Welcome to the poll for our October Open Theme photo contest! Select the photo you think is the best from among our finalists below:

#1.


#2.


#3.


#4.


#5.


#6.


#7.


#8.


#9.


#10.


#11.


#12.


#13.


#14.


#15.

[grey goat]

First off, great job everyone. I knew an OPEN theme would bring out some great work, and this batch exceeded even my expectations. Hard to pick a winner.

I concur with your sentiments. I'd take it further as I think we all have a personal "line" we set for ourselves, of what we will not cross before we consider taking a photo too far. I have zero problem with extensive PP so long as it is not presented as factual news in a newspaper/media reporting environment.

Everything else is Art. Especially so if the artist pre-visualized the final image before it was taken, then all the post process work is just an extension of the capture. If you are just going through photo's and say, gee that sucks as color, I'll try B&W and then you just start throwing spaghetti at it until you have something akin to an ink-blot test, well, even if it comes out cool, the artist has to live with knowing how it came to be. It's like winning a sporting event because of dumb luck. You are the one who has to look at the trophy, and the only person who knows its true value and knows how much work did or didn't go into it.

But take that thought now in the other direction. You stumble out of your car, rub the sleep dust out of your eye's, you whip out your mighty K-Maximus-Prime 40gigaquark camera out with the HDFAFL* 400mm F1.8 Fluorite Limited Tele, and with the camera in full Auto everything mode, you just happen to trip the shutter at something like a bald eagle posing perfectly for you on a a low branch and he takes flight just as you trip the trigger, and the flag across the street just happens to pick up its reflection in his eye. You decide you will quit while you are ahead, get back in the car and go home with a perfectly exposed, amazing shot that everyone will rant and rave over how awesome it is and in needed zero post processing, heck, it was even an out of camera JPG. So... here's this shot that took no thought, no work after the shot... is it better than a shot that was envisioned and took some PP to get it there? Hmmm...

Either way, you can't blame the viewers for liking the final outcome of either scenario.
Eric

YES, I agree: this was an exceptional monthly contest, and the final fifteen are the best collective group I've seen here. Sure, there are some images I wish had made the cut, but when nominations are based on what people like or what they find striking or beautiful or meaningful and . . . well, any number disparate qualifications . . . there are bound to be some photographs that don't make the cut that some people would argue should have been there.

News and photojournalism: there are things that can be dealt with in post, but extensive PP--creating an image by cutting distracting elements, or adding those to create more tension or interest, or any number of things that involve "photoshopping"--can, and should, cost photojournalists their jobs. And has. (Too bad the same standards can't be applied to those with a political axe to grind who think the end justifies the means. But that sort of thing went on back when everyone worked with film, long before the digital environment existed. The dishonest and unethical are always with us. . . .)

I like your two extreme examples; they made me chuckle, which is always a good thing in the morning. I mean, each example is crafted for its ludicrous nature . . . nice.

And, when it comes down to it, people judging contests with no other guidelines than "does it fit the category?" and "was it shot with a Pentax or Ricoh?" are bound to let personal tastes, whatever, inform their choices. And that may very well include the viewer's response to post-processing, or even the suggestion of post-processing.

That said . . . I think this particular "open" contest yielded a particularly strong crop of finalists.

Now, more coffee. . . .

[PhotoLady]

Wow, they are all great pictures, hard to choose one only. Well done to all nominated.
Dinah

[mattb123]

Wow, some really great images here. I'm proud to have mine among them!

[WillWeaverRVA]

You're definitely not making this easy for us. All of these are incredible.

[gkey]

number one for me

[rschuldl]

Great set. Number thirteen speaks to me.

[mkmozio]

Welcome to the poll for our October Open Theme photo contest! Select the photo you think is the best from among our finalists below:

#1.


#2.


#3.


#4.


#5.


#6.


#7.


#8.


#9.


#10.


#11.


#12.


#13.


#14.


#15.

Number 1 is good, in general beautiful image, but number 6 wins if it comes to me. That's for the "moment" , the atmosphere etc.

[DaveSimo]

To all defenders of the past:
Please remember what came before and what must have existed in the days when technology we consider to be “genuine” and “honest” and “true” today. When that technology was novel it, too, was criticised and any attempts to push the boundaries would have been viewed as some form of heresy. History repeats itself here over and over again.

Every single type of technology that has ever been created and exploited by humans has been exactly that - a way to exploit the natural laws of physics to create a projection of ourselves and to paint our imaginations upon a blank, increasingly technically advanced, canvas.

I would say that STATING how the piece of artistic work is produced is far more important than the “how” question itself in abstraction, so that the observer can gain depth into a scene.

With all respect, I trust everyone here already knows that the camera already does it’s own processing of RAW files (be it the type of sensor, the style of shutter, use of lights, manipulation of exposures, tone and hue balancing, dynamic range restriction, pixel shift, HDR, etc). I think it’s very important we ask ourselves, as artists, at what point do we draw the line? At the camera’s ability? Is the photographer one who can work all the functions of a camera? If so, why are we then limited by the decisions of the camera manufacturer to express ourselves? Will I be yet another heretic if I find a work-around for a limitation on my camera? Is a macro with a reversed lens any less valid than one taken with a dedicated macro lens of both are identical?)

At what point do we just come clean and admit that music, painting, doodles, photographs, dance, poetry and all other forms of emotional expression are there to question the limits of our existence? Otherwise we create shackles out of our very attempts to free ourselves of restraints.

I think that an individual who uses a camera as one of many tools to begin a journey into an expression of their own imagination is doing exactly that - using the camera as a tool. The same way the computer is a tool, the multiple photographs merged into one is a technique and the list goes on.
For the so-called purists out there, I put it to you that you’ll never be satisfied unless technology develops to such a point where the photograph is the image from your very eyes, at which point you might as well just use the funky camera on your phone. Because that’s why we use our sexy gadgets isn’t it? For the dynamic range, the creamy or interesting vintage bokeh, the telephoto capability with uncompromising image quality. Our tools of creation are just that. Tools. It’s how and why we use them in the way that we do that counts, and ultimately whether we can make somebody feel something profound, using our masterpiece, that truly matters.

Lastly, because art and class have always been a contentious couple, just because somebody can’t afford all the physical equipment does not mean that they should be socially reprimanded for trying to create something truly astonishing using alternative techniques.

[silverbow47]

I voted for #11. Love the Renaissance look but it was a difficult choice between 11 and 8. A beautiful young lady with even more beautiful eyes.

[ThomSirveaux]

I had to go with #4. It's just breathtaking

[Rexlawyer]

Yep! Some awesome good shots. Picking one is tough but one just grabs me as out of ordinary.

[jk05x]

Hard to pick one, all the entries are too good, Congrats to all the photographers

[From1980]

Narrowed it down to three entries for a while but #2 won me over. The little used low vantage point macro approach is an old favourite of mine. That creature is imposing and the colour is wonderfully done.

[ide508]

As a retired pilot, #5 for me.
Some fantastic shots here !

[Pentax-man]

My favorite is the first.