I went to Camera Club last night again, and as usual, I have to share my results   .

I thoroughly enjoyed the evening last night. The guest judges were Derek and Norma Pearman, and I loved the way that they gave tips away when critiquing all the photos. It was very obvious that they love teaching photography. I learnt so much last night!! I really, really want to go on one of their short courses now.

Bradley – Silver – they felt that it was a bit soft.  I thought they might, I only noticed after I’d sent the photo that his hair was very very slightly soft in the front.  I wasn’t happy with the way it was projected on the wall though, I felt that the projector made the portrait photos very narrow last night, and they were a bit distorted.

Nature Lover - Gold

Dirty Face – Unanimous Gold – They loved the way that it was cropped; and the continuation and the angle of all the circles (the neck and the eyes).

I’ve just got back from Camera Club – I slipped out before it finished because it was going to be a looong night.

We had to submit 6 images this month because of the debacle with the projector.  I was aiming for 2 golds, so I’m quite happy with the results, but as I was listening to their comments about the others I got frustrated again.  LOL, I clearly don’t take criticism very well . I haven’t actually ever posted some of these shots, so here goes…

Unanimous Gold – Playing to an Empty Street.

Unanimous Gold – Wet

Silver – Agapanthas – Apparently the white were blown.

Silver – Beautifully Pregnant – They didn’t like the DOF, it needed to be shallower, and they would have liked to have seen her eyes.  LOL, I think they misunderstood the photo, it would not have had the same impact if she was looking at me.

Silver – Connor – They liked the angle, but they felt the photo was over-exposed. Well, ok then, but I actually made it lighter.  Go figure.

Silver – Nature’s paint splodges – The back leaf should have been in focus too, because it’s distracting.

I finally got the Gold I was looking for at Camera Club last night, so now I’ve progressed to 2 Star.  Finally!!

I’m not that happy with some of the judges comments again, but anyhoo… I’ve decided that from next month I’m submitting primarily people photos.  It’ll be much easier for me to get good scores with people photos.  I’ll carry on going for now, but seriously, if I carry on stressing about my choices, I’m going to have to quit – it’s really not worth all that stress.

Unanimous Silver – Basically, they thought that Sonja should have been in focus.  They didn’t get the point of the photo, I’ve got one with her in focus, but I liked this one better.

Silver – The flower wasn’t dead enough!  And that made it boring.  Go figure!  However, they liked the DoF.  They didn’t fault the exposure or the sharpness, which makes me a bit mad considering that you’re supposed to be judged primarily on sharpness and exposure in 1 Star.

Unanimous Gold – YAY!

And next month I have to find 6 images to submit!  The club finally decided that the projector was in fact the cause of all the problems, and because everyone has complained so much, the E-photography members can submit 3 extra photos next month to make up for it.

OMW, it’s hard to hear that the judges don’t like your work!  The internet is much much kinder on my ego.

I only needed one gold at camera club last night to get through to the next level, and I got NONE!

Silver – the blurred bit on the left under the eye detracted from the photo.  It wasn’t sharp enough.  But they liked what I was trying to do.

Canon 350D 1/2000 sec ISO 400 f/6.3

Silver – not sharp enough, but they liked the composition and the angles and the DOF that I was playing with.

Silver – not sharp enough. This one actually irritates me to no end. Last month they said that all they looks for in bird photos is that the eyes and the beak is sharp, but this month, that wasn’t good enough!

The arb-est photos got Gold last night actually. Arrrrghhh!! I’m sure Fiona feels the same as I do today.
Next month I’m going to submit some kids photos and see what happens.

Thanks for all the support and encouragement about my moans about camera club the other day (I moaned in my ramblings blog).

I feel a lot better now, my ego has been stroked again

This month went a lot better than last month. The judges were very nice, not because they liked my work (well, that too if truth be told), but because they didn’t focus on the negative issues on the photos, but rather explained how you could make them better! It was much more constructive.

Anyhoo, without further ado, this is how I did…

Unanimous Gold – I am a Superhero

They loved it. The focus was spot on. The exposure perfect. The only problem was the horison which is not straight.

Gold – Sunrise at Shelly Beach

Again, they liked it. Perfect exposure. They liked the colours.

Silver – Tossed out by the sea

The focus and exposure was good, but they didn’t like the fact that the horison was skew in this one. Funny thing is, that I tried to fix it before the club meeting, but it didn’t have the impact when it was straight. Go figure.