Our first COVID 19 Blog Post – who would have thunk it!
I did miss not seeing my QCG pals at Bardon last night, but am full of admiration for the club’s committee and quite a few non-committee members who are working so hard behind the scenes to make sure we stay connected.
Accordingly, we have to acknowledge our wonderful judge of Action and Open, Margaret O’Grady, who is also negotiating this brave new world of social isolation in her voluntary role as a camera club judge. Margaret – a talented photographer and extremely experienced judge – graciously and quickly agreed to be the first judge to use my MyPhotoClub as a tool to remotely deliver our results and ensure that our March competition went ahead with feedback provided to all participants.
I chatted to Margaret before the results went live to get her overall impressions of Action and to get specific feedback on three of her stand out images.
Margaret said that what she judged in the set category of Action was done very well.
“Overall, there was a very high standard. Every image met the definition overall.
“The images that did best were the ones that had a simple background which allowed the action to be the focus of the image. In the same vein, images that had a little bit of action on a very uncluttered background also did well for the same reason.”
Margaret’s takeaway message on action: keep the subject, and your background, simple.
Margaret also provided feedback on three images where she thought the set subject had been captured particularly well.
The first is in B grade and is called ABC 7-2 by David Cain which received an Honour.
ABC 7-2 by David Cain, which received an Honour in B Grade in the March Set Subject of Action
“This is a very well thought out image of a reflection of action at Southbank. Captured so that there is still colour in the sky. The colour in the reflection of the window is nice and crisp. The fact that it was a reflection was a real bonus. The whole story can be seen,” Margaret said.
The second image is Dressed to Impress which achieved an Honour in AB grade (Set Subject) for new member Mandy Watson.
Dressed for Success by Mandy Watson, which received an Honour in AB Grade in March Set Subject, Action
“This is a very simple panning image with one figure in it, dressed in red. The placement of the cyclist in red keeps the eye moving forward, as does the little bit of red in the background which really lifted the image up. A beautiful image.”
The third image which Margaret wished to share with all members was A grade photographer Ray Shorter’s ‘Drafting the Steer’ which received an Honour.
Drafting the Steer by A grade member Ray Shorter. This image attracted an Honour in March Set Subject, Action.
“Simple and powerful message,” said Margaret. “The fact that the steer and horse are on the same angle is excellent and they contrast well with some trees in the background. The dust too adds to the image – handled very well.”
Ray’s comments on his image are below. What is interesting is Ray had not read Margaret’s feedback when he emailed these thoughts through, yet his comments absolutely echo Margaret’s general thoughts on an effective Action image:
“Rosanne Casu's presentation at QCG on photo restoration gave powerful examples of the value of learning to use Photoshop. I think my action image is another example : I created a "dust brush" in Photoshop to hide a distracting background which would have lessened the impact of the main elements.”
As a general comment, Margaret also said that with regard to surfing shots, be careful of the horizon.
“The horizon can cut through a shot and even the subject, creating two large blocks of colour. Try to shoot so that the horizon is not in the image at all, avoiding large colour differences in the shot.”