next thread »

[mramshaw]

As suggested by Littletank. I have been shooting my mouth off lately, feel free to leave feedback.

This is a composition challenge, the important thing is how successively you think you have
framed your subject. Of course, that is a very subjective thing, so I am not sure whether or not
this challenge can have any winners, but perhaps we may all pick up an idea or two about what
good composition consists of (or doesn't).

1) Gliding:

 

2) Winter Sunbeams:

 

3) American Coot:

 

4) Winter Rain:

 

5) Wasp:

 

I had some other candidates, you can see them in this album:

    http://www.23hq.com/mramshaw/album/5017279

Have fun! I kind of enjoyed going through mine, there were some pleasant memories and
also some pleasant surprises. Remember it's how the whole picture is framed, or rather to
repeat - it's a Composition challenge. But obviously better pictures will look better-composed.
And they must be uncropped, and unprocessed. In other words, exactly as the camera took
them. But more importantly - as you the photographer framed them.

[paynekj]

Just to clarify .. No processing at all?

So everything is going to be in landscape format rather than portrait and we can only present full size images? and does this mean we can't use RAW because we would have to process them for others to be able to view them?


I like your sunbeams photo best as it leads my eye into the photo and I'm almost feeling like a I have to squint to see into the sun.

I'm not sure about the coot. I'm torn between wanting a closer crop so I can see the coot itself better or a more wide-angle view that shows more of the ripples.

[mramshaw]

Thanks for the comments Kevin, they are appreciated.

Just to clarify .. No processing at all?

Yep. As we are all gentlemen here and it's just for fun, and not everyone has original JPEGs,
I think Raw is okay with me as long as it is only normal (i.e. batch or something) processing.
So no post-processing, i.e. selective sharpening, or selective anything really.

I didn't come up with the criteria but it seems to me allowing JPEGs only is a little extreme.
I understand the thought process behind this idea, though.

So everything is going to be in landscape format rather than portrait and we can only present full size images? and does this mean we can't use RAW because we would have to process them for others to be able to view them?

I have a bit of a blind spot with respect to verticals; I hadn't even considered them. Rotation
is fine with me too, as long as they were composed as verticals. Yes, you can shrink them for
viewing if you want, but this may not help your cause. I uploaded full-size JPEGs to 23hq as
I felt the challenge was somewhat aimed at me.

If you are going to be processing them for this challenge, I would prefer whatever settings you
use for this normally. If you normally manually tinker with the exposure, I'd say that's out and
you have to use 0 EV (in other words, as close to no post-processing as possible). And the
same for Noise Reduction, Curves, Cropping. So just the picture as close to the encapsulated
JPEG as possible.

[littletank]

Pardon me for butting in but the idea was, in the first place, just an idea. I had hoped, that if it was thought to be any good, then a set of criteria would be worked out, published and that the challenge would be open to all those who view the videos.Part of my thought was that it might encourage viewers who are not yet confident in using GIMP and, oh yes, very important, entries would be anonymous and eventually all would be ublished and reviewed.

[Rolf]

Yes, Norman is right. Don't let your powder get wet early.... ;-)

Or see it as a training ground. I'll do a kind of this in the  podcast, details of course secret!

[di98jgu]

I like this idea it's a great one, unmodified jpeg's directly from the camera.

The rules is strait forward. No post processing other then the obvious one like rotating the image and transforming it to jpeg. No curves or cropping and so on. Just strait out of the camera, or from the collection, and up on the net.

It's a good subject for Rolf's shows as inspiration and help.

So why not kick it off ?

I can easily imagine a few of my own to add...

[nachbarnebenan]

> If you are going to be processing them for this challenge, I would prefer whatever settings you
> use for this normally. If you normally manually tinker with the exposure, I'd say that's out and
> you have to use 0 EV (in other words, as close to no post-processing as possible). And the
> same for Noise Reduction, Curves, Cropping. So just the picture as close to the encapsulated
> JPEG as possible.

I understand curves, contrast, unsharp mask, denoising and saturation/hue lightness adjustment are off limits, but what about those other things ufraw does, like different interpolations, lens and vignetting correction, white balance, channel multipliers, automatic exposure and black point selection (the rules say the settings used normally and for ufraw-batch this is activated for me all the time), different color spaces and profiles, messing around with the linearity and gamma (i do that quite often) or greyscale conversion?
If all this is ok with you, this photo I took at a students demo/strike yesterday should suffice the rules:

   

I did not process this photo in batch mode, but only selected the white balance in ufraw. If you doubt it, here is the proof: rapidshare.com/files/311831006/ufraw.mp4

[monoceros84]

> If you are going to be processing them for this challenge, I would prefer whatever settings you
> use for this normally. If you normally manually tinker with the exposure, I'd say that's out and
> you have to use 0 EV (in other words, as close to no post-processing as possible). And the
> same for Noise Reduction, Curves, Cropping. So just the picture as close to the encapsulated
> JPEG as possible.

I understand curves, contrast, unsharp mask, denoising and saturation/hue lightness adjustment are off limits, but what about those other things ufraw does, like different interpolations, lens and vignetting correction, white balance, channel multipliers, automatic exposure and black point selection (the rules say the settings used normally and for ufraw-batch this is activated for me all the time), different color spaces and profiles, messing around with the linearity and gamma (i do that quite often) or greyscale conversion?

If I were Rolf and would kick off such a challenge I would prohibit also such stuff. It's a composition challenge and no "get the best from allowed UFRaw edits". I would even beg not to rotate or crop. You will be forced to do EVERYTHING right before hitting the shutter. Maybe I would not force 5 but - say - 2 images but then one version without ANY edits and one version fully edited. That could be really interesting. How good do people get it right in the beginning and how much can you get out of it in the end. Do good initial pictures really allow better final images?

Of course you can't get a RAW file into a JPEG without any settings. But each camera allows shooting JPEG. That would be the way to go.

[di98jgu]

Maybe this will work as a rule:

Only non destructive editing is allowed nothing more. So you may turn your image in other words but Gimp is hands off.

[nachbarnebenan]

Ok, this is what I came up with for basic challenge rules:

- Every participant ought to enter 5 photos into the competition.
- They have to be posted in a single topic on the mtg forum started by the participant in the appropriate sub-forum.
- All 5 photos must be uncropped and may not be rotated other than change of orientation (vertical/horizontal).
- At least 2 photos must have been shot after the start or announcement of the challenge. (This rule is probably the least likely to stay.)
- At most one of the photos may be edited with Gimp or any other photo editor.
- If working in raw, no manual settings may be applied in ufraw and the correct color profile and srgb output color space setting must be used (e.g. converting in ufraw-batch mode). Automatic white balance, black point and exposure correction can be used, as cameras shooting in jpeg will apply them, too. As proof, the original raw files have to be made available to the judge(s) before the end of the challenge.
- The participants explicitly allow their entries to be shown in an mtg episode, either in modified or unmodified form, either alone or in combination with other entries.

Well, it may not be watertight but at least should be a start.

[nachbarnebenan]

Ok, I hope I'm up to this and don't make too much of a fool out of myself. 5 shots straight out of the camera/ufraw.


This one, again, is from the students strike. These are the remains of some of the university rector's rooms after the student stampede gave a visit. Single shot - I waited for the mail delivery, sneaked in behind her, shot, and made sure to get out of there.


   
A model railway from the xmas exhibition in our main railway station. This was a hassle to shot (the railway is moving, btw), as the light was bad and the artificial snow reflected the flash quite well. One out of circa 25 shots.


   
Something which makes me really sad. I've known this carousel since I was a child. And my parents knew it since their childhood. One out of about 30 shots - there were always police officers and firemen getting in the way.


   
Just a random shot from the zoo. The "5 tons" sign on the top is a joke, this bridge would probably crumble if the zoo director stepped on it. Single shot.


   
Another random shot, this time of a tree at a lake. Single shot. Ok, I cheated with this one and used a polfilter. Hope nobody notices. Otherwise, this peacock http://www.23hq.com/nachbarnebenan/photo/5143903 has to fill in.

[monoceros84]

Has the challenge already started? Have I missed it?

[Rolf]

No "official" challenge, just forum users challenging them self. :-) But good.

[monoceros84]

No "official" challenge, just forum users challenging them self. :-) But good.

Aha, ok. I initially understood that this should turn into a "real" challenge with deadline, rules and announcement in the blog.

[Dan]

http://www.23hq.com/DanFish/photo/5144758/original
Merry go round. Arson or accident?     He Did it!!
Dark image here.. perhaps some adjusting.

http://www.23hq.com/DanFish/photo/5144757/original
5 Tons?  Not my 5 Tons..

Perfect snow.
http://www.23hq.com/DanFish/photo/5144760/original

Colorful riot.
http://www.23hq.com/DanFish/photo/5145063/original