Yes that's the score I got for this photo at the Camera Club last night. It was the lowest score of all the images. it;s a shame I didn't take a photo of a yellow balloon that scored either 19 or 20! I think it has finally made me realise that I don't think I want to belong to a Camera Club so I won't be renewing my membership in the autumn. The judge said that it was out of focus. I would like to see how long he could wait for the bird to be in the right position. Yes I do sound cross because I am. Oh well rant over! I will put the other images that I submitted in my other albums, the highest score I got was 14.
Thanks for all your kind comments and Favs. It is always much appreciated.
I know you're cross but you made me smile - you sound just like I did after the last camera club competition I entered! It's so frustrating when you put so much into preparing your entries and the judge doesn't get it.
This is a great image and in my opinion you should have scored extra points for it being in a natural setting, there are too many 'nature' photos that are set up and are just too good to be true :)
Rosie , before reading your intro I thought how wonderful this is ! sounds as if the adjudicator needed to go to Specsavers or in the least clean his glasses . A super bird portrait - big fav
Wonderful capture I would give it 20 and I given it a BIG FAV. The camera club I go to with the U3A is non competative with only critique on how to improve the photo from a visiting speaker or among ourselves and has to be always sooc.We have a lot of fun and laughs and all go home happy.
Awesome capture. Oh my gosh, Rosie, you should have gotten 20 out of 20. I guess that shows us that photography is in the eyes of the beholder and it's all a matter of opinion.
I don’t see how it is out if focus other than the background! It’s my first year in a camera club and every judge has a different opinion and some are more critical than others. My highest score so far is 17 out of 20!
20/20 from me Rosie! Out of focus? The eye is perfectly in focus which is the most important thing! This is a wonderful capture in the wild - fabulous dof giving you that gorgeous soft background! I couldn’t join in this kind of competition as I would need to respect the judge!
Judges do seem vary in their critique skills. Some are excellent, but not always. We've had one that commented many times on too much green in the images. Other one had a thing for too much black or not enough black.
Another one who knew absolutely nothing about animals, he kept having to ask in the nature section what the subjects were.
One of our clubs very strong points is Nature, we have some great photographers and they submit some amazing "wild" images. It is very highly contested. One time someone put in an stunning in flight shot of a bird of prey. It was amazing. Judge rejected it straight off as there was a tiny amount of shadow on the underwing. Not black - shadow. How strange when the light was from above.
He finally settled for his 1st 2nd and 3rd on three "nice" shots of a gecko, tree frog, and can't remember if it was a locust or harvest mouse.
All on the SAME stick !!!!
Same background!!!
Someone's successful day at a studio,
This is a cracking image Rosie, and easily deserved a better score.
If I may make one minor point, I think I personally would have cropped very slightly ( not much), on the left, just to move the bird from dead centre of the image. It would make it appear the birds looking more into the picture.
But that is only my opinion, and is certainly not a reason for it to be scored so low.
Looks a great image to me Rosie much much better than 12, we have all been there with scores from external judges, last night was our clubs monochrome print judging, mine two got 14 and the weakest got 17, out of 64 prints he only gave 1 at 18, 1 at 19 and 1 at 20 he was very picky:)
This is an exquisite shot, Rosie! And, so hard to get. The focus is great, and the background absolutely wonderful. I don't think everyone out there (not in our group) understands how difficult it is to get these photos in the natural setting with no baiting! That is how I photograph nature as well. Keep on trucking, girl... love all your work!
I had to come back - the more I look at it, the more cross I get on your behalf. Its an absolutely ridiculous score. I hope all these comments have encouraged you and made you feel better.
I think the judge needs glasses! What more could you want ? This is super sharp, catch light in his eye! Wonderful detail in the feathers - well I think I am cross now too
Rosie, I'm a judge !!! It's a difficult job.
I try to see the positive things in an image and encourage the photographer. My critique's are gentle and I always pick up on the good points of an image.
I think this is the best of your 3 images, great catchlights , sharp in the right places (the eyes) with a beautiful diffused background utilising negative space. The square format is a good way of presenting an image . I might have bumped the ISO up a little to get a couple more stops on the aperture to get the chest as sharp as the eye . A beautiful shot
@markp Thanks Mark for your great feedback and yes, I think you are right about the crop. This was for an open competition and sadly we don't have a competition for nature photos. I think the support I have had from all the lovely people on here is far greater than anything else I have experienced and I am grateful to have so many lovely people that follow and comment on my project. Thank you
@phil_howcroft Thank you Phil and your critique has been most helpful. If the judge had said something like this, I wouldn't have been so upset. It's great to know so many lovely supportive people on this site and your opinion as a Judge is very much valued. Thank you
12/20 - Are you kidding me? I'm a bit late to the party but this is a wonderful image and the judge was very harsh. Don't let it dent your confidence. Thank goodness for the warmth and support of 365!
I just had to come and make it 25. Don’t know what wS wrong with those judges. It ticks every single box for me . Comp , lightening, detail...and you caught the character of this awesome bird of prey. I love it. Fav
January 4th, 2020
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This is a great image and in my opinion you should have scored extra points for it being in a natural setting, there are too many 'nature' photos that are set up and are just too good to be true :)
Another one who knew absolutely nothing about animals, he kept having to ask in the nature section what the subjects were.
One of our clubs very strong points is Nature, we have some great photographers and they submit some amazing "wild" images. It is very highly contested. One time someone put in an stunning in flight shot of a bird of prey. It was amazing. Judge rejected it straight off as there was a tiny amount of shadow on the underwing. Not black - shadow. How strange when the light was from above.
He finally settled for his 1st 2nd and 3rd on three "nice" shots of a gecko, tree frog, and can't remember if it was a locust or harvest mouse.
All on the SAME stick !!!!
Same background!!!
Someone's successful day at a studio,
This is a cracking image Rosie, and easily deserved a better score.
If I may make one minor point, I think I personally would have cropped very slightly ( not much), on the left, just to move the bird from dead centre of the image. It would make it appear the birds looking more into the picture.
But that is only my opinion, and is certainly not a reason for it to be scored so low.
Was it in nature or just open colour category??
I try to see the positive things in an image and encourage the photographer. My critique's are gentle and I always pick up on the good points of an image.
I think this is the best of your 3 images, great catchlights , sharp in the right places (the eyes) with a beautiful diffused background utilising negative space. The square format is a good way of presenting an image . I might have bumped the ISO up a little to get a couple more stops on the aperture to get the chest as sharp as the eye . A beautiful shot