Photography Class Summary--Best of Neets as Voted by Neets

After seeing the photos my fellow students thought were worth a prize, I realized my own judgment of my work is very different. Its entirely subjective of course, but I really wanted to try to look at all my pics objectively and decide which ones really meet the remit of the class: to take artistic photos which have interesting color, contrast, composition and creativitiy.

So here are the ones I just to be my best from the class (and these do not include photos that I didnt choose to bring to class):

Peaceful Tension
I do agree with my classmates that this is a good shot. It has the peace/tension thing I was discussing in the last post, but it's also really clear and the light was just right.


Dead Blue
I love the color from this blue gel. I feel like I'm being sucked into this one.


Arteries
It could be the color from the pink gel mixed with the deep pink of the plant, but this just reminds me of the human vascular system. Almost produces an "Ewwww" reaction from me sometimes.


Woven
We had to use objects like paper clips and rubber bands in unusual ways, and maybe I like this because I felt clever at having thought to weave the band into this plant. I like things that remind me I can be clever. It happens rarely.


Spaceballs
OK, I'm giving that a humorous name, but I do love the little space-like globules of color in this. I was torn between this one, and one I call "Grapes," but this one edged the other out.


Well, that's my top 5. For a beginner, it's not too bad, is it? I hope I can keep developing these skills. With the 365 Project, I plan to have a camera in hand every day, so there's nowhere to go but up! ; )

Photography Class Summary--Best of Neets as Voted by the Class

In our final class, we had a little "judging." Each week you were supposed to have brought in 5 of your best photos of the week. With only three of us in class, we had accumulated 105 photos, from which we each had to award photos (other than your own) 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Merit and Honorary prizes. It was incredibly difficult because they other ladies took some incredible shots. I feel sorry for real judges when they have so many awesome photos to choose from.

So, from 15 possible selections for awards, 6 of my photos were selected! YAY! Interestingly, only a couple are ones I would have chosen. While voting for the others' pictures, there were a couple of my own that I just loved, and secretly wished I could vote for, but you could not vote for your own, and I am a rule-follower at all times.

The real reason for the little award session was for the teacher to talk to us about the experience of entering shows. We talked about how to present the photo, how to select photos, and how different judges approach selecting the winners. Its really interesting. She's won a lot of prizes in juried and non-juried shows, and we saw a lot of her examples.

We also talked about how to select what kind of paper to print your photo on. We looked at the same pic in multiple paper types from canvas to glossy photo paper. This is probably the area I had the least knowledge of and found this part really cool.

Finally we talked about naming our photos. Something like 50% of the reason people buy a photo is due to the name the artist gave it. People are drawn to the picture, but sometimes they hear the name and the deal is sealed, because it just gives the viewer something to connect to.

So, without further ado, from lowest prize to highest prize, here are the ones that my fellows chose for prizes.

Merit

The Little Dude
I kept referring to this statue as "The Little Dude" throughout the evening. I love his little face, and somehow it just absorbs light. Beautiful little statue.


Creeping In
I don't know why they liked it but there's something creepy about this. As if the dark color is just creeping in to take over the pretty reds and pinks.


Honorary

The Clip
This was from our first assignment -- I think people responded to the symmetry. I just happened to get the clip to lay perfectly horizonally. One girl kept saying it looked like a monkey. I don't see it. I just nod and smile.


Suspension


2nd Place

Peaceful Tension
This is also one of the first assignments. I was so concerned that this leaf would break the tension at the water's surface and just fall to the bottom of the pond. At the same time, it looks peacful. It's peacefully tense.


Evening Glow
We had fun using gels, and I really want to just put 10 different gels in my purse to have all the time. They just intensify the contrast of pictures in a really cool way.


Again, its interesting what others find compelling. Most of these were not my favorite shots...which brings me to the next posting...Best of Neets as Voted by Neets!