Camera Labs

Well done everyone! There really is some good efforts this month and it's difficult to pick a winner. I narrowed it down to five entries.

OnceuponaFrame & thestig2010 - Both of you guys had much the same idea and yet they're very different. The colour of the skies in both is beautiful. I think thestig2010's entry is better simply for that yellow reflection. I really like that.

isabel - Gorgeous! This reminds me of those Japanese silk prints you see. A really neat image and it fits the brief. Great shot.

Thomas - Love it! This is just the kind of image that appeals to me, in fact something I'd be looking to take myself. Again, it fits the brief and yet is still original in both composition and toning. Really good and it would be my winner if not for...

Kirt - Sublime! Such an original composition, great technique. It really fits the brief and yet it's truly original. I actually love it. You've got my vote mate.

Zorro

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http://zorrofox4.deviantart.com/



Various lenses, SB800 & Manfrotto 190 with 460MG head

First of all i think congratulations are in order to everyone who entered the assignment this month. It was a wonderful topic and i think everyone's done it justice!
Being a newbie on the cameralabs forums i admit i was a little apprehensive at first, not really knowing what to expect. But its been great fun and some of the shots have been quite amazing!

Personally there were a few submissions that really caught my attention:

Supervillain: A real eye-catcher! Loved the brilliance of the sun and the mist over the lake you were able to capture. Although the trees seemed more of an after-thought and therefore maybe not quite in-keeping with the theme, but nevertheless a keeper of a photo in its own right...

Vertigo: I liked the contrast between the bark and the leaf. Autumn leaves have a certain tranquil quality you don't get at other times of the year. And you say the leaf was actually growing straight out of the trunk?? Can't say i've seen that before either! Nice one! Maybe a side-on shot would actually show that aspect better?

Thomas: Such an original idea!Just as little babies bring out a certain tenderness in adults, your little sapling was the darling of the bunch! Kudos to you...

Mark-A: Nice submission - the barren tree with the dark moody clouds in the background. But y'know, i saw your other shot in the comments section, and to be honest i liked that one better! It was a riot!! Especially in context of the story behind it! lolz

There were a few others i was intrigued by too, notably the ones by chickenflavoredchips, JZAlba, Lensbaby, photoj (slightly sad, but it makes one think!!) and of course i have to mention my old counsellor Ben (Cam-I-Am..remember me?Out0fFocus?!)

But in my eyes, there was only one winner this month...
Zorro: I always knew Scotland is a beautiful place, but this is breath-taking. and to think this is the kind of thing you see everyday! Envy is not the word! All i can say is, God creates many spectacular scenes, but you've immortalised one of those forever! Simply inspiring!! I have to ask, did you do much in terms of enhancement or post-processing, or is it purely the magnificence of the Scottish evening and landscape?!
Also as this is my first submission i must say i'm flattered that you thought of me in your top five. Thank you. But that aside, you've got my vote for this month, hands down!!

Once again, great job everyone!
Cheers,
AJ

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AJ

-Olympus E-VOLT E410
Zuiko Digital 14-42mm
Zuiko Digital 45-150mm

Well, well, I have just taken a look at all the August 2008 submissions, and in general I must admit that compared to the old family photos I recently scanned in (taken with a film SLR) the submissions colours and their dynamical range are simply so much better. The D-SLR’s have really become super good and they have not been placed in wrong hands
I presume that practically everybody view the photos on their respective computer monitors and because I can’t tell how well they show colours I cant tell what people really intended to show so I have decided not to vote! Yet I have looked at the current results and I can see that some 60 people have already voted I would estimate this to be half of the likely amount of total voters. I can see that zorro is the clear leader and a very likely winner … thus I’m not too funned of HDRI. Anyway whoever wins shall have my congratulations, despite my opinion on the difficulties of placing a fully objective vote


Nah, I think it’s more likely you compressed the JPEG too much … but in the end I can only guess!


Well maybe you can’t see the colour shift at the edges … you could be tricked by your monitor


By definition only one can win, so most pictures aren’t a winner. The winner photo is not objectively chosen therefore the assignments are really just meant to be fun. So I really hope you don’t just sit on your hands, if you haven’t got an assignment

Guessing at how other people see our photos is a constant dilemma. I'm guessing most folk here don't use an accurately calibrated monitor, I certainly don't. If my monitor's colour reproduction is accurate then it's purely by chance.

Got to say though that there's a damn sight more to photography than colour reproduction, just ask Ansel Adams. It's not as if there's an actual prize after all, it's more about the taking part I feel. However entering competition's has the side benefit of increasing your critical eye. It's also a very subjective thing too. There's at least one photo that I consider to be head & shoulders above my own. in fact it achieves something so easily that I have never achieved to this date, that is true originality.

Zorro

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http://zorrofox4.deviantart.com/



Various lenses, SB800 & Manfrotto 190 with 460MG head

well, z. I like your photo just fine!

patti

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canon 7D, Mark iii 5D, ef 70-300 f/4-5.6, ef 28-135mm canon 100-400mm L IS 4.5, and a little 24-70 L f/2.8...

Well he is kind of long DEAD, and I refuse to believe in the abilities of psychic mediums Anyway there IS naturally a LOT more to photography than colours. Yet when so many photos are in colours and by consequence must have a colour composition it DOES come down to a monitor issue. Furthermore it is sadly not just the colours a monitor can show wrong :/


Don’t get me wrong, when I look though the pictures I predicted that zorros HDRI would get a lot of votes … I do know that others would like it! When I first saw HDRI I liked it. But it didn’t take long before I felt like I have just seen some hundred HDRI landscape too many. So today I’m not so funned of HDRI … IMAO it is a tool that is used too much in the same way.

Well the poll is now closed, so congratulations to Zorro for winning August's assignment with a runaway 20% of the votes! In second place with 6% of the votes is EricD, and in joint third place are dryan2, Welly, supervillain and Onceuponaframe, each earning 5% of the votes. Well done to everyone who took part, especially the first-time entries.

So as always, the winner gets to choose the theme for next month, October's Assignment. So it's over to you Zorro! You have until midnight GMT on September 30th to set the theme. Please let us know on this thread along with any restrictions.

Congrats again!

Gordon

The anticipation is killing me

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Nikon D300+MB-D10 | Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 | Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro | Sigma 10-20mm
18-200mm VR | 85mm f/1.8 | 50mm f/1.8 | SB-600 | Manfrotto 681B & 3232 Monopod--190XPROB & 488RC2 Tripod
flickr

Congratulations - well done, Zorro!

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Chris
Lofou, Limassol
Cyprus

Canon EOS 40D, Canon EF 24-105mm f4 L IS USM, Canon EF 35-80mm 4-5.6 III, Canon EF 50mm 1.4 USM, Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC

Congratulations Zorro! A well deserved win..now come on, give us something interesting for October!!

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AJ

-Olympus E-VOLT E410
Zuiko Digital 14-42mm
Zuiko Digital 45-150mm

Hi folks. Well, what can I say? I'm chuffed to bits. This is pretty much the first time I've won anything. Some good entries as usual, I guess I hit the "popularity button" this time. Trees are kinda my thing anyway. Rubbish at everything else. Thanks to all who voted for me and all those who voted otherwise. Competition's good for the breed.

I need to come up with a suitable topic. To be honest I didn't think it would be so difficult but give me a night to sleep on it and I'll come up with something.

BTW - As soon as I re-teach myself to post an image from Flickr I'd be interested to hear feedback on the non-HDR version of the winner. For now, catch it here -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30652450@N05/2877675103/

Zorro

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http://zorrofox4.deviantart.com/



Various lenses, SB800 & Manfrotto 190 with 460MG head

Hi folks!

Didn't take me long to think of something for a topic, did it? Lol. Nevermind, here it is -

Self-Portraiture

With a difference. I'm personally not too comfortable with photographing myself and I'm guessing I'm not alone. So this assignment allows a more lateral approach. Present an image which represents you. It could be a straight-forward portrait shot or it could be anything you like. As long as it represents what you believe to be your true self. Any and all editing is acceptable, go at it!

Maybe not what some were expecting but it's a subject I'm not good at myself so it'll be a test for us all. Remember, the voting here is purely subjective and with this topic who's to say how it could have been done better?

Have fun.

Zorro

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http://zorrofox4.deviantart.com/



Various lenses, SB800 & Manfrotto 190 with 460MG head

Interesting...

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Nikonian

http://www.edtangphotography.com
http://journeysintophotography.blogspot.com/

Well thats me out of the comp next month...there is no way that all you good people out there will want to see my craggy old boat

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Roy
EOS 350D, 40D + BG-E2N, EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM, EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM, EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM, 430 EX Speedlite




My Fotopic

Now THAT is what i call an intersting topic! Great choice Zorro... we'rre really gonna have to do a little soul-searching for this one. Should be a blast! Can't wait to see what people come up with..lots of scope for some real originality..Love it!

And i took the opportunity to check out your non-HDR version of the winning pic..and for what its worth, i think it was still pretty amazing. Of course the HDR brings out better detail, especially in the clouds and the trees themselves. But to be quite honest i think even the non-HDR would've been right up there in terms of votes. There's just something about the whole scene which is captivating...

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AJ

-Olympus E-VOLT E410
Zuiko Digital 14-42mm
Zuiko Digital 45-150mm