[matthew]

The theme for the April photo challenge is TOOL or TOOLS.

Welcome to the first new Shuttertalk photo challenge!

This is a place to challenge yourself and get out to take some new and interesting photos. We'll be running a new Challenge every month, so join in and have fun!

For the CHALLENGE: You may enter one photo that you've taken between now and the close of the entry period, which will be on or around April 21.

A gallery will be created to host the photos for the Tools challenge, so upload your entry to it before the deadline. But you can change your entry at any time (up to the deadline) simply by uploading a new photo and removing the old one.

There are no right or wrong ways to interpret the theme, but how well your photograph captures it will be considered in the judging. And there are prizes this month – Julian will provide more information about that shortly.

LINK: http://www.shuttertalk.com/gallery/thumb...?album=158

For this thread: this is the place to experiment, compare notes, and maybe even show off a bit. Photos shown here don't need to be taken during the challenge period, and there's no ending date, either. Think of this as an Assignment thread that's doing double-duty for Challenge announcements and you'll be right.


Be creative and enjoy!

[Zig]

Self-portraits then.

(Arf!)

[NT73]

Self-portraits then.

(Arf!)

As long as they are well executed.

[matthew]

Self-portraits then.

Only if you're in a band.

[shuttertalk]

Hi all, the gallery is now open for upload, which means that the challenge is officially open!
http://www.shuttertalk.com/gallery/thumb...?album=158

Just a note on prizes:

1 x Zenfolio Unlimited Plan (12 months of free membership, worth $50 USD)
Will be awarded to the winner of the challenge, as decided by Matthew.
Zenfolio is a photo and video hosting service, and is the ultimate destination to present your photos and video clips online. The Unlimited Plan allows unlimited storage, high definition video hosting, and the ability to use your own domain name to point to your gallery.
More details on Zenfolio here

In addition...

1 x LensCapTrap Pro Kit (worth $9.50 USD)
Will be awarded to a participant randomly chosen by myself.
LensCapTrap is a simple way of making sure your lens caps stay where you want them. The Pro Kit contains 5 lens patches and 2 strap strips/carriers.
We recently reviewed the LensCapTrap here, and more details are available here.

All the best everyone - I trust everyone will give it a good crack and also hope that we all have some fun in the process. Let's not take ourselves too seriously... except maybe for you D800 users...

[matthew]

Thanks, Julian, I'm really looking forward to this.

[shuttertalk]

What are everyone's thoughts so far on the challenge? Are ideas springing to mind yet?

I've got some ideas and will try to take some time this easter weekend to create the shot....

[matthew]

I have a "good" photo planned, but haven't had the time to create it yet. Soon. Not this weekend, but soon. I hope.

But last weekend I spotted this one, which struck me as being a bit bigger than most:

[shuttertalk]

Ok, my entry is in! I was exploring the concept of shapes and silhouettes - and it occurred to me that tools are immediately recognisable.

I was tossing up between a cold blue post processing and just a plainer pale background. In the end I decided to go with the latter. What does everyone think?

[shuttertalk]

Hey all, just a reminder that the challenge ends this Saturday - less than 5 days time. So far it looks like I've got the only entry - it would be a shame if I won the challenge by default...

[NT73]

No chance! ;D



This was a very well used tool, sadly no longer useful.
Didn't know where to put it so I put it in both.

   

[Toad]

2 Entries:

This first one was taken within the challenge timeframe. The second one a couple of years ago, but thematically more on the mark.

[shuttertalk]

Ah great, thanks for your entries guys! Don't forget to upload your entry to the gallery as per Matthew's instructions if you haven't done so already.

By the way, I was just kidding with regards to winning the prize - I'm opting myself out from the prizes for obvious reasons...

[matthew]

Julian, thanks for the bump – I've been screamingly busy with off-line projects recently, and have only just now found time to take my photos for the April challenge. They're literally downloading to Lightroom as I type this, so I'll have one suitably seasoned and added to the gallery by friday.

Remember: the gallery closes this weekend!

[matthew]

A couple of the tools I was dealing with this past weekend:






Yes, it's IKEA…

[matthew]

Mine's in!





I had a lot of fun with this, and I'm not even eligible for the prizes. I can only imagine how enjoyable the last few days of this challenge could be for all of the people who are yet to take photos and upload them to the gallery!

I was planning on using some wonderful evening light for a moody, environmental photo, but by the time I was set up the sun had gone to bed. So I used a flashlight instead – this was my best out of about a dozen attempts.

And, just because I used my D800:



This was taken with my 85mm T/S lens, and I picked f/16 as a good compromise aperture that let me not quite have everything in focus while also having diffraction soften the image slightly.

[Toad]

Its curious how nobody seems to comment on the entries in these threads. I know that I never consider doing it until I have entered myself....and by then there have been multiple entires over a span of time, and suddenly its gotten quite complicated. Same thing this time.

I think I'm going to save it up and comment on all of the entries when the Challenge ends.

Be sure to announce it.

[matthew]

The challenge gallery will be closing shortly! If you have a recent image to submit for the theme of "tools", and you've been waiting for the chance to use it, this is it!

[slejhamer]

[shuttertalk]

Wow, fantastic Mitch! Love the angle / perspective...

[shuttertalk]

Hi everyone, I've now closed the gallery - thank you to everyone for your participation and support for this challenge.

It's over to Matthew now to organise the judging and announcements of the winners... stay tuned!

[Zig]

Hey, a delight to see slej about: darn nice shot too!

[matthew]

Thanks everyone for the entries. The judges have been conscripted – I mean, have volunteered – and I'll have the results and some comments from them soon. In the meantime, charge your batteries and clean off your lenses, because the next challenge theme will be announced shortly.

[matthew]

And the results are in! I sought out the advice and insights of several fellow photographers, and this is what they said:

slejhamer: Jaws - The Family
This was the overall favourite. The theme was clearly and powerfully expressed with a pleasing and interesting composition. Focus is well-controlled, and the metal sheen of the wrenches is wonderfully captured. Great work.

Toad: Power Pipes
While a strong and gritty industrial image, the judges didn't see a strong expression of the theme. Great colour palette of greens and blue-grey to go with the interesting lines and diagonals.

NT73: Untitled
Knowing the theme of the challenge, the choice of a watch as a tool to tell time was inventive, but the text was something of a distraction. The focus on the watches' crown is good with interesting detail to look at.

and, although not eligible for any prizes…

Toad: Hands
Strong expression of the theme, and an interesting interpretation. There's a lot to look at here, and the photo suggests that this could be a very interesting person to know.

shuttertalk: Toolsies
Clearly expressing the theme, the lightbox / silhouette makes for an unusual image. The arrangement of the negative space between the two tools is particularly nicely done.

matthew: The Workman's Hammer
While an interesting technique, the judges thought a squarer composition that showed more of the handle would improve the composition. On learning that this photo was mine, they echoed Zig's suggestion that a self-portrait would have also been a solid expression of the theme.


Thanks to everyone who entered!


And remember, although the challenge is closed, this thread always remains open for more photos and discussion. Think of it as an ongoing assignment for a rainy day.

[NT73]

I was thinking about the text after the comp closed, and came to the same conclusion - too late.


Well done everyone.

Toads "Hands" won hands down for me, although out of the time frame.
Maybe because of the colour.

I have well over a hundred tools and most pretty well used. For many different uses.

Many years back I discovered my neighbour to have only a small electrical screwdriver and a small claw hammer, as his total toolbox. (No nails or screws)
Gobsmacked didn't come into it.