Amongst the 'big guns'

[hotspur]

Every now and again people in various hobbies are occasionally asked to see how they measure up against others in the same hobby.Many often go in comps,quite a few,such as myself and most others on this forum are happy to potter along without the need to go into comps.

In the past I have only ever entered two photo comps,one was a general photo comp,the more recent a dedicated astro comp.

I was recently asked if I would like to enter a local district photo comp by a friend running it,I did not like to say no to her,as she has taught me something about how to do PP.Also I had to go into high grade against real pro togs.most had D7000 one with a F2.8 400 nikor,another with 500 L F4 and 1D,and many with 5d2 and similar.So,I had to look at this as a real challange,and just give it my best shot,I knew the 400L was a beautiful lens,and used wisely could give great results.

I had to think about where my strengths and weekness was in photography (and there are pages of the later),The one thing I knew I did have was skill in the bush,and observation skills of nature,-basically get the light right-and get close,close to those little birds (nature subject was what I had ear marked to get best results in).

Well,it all lined up,out of 35 top entries,I collected 1st and 2nd,(those little bird images)see attached one which was first.

I missed the judging proceedings and arrived at lunch time,the organiser told me it came down to five images 4 of mine and one by the 500L F4 1 D owner,The scarlet honeyeater won.

But only just-the Gravilla its on,came into question-was it a native or a hybrid sold at a nursery??? As this was a nature section-no 'hand of man' was to be allowed (You can see this was really serious!!) never thought of that before!,anyhow there was a vote by the panel of professional photography judges,and it got the nod.

Second was my yellow robin,strangely it got a score of 24,and the red bird 22.

My two sons also scored well in a big field of entries with two first and two seconds,One using the new G12 see butterfly image it got a 1st.

SO there you go,the 400L 'The little lens that could'

Its good to go in a comp every few years or so,to get some feed back,I ended up talking with one of the judge panel for over 2 hours,and learnt a great deal,and its likely we will meet up again.As for comps-once every two years will do me.

Thanks to many people on this forum who have given me advice an pointers to improve my limited skills over the past couple of years,Some of your advice etc-made these results I achived today possible.:thanx:

BTW my son rotated the butterfly image,so it was 'right way up',here its as it was photographed.

[Octane]

Owning top of the line gear does not make one a professional, or even a good, photographer.

You only have to hang out on DP Review to read all the *****ing and moaning that people carry on with. Sometimes it's almost like as if having a good camera is a status symbol of some kind. They're more concerned with discussing flaws of the top-of-the-line system that they've bought, rather than going out and using it to produce works of art.

There's also people who buy a top end camera and become professionals overnight. Professional photography boards are full of posts about these bottom feeders who give everyone else a bad name. Established photographers who were able to command high commissions for shooting weddings and other projects, are now having to explain to their clientelle why they should still charge the same amount of money, when, Joe Bloggs who's just bought a full frame camera is willing to do their wedding for $500.

What I'm trying to say is that gear isn't everything. There's people out there who are producing incredible stuff just using the camera in their iPhones.

It's not the gear -- it's the photographer.

Well done on your success.

H

[leon]

As my PM Chris, congratulations again mate.

Leon

[Waxing_Gibbous]

Well done Chris.
I've been hammering away at photography for 30 years, have owned every Canon lens worth owning, and have garnered a grand total of 3 awards!
I enjoy it immensely, but but that touch of genius eludes me.
My wife on the other hand, points her i-Phone at something and David Baileys' knocking on our door for advice!

[DavidTrap]

Well done Chris - nice sharp shot, as we've come to expect!

Sounds like they might be a reasonably serious bunch Chris - but as the saying goes, "It's not the size of the wand, but the magic that you weave with it!"

DT

[dugnsuz]

That Butterfly image is amazing - kudos to your son Chris, and well done to all of you.

[hotspur]

Thanks Doug,I am sure my son will appreciate your feed back,He was using the Canon G 12,not sure what mode it was on,he mentioned something about a 'brightness' setting.He adjusted the levels a little tiny bit and a bit of a crop.Personal,I prefer the image the way he photographed as seen here,and so does he.

Thanks all other comments,Yes H,I do agree with what you say,I have seen what you say apply to other hobbies too.-Show someone how to shoot bunnies with a .22,they turn around and say to you their off to Africa with a 7 mm magnum to shoot Kudu.There is a fair bit of as learning curve in between.

The photographers in this comp that had the gear were certainly no fools,one was a high end photo journolist,that has made a living from photograph,and others in a similar league too.

One chap had an outstanding image of an Osprey (sea eagle) in flight with fish,with late arvo sun on it as it flew towards photographer-stunning capture.

What I am trying to say is the achievement here I manly made was,That in the 'final cut' all 4 of my nature images were on the table along side the Osprey photo,The judges had to decide 1st and 2nd out of these 5,there was no third or HC.So,I really had to stretch a little bit further out of my comfort zone.And thanks to members such as yourself and many others here
who have helped with advice and pointers,I achieved this result-as well as a lot of hard work.

Cheers Chris