Tygerberg Photographic Society - May 2015

And I thought last month was bad!!! Four entries this month, and not one gold rating!

The set subject for the month was "Movement". I spent quite a lot of time trying to think of something different to use which would depict or demonstrate movement. Eventually I chose two items from our home, the first one being my main guitar. I spent quite some time setting up the shoot and then again editing the final image. This was the choice for my print entry. Here it is, and named "Vibrating G-string":

I love its simplicity, the shapes and angles, and the clean lines of the image, but the judge didn't, and the shot scored a silver rating.

For my digital submission, I chose to try and capture the movement of the pendulum inside an old clock that had been awarded during the second world war to my grandfather on my Mom's side. The clock is still going strong, and made a really interesting subject. Well - at least I thought so! But again, the judge didn't. In fact it took him at least a full minute to see the pendulum! The image was titled "A split second", as it was taken with a shutter speed of 0,6 seconds. A silver rating followed. See what you think:

For the open section, I knew I was taking a chance. Personally I love both these images, but realise they aren't everyone's cup of tea. The first was taken at the beach at Van Riebeeckstrand, in front of our flat. Jacqui and I were sitting on the balcony on a warm and sunny day, when all of a sudden the infamous West Coast mist decided to make an appearance! There were people on the beach enjoying the sunshine, and they were really caught unawares. I rushed downstairs with my camera, and was able to take this image of a couple who were to pack up and leave about two minutes after I had taken the shot. My thanks to my wife, Jacqui, for the title (which I thought was really amusing) - "Umbrellas in the mist".

And finally to the dog of the evening! According to the judge, the image had no focal point, was just a record shot, and had little merit, and so he gave it a bronze rating. But I still love the image! Some of what the judge had to say might be correct, but for me it's still special, and is just simply about the gorgeous light - the light in the sky and on the trees. Which is why I titled it "Thunderstorm lighting". It was taken from our patio during a thunderstorm and here it is:

So - another poor evening - three silvers and a bronze. Seven points out of a possible twelve. But I suppose it could have been worse!