manofhg Loc: Knoxville, TN

Thanks.

manofhg Loc: Knoxville, TN

Thanks. I've gotten that sort of comment before and consider it a real compliment. The highest compliment that I have received on that shot is "it reminds me of a Norman Rockwell".

manofhg Loc: Knoxville, TN

He had much rather be on the same side of the door as me because my daughter "mom" was there too. Of course, that is who he is watching, but isn't alarmed because she isn't leaving and there aren't strangers around.

rmm0605 Loc: Atlanta GA

All your images are terrific! I would guess the first and the last photo placed, although the cityscape is wonderful as well.

manofhg Loc: Knoxville, TN

Thanks. Yes, it all depends on what type things the judges judge on, their likes, technical background, etc.

manofhg Loc: Knoxville, TN

Okay, here are the results and my comments going into the fair with these pics.

2nd place, as a few of you have chosen is #6, "By a thread" in the Macro competition.
This was my first attempt to use extension tubes and just a flower left on the dining room table too long. My wife says I need to thank her for not clearing off the table when she should have. The 1st place macro was incredible.

3rd place, was #2, "Philadelphia" which was shot from the "Rocky" steps, where parts of the movie Rocky was filmed.
I wish I could have captured the clock in Penn town hall. All it is in this shot is a washed out circle. To have captured it, I would have had to shot a very dark shot and layered it with what I used. I also wish I had pulled back some and captured the roadway in front of the statue and gotten the cars passing. I intentionally did not, but now wish I had. I could have always cropped it out.

No comments were posted on any pics so I don't really know the thoughts of anyone, not that I would or could expect that.
#1 "Field of Dreams" was shot at a little league baseball game about 1 year ago. A friend was talking about his team and I offered to come shoot them, just cause I wanted to try. This one I thought captured the mood. I like the boy on the right adjusting his hat. Seems very baseball to me.

#2 I spoke of above.

#3, "The 'Way' I saw", was shot in middle TN where I was trying out my new Sigma Art 20 mm f/1.4 out as well as my new camera shooting stars. The winners in this group were really far superior. This one doesn't have enough context around it. The tree gives a little size and placement, but there isn't a draw to the shot. The winner in this one was a beach with the moon and the Milky Way, it was spectacular. Not sure if it was made in one shot or multiple considering the moon was there and wasn't overpowering the view, but it was clearly the winner to me.

#4, "Water Lilly", was shot at Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia. I knew going into this that shot was overexposed around the center of the flower. I didn't have to black out the water, the water was dark for algae control, I think. I did darken the lily pad at the bottom because it was reflecting a lot of light and distracting.

#5, "Valley Forge Memorial Chapel", was a composite of 3 sets of HDRs (3 shots per HDR) then the 3 were stitched together. This one, if shot and processed right, should have straight walls. Also the left wall is really shown in sections of a curve and the right is more just curved, but the real thing isn't curved at all. It was worse without corrections I applied. But, with those corrections, it made the pews arched down on the sides.

#6 I spoke of above.

#7, "Behind the screen", my granddog. My daughter is a vet. When she was in her undergrad, this dog, Remmington, was a lab animal. He was used for teaching purposes, not hurt or experimented on, just used for instructional purposes in the vet tech program. When Christmas holidays approached, the instructors said that they needed someone to take him home of the holidays, otherwise he would have to be put down since there wouldn't be anyone to care for him. She decided she could take him for the holidays. That was about 5 years ago. To put it mildly, he is a great friend and protector for my daughter, and loves her like no other unless she takes something he has killed from him. He has also been on a viral video one of her roommates shot years ago entitled "Don't stop, human". You can probably look it up on Youtube.

Thank you all for taking a few minutes and expressing your choices and comments. This was a lot of fun and a learning experience for me.

buddah17 Loc: The Bahamas

Based on what my entries in competitions have been receiving, I would say the first and last, (the images that look MOST like a photograph..)
OK so WHICH two were they?

manofhg Loc: Knoxville, TN

See post above yours for the run down.

buddah17 Loc: The Bahamas

When I posted, I saw your answer to my question..
Surprised at what the judges picked.
Regarding the micro one, to me it's a good image with great lighting but it seems that when it comes to "micro" competitions, the people with the $1 million lenses usually seem to win, with 2,000 X enlarged images, that look like something from out of space...
Regarding the Philly one, from what I've seen is these contests, they usually say "it's too busy" and/or there isn't a singular point of interest...
Having said that, congrats to you for the wins and recognitions. I've found that it's VERY difficult to place in these contests, and that judges all seem to be "subjective" to their biases every time.. (Makes for boring exhibitions if you go to the same one a few years in a row.) And I applaud your decision to post them on UHH and get come feedback from "us experts! :-)" before entering them, I've started to do the same thing.

TJBNovember Loc: Long Island, New York

Really like the way you captured the statue and clock tower, a well done night scene.

manofhg Loc: Knoxville, TN

Thanks. Subjective is correct, but I think they chose pretty well from the shots I remember. I haven't had the time to look them over very well, but will because I will be in the same building quite a bit with a robotics tournament I am refereeing. You never know the background of a judge either. You don't know if they are looking at it technically or from the point of view of someone who likes abstracts more, something I never understand, or just looking at the overall appeal. Hopefully all of that to some degree. I know that they had 3 judges for this competition, but that is all I know.

StevenG Loc: Long Island, NY

My favorites are the night time city scape and the dog.
Steve

manofhg Loc: Knoxville, TN

Thanks. I shot several of this, different exposures, pan shots that I stitched, etc.

Here is a link to more shots that I was considering before I made the final selections. Some of these are before pp.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Hj6f1VCyZBSZ4DVc8

Millismote Loc: Massachusetts

My pick: #1 and #7

manofhg Loc: Knoxville, TN

Those were favorites of mine as well, but didn't stack up to the competition.