Forum Competition #129 - A Record, Pure and Simple

[John]

We have had much discussion about record shots recently, so now here is your chance to show what you can do. First, find an object to photograph, then take a pure and simple photograph of it that shows me exactly what it is. Nothing fancy, but superb technical quality and something that could be in an encyclopaedia or technical journal. The object can be anything you like, but it should be the only subject in the image with no distractions from other objects, backgrounds or lighting effects. Colour or black and white, as you wish.

I'll give you a bit more time than usual as you might have to shoot this from scratch, so the deadline for entries is midnight Friday 13th June.

[yachtsman1]

I bought this at a car boot sale in Weston SM last year with a view to converting it to a lamp. After cleaning it up & having a new mirror cut I sold it on Ebay as it was too good to break up.
Eric.

[Paul Jones]

First, find an object to photograph, then take a pure and simple photograph of it that shows me exactly what it is.
Nothing fancy, but superb technical quality and something that could be in an encyclopaedia or technical journal.

This was a good challenge John. I decided to take a photo especially for it, rather than use an existing photo from my files.

I've just setup my lights in my loft and decided to capture a record of my tablet. Lighting it took a bit of trial and error, as did finding the best exposure (as I'm sure you'll appreciate if you have ever photographed a glass screen).

I'm thrilled with the result and hope you are too.

So, here is my entry, with the title:


Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 Android Tablet

[melbarnes]

Here's my first attempt in my light tent. It's a sextant I bought many years ago from a ship's chandler in Amsterdam.

[gwenbarnes]

Surely this is a record shot??

[Mrs Yachtsman1]

This picture was taken with my new Fuji SL1000, which I haven't had much practice with, we are off to Kent next week, hopefully I can fine tune my skills there.
The picture is a "bronze" (probably resin) bought from Ebay, it's called "The Dancers" by Kim B.
Margaret
Mrs Yachtsman1.

[KEASLA]

Best i can do with out all my equipment

[Janice Freeman]

Tatton Park Classic Cars - Wolsey.

20140602_114_tonemapped.jpg (217.68 KiB) Viewed 11130 times

[Walter Brooks]

Zorki 4 [1963] with Jupiter 12 [35mm f2.8] lens

[Paul Jones]

the deadline for entries is midnight Friday 13th June.

Competition now closed.

[John]

Verdict to follow very soon!

[John]

Apologies for the delay in judging - I have been having broadband problems ever since my ISP "improved my service"......

Paul - A lovely shot that balances the ambient light with the light from the screen to perfection. The angle shows off the tablet well and we get a good idea of its shape. The background is complementary and not distracting. There is one over bright highlight on the top left corner of the tablet that I feel is a little over-exposed.

Mel - A great angle shows off the sextant, exposure is good and it fulfils the brief. Technically there's a bright highlight right in the centre and the background is perhaps a bit vivid, competing slightly for attention. When we first see the picture, do we think wow what a sextant or wow what a bright blue....DOF is spot on though.

Gwen - A very cute idea and yes, this is definitely a record shot. The same comments regarding backgrounds as for Mel I think, but this time a vivid pink is competing for attention. With a flat subject there are no depth of field issues for sure. A very good bit of thought here.

Mrs Yachtsman1 - Good sharpness, nice subdued background, great subject. I think I would have included all of the base to make a complete record, but otherwise it fulfils all the criteria.

KEASLA - Jared clearly likes his watches, and this is better lit than the one from the Annual Competition. It's straightforward, clean and efficient and regardless of what equipment he may or may not have had available, Jared has done a fine job.

Janice - It's always difficult at events to isolate any one car, but you've done what you could here. A slight problem is cutting off the wheel in the foreground. The angle is excellent, showing a good view of the car without any distortion.

Walter - This is deceptively easy isn't it? Well perhaps not, because metal is notoriously difficult to light. A fine job has been done and the detail and texture are superb. The black background sets off the camera nicely, but when doing this it's a good idea to make sure the background does not blend with the subject. I feel in this shot we do lose it a little on the right side and the camera blends into the black behind it.

Record photography is a skill and involves more than just popping a subject on a surface and taking a picture of it. That's fine for eBay pictures, but a properly executed record shot is much more demanding. This is probably why in spirit some members want to keep the record section, and in support of this idea I'd suggest these images show there is the ability within ADAPS to fulfil such a section. You can do it guys, and you've proved it here.

Three images stand out for me - Paul's, KEASLA's and Walter's. So. the results:

First Place Paul Jones
Second Place Walter Brooks
Third Place KEASLA

Many thanks to everyone who took the trouble to enter and over to you Paul!

[yachtsman1]

What about mine???
Eric
(Yachtsman1)

[John]

Thanks for pointing that out Yachtsman1, unfortunately it didn't load last night, probably due to this ridiculous internet performance. It's there now though, so sorry it was missed and we'll blame Virgin Media!

Yachtsman1 - An interesting subject, presented at the correct angle to show it to its best advantage. The bland background is good, maybe the crop a bit tight on the bottom area and maybe the DOF not quite extending to the switch bottom left of the image.

Sorry again that it didn't show up properly before. 0.19 Mbps at the moment, I feel like I'm back on dial-up.

[Paul Jones]

Paul - A lovely shot that balances the ambient light with the light from the screen to perfection. The angle shows off the tablet well and we get a good idea of its shape. The background is complementary and not distracting. There is one over bright highlight on the top left corner of the tablet that I feel is a little over-exposed.

Three images stand out for me - Paul's, KEASLA's and Walter's. So. the results:

First Place Paul Jones
Second Place Walter Brooks
Third Place KEASLA

Thank-you John
Good judging.
Walter's and Jared's shots would have been worthy winners.