It’s another post of my recent entries into my local club competition. Each month we have two categories – EDI (Expressive Data Imagery) and Print. The print category has been a learning experience because not everything looks exactly the same when printed out as it does on the screen.
April Club Competition Entries
April’s EDI subject was an open section which is defined as:
“Open”
Any subject but it should contain one or more of the following qualities: Pictorial (composition), impact, appeal, story-telling or interest.
The first image is a USAF F22 Raptor performing a display at the Avalon Airshow this year. It was a challenging experience trying to photograph fast moving aircraft against a sky facing west resulting in the sun often being directly in front, and it got overcast later in the day. I was using a Sigma 150-600 Contemporary lens with a FTZ adapter on my Nikon Z6ii. I learned a lot and this was one of my favourite shots.
The second image is an image of the Rone Time exhibition at Flinders Street station, an amazing and emotional exhibition. I was a bit concerned with submitting an observation of another artist’s work, but the judge was quite complementary of the image. I felt that the way that I had structured the shot, being a part of the whole scene that it was ok, I doubt I would enter this into anything but a local club competition though.
April’s print section subject was Sunrise & Sunset which is defined as:
“Sunrise & Sunset”
Made during the period of sunrise or sunset, in which the sky area is dominant.
The first image is taken from Princes Pier in Melbourne looking towards the West Gate Bridge, a long exposure using NISI filters, ND6 or ND10 and possibly a graduating ND3 filter.
The second image is a dawn/sunrise shot at the Mount Macedon Cross, I had struggled to get a decent sunrise shot that day. This was taken on the same morning as February’s shot.
May Club Competition Entries
May’s EDI subject was Bridges, Rivers & Streams which is defined as:
“Bridges, Rivers & Streams”
Where the bridge, river, stream or combination of these, is the hero
The first image is a pedestrian bridge in Sale, the Pearsons Crossing bridge. The sun was close to setting, not quite golden hour but it did manage to produce some good light. I am disappointed in my lightroom editing there is a major problem with the tree on the left and the sky showing through it, it’s like a halo around the leaves.
The second image is a bridge near Little River in Victoria, Rothwell Bridge. I tried a number of different shots but ultimately felt that a more unusual focus on just one buttress with two arches only partially visible. I also felt that using it as a black and white photo would work better. The grass, background and sky no longer pose a distraction to the bridge, allowing the stone’s texture to become a major aspect of the photo.
The May print section subject was Still Life defined as:
“Still Life”
Created still life is of inanimate objects that have been arranged to look a certain way
I didn’t want to do a more traditional still life, to be honest I’m not a huge fan of still life so I wanted to try something different. The first image is two glasses of very nice single malt scotch, one in a glencairn glass on it’s side and one in a different glass staying upright. I was very happy with how the table contrasted with the colour of the whisky, with appropriately moody lighting. The whole photo comes across with a warm feeling which is appropriate for enjoying a nice glass of whisky. I did enjoy drinking the subject matter once I was happy with the photos.
The second picture is really just trying to do something out of the box with random technology I had lying around, working in IT that wasn’t too hard. I wish I had been able to do something to make the edgerouter lights blink. As it was I was using a red gel filter to cast a some red highlights on things and I think that really worked quite well.
June Club Competition Entries
June’s EDI section subject was Reflections which was defined as:
“Reflections”
Where the reflection of a subject provide the centre of interest, which can be produced by water, windows, metal or mirror
I had high hopes for this subject and for a couple of months I was thinking about what I wanted to compose as my two reflections images. I then found no time to actually go out and accomplish those shots. So I had to look through my catalog of past photos and find something that fit the criteria.
The first photo is back at Princes Pier, a long exposure of pier pylons that is all that is left of the end of the pier. This is a quite common shot, long exposure, most likely at golden hour taken with NISI ND Filters to allow for the long exposure. I was happy with the contrast of the almost yellow wood in the evening light and the deep blue of the water, the long exposure gives the water an almost mirror like look that you could almost walk on.
The second photo is Sale Harbour, an evening shoot that I was hoping for a nice sunset, but ended up with just a long exposure of the harbour as the light faded. It was quite windy so the water was more rippled than I would have liked but I think it adds a bit to the reflection.
The June print section subject was One Candle Photography which was defined as:
“One Candle Photography”
Use 1 candle only as your lighting choice and the candle needs to be visible in the image
I nearly didn’t submit anything for this section, but after trying a couple of shots with a Woodwick candle I was happy with the results.
The first picture is a close up, almost macro, of the wood wick and flame. I was very happy with how this came out, but not so much with the glow on the edge of the candle glass container. I did try editing it out but my lightroom skills are not good enough. I did manage to mat the picture for display so that it wasn’t as obvious which I think made a difference.
The second picture is the same candle with a black glitter speckled background, I tried the image as a colour image and black and white, as you can see I chose the black and white, I think it ensures the glass rim of the candle isn’t as distracting and subdues some of the background. Overall not an exciting image but I think it works.
When I can find more time I’d like to devote one of these posts to more than just the final image, with some details on how I choose the images for competition entry and the editing process.
