Monday, January 12, 2009

NOVEMBER CONTEST

Thanks to this months judge Tom Braid of the Edmonton Sun/Examiner/24Hrs.

Portrait;
The first place photo can easily be used as a re-cropped tight photograph where you loose most of the background and it can also be used on a broadsheet layout where it could be published as submitted, the bigger the better of course. Good caption as well!
#2 - a simple and solid image that fits the basic standard for a good publishable photograph. It has edge-to-edge relevant content and it is lit well. Good photo that could easily carry a page featuring this subject. Good caption as well!
#3 - a nice photograph that features a subject’s “favorite physical feature” *Note the photographer used the American spell checker and spelt the word, favourite, wrong! Be careful with spelling. Not sure why this photograph was submitted in B&W? This photo might have been a bit stronger in colour as the feature of the photograph was the subject’s hair. What colour is it?
HM- Group shots with numerous photographs are not easy to pull off. This group shot done in the studio is well done and it could easily carry a page that was featuring this group of people. The bigger this photo could be published, the better it would look on a page. Group shots look horrible when they run small in a publication!

Feature;
#1-Painting a snowman float – This is a simple silhouette picture. It is not particularly a great or even good photo. A busy background in a silhouette photo can quickly kill it. Some editors hate the over use of silhouettes and limit there use in their paper. This particular photo would not have placed in this month’s competition but it is the only photo that had a passable caption while when you read the comments above it is easy to figure out that there was noting else to pick!
#2 and #3 – There are no second and third place for November. Read full comments below.

News;
#1-Vaughan road house fire – Nicely lit photo of a firefighter framed between a busted bay window. There is a little bit of camera shake, anymore this photo would have been spiked. Edge to Edge content and good lighting almost always leads to a good, solid photo. This photo could have easily made a front page in local paper where it was shot. Good caption as well. Remember you are a photojournalist not picture taker!
#2-Bay Marine fire –Nice artsy shot of firefighter at a fire seen. Good solid caption supplied with this photo as well.
#3- Governor General and Prime Minister on Remembrance Day – Ben you spelt MichaĆ«lle Jean name wrong in your caption!! You spelt it, “Michealle Jean” Being a first year student I am cutting you some serious slack, but it did cost you one place. Learn from this her name is so easily found on the internet it is not even funny.

Sports;
#1- Jeffrey Kwakye tries to escape – Good peak action photo that was shot and or cropped tight. Good job
#2- Tall Pines Rally – Nice wide shot, good lighting and some good colour. This would make for a nice main shot as part of a picture page in print.
#3-Check at Leafs bench – Lots going on in this photo and the blue box in the background is somewhat distracting. Still a solid action shot of one player taking out two others.
H.M. – Puck crosses the goal line -- Loose photo that should have been cropped a bit tighter top to bottom and right to left. Still clean enough from edge-to-edge with the key moment where the puck crosses the red line for a goal.

Multi-Picture;
#1- Sharon Sinnett and her bakeshop. -- Nothing really award winning here just the best of the bunch that was entered. The photos were entered out of sequences. The first three lead pictures are of the subject grabbing and selling baked good. Then she is in the kitchen cooking what she already sold. Makes it hard to a view the eight (8) pictures as numbered.
#2- Tall Pines Rally Championship – There are only four (4) pictures here. I am confused because this event had its own threads on the NPAC boards and there many more pictures featured from this multi-day event. Only four pictures? What happened to the rest of the pictures? Lost in cyber filing? Very good captions on the four photos entered.
#3-Back alley portraits – Yes the captions were lacking but the effort is worth some point. I must be getting soft.

Click here to read the rest of Tom's comments.

PORTRAIT:
1st. - Sarah Dea
2nd. - Sarah Dea
3rd. - Sarah Hawkins
HM. - Heather Jeffries
FEATURE:
1st. - Paula Trotter
NEWS:
1st. - Sarah Hawkins
2nd. - John Hanley
3rd. - Ben Nelms

SPORTS:
1st. - Sarah Dea
2nd. - Ben Nelms
3rd. - John Hanley
HM. - Adam Gagnon

MULTIPLE PICTURES:
1st. - Sarah Dea








2nd. - Ben Nelms




3rd. - Ryan Noakes