May/June 2018 Photography Contest

Food Beginner

Tidelands Photography Club

The vibrant color produces an attractive image. In the bottom half of the image the subject is clear and detailed, but this clarity does not extend to the top part of the image - a slightly different camera angle would have helped you to control the depth of field. There is no particular point of interest in the image - you may have been able to create a centre of interest by deliberately drawing attention to a corn cob that was a slightly different colour or shape.

Beginner “Corn”

9

A well staged image that allows your subject to stand out from the background. The brightest areas of the image are slightly over-exposed and the darkest areas are slightly under-exposed. You could probably recover the lost details in these areas if you captured the image as a RAW file..

Beginner “Brownie Sundae”

12

Beginner “SC Harvest”

13

Your image shows you have given careful thought to setting up the subject. The side lighting is effectively in creating a sense of depth but it has caused some loss of detail in the shadow areas on the berries and the apple at the rear. Perhaps the background would have been less distracting if there were fewer folds and creases.

May/June 2018 Photography Contest

Food Intermediate

Tidelands Photography Club

The directional lighting is effective and the dark background complements the bright colours of the fruit. The very bright spot is a slight distraction and your reason for using one slightly deteriorating aple is not obvious.

Intermediate “Still Life Impression”

12

Your image has some interesting textures and vibrant colours but I don't think you have presented the subject in the most attractive way. The dark vignette detracts from the image rather than enhancing it because it diminshes the importance of the food on the left and right extremes. You have cropped the image a little too tightly.

Intermediate “Grilled Seafood Salad”

10

Intermediate “Fresh Veggies”

8

The colours and details are fine. However, the composition and cropping of this image appear to be accidental rather than deliberate. There are too many elements in the image competing for attention and most of those elements are partially cut off by the frame. The white object on the right (plastic or paper) is a distraction that does not add anything to the message you were trying to communicate with your image.

Intermediate “Romance”

9

You had the ingredients with which to construct an interesting image but several things could be improved. You did not have sufficient depth of field to get clarity throughout the image. The wine glasses are at an odd angle. A simpler image might have been more effiective - just the food, wine glases and bottle. With images such as this it is important to pay attention to small details - such as having the wine bottle open and partially empty if you have wine in the glasses.

Intermediate “Seaweed Salad”

7

An interesting approach to the topic but I do not think you have succeeded in conveying the idea that this seaweed is food. The lack of detail in the seaweed and the over-exposed areas detract from the image.

Intermediate “One of Each

Please!” 7

I guess you were trying to show that there were lots of tasty treats on display. However, most of them are in poor light and it is impossible to work out what some of the things on the right might be. For a competition image it would have been better to cncentrate on one or two specific items in the showcase.

Intermediate “Softshell Crabs”

9

The tight crop was an effective way to approach this image, but perhaps it was a little too tight. With images of this type it is important to have an acceptable level of clarity throughout the image - you didn't quite achieve that.

A simple but effective image with good lighting. The highlights on the grapes add a small but useful dimension to the image, but you might consider removing the highlights from the bottle. There is more space on the right of the grapes than on the left and this creates an unbalanced image.

Intermediate “Wine & Grapes”

11

Intermediate “Grilled Fired Pizza”

14

Including the grill and flames has added interest to the image. The tight crop is appropriate as the image conveys its story without needing to show the full pizza. Color and detail are good.

Intermediate “Just Like Grandma Made”

12

An image with many interesting details and one that encourages the viewer to think. It would be even better if three things were changed. The tomatoes look very dull, a slightly more vibrant red would have given the image more impact. Cutting off the leaves on the left seems to have been an accident rather than deliberate. The blue bag does not need to be there.

You have succeeded in making the fruit look delicious, which is one of the aims of this type of food photography. The clarity and colors in the fruit are very good, but there is some loss of detail in the shadow areas. The color of the background was probably not the best choice. Try changing the color to something lighter and see what difference it makes.

Intermediate “Tuti Fruity”

13

Intermediate “Eating Light”

8

This image is quite dull and it needs to be vibrant to make the food look attractive. A simple brightness adjustment would make a big difference. The out-of-focus leaves are a problem because they are so dominant in the image.

Intermediate “Make It Mango”

7

Perhaps the plate is distorted in reality; it certainly is in the image and this draws attention away from the food. There does not appear to be a good reason for cutting off part of the plate and part of the spoon. The food does not look inviting or tasty - which it should in this type of food photography.

Intermediate “Shrimp & Grits”

8

Very little of this image is in focus. I slight increase in brightness would improve it considerably. It would have been better to place the food on a plain background.

May/June 2018 Photography Contest

Food Advanced

Tidelands Photography Club

Advanced “Life is So Good”

13

A carefully composed image that creates an inviting 'atmosphere'. An appropriate style of lighting, but perhaps it is a little dark. The writing on the glass is a distraction rather than an enhancement of the image since it does not match the label on the bottle. (Perhaps it has a hidden meaning.)

Advanced “Charcuterie”

9

The composition and lighting are effective. The image would have greater impact if the items at the rear were in focus as they are just as important as the items at the front. The cork adds an extra dimension to the story in the image but it draws a lot of attention away from the other items.

Advanced “Tuna Poke”

6

Only a small section of the subject is in focus and there is a very distracting background. Better placement of the food before photographing it might have produced a more pleasing result.

Advanced “Lemon Drink”

5

Too many problems to be a competetive image. The angle of the glasses is a distraction rather than an enhancement of the image. Although the background is out of focus it still draws too much attention. The pattern on the tray under the glases does not contribute anything useful to the image.

Advanced “Crab Stack”

9

You had the potential for a good image here. The subject is interesting and you have captured approporate detail. The composition is a problem, particularly cutting off the top of the strack. A wider angle of view and a slightly lower camera angle might have produced a more pleasing result.

Advanced “Stella”

7

The image is more about the glass than it is about food. You have not managed to make the contents look particularly inviting. The unnecessary reflections detract from the quality of the image. There does not appear to be a reason for placing the glass off centre.

Advanced “Blackberry”

14

Your creative approach to the composition of your image is very effective. The out-of-focus background provides context withought being too dominant. A little more detail in the shadow areas of the backberry would strengthen the image. You appear to have aded a fairly strong vignette and this is not really necessary as the separation of the blackberry from the background is sufficient to focus attention where you want it.

Advanced “Beach Eats”

5

Your image is about 'a place where food is available'. I would have preferred to see an image that told me soemthing specific about that food.

Advanced “Dessert”

14

A thoughtfully composed image, although the crop at the top might be a lttle too tight. You have succeeded in creating an image that tells a multi-layered story about the food and also makes it look inviting and delicious (important aims in this style of food photography). A slight increase in brightness (without over-exposing the cream) would give the image a little more impact.

May/June 2018 Photography Contest

Open

Tidelands Photography Club

Open “Hidden Beauty”

12

The image has impact and the basic story it tells is obvious. You have succeeded in bringing out the textures in the vehicle and in the wood quite well, although you have over-saturated the colors a little. Shallower depth of field would have reduced the dominance of the vegetation at the rear. The sand and grass in front of the vehicle are slightly over-exposed. These are all issues that can be corrected with careful processing.

Open “Juvenile Night Heron”

11

You have achieved good detail in the heron and the muted background produces a pleasant pictorial effect. The heron is at a odd angle. This may have been exactly as you captured the image but rotating it about 20 degrees anti-clockwise would eliminate this distraction and create a stronger image.

Open “Middleton Heritage”

12

Your careful framing of the subject with the tree produces a pleasing composition. You have achieved very good detail in the foreground but perhaps too much detail in the background because the building to the left of the horse is very prominent. Less depth of field might have given a more pleasing result. The colors are slightly over-saturated and this is a little out of character with the subject.

Open “Flower”

7

The very dark backgound with just a hint of colour is appropriate as it removes the possibility that the background will be distracting. The angle of the flower is good and the contrasting colours capture the viewer's attention. The image has a creative feel to it and the colours in most of the petals look like brush strokes. What has let the image down is that you appear to have started with an image that had some technical problems, particularly in the petals on the right. The processing tending to emphasise these imperfections. The centre of the flower is not all in focus. As a result, the image does not show the true beauty of the flower. With images of this style it is generally not a good idea to cut off parts of the petals.

Open “Fantasy Fair”

11

Inserting the super-size moon did add an element of interest and you have captured the atmosphere of the carnival quite well. There is a lot of dark space at the bottom of the image and space on the left that does not add anything to the story you are creating. Some cropping could fix these issues and make the image stronger.

Open “Beach View”

7

You have captured good detail and natural colours but the point you are trying to communicate with your image is not clear. The woman appears to be looking at a phone or camera but this does not create any interest in the image. If there is something significant about his then you needed to make her more prominent in the image. The empty space at the botton of the image takes up too much of the frame.

Open “Not So Fine Dining”

9

From a purely technical perspective, the image is fine - good details and color, and statisfactory composition (although you did not need to show so much of the road). Your image title suggests a particular point of view, but what is the special thing you are trying to tell viewers with this image? Is it that you disapprove of the food offerings of this particular establishment, or this type of food in general? It would have been better to make your point more directly.

Open “Tetons”

9

A reasonably good rendition of this iconic view but the trees are more dominant than the mountains, which was probably not your intension. Selective processing that lightened the trees a little and darkened the mountains and sky so that they were more like their reflections could produce a stronger image.

Open “Magnolia Blossom”

13

A strong example of this style of image. There is sufficient texture in the petals and the centre of the flower - they look very natural. The small amount of detail in the background adds depth and perspective. The amount of space around the flower is appropriate, but it might look better if the space was even on the left and right. There is a minor loss of focus in the front petal but this is not a major issue.

Open “Red Poppy”

6

You started with a simple idea and the composition is effective. However, very little of the flower is in focus and the background is quite distracting. As a result, your reasons for processing the image in this way are not clear.

Open “Who Littered My Home”

8

The juxtaposition of a beautiful bird, a flower and some discarded trash had the potential to produce a thought-provoking image. The area around the bird's eye is clear and detailed, as it should be. The rest of the image gives the impression that some sort of filter was applied to distort it and this does not appear to have improved the image.

Open “Parthenon”

12

A well-executed image that shows something other than the usual perspective on the parthenon. A slightly different camera angle (or crop) so that the image included less of the sky and more of the cliff face might have been even more effective.

Open “Fish Market Seattle”

8

Your images gives some idea of the products being sold, but only the red fish stands out - perhaps you could have featured it more strongly. We can't see what the three men behind the counter are doing or paying attention to, and this diminishes one part of the story-telling potential of the image. I assume you cropped to a square format to eliminate the person who is partially visible on the right - but perhaps it might have been better to capture an image that included a customer interacting with a person behind the counter.

Open “Strawberry Clearwing Moth”

10

Quite good detail on the moth, except for the over-exposed highlights. You would have a stronger image if you croppped it heavily on the right to eliminate most of the out-of-focus flower.

Open “Lonely Warrior”

14

Your image conveys the sense of loneliness suggested by the title. There is good detail where it is needed. You could try selectively lightening the figure to enhance some of this detail. The 'warrior' gives the impression of struggling up the hill and this adds to the story. Perhaps that effect could have been enhanced by keeping the same camera angle but capturing the image when he was a few paces behind where he is in this image.

Open “Old Glory”

13

A well composed image that captures the drama of the event. Overall the image is a little dark, particularly in the shadow areas.

Open “Ravenel Night Lights”

12

An effective capture and treatment of this challenging scene. Had it been possible to do so, you might have captured a stronger image by moving your camera to the right so that the angle between camera and bridge allowed you to fill more of the frame with the bridge.

Open “Dark Before the Dawn”

12

A good example of this style of image - taken at a very approporate time of day. If you had moved further to the right, but still included the same amount of peer, the red part of the sky would have been slightly further to the right in the image and you might have been able to eliminate the blank area on the horizon at the right.

Open “Nesting Osprey”

12

Good detail in the osprey and nest. Natural colors. Given that the osprey was not doing anything special (such as eating prey) a wider angle that included more of the nest might have produced an image that told a stronger story.

Open “Progress on the Amazon”

9

The composition is OK but this is a basic record shot of the bridge and the lighting is rather dull. Think about how you could capture an image of this bridge in a way that would make your image stand out from the crowd.

Open “Proud Peacock”

10

The image was captured at the right moment with the full display of tail feathers. The image would probably have been stronger if you included the full tail. There is something distracting in the background at top left and since this is not a Nature competition you could have removed it.

Open “Fish”

9

The photographic challenge in a situation such as this is to make the most of the oportunity to create a compelling image. The line of fish with the odd red one provided the opportunity but you have to 'work the scene" - explore different camera angles, different distances, different apertures, etc, so that your image tells exactly the story you want it to tell. Be very aware of the background and foreground - and don't be afraid to crop and rotate to construct the best composition from whatever you have captured.

Open “Swan Lake”

13

Well captured, good composition, tells a story. A good example of how a very small thing in an image can make a big difference. Here the swan at the front seems to be looking around to check on the young - thus creating some interaction that strengthens to the story.

Open “Owl Landing Best”

13

You have captured very good detail in the owl, and done so at just the right moment. I think the image would be stronger if it was not cropped quite so tightly.

Open “Colors”

8

Colorful and good detail except for the over-exposed clouds. All the foreground clutter is a distraction that competes with the flag for attention.

Open “X for Better Days”

12

Using the tree and moss to create an internal frame adds to the feeling of age and decay created by the building. Unfortunately, the bright colors tend to counteract this feeling. The image could be a lot stronger if you slightly desaturated the colors.

Open “Kiwi Lotus”

12

The positive aspects of this image are the details in the centre, the textures in the petals and the natural colors. What appears to be a small drop of water in the centre adds a nice touch. In this style of image it is normally best to include the full flower although here cutting of some of the petals seems to have been deliberate rather than accidental (except perhaps near the bottom left). The blurred outline of a second flower in the background helps to emphasise the clean lines of the main subject, although it might be useful to tone down the bright areas in the background.

The details in the door are OK but the composition and/or cropping were not handled carefully enough. The main feature (the door) is cut off at the bottom and what could have been an interesting feature above the door is cut in half. With images of this type it is important to consider what feature of the door you want to emphasise (and why you want to emphasise it).

Open “Entry”

8

A very well captured image that has been framed/cropped carefully. If it was captured as a RAW file you could probaby recover some of the detail in the highlights and boost the reds a little - but that's not a major issue.

Open “Fireworks”

14