Atherton & District Amateur Photographic Society

Hi all,

Well, it's my first time at setting a forum competition, and I wanted to choose something that was wide open to interpretation and which hopefully got the creative juices flowing, so the subject this time is 'Once upon a time'.

How you interpret that is up to you, it could be a photo that conjures up emotions of bygone times, something 'vintage' style, an image inspired by a fairytale. I'm sure with the creativity that's out there we should get some great entries.

Closing date is 2 weeks today, so that's 11th October at Midnight.

Have fun with it.

Once upon a time ........

Once Upon a Time.....

James Baker DSM ponders on the past.....

Alice in Wonderland

The Church Inn.
Once upon a time, the factory next door had a workforce, the pub had customers, and there was a local community... once upon a time. Keith.

My entry, "Once upon a time, Tesco's didn't deliver". This attachment was attempted at 10.45pm and got an error report that the board quota had been reached. The deadline was supposed to be midnight. What's going on???
Eric.
This is a retry at 10.50pm image size reduced to 850 pixels from 999. Now appears to have attached without error.

Well, the end has arrived. Not a massive amount of entries, but some quality ones. Thanks to all who entered.

I have never judged anything before, so I hope what I say doesn't make me sound silly.

Paul
This immediately put me in mind of The Waltons, or Little House on the Prairie. I don't know where it was taken, but I found it evoked a sense of the american midwest. Technically it's good, the three elements of the plough, building and mountain lead you right through the picture. I really like this.

Pammie
I'd have liked to have seen this a bit bigger, it's difficult get a sense of an image sometimes when it's pretty small. However, it's a good emotional subject, the combining of what I assume to be at least three different images has been handled well, I like the expression on his face.

John
Candid in wonderland, excellent. Great lead in lines, interesting shapes from the hedges that add to the image but don't grab the attention too much. I don't think this would have been improved by eye contact, but maybe if you'd managed to catch them when the Queen's eyes were opened it would have been better.I feel that the combination of Alice looking at the ground and the Queen having her eyes shot does detract a bit. Also, once I noticed that single flower in the bottom right it kept dragging my eye back, maybe a crop to the edge of the hedge? Overall however, a great shot.

Keith
This pub has nearly made me get off the bus early many times on my way to Manchester, a fine example of delapidation. This shot captures the dereliction perfectly. A shame, but a good solid image.

Eric
A great subject and definitely one that harks back to a bygone age. I think this is one that would have benefitted from waiting just a bit until the man had moved, as the main focal point of the image is his back. The army vehicle next to the van shows that this is some kind of history event, I think you could maybe have got a great character shot of the man and his van. Having said that, it is an interesting subject and does fit the brief, so well done for that.

So, my decision is (faint drum roll please)..

3rd - Keith
2nd - John
1st - Paul

Well done Paul, a great image that instantly conjured up images of Laura Ingalls running down that hill, You'll probably tell me it was taken in Platt Bridge or something now...

That was fine Kevin, not silly at all. And well done Paul - it really seems to be your week for triumphs!

You mean this one could have won? Shucks!

kevinlowe wrote: Not a massive amount of entries, but some quality ones. Thanks to all who entered.
I have never judged anything before, so I hope what I say doesn't make me sound silly.

You did a fine job of judging Kevin.
It was a tricky subject, but one that made you think.

kevinlowe wrote: Paul
This immediately put me in mind of The Waltons, or Little House on the Prairie. I don't know where it was taken, but I found it evoked a sense of the american midwest. Technically it's good, the three elements of the plough, building and mountain lead you right through the picture. I really like this.

Well done Paul, a great image that instantly conjured up images of Laura Ingalls running down that hill, You'll probably tell me it was taken in Platt Bridge or something now...

I said on Thursday how much I love Scotland.

My photograph was taken at a place that has hundreds of photo opportunities and is well worth a visit - Auchindrain, near Inveraray.
It is a preserved 'township' open to visitors as a museum. See: http://www.auchindrain.org.uk/


Thank-you for selecting my image as the winner. I'll try to set another challenge later today.

Best regards
Paul