Competitions: The First Step In The Road To Excellence
by Wes Bloemker
As the NCC webmaster, I have the distinct privilege to post our competition winning images to our website. This gives me the opportunity to reflect on the judges comments while working with these images. Two things come to mind as I consider my decision to jump into the competitions.
First, I am awestruck at the amount of talent in our membership. The beauty in the competition images is truly inspiring. Secondly, the competition judges provide very constructive feedback on each image. They call it critique, but I saw it was much more. I prefer to call it coaching.
After being with Naples Camera Club for 2 years, I decided it was time to enter our image Competitions. I looked at it as an opportunity to improve my photography skills and a club benefit to which I was oblivious. I set a goal to enter as many competitions as possible in the 2023 - 2024 NCC Season.
I began my journey into competitions by taking advantage of an image critique being offered by DPI-SIG. At the critique session they would provide feedback on a handful of images. Christine Cook would be providing the main critique.
After selecting a photo, I anxiously awaited for Christine’s evaluation. She provided suggestions as well as encouragement. Some of the suggestions proved to be challenging my abilities in Photoshop - like editing stray hairs. My edits still result in obvious alterations which left the photo much worse. But with every continued attempt, it is getting better.
Christine’s encouragement gave me more incentive to begin entering NCC competitions. Also, I began looking at my own photographs from a different perspective. It was all about the details. The details do matter.
On November 2, 2023, I sent Deborah Law, the NCC Vice President, Competitions, my first entry into a NCC Competition. The category was set as monochrome. My entry was titled Bashful Blonde94.
Even though I did not place in the competition, I felt like a winner with the generous feedback provided by the judges.
Cynthia Taft noted “To me it’s a very compelling image. The beauty in her eyes and the swirls of hair. Framing that in a way that really tells the story of the title, Bashful Blonde. The tight crop I think is wonderful because it enhances the emotion and that personal connection that you have a s a viewer. The details are all rendered and are beautifully sharp. So, one suggestion, the background is fine, but I think if you wanted to have a greater impact, I would have darkened the background and let her beautiful hair and all the shadows and the lights in her face pop out a little bit more.
Deborah also commented that dodging and burning on the image is allowed per PSA rule. Cynthia’s comments were echoed by another judge.
What awesome feedback! I never expected to get such actionable feedback as this on my first entry. I also would never have thought about darkening the background. I am still toying with the image to figure out how best to execute the feedback. Even though I still am not satisfied with my Photoshop skills, I can already tell the edits suggested by the judges are improving the image.
NCC’s next competition for the season was held on December 12, 2023. I had the perfect image to submit. I titled it “Time For My Close-up.” As I waited for my image to be judged, I was once again awestruck over the images being judged before mine. They were simply works of art.
My image was finally displayed. This time the judge who provided feedback was Art David. Again, the feedback was sound and very actionable.
Art said “This image is notably well lit, sharp and in focus, showcasing technical excellence in capturing the details of the eagle. The tones and contrast are skillfully handled, creating a visually pleasing composition. The background bokeh is especially noteworthy, offering a beautifully blurred backdrop with neutral beige and grey tones that effectively contrast with both the light cap of the bird's head and its dark feathers.
“Given the title, "Time For My Close Up," and the existing focus on the eagle's eyes, a consideration to crop in even closer, perhaps in a portrait orientation, would help to align the image with the theme suggested by the title. Since part of the bird's body is already cropped out, the potential for an even closer crop allows for a more focused visual narrative, emphasizing the powerful gaze of the eagle. Despite the eagle not looking directly at the camera, a closer crop could further amplify the impact of the image, creating a more compelling and engaging focal point.
“The image excels in sharpness, focus, and tonal balance. A positive suggestion for improvement includes considering a closer crop to enhance the theme of the title and further emphasize the intensity of the eagle's gaze. This adjustment aims to build upon the strengths of the existing photograph, to contribute to an even more impactful presentation in the context of the competition.”
A closer crop? Who would of thought of that? Is that craziness? The next day, I put the image into LightRoom and gave it a whirl. My reaction was Wowza! I would have never thought of a tighter crop, like a portrait. Especially for a bird!
Putting the 2 images side by side tells the whole story. It is night and day. The image went from another photo of an eagle, to Wowza. I had to write a thank you to Art and attach the cropped image. His reply said it all: “Terrific. It was already there, just hiding. Well done Wes!”
By the way, the original image was awarded an Honorable Mention. If only I had Art’s advice prior, who knows how the image would have placed.
The big story is that regardless of awards, I received the coaching needed to take a photograph, do a simple crop, and make it into a much more compelling image than I could ever imagine. I am looking forward to our next competition and getting additional input.
I encourage everyone to take full advantage of the competitions. At very least, it is a great learning experience. Getting feedback from expert judges is a great way to improve skills. And who knows, you just might win First Place. If not, you win anyway with great coaching.
I want to thank all of the judges and Deborah Law for the continued encouragement. My goal is to enter all of the NCC competitions that I can. If nothing else, to obtain more valuable feedback.