Would you mind helping me choose (please and thank you)

Which THREE images would you drop?

  • St Paul's from the Tate

    Votes: 12 33.3%

  • Who photographs the photographer?

    Votes: 19 52.8%

  • St Paul's Reflected in Rain

    Votes: 12 33.3%

  • Double Decker in front of St Paul's

    Votes: 15 41.7%

  • OXO Tower from Gabriel's Wharf

    Votes: 8 22.2%

  • Shard from under the Millennium Bridge

    Votes: 13 36.1%

  • Shard from Queenhithe

    Votes: 7 19.4%

  • St Paul's reflected in a puddle

    Votes: 11 30.6%
  • Total voters
    36
Kell

Kell

Messages
5,130
Name
Kell
Edit My Images
Yes
A little while ago, I entered some pics into the Amateur Photographer Night photography competition and was lucky enough to be shortlisted. (See HERE.)

It's in conjunction with Huawei phones who have just released a new version of their flagship Honor line - the [Link Removed]

It has f/2 and f/2.8 lenses and is supposed to be good for night shots.

Anyway, part two of the competition was to receive the phone and use it to create five images to submit and be judged.

Again the theme is as simple and as broad as NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY

I've narrowed it down to 8 images, but would love some help in deciding which three to drop.

If the images below were yours, which THREE would you drop? You can vote up to three images, or just one.

I think I know what I'm going for, but it would be good to get some other thoughts.

Thanks in advance.



Here are the shots:


St Paul's from the Tate by Kell, on Flickr


Who photographs the photographer? by Kell, on Flickr

St Paul's Reflected in Rain by Kell, on Flickr


Double Decker in front of St Paul's by Kell, on Flickr


OXO Tower from Gabriel's Wharf by Kell, on Flickr


Shard from under the Millennium Bridge by Kell, on Flickr


Shard from Queenhithe by Kell, on Flickr


St Paul's reflected in a puddle by Kell, on Flickr
 
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saltireblue said:
Aren't 'Vote for me' posts prohibited under site rules?
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I have no idea - if I'm breaking a rule, then feel free to delete.

This is NOT a 'vote for me plea' though. This is a which images would you choose.

There's no link to a place to vote - and also it's not a public vote. It's sealed judging.
 
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drop 3,4 and 6 - pretty much because 4 and 6 are kind of echo's of 1 and 2, and for me 3 is a bit "out on a limb" as part of a 5 photo "panel"
 
My choise to remove is the who photographs the photographer. Not only is it more or less a double, but I find the back and brolly just doesnt work for me.
 
swanseamale47 said:
My choise to remove is the who photographs the photographer. Not only is it more or less a double, but I find the back and brolly just doesnt work for me.
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Thanks Wayne.

One of the reasons I like that shot and included it here was because the shot of the Double Decker passing in front is a bit 'done'.

I've done it before, because I'd seen someone else do it. The guy in that shot was also there to get that shot. I'd gone there that night with the phone to take that shot.

As such, I feel like they might have seen it before. So... when I got there and there was another photographer in the way, I tried to lean in to that and make THAT the shot. Hoping that they'd see it as a fresh take.
 
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For reference, I'd drop 4 (too similar to 2 and I prefer the Blurred Bus in 2) and 3 (It seems more 'abstract' than the others, so while i like it, it doesn't fit so well as part of a set).
It's harder to pick the final one to drop, but probably 5 (it feels more 'static' than the others).
 
swanseamale47 said:
My choise to remove is the who photographs the photographer. Not only is it more or less a double, but I find the back and brolly just doesnt work for me.
Click to expand...

I liked it, and my reasoning was slightly cynical... this is a Night Photography using a Mobile Phone competition. So, we have a photographer, using "conventional weaponry", tripod, slr out of his backpack, needing a brolly to keep the camera functional. And, the OP rocks up with a mobile phone, and gets a really effective shot without the paraphenalia. Its a classic case of "shooting to appeal to the people who are paying"...

As I say, maybe a little cynical, but it's a consideration...
 
Thanks all.

I think my poll backfired as I've no way of knowing who voted yes or no.

In the end, these are the five I'm submitting.


IMG_20260205_181824-2 by Kell, on Flickr

St Paul's Reflected in Rain by Kell, on Flickr


Shard from under the Millennium Bridge by Kell, on Flickr


Shard from Queenhithe by Kell, on Flickr


St Paul's reflected in a puddle by Kell, on Flickr



1. Photographing the photographer.
I remember watching a clip of Michael Caine talking about a stage play he did. When he had to rush through a door and deliver his lines. Somehow, a chair got lodged in the door, preventing him from opening it. So he just stopped. His director said that he should 'use the difficulty'

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Cl0RG0KHDuc


He was confused, but the director said something along the lines of 'you should use the difficulty. If it's a comedy, fall over it. If it's a drama, smash it, but always use the difficulty'

Anyway, that was my thought process of turning up to take a shot and not being able to - I used the difficulty.

I have cropped it differently though to go a bit tighter and lose the tree on the left as someone else I asked said it was distracting.

2. St Paul’s reflected
As a very visible focal point, St Pauls is very often featured in city scapes along the Thames, but I don't think I've ever seen it shot like this. Entirely in reflection in on a wet pavement. I take that as a suite of images, maybe it feels out of place, but the competition is 'up to five' you could enter one if you were confident enough. I'm never that confident.

3. Shard under the Millennium Bridge
I much prefer shooting the Shard with something else to add visual interest to the frame. I've got several shots on a 'proper' camera where nothing is in the way, and they're nice but this has a bit of added drama for me. For those that don't know, the Thames is tidal and there are certain paces that you can only get to when the tide is out. So ordinarily, you'd have to time your visit well in order to get this shot. One of the benefits of working nearby is that I took this on my way home from work.

4. Shard from Queenhithe
Probably my 'also ran' from this set. As mentioned above, I'd prefer something more interesting in the foreground. But again, these stumps are the remnants of a long-forgotten pier that's only visible and accessible at low-tide. Not using this an excuse (well I am) but I should have got the phone weeks earlier, but due to a mix up (and me then being on holiday) it was only delivered Monday and so I only had Wednesday night and Thursday night to learn how to use it and get the shots.

5. St Pauls from a puddle (on a pedestal)
I've been working on the South Bank for a little over two years now and taking a camera with me to and from work for a lot of that time. But I've yet to see someone else get this shot. Again, it's a bit of luck in that it had to rain and it be dark and then have to stop raining long enough to get a flat, reflective surface to shoot across the river. I considered much tighter crop, but I liked the negative space.

The ones I rejected.

1 - St Pauls with the Millennium. I like the framing, but I feel like this is the shot that most says 'this was taken on a smartphone' to me. There's something about the colouring and the rendering that makes it feel false. Also, on the night in question I bumped into a photogroup who also ended up on that beach taking that image. So...

2 - Oxo Tower. Yeah, most people I asked said it was a bit flat. And I tend to agree.

3 - the double decker in front of St Pauls - as mentioned above, it's a bit of one of 'those' shots now. I feel like being abe to bring a fresh take on a familiar scene hopefully shows some creative thinking and not just derivative work.

Once again, thanks for taking the time to confuse me with your votes, but I did read and consider each comment.
 
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Kell said:
I think my poll backfired as I've no way of knowing who voted yes or no.
Click to expand...

And the order of, and the number of photos seems to have changed :)

I also only see four you are submitting, one is not showing.

You mentioned cropping, what editing is permitted (like saturation and straightening verticals_

But all things aside, nice shots
 
Sangoma said:
And the order of, and the number of photos seems to have changed :)

I also only see four you are submitting, one is not showing.

You mentioned cropping, what editing is permitted (like saturation and straightening verticals_

But all things aside, nice shots
Click to expand...

Thanks.

It was a good exercise if nothing else.

Fingers crossed.

I assume, and it is only based on my original submission, that any editing is allowed. It's done through Photocrowd (which I had to join to enter the comp) and they make a big thing about not using AI. Which in this instance is quite weird as the phone uses a lot of computational AI to make its images.

The one that swung it for my original submission was a three-shot panorama which was stitched together in LightRoom. That’s a fairly large bit of editing - even if it’s just a click of a button these days.

The order hasn’t actually changed - they're in the same order as in the poll, it's just the omissions making it feel odd.

Not sure why the link on that one photo isn't working tho. Will redo that one as it's showing on my laptop, but not my phone.
 
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TheBigYin said:
I liked it, and my reasoning was slightly cynical... this is a Night Photography using a Mobile Phone competition. So, we have a photographer, using "conventional weaponry", tripod, slr out of his backpack, needing a brolly to keep the camera functional. And, the OP rocks up with a mobile phone, and gets a really effective shot without the paraphenalia. Its a classic case of "shooting to appeal to the people who are paying"...

As I say, maybe a little cynical, but it's a consideration...
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Ahhh, now that changes things, I didn't realise that.
 
Didn't win.

Still - nice bit of a learning curve and I got to play with some new tech for a bit.

Thanks again for the advice.

Hi Kell
Thanks again for entering this competition. We loved your entries, but on this occasion, you didn't make the top three. It was a very tight race.

As mentioned, we will also be displaying some of your shortlisted work at an exhibition which takes place at the Amateur Photographer Awards in London at the end of this month. This is an industry only event, but I will be sure to send you some photos of the display. Your images will also be in a feature we are running in Amateur Photographer magazine and website.

Somebody from HONOR's PR agency will be in touch to get the Magic8 Pro phone back - as per the terms of the competition, only the winner and two runners up get to keep it - but I hope you have enjoyed using it.

The Photocrowd entry site will be updated in due course, hopefully today.


Regards and thanks again for entering
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Nice shots. Shame you didn't win but, as you say a good learning experience.

Personally, my favourites are 1,3,4 and 8. Varied and interesting.
 
Hey, just go at it again next time if you fancy it. It is all experience and some learning at the end of the day. If you had fun whilst doing it, even better :)

I had some images marked as part of a professional diploma I completed, all three scored over 90%. I then entered one of them (highest scoring) into a competition and it came back - commended, didn't even hit Bronze level :ROFLMAO:

It was at that point I figured, I couldn't care less about awards myself. I take images for me and enjoy the learning - if I was a pro, I would only care about my fee paying clients. It also didn't help that I was able / offered the chance to purchase feedback for my so called failure....yeah...jog on buddy lol was my response. I haven't bothered since and wont be renewing my membership of said organisation as I have learned it is all subjective and designed to relieve me of money.....and I would prefer to waste that on GAS :ROFLMAO:
 
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I was astonished to make it to the shortlist.

I've still not seen the winning shots, but I did see the other shortlisted entries.

Tis is the shortlist, not the final ones taken with a phone. I even tried clicking on the other photographers, because the final ones should be on their profiles.

www.photocrowd.com

Winning photos from the 'HONOR Night Photographer of the Year' contest! See the best photos and get inspired by Photocrowd's community. (Photo © undefined)

Winning photos from the 'HONOR Night Photographer of the Year' contest! See the best photos and get inspired by Photocrowd's community. (Photo © undefined)
www.photocrowd.com www.photocrowd.com
 
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