June PhotoActive Photo Challenge winners

What a great crop of pictures the June PhotoActive Challenge produced. The winner was our very own Ian Smith, better know as Mr Cool. Many congratulations Ian – your picture was an outright winner in every sense.

Below are the top six pictures together with my reasons for putting them forward to the poll and some helpful comments. Congratulation Ian and well done everyone.

A
SECOND PLACE

Photograph by Crookymonster
17% of votes

Animation, meaning and context. This picture has all three of the vital components that form a good photojournalistic picture.

The animation is subtle – only the fingers are seen to be moving – yet you can almost hear the wail of the pipes. These pipers are actually making music – they are seen to be playing.

The meaning is obvious – this is a working, playing pipe band based at RAF Halton. We even have graphic confirmation of that, and although this sort of ‘written’ information in a photograph can often be very tiresome, here it is an essential part of the atmosphere

The out of focus background is just enough to put the bandsmen in the context of perhaps a country show – there’s a hint of grass and a summer dress.

To top all this, the colours combinations work very well and the use of a telephoto lens has compressed the perspective while its limited depth of field has ensured that most attention is focused on the piper nearest the camera. All in all, very competently handled.

B
JOINT THIRD PLACE

Photograph by Ianproc
11% of the votes

This photograph made me smile from the first moment I looked at it. I can almost hear that poor lady’s groan of despair. I can only imagine just what she might be saying – “ I simply can’t go on!”. Maybe it was something stronger!

It is the embodiment of a seriously harassed photographer. The moment has been caught to perfection. Again the telephoto lens has done its job well by isolating the figure in a limited depth of field and throwing the background out of focus.

C
FIRST PLACE

Photograph by Ian Smith (Mr Cool)
49% of the votes

The runaway winner this month from Mr Cool himself – and rightly so. This picture completely sums up the very essence of this month’s Photo Challenge ‘Hands’. It is friendly, inclusive, sharing, fun, happy, highly animated and – this is the lovely bit – it is beautifully simple.

The animation has been achieved with absolutely no movement in the hands whatsoever. The running water has done the job perfectly. The hard lighting almost behind the camera (frontlight) has intensified the richness of the colours and enabled a shutter speed fast enough to ‘freeze’ the movement of the water.

Great stuff Ian.

D
FOURTH PLACE

Photograph by Stewart
9% of votes

I thought this was very cleverly done. Stewart has thought about this photograph carefully: the spread of the fingers, the hidden face. Everything comes together very well

I like the contrast of the smoothness of the lad’s skin and the rough texture of the bark of the tree. It is very well framed and perfectly cropped.

I do think the picture might have gained more impact with better, slightly more directional lighting – or maybe even desaturating the colours into black and white and increasing the contrast.

I think this was Stewart’s first entry in our Monthly Challenges and if he goes on like this we can expect great things.

E
FIFTH PLACE

John Glover
3% of votes

It was the excellent lighting and the composition that appealed to me in this photograph.

John is a working artist – he makes his living from painting – so obviously he had all the materials to hand for this photograph – even the finished painting in the background. However, he has thought things out very carefully and I suspect every component of this still life has been placed with considerable care.

The composition works very well and it is complemented perfectly with that lovely directional and high quality sidelight.

I was quite surprised this did not get more attention from the voters, but then the competition this month was pretty fierce.

F
JOINT THIRD PLACE

Photograph by Sudds
11% of the votes

Any photographer who takes photographs while having her hair done deserves to get into the poll. Sudds – your dedication knows no bounds. Brilliant!

What must that bloke have thought of you?

One big criticism – where is the rest of the camera. I actually think you have chosen the wrong subject. YOU were the star of this particular show and judging by the angle of the camera looking at the mirror, I suspect there was a lot more of you on the original picture.

You could easily have created something very special indeed by including more of the camera and your hand holding it. You might even have cropped off the bloke’s head altogether and still won even more impact. He’s not the happiest looking chap anyway.

Every time I look at this picture I want to cut his head off and focus on his and your hands doing their respective jobs – that’s where the picture is.

If you do have more on the original – do please post it and I’ll show you.

Once again, congratulations everyone. Ian’s photograph will now go forward to the new end of year members’ poll to choose the overall winner for the year. The winner also wins a day of one-to-one photography tuition with me here in SW Scotland.

The subject of the July PhotoActive  Challenge is ‘ON FOOT’ post your entries now on the PhotoActive Forum Registering for the PhotoActive Forum is simple.