Last week I received feedback on three of my photos that were entered for the monthly challenge at Gisborne Camera Club (GCC). Secondly, I am now a member of the PSNZ, which stands for the Photographic Society of New Zealand. Hopefully, joining the PSNZ will open some new doorways provide some inspiration. Anyway, without further ado, here are some photos with the feedback I recieved.

B39-Open-Evening Peace
The perfect title. This is indeed a very peaceful image. The pastel colours are beautiful. I can’t
decide if the ship is a distraction or not. On balance I decided it was nice, especially as the red of
its hull looks quite pastel like. The layout of the tree in the bottom third balances well with the
negative space of the water. Just nitpicking but perhaps the large trunks sticking up are a little too
bright. It’s not a major thing and the layout and colours win me over.
Evaluation: Honours (Chris Page)

39-Still Life-Got Milk
A wonderful abstract still life. I am assuming this is an upside-down mug or perhaps a jug. The
strong geometric shapes and patterns are engaging and visually stimulating. Using black and
white like this can be challenging, however the author has controlled the exposure, and everything
is just so. Nice work!
Evaluation: Honours (Chris Page)

B39-Interaction-See You Later
This is a very strong street photography image where the author has managed to catch this
moment as it unfolds. What I love about street photography is that in this tiny moment we can build
up our own back story and try to fill in the gaps. It’s like people watching on steroids. When I look
at this image I have so many questions, do they know each other? Was this someone complaining
about the other getting in their way? What are all those marks on his legs? Is that normal dress or
is she going to an event? And so, it goes. There are a few distracting elements and I wonder if this
would be stronger in black and white. This is a nicely seen moment.
Evaluation: Highly commended (Chris Page)

Thoughts?

Effective feedback is the single best way to improve as a photographer, and I am incredibly grateful to the guest judge of this month’s photos. It was also nice to get a good mark for images that are outside of my specialist genre. However, living in NZ has brought my Landscape photography along in leaps and bounds.

What do you think of the comments the judges made? Agree, disagree, of have something to add? Either way, enjoy the pics and hopefully this blog will continue to inspire some of you to get your camera out. I’m now looking at starting to put together a final project based around the East Coast of NZ’s North Island. Watch this space.

Keep clicking, Chris