Close, but no cigar...

Dear All

An eventful evening at the CCC Annual Digital Championship. First off, the event was heavily oversubscribed. So, what they do is lose the image you number as 5, then 4 (if need be) to make sure they have about the right number (ca.100) to allow the Judge to review in an evening. So, I lost the image of the woman and the rusty door bolt. That left the Eskimo pic of Abby in "People", and the Bike and Sunset Beach Walkers in "Pictorial".

Eskimo and Bike bombed out. I think he liked Eskimo more than the Bike, but neither got anything.

Sunset Beach Walkers beat off some stiff competition to win!! Fantastic result, as this was the largest section (45 entries?) and had some great entries. I was surprised it won, but I always thought it was a good picture.

The winners of each of the sections - therefore 5 images - go forward for the Digital Image of the Year. It came down to mine and a comedy horse/rider picture and...you guessed it...mine lost out! Apparently it was very close, and mine was described as the "runner up", although no such official accolade exists. Last year, I lost out at the same point to a frickin' sports picture of Rodger Federer, but this is harder to take A comedy horse and rider shot? Not something that could have been composed in advance; it was one of those freaky moments when something funny happened, and the expressions on horse and rider conspire to make a funny, well caught image. It does have bags of appeal and got a laugh from all in the audience, so this no doubt helps too. And the rider was a kid. But, image of the year...hmmm. Still, mustn't grumble. I won the "Creative" section last year, and now "Pictorial" this year. Doubtful I'll enter "Plants and Animals", so that leaves "People" and "Record" for next year!!

Gareth was disgusted with a lot of the judging, and has been all this season (with some notable exceptions). I tend to agree with him - it seems highly random and inconsistent. He said he won't enter any competitions from now on. However, he actually said that if Beachwalkers doesn't get anything, then he wouldn't enter anymore. Well, it did, so he MUST continue. Also, his image (bw) of his kids got a Commended in the People section, again against his predicition of getting nothing.

I am certainly not going to break my back to enter every one, but will keep entering from time to time and will be more regular at the Aperture sub-group meetings, where those going for photographic distinctions and the more experienced can meet to discuss images in a more relaxed setting. I'll give that a go for a while and see where it leads.

Gareth was cracking up at the inherent comedy in me losing to a comedy horse and rider picture. I can see the funny side alright, but my competitive part is quietly seething...

Ivan

Ivan's Entries for the 2008 Annual Digital Competition

Below are my 5 entries for the Cambridge Camera Club Annual Digital Competition. The categories are the same each year;

PEOPLE
This category includes formal and informal portraits, figure studies, groups and people in action.

CREATIVE
The use of any technique to create an image that transcends the bounds of reality and so stimulates the mind of a receptive viewer.

PICTORIAL
Here there is complete freedom of imagination and technique to produce an image of any subject in such a way as to achieve an individual interpretation of reality. Landscapes would normally fall within this category.

RECORD
A category for photographs that are a factual representation of any subject excluding Plants & Animals, giving detail and
maximum information on the subject specified in the title. High technical excellence is required in this category.

PLANTS & ANIMALS
Photographs must be accurate record shots of the living plant and animal, world giving detail and maximum information on the subject specified in the title. Photographs of mounted specimens, obviously set arrangements, or derivatives are ineligible. Factual, not cute, titles are required. The image must convey the truth of what the author saw at the time of taking. Whether produced in a conventional darkroom or via a computer, any manipulation of the image must be confined to the removal of minor blemishes or distractions. The final image must have been produced from a single negative, transparency or digital recording and must not be a combination of images. No section of a single image is to be duplicated and incorporated into the final image.

I have entered 2 for the Pictorial category. These are below.

Sunset Beach Walkers



Abandoned Bike



I have also entered 2 for the People category. These are below.

Eskimo Girl



Untitled



Finally, just to be different, I entered this image for the Record category.

Rusty Door Bolt



Please let me know what you think.

Cheers
Ivan

Annual Digital Championship - Ivan's results

Well, quite a good night for us both actually, but here are my results.

Creative:

Catface got the top prize (First Place) and Shadowman got the Second Place. Very pleased. Bemused that "Baby Eyes" and "All in Red" crashed and burned, especially when you saw the others that came above it, but it may not have been the done thing to award all 3 spots to one person (he says modestly!). Or, the judge just didn't like them...

People:

The one called "Thinking..." got a commended, which I was pleased with, being my first people based entry. Perhaps it wasn't enough about people, being that the lady was small in the picture - more classically portrait/candid stuff did better. Again, glad that something a bit more out there got recogntition.

As I won the Creative section, my "Catface" image was up for "Digital Image of the Year", along with the other category winners, but it lost out to a great sporting shot. Still, very pleased to be a section winner and be in the top 5 (out of 116).

This may be my last post for a while - broadband plug is pulled today and I give back the old laptop too. However, we'll try to get broadband sorted out in the next few weeks. Until then, keep blogging in my absence.

G - I'll call you after Easter Monday about a beer in town
D - I'll call you at home about when we can see you when you are in the UK.

Cheers
Ivan

Annual Digital Championship Entries

After much thought, and late night Sunday final Photoshopping, below are my 5 entries for the CCC Annual Digital Championship.

The categories are

People - portraits, groups, studies etc

Pictorial - anything, and usually mostly landscapes

Creative - any photoshop shennanigans you like!

Plants and Animals - does what it says on the tin

Record - straight shot showing something in great detail, no digital manipulation.

I reckon that Pictorial and Plants and Animals will have a lot of entries, and Record is kinda dull, so I have tactically gone for 4 in "Creative" and 1 in "People". Also, I just fancied trying something different - no landscapes! So, I trawled my extensive back catalogue (again) and came up with some interesting entries (I think).

Below are my selected images - your critique always welcomed.

Creative

1. All in Red

2. Baby Eyes

3. Shadowman

4. Catface

People

5. Thinking...