Critique on some images for a competition

[Dprime]

Hey guys,

I'm entering a couple of emerging photographers competitions in the next few months and I think I've narrowed it down to what I want to enter. I'm to picky with my own work so I just wanted to ask everyone's opinions about the chosen images and if any are lacking... particularly from people who don't have a knowledge of wakeboarding...


Thanks,
Brett

(I've spoken to Gary about posting 6 images, and all is ok, thanks Gary.)

[Matt. K]

Nos 1,2 and 6 would be serious contenders for most competitions.

[wendellt]

the 1st one and last one
1st one is my pick though what vision and technical brilliance

[chrisk]

thats some pretty bad ass photoshop. love these shots.
i really like the last.

[gstark]

1 and 6 absolutely.

I'd like to see a little more saturation in 2.

[marcotrov]

#1 is superb. I think #1 and 6 have great are visually and graphically strong. Good luck with the competition.
cheers
marco

[sirhc55]

#1 - Strong visual detail and graphically excellent colour combination

#2 - Strong composition but I would tend to crop out the still water from the bottom

#3 - I assume the person is wakeboarding on a structure over water - by assuming something it determines for me a lack of strength in the photo

#4 - Again, beautiful composition but lacking in “oompf”

#5 - This is the weakest photo as the subject is subjugated by the tree

#6 - A delightful perspective combined with brilliant colour

[Dprime]

Thanks for all the comments guys. Its good to have some input from people who don't have a wakeboarding perspective, Its hard with this type of thing where a wakeboarder would be impressed because he can see how stylish, or big the rider is going in the photo, whereas someone else might just look at it and see it as "some dude doing a trick, but the overall photo is really nice". So I think I have to find that fine line with the images to get anywhere in a competition.

Its interesting that with #2, people that have seen it that are involved with wakeboarding are really impressed, but its the opposite with people who aren't involved with wakeboarding, so I think that one needs to go.

I forgot about this image, I'm thinking I'll replace #2 with this one.



Once again, thanks for all the comments, its all been taken on board.

[Oz_Beachside]

#1 for certain.

i like it best because its also an unusual setting for wakeboarding, and you have highlighted well the jump between pools, and included the obstical without it dominating.

#1 is a standout over the others.

[barry]

I like 1 & 6 also but 4 is good too. It is simple and artistic IMO. Maybe a bit more saturation would help too.

[wendellt]

by the way if you dont mind me asking where exactly is number 4 shot a desert with a river is an amazing location

[Dprime]

Its at the Sand dunes in Newcastle, It wasn't a lake or anything, just a pool of water that had run into a ditch in the sand dunes, and infested itself with algae

By the way, I have to enter a SERIES of 6 photos, not an individual. So the 6 I have posted are the 6 I'll be entering. Sorry, I forgot to mention that, I just realised from some peoples posts that I think I gave the impression I'm only entering some of them.

[wendellt]

indulge me further
regardign image 1 is this a creative concept you conceptualized and then implemented just for the wakeboarder
for this sort of thing is doing these sort of shoots what distinguishes you from the rest of the photographers out there
would it considered an editorial image
can't get my head around how what i think is a tennis court near a river, however you did it
it's really amazing congratulations

[Dprime]

indulge me further
regardign image 1 is this a creative concept you conceptualized and then implemented just for the wakeboarder
for this sort of thing is doing these sort of shoots what distinguishes you from the rest of the photographers out there
would it considered an editorial image
can't get my head around how what i think is a tennis court near a river, however you did it
it's really amazing congratulations

Thanks Wendellt,

I guess you could say my work within wakeboarding is a bit different to what the majority of other photographers are doing and I'm kind of known for that type of work. I'm lucky that I've come from a studio background, so I try and use lighting and flashes in all of my work to distinguish it.

I do a bit of work for a magazine called "Wake", and they basically give me the creative freedom to shoot any wakeboarding I like, however I like. So most of the time I organise the shoots with my own artistic ideas, find the rider I'm after, and submit it to the magazine to be published (all the above photos are basically submissions, or part of an article for the magazine). And Wake recently has really taken on an artistic approach to the hole layout, so it all kind of fits in nicely, (atleast I think it does )

The idea for #1, a friend of mine had the tennis court in his backyard, and he also owns a few large blow up pools that he does on-land wakeboarding demostrations with. So we placed the 2 pools either side of the net and a petrol powered winch at one end to tow the rider at about 20kph through the pools. Images 1, 3, 4, 5 and the image with the tractor I posted are all using a winch.

Hope that helps

[colin_12]

Like many have said, #1 is very cool.