Voting Thread for April 2007 Photo Assignment


Voting -- Entries in April 2007 Photo Assignment: "The Human Condition"
This thread is open for voting ONLY by members who submitted entries for this assignment. (Peter S., Little Fisher, Sweetlight, Janet Petty, and myself, CJ Swartz.)

Voting is permitted only by members who have submitted entries. There are only 5 entries submitted, but I'll set up a gallery page so that it's easier to see them all together.

April Assignment Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/shadepuppy/april_photo_assignment_images

Post your choices (in this thread) for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd by listing the member's name. If you want to explain your reasons, please do -- we all like to hear how people respond to our images.

Vote for the 3 best entries in order.
Let's try a Weighted Voting strategy this time to lessen the chance of ties by giving greater weight to First Place votes than to Second and Third place votes. When you place a vote for First Place, that entry will receive two (2) points; when you place a vote for Second and Third Place, each vote will receive one (1) point.

Example Vote:
Pick the top 3 entries and list in order...

1. Entry X (First Place -- 2 points)
2. Entry A (Second Place -- 1 point)
3. Entry C (Third Place -- .5 point)


Voting will be open from April 25th at 9:30 pm (EDT) to April 29th at 6pm (EDT) If all the votes are submitted earlier than the deadline, I will close this thread and post the winner's name at that time.

Hmmm, this is not easy for me --

1. Sweetlight -- I like the candid/photo-journalistic look -- capturing a moment; the noise/grain are noticeable but acceptable considering the low-light. Can't really see "the subject", but the body language does convey a sense of dejection and the isolation of the subject is reinforced by the surroundings and lighting. Not sure how I would have reacted to the image without the written explanation, but I think the image does carry enough information to stand on its own.

2. Janet Petty -- "Inez" -- An excellent close-up portrait that conveys some sense of the human conditions this woman has experienced. I can see why her face would make you think of life experiences, but I'm thinking that a wider shot of a woman in her surroundings would have told more of a story. (I know -- on some images, I'm saying get tighter and closer, and on some, I saying get back farther -- just one person's opinion. :) )

3. Little Fisher -- This image would have been stronger if the fisherman was a larger part of the image, I believe. I like the overall look of the image -- the bridge, the skyline -- but they are not part of the "human condition", and distract my eye from the main subject.

Peter -- My thoughts are similar about your graveyard image -- the shrubbery and green grounds take my thoughts away from the human connection of the stones -- I think a tighter shot of one or more stones with engravings would have made the point more strongly.

1. Sweetlight -- I love the mood and feel of this. It makes me think and wonder.

2. Peter -- What CJ said but without the tighter shot part.

3. Little Fisher -- I wish the shot defined the fisherman a little better.

CJ, a wider shot of her was not possible at the time. I was shooting candids at a Fiddle Festival. There were musicians, spectators, and tight quarters all around. The back of the picture was a white wall with the distinct possibility that it would ruin the picture entirely. It was only after I took her shot that I got her to sign a release. Then she wanted me to shoot MORE and MORE. She even brought her son over to be photographed...now that was a difficult picture! Thanks for the comments.

I hope next month that more of us will post something!

Janet

I had a hard time picking between Janet Petty and Sweetlight. After going back and forth here's what I chose...

1. Janet Petty- I think you summed up the human condition in one face. I like that she takes up the entire frame. Her environment is displayed all over her creased face.

2. Sweetlight- In this case, his environment adds to the mood of the image. His isolation is pierced by the beam of light.

3. Peter S.- The foliage seems to contradict what the tombstones stand for. I bet if you had waited for the evening sun to dip down a bit more, the lighting would have changed the whole mood of the shot.

I see what you guys mean by the dwarfing of my fisherman. I liked the framing provided by his surroundings, but if he were a bit closer, he wouldn't seem so engulfed by the whole thing.

1 Sweetlight Just love the moodiness of this (thats a technical term I think):clown:

2 CJ Swartz Because B&W can say just that little bit more at times:spchless:

3 Janet Petty The expression says it all.:oldman:

Great pics all

Peter

Hi Everyone,
Hope all is well. For those of you that don't know I have been dealing with the passing of my mother so I have been more distant than ever. I am so suprised to see votes for me, thank you so much. If anyone at all has more questions about the image, the image group or anything else, please feel free to shoot me a message, I could use the brainwave acitivity. Just a quick note about graininess. Some of it was unavoidable due to the situation and such but if you look at my other work you will see that very often I add a bit of grit to my images, darken down the edges and such. It takes me back to my D-76 - Stop Bath and Fixer days and sometimes I even break out the old Holga for some fun. Thanks to all and I look forward to hearing from you.

c
www.flickr.com/photos/sweetlight/sets

Sweetlight -- I sent you a PM. So sorry about your loss, and understand if you don't feel like voting, but if you can -- please do.

When I look at the vote tally -- I think you're the winner, Sweetlight -- even though you have to vote for someone else, you have 3 votes for 1st Place plus 1 vote for 2nd place (total of 7 points), so I don't think anyone else can "catch up" with your points. :)
***Any math majors with opposing views, please correct me if necessary... ;) ***

Sorry so much for the delay my friends, please forigive me. I will try to make this coherent.

#1) Life - Peter S. - One of the last human tangible human conditions. Fist of all, I have a fondess for graveyards and the history etched into the stones. In this shot the light is may I be so bold "SWEET". It's almost as if the headstones are persons, look how they stand. Leaning too and for, laying down, some fat, some thin. For some reason I feel as though they are at a concert. (The Grateful Dead no doubt:))

#2) - Chinatn4- by Little Fisher - I am an AVID/FANATICAL angler. I too wish the subject filled the frame more as I love how his silhoutte has blackened against a smoggy skyline. I must disagree that the city does not represent the human condition. Just the oppossitte. Every day we lose a little more of our space, our peaceful places, our secret spots. The urban tundra is intruding and not only are we the people feeling the pinch but our little finned friends too. If this man is a true angler, he cares not if there is a tug on the line but that he has found his spot, away from it all, be it all so near. With the slightest of tweaks, this could be a very, very strong image indeed.

#3) Inez - by Janet - The deep lines in this ladies face say so much. So introspective, such a lovely lady with most likely a story to beat all stories. The red is striking but I must say I'd love to taste it in black and white.

These are my humble opinions. Thanks everyone, so much.
c

The votes are in, and our winner for the April Photo Assignment competition is -- Sweetlight!

Congratulations, SWEETLIGHT!

Sweetlight, please let us know what the subject of our next Photo Assignment will be -- it will run from May 1st (Tuesday) to May 25th (Friday).

Congratulations also to our runners-up: Janet and Peter, as well as all participants. We all got out with our cameras to hunt down an experience that made us feel the "human condition", and created another image for our portfolio and our memory.

#3) Inez - by Janet - The deep lines in this ladies face say so much. So introspective, such a lovely lady with most likely a story to beat all stories. The red is striking but I must say I'd love to taste it in black and white.

These are my humble opinions. Thanks everyone, so much.



Congratulations! I like the stuff you have posted on flickr a lot. You really picked the name Sweetlight right. You have a great eye.

BW, hmmm, I should have thought of that. I don't think in BW most of the time. It is an excellent idea. I think I'll take you up on it.

Janet