Start as you mean to go on......

[stevegreen]

So last night saw the first merit slide competition at my camera club and I had entered four slides in the intermediate section. I wasn't really expecting much as I had entered three of the four slides before and not got anything more than a commended on one of them.

Last night was a different judge though and I placed really well with this getting first place and this getting commended.

That puts me in a strong position for the remainder of the season after one competition and though I was going to concentrate more on prints this year (having even bought a mount cutter) I think I shall have to make sure I put some strong entries in in the slides section now and see if I can win the end of season trophy again.

[bodoman]

Well done Steve , one thing i am confused about is the the film terminology that is used, Slides & prints?, but you are shooting in digital.

Sure there is a simple explanation

[stevegreen]

It's the format they are presented in Brian.

It is a bit old school to be honest, the judge was talking very much about slide film and the fact that it's very difficult to get black and white slides these days. Obviously mine were digital images transferred to slide which I am sure he knows can be done and also falls within the rules of the competiton.

I'm guessing that slide competitons are getting toward the end of their meaningful life now as very few people will actually shoot slides these days and if they want to keep the projected image part of the competitions they will probably be forced to move toward digital projection as a means of showing the pictures.

Personally, I think the club I am in might be a little slow on the uptake of digiatal photography, it does appear to be very 'traditional' as there are more slide competitions than digital in the programme. As I said earlier, I am trying to concentrate on prints this season as that is a nice format to work in.

[BananaTiger]

Congrats Steve. Your ghostly walk is definitely a cracker. I didn't know you could convert digital images to slides. Something new everyday

[bodoman]

Originally Posted by stevegreen

It's the format they are presented in Brian.

It is a bit old school to be honest, the judge was talking very much about slide film and the fact that it's very difficult to get black and white slides these days. Obviously mine were digital images transferred to slide which I am sure he knows can be done and also falls within the rules of the competiton.

I'm guessing that slide competitons are getting toward the end of their meaningful life now as very few people will actually shoot slides these days and if they want to keep the projected image part of the competitions they will probably be forced to move toward digital projection as a means of showing the pictures.

Personally, I think the club I am in might be a little slow on the uptake of digiatal photography, it does appear to be very 'traditional' as there are more slide competitions than digital in the programme. As I said earlier, I am trying to concentrate on prints this season as that is a nice format to work in.

Phew, i thought you had gone over to the dark side for a moment.

Thanks for explanation Sidney

[stevegreen]

Originally Posted by bodoman

Phew, i thought you had gone over to the dark side for a moment.

Thanks for explanation Sidney

Sorry Barry

[senu]

I remember with fondness the sheer dynamism of a well developed slide film,
Even projected large they still retained arresting "presence"
However well sorted digital is not that far behind, and it takes a different but no less painstaking effort to get "slide" images from digital which are similarly impressive
One of the ways digital may appear to fall flat is the way in which they get projected
The resolution of the projector and how the projected image is input but given that most Images are far more than Hidef (1080i/p for video).. being projected that way cannot fail to impress , even a 60ft image

Oh ..Steve congratulations and well done, its great to see the world out there share our great taste
Judging these must be a nightmare and Im certain is highly subjective

[tryingtimes]

Nice shots Steve. Congratulations.
Looks like it's all down to the vagaries of the judge, which must make it tough. I guess it's always the same with artistic endeavours though.

[stevegreen]

Originally Posted by senu

Judging these must be a nightmare and Im certain is highly subjective

Originally Posted by tryingtimes

Nice shots Steve. Congratulations.
Looks like it's all down to the vagaries of the judge, which must make it tough. I guess it's always the same with artistic endeavours though.

I have to be honest and say that I'm not sure how the judges do it. The advanced section had 46 entries and this had to be whittled down to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, highly commended and three commended. Yes, they can sometimes be massively over critical, but then they have to be to get the 'possibles' down.

As I said I wasn't holding out much hope and had entered them just to 'take part' but a different judge puts a completely different perspective on things........lesson learnt, if one gets slated, enter it again anyway

[Tobers]

Nice one Steve! Looks like you are monopolising that club somewhat.

Gordon & I will report back from our camera club comp this coming Monday. This time it is a digital projection comp, but their projector isn't much cop - probably needs calibrating. I'll be really intrigued as to how the judging works and I've entered three "safe" shots and one more "avant garde" one to see how things go.

Hopefully we can copy your success!

Tobers

[T0MAT01]

Originally Posted by stevegreen

........lesson learnt, if one gets slated, enter it again anyway

Nice one Steve!

It sounds as though the difference in the Judging has a bigger effect than the difference in the photos.

[stevegreen]

Originally Posted by Tobers

Nice one Steve! Looks like you are monopolising that club somewhat.

Gordon & I will report back from our camera club comp this coming Monday. This time it is a digital projection comp, but their projector isn't much cop - probably needs calibrating. I'll be really intrigued as to how the judging works and I've entered three "safe" shots and one more "avant garde" one to see how things go.

Hopefully we can copy your success!

Tobers

Yeah, I hope it goes well for you both Personally I really enjoy the competitons and try and put myself in the position of the judge to see if what I think marries up with what they say. Last night we seemed to be pretty much in sych though I would have swapped 1st and 2nd around in the advanced section. It's good experience getting 'expert' feedback on your pictures and seeing what feedback they give to others, it all helps with the learning process.

Originally Posted by T0MAT01

Nice one Steve!

It sounds as though the difference in the Judging has a bigger effect than the difference in the photos.

That is certainly true. Photography is all down to personal opinion at the end of the day and what one judge will rave about another will dismiss. My thought is that as long as you have the picture technically good (exposure, composition etc) then you have given yourself a chance, then it's down to if the judge finds it appealing or not and what else is being presented on the night.

[T0MAT01]

Originally Posted by stevegreen

then it's down to if the judge finds it appealing or not and what else is being presented on the night.

Very true, as with any photo competition.

[Tobers]

FWIW Steve, your previous camera club success convinced me it was worth joining my local club. They are very welcoming. Quite a lot of effort involved to organise it, and it has the really quite nice quaint feeling to it.

I agree the competitions are the centre of the club and what I look forward to most. Cant wait to get panned on Monday

Oh - and I decided to move to the "Advanced" group to go head to head with our Gordon .

[stevegreen]

Originally Posted by Tobers

Oh - and I decided to move to the "Advanced" group to go head to head with our Gordon .

I had previously thought that our advanced group was too much for me, however, seeing last nights entries has made me start to think otherwise........no doubt if I carry on winning in the intermediate section I will be asked to join the advanced anyway.........but thats next season, I don't think I can change mid-season

edit: the other thing that will keep me in the intermediate is that judges generally give more time and comments to the intermediate entries as they are keen to pass on their knowledge to 'newbies'. I find that very useful

What photos have you entered by the way. I reckon that Snowboarder picture in your s-curves section would do well