Challenge New TP Wildlife (inc. Birds & Macro) Competition

Use to indicate that this thread is for a community Challenge
lindsay

lindsay

Admin
Messages
8,058
Name
Lindsay
Edit My Images
Yes
Des (@dragonfly) of "Captivating Nature" has kindly offered to sponsor a new competition on TP in the genre of Wildlife (including Birds and Macro critters) with two prizes on offer :
1st Prize: a Hide Workshop with Des, normally costing £350
2nd Prize: Single use of a Hide, normally costing £130

Follow the link to his site for details of hides and workshops.
The competition will run over approximately 5 months from the date of posting this announcement upto the 31st of October. Judging will take place during November, to produce a shortlist by the end of November and the two winning entries by 12th December. The following rules will apply:
1) Up to 10 images max per photographer can be entered
2) The images must be taken during the competition period.
3) Finalists must be able to provide a RAW file to verify authenticity i.e. not AI generated, and date of capture. They can process the image as per normal.
4) Copyright remains with the originator of the image, with a licence to display entries granted by virtue of entering them. No other reproduction rights are required.
To clarify point 3: images entered will be posted to an Entries thread on TP as edited jpg's, preferably linked to a full size image file hosted elsewhere. When an image is shortlisted, after initial judging, the shortlist photographers will be invited to send us the Raw file of the image so that we can verify the date of capture and that it is not AI-generated.
5) Judges will be Lindsay and Chris (@sirch) plus Des the sponsor. No second-guessing or disputes over the results will be entertained.

Any questions etc about the competition in this thread please. I've created an Entries thread for submissions, and people are welcome to create their own separate personal threads for their work in progress/ large list of possibles, etc.
 
Last edited:
" They can process the image as per normal. "

Does this mean photoshop / Lightroom can be used ?
 
Yes - the raw is needed only for some verification if you are shortlisted, but entries are expected to have been edited in post unless you're really good! PS/LR/C1 etc are fine.
 
That's me out then :(
 
lindsay said:
Why?
Click to expand...
I do not have photoshop or Lightroom , Also no experience of using them , I thought the skill / art of taking a good photo was done when taking the image
Not when you get home spending hours upping this and lowering that and removing bits to then end up with something that does not resemble the
original image, Just my way of thinking , Others will think different.
Enjoy the competition folks.
 
F1.2 said:
I do not have Photoshop or Lightroom , Also no experience of using them , I thought the skill / art of taking a good photo was done when taking the image
Not when you get home spending hours upping this and lowering that and removing bits to then end up with something that does not resemble the
original image, Just my way of thinking , Others will think different.
Enjoy the competition folks.
Click to expand...
Allen, you’re more than welcome to enter your unedited images. I know some photographers still shoot in JPEG, so you can submit them as they are. I, for one, am not looking for editing prowess. Almost all international wildlife photo competitions, i.e. Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Nature Photographer of the Year, etc., see excessive processing as a minus.
 
Exactly as Des says - we are just not saying it must be a SOOC image.
 
F1.2 said:
Me being dim , What is a SOOC image?
Click to expand...
Straight Out Of Camera i.e. other than reducing size for web usage not other editing = therefore jpeg only, as of course any changes to a raw implies some editing has been done :thinking:

The world is full of Acronyms :headbang: :thinking: :runaway::)
 
Last edited:
Denoise, cropping, all the usual editing is ok. AI Denoise is almost unavoidable if you are using a de-noising tool, but in my experience it has side-effects that can reduce quality, so has to be used with a lot of care.
Fundamentally, editing is ok, but too much editing is usually obvious, and things like sky replacement will be very frowned on I suspect (that's a personal opinion from a judge, one out of three).
 
Is focus stacking of macro/close up images allowed ?
when conditions allow , it has to be completely still no wind , I take focus stacks of damselflies, live insects in the field
Often 20 frames :)
 
LCPete said:
Is focus stacking of macro/close up images allowed ?
when conditions allow , it has to be completely still no wind , I take focus stacks of damselflies, live insects in the field
Often 20 frames :)
Click to expand...
Yes, stacking in macros is allowed so long as it is done in the same session.
 
@Stardust Of course - if they are your images, it matters not where or the circumstances of your passing the shutter. Only you will know the degree to which you can take ownership of the result of your shooting - if the tutor did everything except press the shutter, it may be debatable, but if you were following guidance and made your own decisions, it's your image.
 
Awesome, thanks Lindsay. Just need to remember to upload them after taking them in October now :ROFLMAO:
 
Is gen fill/replacement acceptable? e.g, removing of a fence, and replacing with a like background that's in the rest of the photo?
 
Royal said:
Is gen fill/replacement acceptable? e.g, removing of a fence, and replacing with a like background that's in the rest of the photo?
Click to expand...
Cloning other than dust spots ie. the removal of distracting elements such as cables, fencing etc. is not acceptable. Cropping these out however, is allowed.
 
Some amazing images already, have submitted one of my own
I haven’t linked to an external site, I don’t use things like Flicker sorry but happy to send the full sized jpeg and original Raw files if needed ( focus stacked photo ) :)
 
Are images of captive wildlife acceptable? e.g. taken at the British Wildlife Centre.
 
Sorry @Peter123 I didn't notice a new reply on the thread.
I don't see why not - not everyone can get to a wildlife natural habitat so easily etc.
 
Great idea! I am a big fan of Des's photos. (the older ones don't open, hopefully it's a temporary problem). I hope that many colleagues will join this contest so that we can enjoy a variety of photographs. I myself plan to participate with the maximum number of photos, as long as I make ones that are worth it by October 31.
Post-processing in photography, known as retouching and toning, has been used since its inception, so I don't see anything wrong with its modern version - Photoshop or Lightroom. Of course, it is not mandatory and anyone can participate without it, they just have to save the raw file. In practice, when shooting in JPG, there is also photo processing (sharpening, noise removal, toning, etc.), but it is done by the camera automatically or according to set settings.
I wish success to the the competition!
 
Great photos Mike! At what underwater depth are you shooting? I assume you use lightings. Could you share the rig you used, please!
 
Today is the final day for entries to our TP Wildlife competition. The judges will sp[end the coming month reviewing entries to come up with a shortlist of potential winners.
 
some marvellous shots have been posted on this thread, well done to all, I know how difficult wildlife photography is
 
Entries are now closed.
@dragonfly @sirch and I will now start reviewing the entries during November and will use PM's between each other to compile a shortlist of potential winners
 
We have chosen a shortlist and have placed them in order. Results will be posted shortly.
 
The shortlisted entries, from an exceptionally superb set - congratulations to all who submitted entries - is as follows:

Winner: Little Bittern by @trk2 :
Little bittern by Konstantin Kanin, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54768505681_eb3ae3bab8_b.jpg
2nd Place: Glenville Fritillary by @Rincewind :
https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/attachments/glanville-frits-sml-jpg.460297/
3rd Place: Frogfish by @pooley
https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/attachments/jumping-frogfish-tp-jpg.458497/


I am PM'ing the winner and runner up to offer congratulations and discuss next steps.

Once again these were our selection out of an extremely high standard of entries, from which it was really difficult to select a shortlist let alone winning pair. Thanks to all who submitted entries and thanks to Des @dragonfly for instigating the competition and offering the prizes.
 
Well done to all the winners, lovely images all of them (y)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top