RichLacey Loc: Atlanta

Number two. Nice work!!!

Ramsay2303

Beautiful pictures indeed. Thx for sharing!

bertloomis Loc: Fort Worth, Texas

I like all of them but by a small margin I think the third is best. Good luck!

Coffee bean

Best is #2 do not crop the off site is great composition

aellman Loc: Boston MA

I think #2 is the winner. Best of luck. >Alan

Beenthere

[quote=pmsc70d]Our county fair allows only one entry per category. I have several in mind for the "Wildlife" category, and don't know which to choose. What would you choose?

Do it, Do it! They are all really good but my favorite is the second one, The Hawk on a fence, or pole holding his prey under his left foot/claw thingy.

Haydon

Number 2 is the best of the lot. I wouldn't crop on the right. Negative space gives the subject more of a dynamic scene. See if you can add a little more light on camera left on the subject. I suspect the nearest eye will be virtually black when printed otherwise.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

They are all nice but #2 is probably the best for competition.

stanikon Loc: Deep in the Heart of Texas

1 or 2 - either one would be very good, especially in a competition. Definitely NOT #3, which is a good photo in its own right but would not do well in a competition. #4 is iffy, but falls behind #1 and #2.

I would not crop the osprey. It needs to be off-center for dramatic effect.

cameranut Loc: North Carolina

A lot depends on what the judges are looking for but I would go with either 2 or 4.

RRS Loc: Not sure

You make a lot of assumptions and don't know a thing about me. I'm happy for you that after winning a PSA competition you get joy out of competing in county fair photo events. I only ever entered one photo contest and no I did not win but did make the final judging in a world wide contest with over one hundred thousand entries. I don't do contest but I have judged several and you are right it is subjective.

Photography has changed and so have I, film to digital. We are no longer limited to what a professional printer could do for us in a chemical darkroom for a price, I know because that's what I did for a living for years. Still today we have composition, exposure, tone , color and last but not least sharpness in this digital world with software available to everyone. Unless you are a (SOOC) straight out of camera shooter you will need to learn and develop some computer skills to be a complete photographer.

I feel that you are doing a disservice and being dishonest with someone, if asked to comment, if you aren't truthful with what you say. Yes, what and how you say it makes a big difference. I'll say it again, too many times on sites like this, people give a wow factor because they can't bring themselves to something that isn't positive. There have been several members here that have posted two pictures and asked , A or B, for a contest and they were darn good shots, I'll bet by your standards too .

I wish the OP all the luck in the world, I would not advise him on what picture to submit but advise him to rethink his selection or rework what he has shown. I've been involved with photography since 1954 and for over 30 years made a good living as a photographer and printer and along the way I've learned a thing or two.

stanikon Loc: Deep in the Heart of Texas

I have only entered one contest. It was a local county fair here in Texas. The photo I entered was of the remains of a dead tree, which is OK, but it is in California. I won Best of Show, and never did tell them they were looking at a California tree.

RRS Loc: Not sure

Must have been a great shot, would it have made a difference if someone had asked, I hope not. I was in on a PPA print competition and one of the several judges scored a print very low, so low that the judging stopped while a panel of judges had a discussion on the final score. It turns out that the judge in question had visited the actual place where the shot had been taken and thought that something of interest had been left out. Needless to say his vote was thrown out, you just never know.

Congratulations for "Best in Show" !

JoAnneK01 Loc: Lahaina, Hawaii

#2 is great. Crop a little from the top and right side. Most of the others have to much foliage, limbs, branches that interferes with or takes away from the subject.

lookingglass18

Another vote for the osprey. Great shot!!