[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

I said on the voting thread that I was going to post my thought process and how I whittled down the numbers to choose who I would vote for. I ran out of time on that front. So I revisited it and decided that it would only be fair if I wrote a little about every entry rather than just the 15 or so I was having a hard time choosing from. So I have started on that document. So far I am half way through. By end of week I hope to have it complete.

It's not a great work by any means, just a few lines or paragraph on what I thought on each. It's just I'm busy just now so it's taking longer than I planned.

Gordon

[Zone]

Originally Posted by Gordon @ Convergent AV

It's not a great work by any means, just a few lines or paragraph on what I thought on each. It's just I'm busy just now so it's taking longer than I planned.

Gordon

I for one am looking forward to it Gordon

[Gizmo 76]

I'm also looking forward to it, the competition and comments (good or bad) has only had a positive effect for me, pushing me to improve my now 6 month old hobby of photography

[stevegreen]

Come on Gordon, get your finger out!

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

Lots of entries this month I like. The comp seems to get tougher each month and this time I want to put down my reasons why I haven’t chosen some I like and why I’ve chosen the one I did. I think just writing this out helps me to come to a decision.

To start I want to say that for me a self portrait has to say something about the state of mind of the person, how they perceive themselves, how they think others perceive them or how they wish others to perceive them. Virtually every entrant managed one or more of the above. Over and above that I think that I am also looking for a striking image. I’m not averse to photoshop like Bodoman and a few others are but I fully understand their viewpoints…so here goes.

I was originally just going to comment on a few of the ones I was having trouble choosing between but decided that really it was only fair that I commented all the entries. Please don’t anyone think that I am judging myself superior to anyone as I am not. I welcome all criticism but I do prefer praise….as I’m sure we all do.

So SSB: Photoshop obviously. The main image of this I like. I agree with the comment that the horizon is off level but it’s fractional. I like the black and white which aids the ghostly effect. I do have reservations about the composition to the right as I keep on wanting to look to that right hand area of water. I’m also unsure as to what it tells me about SSB. Is it that you feel detached from our world, do you feel neglected and that folk see through or past you?

Werewolf: Another photoshop image. Well executed and both image seem to have been taken well. It’s the composition that just makes it not quite the best this month for me. The remotes on the footstool and the shaft of light on the floor take my eye away from the subject of the portrait. I also wonder what it says about you. Is it that you just thought it’d be cool idea? Or do you feel that you feel like parts of you are missing at times. Do parts of your life seem disconnected? It all sounds deep but these are the questions this image makes me ask myself. I do like it.

JohnG: Photoshop again and again a cracking main image. The portrait part of it is part of what I think could be better. The squat strange shape seems somehow completely disassociated with the other image. As a portrait I don’t get it but the image of the birds, cropped square stopping from top left stopping at right before the tuft of marsh grass would be a great picture imho. I think you’d get the effect of the flying V of the birds heading right out of picture frame.

Ericbloodaxe: No photoshop that I can see. It’s like a holiday snapshot to me. Which isn’t necessarily bad. It shows an appealing happy face. It tells me something about you. I’d also like to thank you for the link to the Gormley statues. Never knew they were there and I’d like to see them before they go…if they go.

Liquid: You know, looking at this now it’s great. Objects in foreground bring your eye to the subject. It’s a great composition and the personal effects tell us about you as a person. I like it

RobertB2: I can no longer see your entry so can’t comment…I deleted my original document I was working from.

Hrochnick: Nice image, nice enough composition but for some reason it just doesn’t capture my imagination or make me as questions about you. Weirdly it may be because you are unseen on the whole…which is the effect you wanted but which has passed me bye.

Sivraj: Cant see your image

Rooney: This is a strange image. I can’t understand what the backgrounds are or the white thing. I guess its you taking images of pictures from your life and what is important to you. When I look at it though it seems grainy and out of focus. I think perhaps it just isn’t the sort of image I had expected on this topic. As an idea I like it though. (Just went back to read how you did it). Clever idea.

Zone: Like the composition and the implementation of this image. It’s a strange composition for a self portrait but I like it.

Ian RN: Striking image. Well done. Photoshop involved in this obviously as you’ve said but not much. My only comment is that I don’t get what it says about you as a self portrait. It tells me that you are handy with a camera and photoshop but I don’t understand the picture.

Biscuit 761: Photoshop again but well implemented. A funny picture that gives us some background as to you and your life.

Monkeyleader: Photoshop montage. Not sure I like the composition of the montage. It does tell us about you and your life though and that’s good.

Dcalyton: Great image. Already said that closer crop to make it square losing left and right would have looked superb to me. Other thing I don’t understand is what it tells me about you. Where you trying to tell us anything or was it just an idea for a striking image?

Puli: You may find this weird but I find this image disturbing. That’s all I can say about it….

Pirate: Nicely taken image. Very striking. Makes me think you are a scary individual…perhaps you are…

Sharf: I prefer the entry in the comp to the one you were thinking of posting. The one you did post though I think would have been better cropped tighter and on my laptop screen you appear out of focus in the ball bearings. If they were all in focus it’d have been a great picture. Once again though I am not sure what it tells me about you as a person.

Webbyfoot: Already said I think this is a great piece of popart. Photoshop obviously but as a self portrait the effect seems to tie in well with the subject and our perception of someone with your “look”. This was one of the ones I was struggling to choose between. Really great.

Shaolin: An image that I felt told me something about the subject. It made me think and question. I liked it a lot for that. As a photograph I found the curtain rail top right let it down. If that had been removed somehow it’d have been a major contender for me.

Zef: Striking composition. Well implemented. Not sure what it says to me about you though.

Electolyte: Great image. You can sit and look at this for ages and it just makes you think about the subject and about own life and thoughts. Not anything bad to say about this.

BowenJones: Photoshoped. Like the composition, like the frame, like the idea. Makes me think about the subject.

Steve500: I applaud the idea to just take a great image with no imagery trickery. It’s just not as great as some of the others this month.

Deadprez: Scary looking pic.

TontosHorse: Striking picture. Taken well.

MattF: Nice picture and I like the photopshop effect. Just not as great as some others this month

Tomato: I kind of like the idea of someone seeing themselves as always being in the background, they are viewing the scene but not quite part of it. However for me you are too out of focus and the composition lets it down. The bottom left corner seems too empty.

Cyberkid; Another photoshop montage. Put together very well and ending up with a nice look and composition. For me though a self portrait isn’t a composite like this and for that alone I couldn’t vote for it. I do like the image though, just not for this topic.

Astaroth: Photoshop, Nice idea for an image. Well done. Just not sure what it tells me about you.

SteveGreen: Another great image for me. Well taken and another one like electrolytes that makes me sit and think. Good job

Bristol Pete: Little photoshop. Another like Steve’s and electrolytes. This makes me think about the subject. It makes me think about how they feel about themselves and how they think other folk may see them. Only thing about it is the photoshoping. It is what makes me think yet it’s the thing I find kind of disturbing.

Scratchy: Photoshop, Strange, just strange mate…

Gizmo: I like this a lot. Nicely taken nice composition to me and makes me question how you perceive yourself or want others to.

Craigizmo2k2: No doubt it’s a portrait. I like it. I like the B+W and how it adds to the mood. I find it intriguing to view. The large white area is off putting but your expression and how you are hiding part of your face really draw me in to look and wonder about you. You look at times, threatening and at times mischievous….Good work.

JazzMonkeyJnr: As I said on thread, intense. Looking back on it now I am not sure about the brown eyes. I’d have liked to have seen it just B+W. I think it’d have been more threatening like that. My biggest problem is that I’ve met you though and it just doesn’t seem “like” you. Perhaps that was the intention. I know that when I visit folk on the forum everyone says I don’t look like my avatar, but it’s me in the picture….

Alterastro: I must be thick as I just didn’t get this the first time I saw it. Now I do. Portrait and Landscape imagery. The main image they are in just doesn’t lead me to look at the subjects though. Good idea but lost on me this time.

Tobers: I like the fact you had the vision to see this in your head then go and implement it. The final image shows to me, two disconnected faces. When I look at it they appear almost as tww images rather than one. The street lights top right also distract me. If t were a crop of one face or perhaps if the two had been more melded together it’d have had a stronger appeal to me. Not sure what it tells me about you though but it’s a worthy entrant imo.

Caretaker: Obviously a bit of digital manipulation going on here…unless of course you are a terminator….. The main image looks like it was taken well but I am just not a fan of the effect you have created. I find it difficult to look at in fact. Was that the intention, did you want folk to struggle to see you?

Peajay: Image in an image in an image. I like the idea and I like your implementation. You look like you had fun and thought it all out as to how you wanted it to look. Just not as great as some others this month. Nice work.

Allymac: Great idea. Part man part cyberspace man. It looks like it wasn’t a simple task to do and I feel bad saying this but the two things that knocked it out of running for me were the fact your head isn’t lining up with your neck and the black and white on laptop. I’d have preferred all colour or all black and white. I suspect all B+W would have been much easier to achieve than all colour. Great idea though.

ColinHolst: A weird one this. Photoshop involved and I have no probs with that here. My problem is that I find the face at 90 degress in the pupil to be offputting. I don’t understand what it is telling me about you. If I imagine this image with a normal eye I can see what might be a very powerful composition and image. Ignoring the face in the eye and just a straight shot could have bee great. Is there any chance you could post that shot for me to see?

QuietRiot: Last but not least…..a good photograph and one that is definitely a portrait again. I like the de-saturated look. I do find the composition of the image deters from seeing “you”. If it were cropped square and rotated so that your hand and face were filling the frame I think it’d be more powerful and would have had more of an effect on me.


So there you go. I enjoyed looking at everyone’s pictures and I really enjoy taking part in this forum and competition. It really is about having a go to me. I hope that none of this has hurt anyone’s feelings as it’s just my thoughts on what I see in the images. I feel a bit silly asking these existential questions like “do you feel like you are ignored?” on a photo comp thread but I wonder whether folk see their work as having some significance or if it is just a bit of fun? I myself like to have fun and feel like I am creating some “art” at the same time. Anyway, if folk find this useful in anyway let me know and if you don’t like it let me know as well.

Cheers

Gordon

[stevegreen]

Gordon, interesting comments and thanks for spending the time to appraise each shot, it must have taken you ages and I bet much deleting and editing went on before it was fianlly posted.

SSB's only manipulation was converting it to black and white by the way

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

Sorry SSB: I've gone and read how you did it and I'm impressed. What time of day did you do it though? 20second exposure, surely it must have been pretty dark...and it looks like you must have been standing in the water? 100% for implimentation.....


Steve: Yes I wrote alot then deleted it then went back then deleted it, then had another go. It's all just my random consciousness anyway.

G

[JohnG]

Great stuff Gordon I'm begining to realise that although it was obvious to me that I was crouching and taking a photo with my 350D (as if I was stalking the birds) I had obviously not given enough emphasis to the "me" part of the photo and should have let more of that photo come through.
The idea of the photo was to show me doing what I do mostly with a camera, but I do admit to not liking having my photo taken so maybe that's why I didn't make the "me" part of it stronger

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

That makes more sense John, I thought you had distorted the image somehow on purpose.....

Gordon

[QuietRiot1983]

I totally missed this thread, as I've not been here as much (damn university!) lately. But thanks for the constructive criticism, it's well received and taken on board.

[bodoman]

Strangely no mention of the winner

Therefore i will have to do my own appraisal

bodomans entry seems to have more in common with DIY than photography

The shelf seems to have a tad more polish than it should and could have done with more stable support brackets

The surface of the shelf appears to be a cheap plasticky covering, pretending to be a good quality veneer that fools nobody.

the wall behind the shelf is some sort pseudo cream, hastily applied with a brush (get in the modern world Bodoman, rollers have been invented) but the saving grace is that is in matt, thank god he didnt go for vinyl silk.

The liberal use of the bosch jigsaw does him no favours, he would have been far better off by using photoshop to place his head on the shelf, like real photographers do.

His attitude to photography seems to be in the very least laughable and sadly, the whole object of his entry seemed to be merely to show off his DIY skills rather than post a serious photograph.

All he managed to achieve was to make people laugh, cheer up those life was not so good at the moment and encourage others to do the same, he will never win anything.

Oh, the photograh was alright

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

Good point Bodoman....I guess it's because I worked from the list of past entries and you have been moved to the exalted area that is for past winners.

I'll pluck up courage to critique yours later......

G

[craigizmo2k2]

Cheers mate!! Love any feedback on my images - your description is pretty much spot on actually - I never am mischievous to disrupt people's life a really bad way though, only to have a giggle

[bodoman]

Originally Posted by Gordon @ Convergent AV

Good point Bodoman....I guess it's because I worked from the list of past entries and you have been moved to the exalted area that is for past winners.

I'll pluck up courage to critique yours later......

G

All done in jest Gordon, try as i might i cant get serious about anything, i seem to find humour in every damn thing and it quite often gets me into trouble, such is life

[Zone]

Gordon
A nice list of critique and welldone for finding the time to do it
I wish I had the time or at least managed to put some time aside to comment on everyones pictures at the time of posting but alas

[Jazz Monkey Jr]

Originally Posted by Gordon @ Convergent AV

JazzMonkeyJnr: As I said on thread, intense. Looking back on it now I am not sure about the brown eyes. I’d have liked to have seen it just B+W. I think it’d have been more threatening like that. My biggest problem is that I’ve met you though and it just doesn’t seem “like” you. Perhaps that was the intention. I know that when I visit folk on the forum everyone says I don’t look like my avatar, but it’s me in the picture….

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts on everyones photos.

I wanted to get an intense photo, but I would have liked it a bit more oomph. I wanted to get something like what Briston Pete does but I am no good at photoshop so couldn't get the look I wanted, I also didn't have the time. I made the eyes brown to try and give it a bit more interest, my eyes are actually more green than brown but I liked the colour.
I didn't really want to post a picture of me looking all happy and normal, and this theme gave people a chance to do something different and it turned out to be an excellent theme.
The winner shows how friendly the forums are, his photo is all about fun and it shows through it the photograph. Well done Bodoman.

[electrolyte]

What an amazing post. It must have taken you hours to write.

Originally Posted by Gordon @ Convergent AV

Electolyte: Great image. You can sit and look at this for ages and it just makes you think about the subject and about own life and thoughts. Not anything bad to say about this.

Thanks for the really nice comments about my photo Gordon.

[electrolyte]

One other thing - unless I missed it, you haven't said who you voted for. Who was it?

[iandrews]

I know my photo wasn't the greatest last month, but you seem to have missed me off your list.

Ian.

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

Ian,

Weirdly I think a lot have been missed. The chap I VOTED for isn't on my appraisal. I think perhaps some of the entrants threads didn't get transferred to the PAST entrants sub forum. I'll go searching later.

Gordon

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

OK, I think I see what's happened....god...more work...I'll try to get rest done by weekend

Gordon

[bowenjones]

Originally Posted by Gordon @ Convergent AV

OK, I think I see what's happened....god...more work...I'll try to get rest done by weekend

Gordon

I bet you wished that you had picked a quieter month now

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

The last entries.

C2K4: I actually quite like this. I look at it and it makes me wonder what you are thinking. Are you watching someone or something out of shot or are you just daydreaming. The blue light makes it quite sad and sullen.

Iandrews: A unique perspective indeed. Well taken as well. For me though I was looking for more portraiture that was in the vein of what we may call , “classic”. My own doesn’t even meet my criteria though (because I am not confident enough to attempt it)

Colbec23: I have to say that these individual images are great and the composition you have created I think is great too. I think this would be cool printed and framed on your office wall if you have one. It doesn’t say self portrait to me though.

Cruncher: The idea of taking a reflective image like this seems good. I found it very hard to make out much of you in it and the general composition made it harder. I just never got drawn in to trying to seek you out in the wrapper, or to want to know more about you. I imagine that it’d be a nightmare to try to “compose” an image like that by screwing up the wrapping and trying again. It was definitely worth a punt though.

MarkwPage: Yes as folk mention it’s a bit out of focus but in actual fact I think that sort of adds to the intensity. I see this and it makes me think that you may be an agoraphobic or a voyeur, hiding behind curtains, watching but nervous..shaking in anticipation. The B+W adds to the tension to me. Not one to jump out and grab attention but by design or not it made me stop and consider.

Bodoman: The moment I saw this I was sure you’d win. It made me laugh out loud. I had to double check to make sure no photoshop was used and it was all powertools. I think we should contact Dewalt and see if they want to sponsor the competition in future….brilliant

Butch: Last but not least. I voted for you. There is something extremely endearing about this image. You and your chum both seem to be happy and enjoying yourselves. The composition is nice, although as I said in the thread it might have been better with closer crop. The actual image itself is sharp and well exposed, at least it looks it to me. It is an image that tells me about you and that I found somehow uplifting.

Ok, job done…someone else can do this next month….

[bodoman]

Many thanks for your kind words Gordon and for taking the time to appraise every picture, some task you took on there mate, dont blame you for not doing it next month (unless you change you mind)

must have been very difficult not to offend anyone, but you managed it just being very honest with everyone.

you deserve a big hand from everyone

[JohnG]

Much appreciated Gordon
Just so you can see what the original of my photo looked like and why it may appear to have been squashed .... here it is. I deliberately took it pointing down at me and with me crouching to try and get that stalking feel to it

[onefivenine]

Great idea Gordon.

Threads like this should be seen more often! They are truly in the spirit of the forum. I really think this should be encouraged.

I know some people might think they don't have the time, but there's a thumbnails page. You can ALT+TAB between that and a notepad document and type a sentence pretty quickly.

I'm going to do the same for this month's comp.

[M-C-P-M]

Thanks for your thoughts Gordon, I intended the picture to be a self portrait that showed how i was at the time of taking, being pulled in several, and very annoying directions having to split myself confusing me and my wife. So I think it showed what it needed to.

[Pirate!!]

At 2am, I can be quite scary! I wasn't trying to be anything to be honest, just trying to reflect the theme in an 'arty' sort of way which I was pleased with. So many entries were being 'shopped', so I thought a different angle out of the camera in keeping with the theme would work OK. Comment appreciated, though watch your back down the unlit sidestreets . . . you may get a hand on your shoulder one night from my Bo'sun with an ultimatum to join Pirates crew . . ha harr!

Where do I sign?

[SSB]

Don't be dissing my pic.

I was using ND filters, I think it was about 3 in the afternoon (not the brightest of days though). Like Steve said, it was just resized and converted to B&W.

What does it say about SSB? I dunno, what does a self-portrait show about any photographer?

[JohnG]

I've just noticed that I'm not wearing any shoes