Just had the first photo of these two rejected by the PEG. I don't know why I submit to them but I must be a glutton for punishment. Anyhow, I am not going to complain about the rejection but the comment. The judge stated that Alabama does not have sunsets like the one I submitted. How the heck does he know? The first shot was taken last year and the second one two years before. The colors were not enhanced but they were sharpened and contrast was boosted slightly.
OK, all you southerners, how about adding your own photos to this thread to prove the judge is all wet.

[Gregory_51]

Judging is usually controversial. If they like your photo they are wise and recognize your talent, if they don't they are dolts and wouldn't know a good photo if it bit them on the butt . Pretty much any photo will have those that like it and those that don't. Sunsets are usually not popular with judges because there are always so many submitted. I know from the judging at my photo club that some nights that you could hear groans and snorts of derision from some of the stupid comments the judges make. They often are absurd and it comes down to what they like and don't like in many cases.The marks will often reveal this. A the monthly club judging there are 5 judges. The low and the high marks are thrown out leaving 3 marks. They judge them with out of a possible 10. It's not uncommon to have marks 9 - 9 - 6 or 5 - 6 - 9. They will give low marks to something that most like and high marks to something that most would think to be boring. I know there are a lot of people that hate HDR and won't see past that regardless of how well done it might be. Lots of people have very narrow views as to what is a good photo. It can only be this and certainly not that. In the end it's just a hobby for most of us, we don't make a living off it, very few do. That doesn't mean we can't be enthusiastic or dedicated and such but most do it because they enjoy it. Photography is so easy and common now. I just did a quick search and apparently there are now 380 BILLION photos taken a year and facebook gets 300 million uploaded every day. Now it's probably safe to assume that artistically, 99.99% aren't up to much but the numbers are staggering. Kind of rambling here but that's my 2 cents.

[SpecialK]

The photo location is immaterial - so ya, silly comment.

However, the seemingly out-of-focus oil platform messes with my eye.

[OrchidJulie]

Hey, Susan, as a Florida native I can say without hesitation that sunsets of that intensity do happen down here, and I would presume therefore that Alabama has its share as well.

Can't remember the source of this quote but it's apt sometimes... "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity..." or ignorance, in this case.

[Bob Harris]

Seems to me if there are clouds and a setting sun there is always the possibility of a great sunset photo of different shades and colors. Many of the people that we have camped with over the years didn't even realize Alabama had a coastline, maybe that was the problem with the judge.

[Venturi]

Every time I see someone downgrade/degrade/same-diff a photo because "it's altered" I find myself wishing I had one of Ansel Adams' plates at hand to slap across their brow.

Gorgeous scenes. It didn't even occur to me that the derrick was OOF; I assumed it was atmospheric distortion. And that skyline silhouette has just given me some real inspiration.

[Sailor]

In our neck of the southern woods, the sun sets over land (I don't know what sunrise over the gulf looks like, because I won't get up that early). However, I can testify that I've seen many brilliant skies like that in photo number 2 from the dock and from my front yard.

Jer

[daacon]

Wonderful shot Susan - I am surprised with the outcome, heck we have sunset like that here once in a blue moon - right place right time, it's a striking shot and needs to be hanging on a wall.

[slowpez]

There's not a thing wrong with either shot you posted and the Judge is supposed to be judging the merits of the shots and the skills involved in taking them and not entering into a debate as to whether these colours actually appear in the sky in that specific area. I think some judges over reach their skills and abilities and obviously this one did. I know how you feel when you know that you have something good to enter a competition and it gets overlooked for something less worthy of a place getter. Been there had that done.

Thanks EM but I am OK with the judges rejecting the photo - some made some valid comments.

Judging is usually controversial. If they like your photo they are wise and recognize your talent, if they don't they are dolts and wouldn't know a good photo if it bit them on the butt . Pretty much any photo will have those that like it and those that don't. Sunsets are usually not popular with judges because there are always so many submitted. I know from the judging at my photo club that some nights that you could hear groans and snorts of derision from some of the stupid comments the judges make. They often are absurd and it comes down to what they like and don't like in many cases.The marks will often reveal this. A the monthly club judging there are 5 judges. The low and the high marks are thrown out leaving 3 marks. They judge them with out of a possible 10. It's not uncommon to have marks 9 - 9 - 6 or 5 - 6 - 9. They will give low marks to something that most like and high marks to something that most would think to be boring. I know there are a lot of people that hate HDR and won't see past that regardless of how well done it might be. Lots of people have very narrow views as to what is a good photo. It can only be this and certainly not that. In the end it's just a hobby for most of us, we don't make a living off it, very few do. That doesn't mean we can't be enthusiastic or dedicated and such but most do it because they enjoy it. Photography is so easy and common now. I just did a quick search and apparently there are now 380 BILLION photos taken a year and facebook gets 300 million uploaded every day. Now it's probably safe to assume that artistically, 99.99% aren't up to much but the numbers are staggering. Kind of rambling here but that's my 2 cents.

I absolutely agree with you there but my complaint had nothing to do with the photo being turned down, just with the stupid comment about its authenticity.

The photo location is immaterial - so ya, silly comment.
However, the seemingly out-of-focus oil platform messes with my eye.

Thanks SpecialK. I think the OOF platform is due to the upload however but the foreground is OOF.

Hey, Susan, as a Florida native I can say without hesitation that sunsets of that intensity do happen down here, and I would presume therefore that Alabama has its share as well.

Can't remember the source of this quote but it's apt sometimes... "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity..." or ignorance, in this case.

Thank you Julie. Nice quote.

[slowpez]

Seems to me if there are clouds and a setting sun there is always the possibility of a great sunset photo of different shades and colors. Many of the people that we have camped with over the years didn't even realize Alabama had a coastline, maybe that was the problem with the judge.

That is too funny Bob. Maybe the judge also didn't realize that Alabama had a coastline.

Every time I see someone downgrade/degrade/same-diff a photo because "it's altered" I find myself wishing I had one of Ansel Adams' plates at hand to slap across their brow.
Gorgeous scenes. It didn't even occur to me that the derrick was OOF; I assumed it was atmospheric distortion. And that skyline silhouette has just given me some real inspiration.

I think the OOF is due to the upload but the foreground is OOF and that was also brought up by the judges (legitimate observation) along with the fact that they didn't feel the rig belonged in the frame as it was too small to be significant.

In our neck of the southern woods, the sun sets over land (I don't know what sunrise over the gulf looks like, because I won't get up that early). However, I can testify that I've seen many brilliant skies like that in photo number 2 from the dock and from my front yard.

Jer

Are you bragging or complaining Jer. Wish I had a scene like that in my backyard.

Wonderful shot Susan - I am surprised with the outcome, heck we have sunset like that here once in a blue moon - right place right time, it's a striking shot and needs to be hanging on a wall.

Thanks Dave but I won't hang them. I will enjoy looking at them on my computer screen from time to time.