Competition Judgement: Good or Bad?

09/26/2018 05:34:46 PM · #1

Recently a competition judge evaluated this photo. He said ocean scenes should be photographed at a fast shutter speed to capture the crashing of the waves. My question to you is are we as photographers supposed to enhance what is happening, or give it our own interpretation using other methods? Here I used a longer exposure to smooth out the waves but still catch their glory. Should I have done this scene with a fast shutter? Did I do an injustice to this scene? He scored it 6 out of 10. What say you? Are we to embrace exactly what�s happening in a scene?

Message edited by author 2018-09-26 17:37:17.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

09/26/2018 05:38:10 PM · #2

I don�t know why the discussion title isn�t showing up.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

09/26/2018 05:40:28 PM · #3

I gave it one -- hope it's close enough ...

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

09/26/2018 05:44:07 PM · #4

In expressing one's opinion, one should never use the word "should" ...

That judge likes water photos in a certain style ... notice that in almost 3000 challenges here no photo has ever had all the votes the same.

glad2badad

DJI Mavic Air 2

Sears 55mm f/1.4 M42

09/26/2018 06:21:16 PM · #5

Originally posted by GeneralE:

tanguera

Nikon D750

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED

09/26/2018 07:37:37 PM · #6

I hate judges that tell you what you should shoot.

pixelpig

Sony Alpha a55

Sony DT 1.8/50mm SAM

09/26/2018 10:40:18 PM · #7

Always keep in mind that criticism is 98% about the person doing the criticizing. And heck yes! find your vision & stick to it.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+, S21 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

09/26/2018 10:58:22 PM · #8

Notwithstanding all that's just been said (and I agree you should find YOUR voice and stick with it) I, personally, find the image uncomfortably balanced, it doesn't feel good to me. I'd rather see the waves sharp if you're gonna have that much distinct landscape behind. But that's just my own personal aesthetic take on it :-)

bob350

Sony Alpha 1

Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM

09/27/2018 12:20:24 AM · #9

Since ocean sunset images are exceedingly common, it takes something really special to make an image of the subject that stands out as excellent. We can hope your judge gave more than the shutter speed critique in his commentary. Sharpness is not the ultimate standard for all images of waves. That said, I do have a calendar with monthly pictures, each looking down the tube of an ocean wave crashing at sunset, with the water very sharp along the edges, translucent in the body, and shimmering light enhancing each. Your judge might even like these pictures.

On the other hand, I've also seen wonderfully blurred ocean wave images. But in such cases, other elements of the composition are crucial to making an overall favorable impression. To me, the other elements here don't mesh well with the softness of the blurred waves. Also we have the waves horizontal, the base of the land horizontal, and the clouds with strong horizontal elements. Lack of variation can generate lack of interest. Exceptions exist when the repetition is interesting enough to be pleasing independent of the subject matter, but here the horizontal elements aren't uniform enough for that. Difficult subject matter for anyone.

Do a DPC image search on "waves" from the home page and look at the range of scores for various ocean pictures. You will notice a Wide variety of scores across all types of approaches.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f3.5-5.6G ED VR

09/27/2018 05:56:49 PM · #10

Thank you all for the input. All makes sense.

pgirish007

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

Canon EF 24-70 2.8L II

09/28/2018 09:00:34 AM · #11

To me I like smoothness and in here I see that. What if same judge comes back saying Ohhh it is waterfall take in high shutter speed, it definitely won't be as good as if taken as smooth flow!

What you have is good!

NikonJeb

Nikon D850

10/01/2018 11:17:50 AM · #12

Horseshit!

Just because that's how *he* likes it doesn't mean that you should do so. It's sitrictly an indication of his inability to step outside of his own parameters and comfort zone to gauge the image on its own merits. A *good* juudge would be able to examine the exact same scene taken with a fast shutter, or a slow shutter with an ND filter and examine each image for its intent when it was shot.

Your situation is the primary reason I stopped submitting images to be "judged" years ago.

Shoot your images as you would to express and share *your* vision in *your* way.

That's how you establish the style and techniques that define you as a photographer.

Suggestions and impressions should be welcomed, but as soon as someone starts to tell you how you should do something, especially if you didn't ask for assistance, it's really not helpful.

YMMV....

10/01/2018 01:05:22 PM · #13

Originally posted by pgirish007:

Thank you!