photosarah Loc: East Sussex, UK

I would value your thoughts about a judging issue on a Projected Digital Image I entered in my local camera club. Obviously, when you enter any photographic competition, you think that your image is a fairly decent one and might stand a change of a good marking from the judge. But you also realise that the judge may not agree and, as long as the judge gives you some positive feedback as to how he/she considers your entry might have been bettered, you are prepared to accept that opinion
So I entered the attached photo. It is an image of the Royal Air Force Queen’s Squadron performing an exercise under a bright blue floodlight, taken at the British Military Tournament at an indoor venue last December. The title was simply: “RAF Queen’s Squadron at the British Military Tournament”. It was taken with a long lens, hand-held because you cannot interfere with other spectators’ enjoyment by using a tripod, and the light was low, even though it looks bright in the photo.
The first judge simply said “the colour blows my mind” and awarded it 14 points out of 20. He made no other comment, so I didn’t feel that he had bothered to look at it or evaluate it properly.
So I entered it again (allowed within the rules of our club) and added the words “...Under a Blue Floodlight” at the end of the title, to help the second judge to understand why the colour is so bright. This second judge is a man whose opinions I usually respect and who runs training classes to encourage people to become camera club judges, so he is highly experienced. He also started off the evening by saying that he would be looking for “different, difficult or creative photography”.
He looked at the image and said: “I don’t understand why the author has added a blue filter to the photograph, and I don’t see what all the white flashes are. Maybe they are their hands, but they are highly over-exposed” and again, it was severely marked down.
I admit to feeling rather aggrieved because:
• The first judge completely dismissed the photo without any constructive criticism
• The second judge obviously didn’t bother to read the title correctly as he would then have seen that the photo was taken under a blue floodlight, and would not have thought that the “author had added a blue filter” to the photo.
• This is a difficult photo to take because (as stated above) the light level is low, and they obviously used the blue light to give emphasis to their hand movements in the white gloves in the gloom.
• It is quite a slow speed, because upping the ISO would have given it a high level of noise, so any camera shake becomes very obvious. But some parts of the photo are reasonably sharp, so I don’t think there was camera shake.
Therefore, I personally would class this photo as somewhat different from the usual run of club photos, quite difficult to achieve in a low light, and quite creative. As I said, if a judge gives a considered opinion and “constructive criticism” one can accept what he says. I just don’t feel that this is what happened on either occasion.
So the question is: Do you think either judge “saw” my image and adjudicated it fairly?
Can we please not get into a debate about why one would query a judge’s opinion at all. I’m not asking for your evaluation of the photo, although of course if you wish to comment on it, please do – as long as your thoughts are constructive!

Queen's Colour Squadron at the British Military Tournament

photosarah Loc: East Sussex, UK

Sorry, that should have read "Judges' Opinions in Club Competitions": I typed it incorrectly the first time around

Wahawk Loc: NE IA

Any time photos are judged by a 'restricted' group of individuals, you will get those results.

The judging that I value the most is when there is an "open" judging. Back in film days when I belonged to a camera club we would have a special contest at least every 3 months in which ALL members present were requested to fill out a judging slip on all photos displayed. Many times this was the time when there were photos that I personally preferred, that were able to get some very high placings. Therefore, when I was in the position of getting "judges" together, I attempted to get more of the 'general' membership involved.

donrent Loc: Punta Gorda , Fl

I have done judging in the past and all a judge can do is rate his likes or dislikes to a photo,,,
Judging a photo or painting is a total personal opinion...
For me, your photo does absolutly nothing for me.. I don't like it nor do I dislike it...
Something tells me that there are going to be many interesting answers to your questions....

Annie_Girl Loc: It's none of your business

what was the score the second judge gave to this image? I see the first gave it a 14/20, which I would classify as fair.

lightchime Loc: Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Part of a competition is the appropriateness of the entry. Your photo is very different than what I would expect to be a normal entry. It is not well focused and the elements take more than one look to be distinguishable. The blue is overpowering and could have been reduced. One must also ask if there is anything good about the composition.

As a judge, I wouldn't care that you had problems with low light and couldn't use a tripod. These are your problems to overcome. To expect a judge to give you bonus points would be unfair to the other contestants. You are responsible for the image you chose. Perhaps you are the one who made a bad choice. By the way, it looks more like an illustration than a photo.

Sorry that I cannot support you, but your image was considered deficient by the judges. Time to move on and not look for a pity party.

Wahawk Loc: NE IA

:thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown:

photosarah Loc: East Sussex, UK

Hi lightchime
Thanks for replying. I'm not looking for a pity party! Just interested to see if people thought the judges had given fair and considered thought to the image. And without being confrontational, what did you mean that it looks more like an illustration than a photo?

photosarah Loc: East Sussex, UK

I do understand, donrent, that judging is a very subjective thing, and I'm quite willing to accept that a judge really dislikes any image of mine, if I feel that he/she has looked at it properly and can give me a good reason for their opinion.

lightchime Loc: Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Just that. Reminds me more of illustrations that I have done in Photoshop than of pictures I have processed.

photosarah Loc: East Sussex, UK

Hi Annie Girl
14/20 is low in our club so the first judge obviously didn't rate it at all, which is fair enough as he is entitled to his opinion. I just would have liked a more rational explanation for his dislike than "the colour blows my mind". The second judge wasn't required to mark on the image.

Annie_Girl Loc: It's none of your business

I would venture to guess that "the color blows my mind" was a polite way to say, the color is doing nothing for the image. It is not helping give the viewer any type of feelings or connection to the image. I would agree with the judge.

The image is not in focus, the color is distracting and un-natural, the overall image is lacking in contrast and detail.

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

This is Your Ideal of Art, not the judges. If you want better scores, stay more mainstream. In our last judged show we had a category for Photo Art, which this photo would /may have faired better. If you have to Explain a Photo, your not going to win any contest or win over any judges, it must speak for it's self.

GPoyner Loc: North Dakota

So the first question I have is do the judges normally provide elaborate feedback in both posstive and negative comments?

Was your photo one of the few that received a one line remark? I will have to agree the comments above; there is no depth, everything is flat and the whites are blown. Maybe if there was more depth (shadows or something) and we could distingish the hands to know that they were indeed hands the photo may lead to a different response.

Again every opinon is just that an opinon of that one person; do I think you received valid and good feedback....No...but then again I work with Managers and higher ups who don't know how to provide useful feedback either...

orterrym Loc: Miami

I think it was adjudicated fairly.