August Photography Competition: Vote Here

The subject in August was 'Happiness' and there were 21 entries so we can go straight into the final vote.

You can see the entries here. Click on a thumbnail pic to see it enlarged, and don't forget the thumbnails are spread over two pages! Alternatively try the 'View Slideshow' link to see them all without having to return to the gallery page every time.

Please remember that this is a photography competition so give some thought to the quality of the image, the composition, use of light, exposure etc and not just whether the subject makes you smile or in some way 'floats your boat'.

Oops!

It's just been brought to my attention that there are some double entries in the August competition. 'IMG_1599' and 'IMG_1629' were both posted by the same photographer and so were 'Bread makes me happy' and 'Horse head'.

This is against the competition rules so those pictures must be disqualified. Please do not vote for them - if you do the votes will not be counted.

EDIT Those pics have now been removed, both from the gallery and from the poll.

Wow, some wonderful pics this month, normally it's possible to shortlist a couple but this time there are six or seven that are very special.

I can't decide which one to vote for.... The quality of entries this month is exceptional and I forgot to enter. In fact I didn't realise it was the 1st September until Imp emailed me this morning!

I've removed the duplicate entries into a 'disqualified' gallery. That might confuse people because the photos aren't in the gallery, but it should stop people voting for them.

Is it possible to get this thread moved into General Discussions again for the duration of the poll?

....Please do not vote for them - if you do the votes will not be counted.

I was going to edit the poll for you, but someone beat me to it

Once again there are a number of posts about the 'exceptional quality' of this month's entries. I disagree. While there are, as usual, a small number of very good entries, there are lots of 'happy snaps'.

I've been to a number of photography courses that included a critique of delegates' work as a starting point and while sometimes painful at the time, it's definitely good for your photography to have the problems in your work pointed out. Comparing your work with others' is a great way to learn and to have someone tell you WHY one pic is better than another really helps. I think we should do that in these competitions. I've posted in the past asking for people to give their opinions on the entries so I'm going to start the ball rolling and I'd like to encourage others to critique the competition entries too. I'd also like to suggest that we try to get a guest critic each month - preferably someone who's not involved in the comp themselves and has some standing and respect a a photographer.

I know this is going to provoke some strong reactions and I'm going to do my best to stick to photographic technique here rather than subjective opinions. I've also consulted a qualified (LBIPP) photographer for a second opinion and found it not a milion miles away from my view - so here goes...

All the fun of the fair

Interesting effect - not sure if a tripod was used here or not, it looks a little bit wobbly somehow. I think for this to work well the composition has to be spot on and this isn't quite there. The bare black patch at the top right doesn't help and I think a little bit of context - some more light from the fairground, tho dimmer so as not to compete, would have helped. This sort of shot is not easy to pull off and this one is nearly there.

IMG_1490 (Simple Pleasures)

A record shot of a roundabout - part of a roundabout in fact. This one I think was shot a bit too early as the colours of the lights are lost in the daylight. Possibly a tad over-exposed too. A bit sterile really - might have worked with some people on the roundabout but even then the photographer would need to be a lot closer to the action to do any more than show something that makes him or her happy..

One boy and his dog

Nice subject and nearly works compositionally. There's a nice triangle with the boy looking at the dog, but the dog is looking away - out of the picture, and takes our eyes with him. Would have been great if the dog had been looking at, or otherwise interracting with, the boy and even better if we could see the expression on the boy's face. Perfectly exposed but not quite sharp.

IMG_1599 (Have bike...) (disqualified)

This is good, nicely captured. There's a lot of extraneous space and clutter on the right and I think this image would benefit from cropping to a square format. Could also do with the background being a little less sharp to reduce the visual clutter still further and concentrate the eye, and the mind, on the boys. The main subject tho is spot on - the boys are looking at the bike and the guy on the front is looking at the camera. Nice one!

IMG_1629 (The winning goal) (disqualified)

The lad is certainly happy, or is he being held by the hands and tickled by two people out of shot? The picture looks a bit contrived - the white background takes the boy completely out of context and we need the sub-title to tell us why he is happy. A bit too closely cropped for me (chopped arms) and I'm not too keen on looking straight up his nose either! I think this would have been good if we could see some football context behind him - the white has a sort of 'image library - shot for business' look to it. Close but not quite there.

P1010... (Happy Emily)

This is gorgeous. Nicely lit, nicely exposed (maybe just a tad dark), nicely caught, and the close crop gives an intimate feel - that we're sharing her happiness. If it were sharp and if the tee-shirt were a little better controlled this would be a cracker. Nice one!

Bliss

Well exposed and sharp - that's a good start! Light looks good and the composition works - tho not quite perfect. There's space on the left that doesn't contribute to the shot, tho without it the bride's arm would be chopped. There's context (in the clothing) and our attention is nicely centered on the couple and the interraction between them. Yup - works for me!

Happy at work

I guess the bee (or is it a wasp?) is the subject and it's been well caught - sharp and well exposed - plenty of detail even if we can't see its face and how happy it looks! The flower, slightly out of focus, gives context without being distracting or too busy. My only complaint about this shot is that the bee is almost lost in the midle of the picture. I appreciate how tricky this sort of shot is but to be a winner the bee really needs to be much bigger.

Bone

I suspect I know this dog! Lovely shot - up close and personal - you can see the suspicious look in his eyes as if we're trying to get his bone! I'm not sure where the dark border came from - it doesn't seem to contribute to the shot. I also don't like the harsh flash shadow, and the 'green-eye' (like human red-eye) effect. The pic would have been a real winner with more natural light - or bounced flash instead of direct.

Leah

A potentially great subject let down by poor photographic basics. Not sharp, harsh direct flash light and the composition is all over the place. The child is in one half of the pic and there's half a plate in the other along with an empty space. The picture would have been much improved if the photographer had got down closer to the child's level - and shot so she was looking into the frame at the plate, or perhaps playing with the food with that expression of glee that children have when doing such things. The right idea but you need to learn some basic camera and composition skills. Don't be satisfied with one image either - shoot lots - from different angles and positions and look carefully at the effect on the images.

Happy child getting wet

Another great subject that almost works but is let down by poor composition. All the action is in the right of the pic. The light actually works well - even tho the child's front and most of the fountain are in shadow. The face is nicely modelled and the sunlight plays on the top of the fountain jet. If only there could have been a little more space to the right and the photographer had created an image of just the child and that one important fountain jet. A moment well caught and a topic well illustrated but it could have been so much better.

IMG_0125

Is he happy? I guess most fishermen would say yes, but the photograph doesn't show it. There's just too much water in the middle - or not enough - the shore intrudes too much for this to work as a wide open expanse sort of shot. Again, getting down closer to the level of the subject would have helped make the pic more personal while perhaps giving more impact to the water as well. How about a fish eye view from just above the water surface?

Happy days

Hmm - yes - I'd be happy if I was sitting there looking at that scene! Well exposed, sharp, nice differential focus, and I like the way the top half of the beer is dark against the light sky while the bottom is light against the darker land. Could be argued that it's a little impersonal perhaps for such a personal topic but a great pic.

Laughing with happiness

Come off it - that cat is yawning! To me there doesn't seem to be a point of interest in this picture. The cat is almost the same colour as the background and isn't quite sharp either. Compositionally the cat is all up at the top left and there's a table leg or something sticking into the pic at the bottom left. Sorry but this is a snapshot.

Happy Horse

Not sure that the horse is happy - relieved probably! Nicely caught shot tho, well executed - pin-sharp, well exposed. Might have been better with a slower shutter speed to get some sense of movement in the water but that would have risked movement in the horse too. Composition lets this shot down tho. What is going on at the right? I think cropping vertically near the white post would still leave space for the horse to move into, and some of the flat water in the foreground could go and let us feel closer to the horse and more involved. Debatable whether this illustrates the topic.

Happy (happy couple)

Another wedding shot and no doubt that they are happy but.... The shot is badly exposed (too dark), badly lit (direct flash with harsh shadow behind the groom's face). Composition isn't perfect, but isn't too bad either - keeps the eye in the picture, but I wouldn't put this one in my album!

Emma (on the slide)

Is that a happy smile or a rictus of terror? Interesting shot. There's a definite sense of movement - that Emma is hurtling down the slide - looks like flash and 'dragging the shutter' (ie slow shutter speed) to get the movement as well (though I wonder if that is just camera shake). Symmetrical composition works for me with the white jumper (?) at the bottom and the white shoes at the top - tho I think it's a bit on the skew and there's a touch of red-eye that could have been 'shopped. Yeah - nice shot!

Happy Jack

Happy? Nope - Jack looks suspicious - like he'd have your arm off if you tried to pinch his bone - maybe that's why the photographer took it from an upstairs window! The lawn looks sharp - I think the dog is too tho he's a bit small to tell for sure. From that height I don't feel involved with the subject - and to be honest, with that expression, I don't think I want to be! A snap shot!

Happy puppy

Happy? Debatable - he looks miserable to me. Blurred? Definitely, tho the rocks in the background are pin-sharp. A great attempt to get down there with the pup - on his level and the sort of shot that makes everyone go 'Ahhh' - but ruined by being out of focus. Maybe the pup was just too close to focus on - try again - it'll be worth it when you get it right!

Horse - head (disqualified)

Not sure how this illustrates 'happy' but it's got the 'wow' factor. Unusual angle, strong diagonal composition, sharp, well exposed in a less than straightforward situation. A great shot but I just don't see happiness there.

Bread makes me happy (disqualified)

And rocks make me choke? I think this one is struggling to fit the subject too even tho it's a fab shot of the seagull up close and personal. Pin-sharp, spot on exposure. Composition is a bit off with lots of space behind the seagull and nowhere for him to go in front. I'd have cropped it vertically just behind his tail feathers. Another great shot but not of happiness.

(Stands well back now and waits for the flames!)

The strange thing is, as someone who thought this month's entries showed a distinct improvement on previous months', I agree with all your assessments, or almost all...

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IMG_1599 (Have bike...) (disqualified)

This is good, nicely captured. There's a lot of extraneous space and clutter on the right and I think this image would benefit from cropping to a square format. Could also do with the background being a little less sharp to reduce the visual clutter still further and concentrate the eye, and the mind, on the boys. The main subject tho is spot on - the boys are looking at the bike and the guy on the front is looking at the camera. Nice one!

I like the clutter on the right and the detail behind. It gives a much greater sense of time and place: corrugated iron roofs, two kids scurrying off somewhere (school?), the dirt road around which they must have been playing, the shack with wooden slats raised off the ground for some reason with the power(?) cable running to it. And does all this detract from the subject? With smiles like that, you've got to be kidding.

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Happy child getting wet

Another great subject that almost works but is let down by poor composition. All the action is in the right of the pic. The light actually works well - even tho the child's front and most of the fountain are in shadow. The face is nicely modelled and the sunlight plays on the top of the fountain jet. If only there could have been a little more space to the right and the photographer had created an image of just the child and that one important fountain jet. A moment well caught and a topic well illustrated but it could have been so much better.

I liked the composition. Having the fountain absolutely dead centre and then the child almost having to squeeze into the shot while getting sprayed by the cold water, makes the shot far more interesting in my view.

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Bread makes me happy (disqualified)

And rocks make me choke? I think this one is struggling to fit the subject too even tho it's a fab shot of the seagull up close and personal. Pin-sharp, spot on exposure. Composition is a bit off with lots of space behind the seagull and nowhere for him to go in front. I'd have cropped it vertically just behind his tail feathers. Another great shot but not of happiness.

I liked this one, the seagull looks smug to me, or at least it's possible to imagine how smug it is, calling out, 'Mine! Mine!' like in Finding Nemo. It might have been better to see the shadow of the bird's head though.

I like the clutter on the right and the detail behind. It gives a much greater sense of time and place: corrugated iron roofs, two kids scurrying off somewhere (school?), the dirt road around which they must have been playing....

Fair point. There can be a fine line between 'clutter' and 'context' and I guess the crossover is subjective. Personally I like tight crops and sharp composition.

Either way Imp - well done on bringing discussion of photography back to the photo comp I love to hear (useful) criticism of my pics, it's the only way I'll inprove

Imp, fairly new to reading this forum, but it's good to have a purely Sheffield based competition.

Not sure how long one is able to vote for, but I've just voted on the evening of 2nd and was a bit surprised to see a critique before the voting had closed, unless of course it only becomes visible when you have already voted; I may have missed that.

Please keep up the critique though, particularly with the second opinion. I'm sure many people, both those with entries and others too, will find it helpfull.

Thanks for your efforts in running the competition, must get round to entering one.