December's topic was "Signs" and we had six entries. Review them all and then cast your vote for your favorite.

Photo 1


Photo 2


Photo 3


Photo 4


Photo 5


Photo 6

 

DANG IT!!!!!

I never take good pictures, and today I finally did so I figured I'd look at what the contest this month is and sure enough my pic fits the topic perfectly, but it's too late!!!

 

All very nice pictures!

 

I really like 3 and 6. Nice job.

 

Getting a bunch of other MINIs out in the snow is impressive!
Nice choice, not to many...

 

Nice selection, two really made me smile, all are very nicely done.

 

...and it pays dividends with a dozen automatic votes!

 

I love #6!!! Wonderfully textural!

 

thanks

 

Yes, very nice. It took me a couple of seconds on first seeing it to figure out what part of the MINI it was.

 

I recognize that bonnet stripe under the ice in # 6!

 

#3 and #6 are very nice!

 

Great couple of pics.

May the best one win!!

 

It's close

 

Thanks to the Chicago MINI Motoring Club, it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Thanks guys

 

o snap

 

It's exciting to see such a close race!

 

Wow! V e r y c l o s e!

Either one would be a great monthly winner!

 

I would like to thank my one sympathy voter. Thank you.

 

Hmmm.....Topic: Signs

My Personal views, well intentioned but not for the thin skinned....

#1- I'm surprised this didn't have more votes, active space rule of thirds it has it all, a little cluttered but not distractingly so.

#2- A little crop/camera adjustment for the right half of the road and bringing the signs a little closer and I think this would have been a very dramatic perspective photo. and I think this would have been much more dramatic, very solid photo (and watch out for the rear wheel cut-off)

#3- Too much gray sky, not enough saturation, ISO was too high (not the excessive noise) one sign was cut off and the cars are too tightly stacked. Moving up and to the right would have made this significantly more dynamic. However it still holds dynamic lines converging on a perspective point, the shallow DoF is on a people friendly focal field near that point. MINIs and signs stacked to meet. I'm surprised it got so many votes, but can see why it faired decently, even without CMMC.

#4-Bit blown out for my tastes, but it's a style choice, compositionally I'd have moved the MINI behind the sign, to prevent the "extra limbs" growth factor, and adjusted the crop in frame for a little less pavement, and alittle more blue to help the car pop.

#5- This is the metaphorical route I tried to go several times but couldn't make it work in an aesthetically pleasing manner. I think this photo suffered in the voting for two reasons, it's something most people on this board see everyday, and you really have to look and think about it to "get" the sign. I personally prefer photos that make you think, however nothing catches my eye to say stop and think about me because this is from the same perspective of an everyday object for the average MINI owner. Everyday objects are the hardest to photograph because people are used to seeing them without thinking. A good exscerise would be to take a fork or a spoon and spend 20min to an hour looking at it from different angles through the viewfinder taking photos, then going back narrowing it down to ONE image, and why that surpasses the rest.

#6- I will say when I first saw the entries I thought this was going to be a hands down walk away win. Very well saturated, with all the white snow to make the color really jump. Very crisp image, I can see several levels of detail in the ice. Very clean image, while the head light and hood scoop are distracting the badge and stripes stand out very clearly,and the snow is there in such a way that enhances not detracts from the image. For my tastes the angle is a bit wierd the mentioned distractions, and in my opinion (and why it didn't get my own vote) is I personally don't quantify badges as signs, and didn't see any metaphorical sign with the snow(I'm sure some detailers would have). Don't be jilted the Bears took one from the packers this month. I know you wouldn't have submitted it if you didn't think it would win, and I know how it feels I've had a few photos I submitted that I could figure out why they didn't fair well in the contest (less than 5 votes, let alone 70) and took them to my critique thread, and couldn't get anyone to tell me how to improve the images myself. I know it's disappointing but there is always next month and a new topic (once it gets announced *cough*) with new challenges and new photos.

 

A lot was going on this day. I was doing a lot of running around to different schools with my daughter in tow to see if they would accept my her in JAN. I was able to take this photos (one of several) on a stop at home for a quick bite to eat before heading back to pick up my son from pre-school/day care. Honestly, I was just happy the odom came out clearly, despite some of the over exposure and the obvious fact my car needs a bit of cleaning.

What did you possibly say that would require armor, let alone thick skin? I'm an amateur at photography, at best. I just thought it would be "too easy" to go the obvious route for this contest. My odometer was going to roll 10k that day, so I went for it. I agree, it doesn't have much punch...nothing really stands out. After watching a few contests come and go and seeing photos that IMO were not spectacular win, I thought "what the hell!" Obviously, I have more work to do. Thanks for the feedback. I'd appreciate anyone else's, as well.

 

Motor On, I think your critiques were helpful for the technical detail, which I personally appreciate. Is the point of the contest for technical ability or personal observation? The reason I voted for #6 even though I thought it was by far the best one, is sentimental ie CarNut's Garage where I spend a lot of time and because Tsukiji took it.

 

The point of the contest is to have fun. As a photographer (oh did I mention I'm purely amateur and this is just a standing hobby for me?) that means new challenges, the fun of thinking in a different manner than I usually do and looking for new opportunities. As a voter and member of NAM, I look at how it meets that topic, how it looks (technically and aesthetically) and it's odds of winning (this is the one place I gamble I like to vote after a day or two and see where things end up). As there is no real voting criteria I'm sure other people vote differently for different reasons.

I will say I've never seen so many people so bitter about a photo contest on NAM before.

 

There's absolutely no evidence supporting that statement—have you been receiving negative emails or PMs?

 

Thanks for the observations Motor On. Just goes to show that taste is personal mostly.

For me, I wasn't so fond of #1 because the sun and the reflection on the pavement dominate the picture and are kind of blinding -- like in real life -- and the nearer hills almost appear black on my screen. I did like # 3 -- it was a close race for me -- I like the colors of the MINIs against the snow, and only later noticed that all the color but the MINIs and the signs had been B&W'd. I agree w/what you said about # 2; mostly I thought the pic was a bit un-bright; I know it's Winter, but I would have liked this better if it was a little sunny and the woods at the right weren't so dark. And the others were too monotonal for my liking/taste, but not in a dramatic monochromatic way.

(Then again, I'm a mediocre photographer, at best, so my taste and choices are all about what I like and find visually pleasing, which doesn't usually conform to what's artistic.)

Personally, I was looking for a good MINIs & Twisties combo (what can I say?; I'm a boring traditionalist), so was disappointed w/the signs I saw in all the pictures. But with the last, I recognized the car, the stripes, the grille badge and the photographer, and I liked the red of the car against the ice.