The topic for February is... ***ABSTRACT***

The Rules:

* PM me your submissions.
* ONE photo per user, however you may CHANGE your submitted photo at any time up to the due date by sending me a PM.
* There is no maximum or minimum image size, we are not here to discriminate against hardware.
* Only very light editing is allowed. Adjustment of Levels, Colour Correction, Contrast, Sharpening and Cropping is allowed.
* This thread will be closed at the specified time (end of the month). No extra entries will be accepted, except under special circumstances.
* Entries breaking these rules will not be entered.
* The forum policy must be followed.
* If you wish to remain anonymous even after voting has finished, then please let me know when you are submitting your image.

The Process:

* Please keep the image size to less than 1.5Mb
* Go out and take a photo, fitting in the theme and rules.
* Post your entry to me by PM, I will host it and post it.
* When the due date passes, the entries thread will be closed, and a voting thread created to determine the favourite.
* You will not be able to vote for your own entry.

The Tips:

* Think laterally, not literally. Makes for an interesting piece.
* Try to make everyone think about what they're looking at.
* Do what YOU think is right. Art is very subjective. What's great to you, sucks to someone else, etc.
* Title your work, it will make your choices more obvious
* This is nothing serious, have fun while you're doing it.

Voting:

* Voting occurs for one week from midnight on the last day of February until midnight on the seventh of March 2010 .
* After voting has finished the winner chooses the next theme within a couple of days.
* Once the new theme has been chosen entries may be submitted until midnight on the last day of the month.

Good luck.

Al

The entries:

Self Portrait ?


Peek-a-boo


Swirls


Raw bacon


Voyage to the Stars


Zen and the art of pancakes


Radiation


Natural Abstract


Passing Backwards


Not an iPod


Contrast


Oh!!!


Waterfall

Can I ask a question?

What are we voting on? Originality of subject, composition, image quality?

Because I'm confused.

I've always tried to vote on what communicates the idea best, with the other aspects feeding into my final decision.
That's the same criteria I try to use taking the picture. Taking a pretty picture isn't the hard part, it's getting the idea across.
IMHO, anyway.

Vote on whatever criteria you want but I try to vote on how well the image fits the theme.

Mark

IMHO there are three factors in the following order of importance that I use in both photographing and judging:

Firstly, there are the "Rules". Al is the arbitor, but they are your framework when considering & processing your shot.

Secondly, you have the "Theme". The theme constrains and inspires your subject matter but as Al has mentioned a number of times, a wide latitude is allowed, (indeed, encouraged!) for it's interpretation.

Lastly, there is the photographic quality, by which, I mean the technical and artistic choices you make in creating the image.

HTH.

Self Portrait ? has just been submitted.

Al

That's a great image.

Mark

Peek-a-boo has just been submitted

Al

Swirls has just been submitted.

Al

This is going to be a tough month.

I know. The baby is keeping me up, money is tight, I'm fed up at work......

Raw bacon, Voyage to the Stars and Zen and the art of pancakes have been submitted fairly recently (depending on your definition of ages ago...).

Al

Wow.

Radiation has just been submitted.

Al

Natural Abstract has just been submitted.

Al