First off, thanks everyone for participating and making my job of judging tougher than expected. Throughout the week I enjoyed looking at the entries and entering my own, only to later find out I'd be judging. So when I went back through the photos several times, I kept going back to this statement (emphasis mine):
"we want to explore what colour does in our photos..."
I also would look at the entry for what my eye was drawn to, and whether it made me think of Red and its being a necessary color, or could some other color also have replaced it. Obviously, someone could have posted a shot of a red piece of paper and I would naturally think of the color, but other photography ideas like subject, composition, focus, etc would also have to come into play. With my thought process now in your heads, here's the comments in order of posted pic and then the winners:
Rense: very good color and composition, and I like the OOF end of the stem of the subject leaf. Unfortunately, the red here, though ever present, just becomes a background...my eye keeps getting drawn back to the sweet gum (?) leaf. Bonus points for early entry. :)
bbluesman (Mark): Intriguing shot of the drum and stick. Understated red but I kept going back to this shot. My eye did keep getting drawn between the OOF red to the in-focus yellow rope though, and I feel the photo would have been equally good if the end of the stick was a different color. So, though I love the shot, overall I didn't feel the red "made" it.
Tamia: very nice composition and definitely a red subject! I liked your use of DOF and lines to draw me into the shot where I also found more red. Invites one to reach out and eat one (only to find the tart taste of a crabapple :hmm:).
wllm: Nice composition also with the leading lines of the red/while bike rack leading to (fortunately) a red bike. Don't know if you purposely placed the bike there, or it just happened to be there, but good eye for catching it. The background is a bit distracting though, and though the red contributes, for me this is a great "leading lines" type of shot.
Paleo Pete: I like your lady bug, but I would have liked to see a tighter crop, getting rid of most of the right side. The OOF bokeh on left is a good background to highlight the red bug, but I found that my eyes kept getting pulled away from our red friend by the green leaf and orangish stem.
Bramela (Bruce): I also enjoyed this photo in your SiN album. Similar thoughts as Rense's shot though. While the predominant colour is the red/fuschia scheme, it falls into the background and for me this is a great capture of the swirling details of the flower stamens (or is it the pistels...I never was good at remembering flower parts). Eyes go between these and the moth.
SpecialK (Kyle): Nice '57 Chevy, and it's red, but the background throughout the frame is distracting. The red just can't overpower it for me. I think this could be a good subject, but from much closer and at a different angle to highlight a smaller portion of the car, and deal better with the background.
jmschrei (Joe): The use of red here really does draw the eye (all Pentax biasses aside). But that's also due to wise choice of DOF and the greyscale background subjects. They're just dark enough and OOF enough to not be distracting from the primary red Pentax, and secondary red Manfrotto logo. Another case where, had Pentax chosen Yellow, this shot would work well.
Iris: Another fine subject for red. I liked your choice of DOF to really minimize the potential for distraction, AND that it's basically all darker and in the same color scheme so that the eye keeps getting drawn back to the red berries. A minor nit would be that the two OOF brownish leaves to the left of the secondary berry could be a little darker by either burning in or a mask and curves adjustment, but they're OOF enough to not distract too much.
yeatzee (Tanner): Excellent job. Whether the red is from a large bowl that held the water, or simply a product of post-processing, it's very effective. Placement of the drops centered, allows an almost mirror image for the ripples. The drops are perfectly frozen in time and lighting is spot-on. Though I imagine the shot could look great in other colors, there is definitely something about the red that makes it stand out. Watch for a couple hot pixels in there.
photolady: Another SiN shot entered in P52. Depth of field and dark background remove the distractions from your subject, and the red, while present, is a definite supporting color. Overall though, I don't feel that the red here, if replaced with some other color, would be missed.
jax zee: A red rose definitely fits the color theme and the soft focus is definitely appropriate to the softness of the petals. Also, a nice control of background by limiting its physical presence and making it OOF. I can't really fault the photo for anything, but it also doesn't really speak to me either, and I don't know why, because I do like photographing flowers. Perhaps it's just a bit "too normal" of a vantage point that makes it almost seem common to me.
DanLoc78 (Dan): Had it been taken with a Pentax...:lol:. Japanese maples are a favorite red of mine. I also like the secondary red, the control of the sun flare and OOF areas. The red here definitely helps IMO since, if this had been say a silver maple with yellow leaves), they might wash out a bit more with the bright background.
virgilr: Composition! Curves! Lighting! DOF! This shot has it all. Overall great shot of an everyday item. The red definitely adds to the warmth of the shot.
casil403 (Lisa): Definite use of red here, but unfortunately, for me the shadows detract a bit. I think also the close crop, while probably needed to highlight the red, takes them out of the greater context of setting, which you described in the text about Remembrance Day. Not being there for the shot I can't say for sure if you could have managed it, but I would like to have had the red poppies in the context of tombstones/fields to tell the story w/o using words.
StevenVH: The red of the lone berry does draw attention to your subject, but the bright background and small relative size allows my attention to be drawn away again. A nice minimalist photo, but I don't think the red is a necessary element. It would have been equally good with a brown seed pod, or single yellow leaf for example.
VaughnA: Interesting story about the aloe bloom, and a nice use of red to provide the backdrop for the shot. The rec compliments the green nicely. I like the placement of the bloom with its entry lower right and sweeping up to the upper left. Again, another good minimalist photo.
mummarazzi: That is definitely a red building. Unfortunately, that's all it is. The photo doesn't really speak to me except for looking abandoned. I actually think this could work as a B/W photo though.
ovim (Oula): Who knew that a ball of red yarn could look so interesting. Great use of focal point, DOF, and neutral background. I almost wish there was an OOF cat or at least the paw in the background to finish telling the story.
ceericks (Corey): Good on ya for having your camera at the ready. A couple minutes later and the leaf could have been blown away leaving you without a shot. Nice focus and interesting bokeh in the reflection, but I have mixed thoughts about what the red really does here. Perhaps it's the blue that makes the red so-so. Go get your car painted and try again :lol:. Another good example of minimalism though.
MikeS (Mike): Traffic! Movement in the frame is evident in the 10" exposure, but I would have preferred to see it leading into the screen vs horizontally across it (leaves it a bit flat). While red is a primary color here, you've got a bit too much competition from the off-white road(?) band on the bottom third of the photo. Definitely has potential shot a little differently.
So now I have to choose...(it was easier giving comments than actually picking who would get the top spot...I was torn).
Honorable Mention: (a tie)
Tamia
Iris
3rd Place: VaughnA
2nd Place: yeatzee
1st Place (and next week's judge): virgilr
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