This is the final image for NF-SOOC-September - you can read more about it here:
http://365project.org/discuss/themes-competitions/23475/back-to-basics-who-s-up-for-a-big-challenge-in-september
So, here we are at the end of the NF-SOOC-SEPT challenge and I believe some reflections are in order. But first I would like to thank everyone who supported and took part in this challenge: 38 of you are listed on the tag page with a total of some 400 images posted. Personally, I had fun and I learned a lot - I hope all of you who took part can say the same.
Some observations then:
1. I posted a lot of images I liked and some I was less enthusiastic about.
2. Those I liked wouldn't have been much improved by processing... they may even have been worse!
3.. Interestingly, I also feel that the images I wasn't so wild about wouldn't have been improved by processing either! They just weren't that good... and you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
4. At the beginning, I felt like I had both arms tied behind my back: only 50mm (equivalent) and no processing. So I started to look harder at what might make a satisfactory image within those limitations - and the harder I looked, the more opportunities I found.
5. The longer I spent looking in the viewfinder, the happier I was with the resulting image. The only times I wanted to crop or remove something from the image was when outside circumstances prevented me from choosing exactly the PoV and composition I would have liked - crowds, off-limit areas, etc.
6. Not being able to frame with a zoom forced me to look for other PoVs - I found getting down to ground level, to subject level, often produced images that I instantly liked.
7. Comparing the best of the month's images with those posted in earlier months showed me that I have developed an over-processing habit. Easy to do, and I suspect brought about by trying to 'rescue' sub-standard images.
Those are the highlights of my learning which I now need to incorporate into my standard workflow. I hope you, my fellow participants, have also have found these reflections useful.
The image is of Paimpont Abbey viewed across the lake through this morning's mist.
What a wonderful image to finish off.
Thank you for initiating this challenge I did participant occasionally and was always on the look out for shots that would fit the challenge, as a result I learned more about my camera.
FAV
Ian