Thank you, everyone, for going well above and beyond the typical call for this challenge. I was impressed by each entry and the narratives that you wrote to accompany them. So without further delay, here are the winners, with the images and narratives reposted:
#4:
Bruce Clark In Flinders Chase National Park, Kangaroo Island, South Australia, on the way to the "Admirals' Arch" and the "Remarkable Rocks", two of the islands spectacular natural formations. We had just turned the corner and I saw this vista unfolding in front of us. Being short of time and with uncertain weather, I pressed on making a mental not to stop here on the way back. I did so and the weather was kind and after a short wait I was rewarded with a car driving past. To me this expresses one view of life. Ups and downs, corners and never exactly sure where we will end up. Since posting this photo on this site and elsewhere, I have been seen three others taken in almost exactly the same place and with almost the exactly same composition. The only differences being a) no vehicle in sight, b) car heading towards rather than away and c) a young chap on a skateboard just starting a thrilling downhill ride. I was struck with the thought that four people unknown to each other, could all be on the same path, each in a different way and yet stop and share the same thought.
A great metaphor and a great photo spot. We have some places like that out here where lots of people take the same basic shot, but for different reasons. But thanks to timing and creative vision, the images are never the same twice.
#3:
Uncle Vanya 2015 marks the year I decided to join the Single In Club here at Pentax Forums. So in theory I should have many shots to choose from. But in reality even with a daily shot only a few really made an impression on me and changed me in some way. The shot below represents me in a way that I am not now. The shot lacks sharpness - I never took the time to fine tune that DA 35 2.4 to my K-50 and my own vision is filled with so many aberrations that it is hard for me to see problems like this until I get the picture on a large monitor - but I think the composition captured the subject really well. But the important thing is that this moment frozen in time is the first time in my adult life where I purposefully walked up to a total stranger and asked if I could take their portrait. It was never fear or shyness, I'm a ham, I think it was just that I wasn't sure of how to approach people without seeming like a creepy guy or something along those lines - but this shot marks the end of that attitude. After this when I saw an interesting person I simply asked, "would you mind if I took your picture?" and if they said they would prefer I didn't, I moved on. I find a surprising number of people are very willing to have their picture taken when approached in a confident and comfortable way - it puts people at ease and makes for a better photographic experience overall as well. There are still subjects i shoot without their knowledge because involving them would break the moment that I want to capture - but when I see someone with an interesting face or a great smile - I tell them why I want to take THEIR picture and see if they are willing to let me. And I find that working with them and giving them minor direction results in a better shot. So this picture marks a moment when I grew as a photographer.
Photographing strangers is exceedingly hard. It's something that I don't really do, so I admire you for it and appreciate how that simple type of photography can change someone.
#2:
Stubyles I've been on a journey as a photographer for a couple of years now.
I have always taken photographs, but I've never taken photography seriously until I discovered how cheap (and good) vintage prime lenses were whilst trying to take astro pictures through a new telescope.
So I bought an old "nifty fifty" and I was off on a journey of self-discovery that has brought me to the point where I have 30+ vintage primes (mostly Pentax) and I think of almost nothing else but photography.
So, I have gone from taking a thousand pictures a day of where ever I was, to spending hours/days/weeks thinking about the picture I want to take and then waiting for the right moment to take it (I still take pictures every day, practice improves technique and adds to my knowledge of my equipment).
This picture marks a watershed moment in my life as a photographer. This is the first picture that I conceived, researched, planned and then executed. When I came home and showed my son his immediate reaction was "Well, that's the best photo you've ever taken by a mile!".
It may not be the best picture I will ever take but it will always be special to me.
"Kimmeridge Bay"
I shot my first planned-out shot in January 2014. It's a fantastic experience to plan a shot, design it in your mind ahead of time, and then compare the finished result to the idea. I think, for me, that planning shots has had more of a positive effect on my work than anything else that I've done in the last few years. Very nice narrative, stupendous shot.
#1:
superduper This is one of my favourite shots, it is of one my favourite places to take photos (search for images of colourscape) and of my daughter, my favourite subject matter. I've shown the picture in it's original form and after I have pp'ed it into a piece of art that is now on my wall.
I always think of it as my daughter considering one of the many possible futures she has in front of her.
Excellent shot with a great relation to you and how you changed over the year. Also, a very nice and outward-looking narrative.
Thank you everyone for participating. I hope you all had as much fun as I did with this weekly challenge. I think these were some of the most personal entries we've seen in the weekly challenges in a long time.
David