Always nice to see the entries dropping in during the weekend. Nine entries in total and some very nice ones again. And now I have to face the difficulty of judging. The main criterion is clear: deep DOF (DD). And further on….
I think the picture which has drawn my attention over the whole DOF-range has become the winner, but first I’ll give my remarks and questions on the other ones.

Dave - Started right away with a very deeeeeeep one. My eyes keep looking from the front to the end and back again. Don’t see such depths that often in our flat country. Subject is clearly the bridge, but the mountains do attract attention as well.

Frank - Also DD, but the lack of contrast between the mountainrange and the sky in combination with the bright colours of the flowers pulls my attraction just to the front.

Bruce - Nice sharp from front to end. In spite of the fountains the sundial keeps pulling my eyes. Nice composition, with the sundial shot at the right high to keep the curve of the waterline visible.

Rense - Not trying to bribe me with a nice cattle-shot, are you . I do like lack of distracting colours because the cows and buildings are both BW. I won’t blame you for the “looking away”.

Salty - Good to have the orientation-shot. Makes me understand the DD. The pattern itself doesn’t fit the criteria enough for me.

Tim - very deep colours. Is it a glass piece of art; a dish or something? Do like the light shining through.

…………drumroll…………

Third place
Seacapt - Nice shot. Points of attraction as well in the front as at the horizon. Wondering where the road leads to.

Second place

Dan - Point of attraction starts right at the front an takes me all the way to the tree at the and. Nice sky, remark: the sign at the left distracts me a bit (OK, bit niggling)

This week’s winner

Steve - The longer I look at it, the more intriguing. First I thought less DOF would fit better to point out the stone, but I really do like the shelving farther away.


That are the result of this week. I now do understand something of the difficulty of judging. Luckily it’s just a game. I do wish everyone success and especially pleasure on the opposite DOF: small.
(excuses for my grammatical mistakes, I’m definitely not a native speaker)

[Rense]

Great job on judging Jan! Glad you found some time..... And no, I realised you were the judge after I'd sent in my contribution, so I did not realy use my knowledge....

Steve, Dan and Seacapt: CONGRATS, great job! Your pic Steve, was a winner from the beginning, I would have chosen it as winner too!

[Bramela]

Well judged, Janvan, thanks for your comments.
Have to say the winner was a standout. Well deserved Steve.
And congratulations to all entries for some really great shots.

[daacon]

Congrats to all as usual thanks for all the comments Jan nice job - I have to admit Steve and Dan's were my favorites as well.

[stevebrot]

Thank you for all the kind comments and Jan, for judging mine above several other great entries

This was a difficult assignment. It is easy to get huge DOF...just use a small aperture. The problem is finding a subject that benefits from this approach. I originally went to the graveyard hoping to find the typical field of white crosses for a more conventional geometric photo using the fish-eye. What I found was a mix of uniform monuments with a sprinkling of larger stones. The larger ones indicated cases where additional money was spent for a larger monument and tell specific stories. Leaving the smaller stones in focus provided the subject isolation that limited DOF would generally offer while providing the full context of the subject.

At least, that is my thinking in retrospect

In reality, I spent about an hour working with various headstones in various ways at f/22 with the Zenitar 16/2.8 fish-eye. The photo I posted was one of the last that I took. I liked it as soon as I saw it in the viewfinder. The top edge of the tombstone was pretty close to the lens with the camera at a weird angle to the ground and to the line of grave markers. The cool thing was that the weird angle allowed for preservation of straight lines without defishing the image.

Dan -- Really like the yellow tube

Seacapt -- The bridge really does go on into the distance

Salty -- The geometric pattern is great

Tim -- I am a fan of Chihuly and like your treatment of his work

Rense -- Too bad that cow was not cooperative

Bruce -- I like the converging lines

Frank -- The flowers are really bright and cheery. You have a beautiful yard and view!

Dave -- Your vacation pictures have me seriously envious. I always appreciate a good landscape.

Steve

[seacapt]

Thanks for the honor and the comments!
Janvan - to answer your question the picture is cropped right at the foot of the bridge , it runs between the mainland and a small barrier island next is the Atlantic.

[DanLoc78]

Jan, that sign annoyed me too

Thanks for the mention! I think you were right on with the winner...great shot Steve! Well done all, let's all now stop way up and get some shallow DOF shots!

[DanLoc78]

Uploading steve's photo into the P52 winners gallery now...