue that most.
John
@John F this is getting off topic so post this please on the Flickr group. I want to keep the thread focused on the contest pool.
Sorry Scott, I should have worded my question better.
I was thinking in terms of the contest pool but never said so. The question I should have asked was:
“How much digital processing can you do to a photograph before it stops being a photograph and becomes, for want of a better term, a digitaly created artwork and therefore becomes ineligible for a photo contest?”
I appreciate that some subjects, e.g. HDR and panoramas, can only be created in post processing so different subjects will have different boundaries.
John
you should link to the winner’s flickr site as well as the runner up!
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I would love to see some really challenging contest themes in the future. So far they have been fairly straight-forward (“doors”, “signs”, etc.) and it would be great to also see some descriptive and conceptual words for the photo challenge (like “loneliness”, “strength”, etc.).
Thanks again for the blog and podcast! :)
I’m not sure I’ve got my photo added correctly. I can see it in the contest group if I’m signed on to Flickr, but it doesn’t show up if I’m not signed in.
Can anyone verify that GrandCanyonRafting (posted by Mike Cargal (there is another grand canyon rafting picture there))
I suspected something to do with privacy settings, but everything would seem to be set correctly.
If it’s not visible, can someone give me a hint?
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Where, exactly, can I find a list of the prizes for a given contest?