This month’s Theme is all about Helping Hands
We invited Pavel Suba to be the Guest Judge for this month’s theme. It’s the second time that Pavel is undertaking this task as he also had the same responsibility back in February when he judged the Architectural Photography Challenge. (Follow the link if you missed that).
Pavel is based in the Czech Republic and his speciality areas in photography include photojournalism and feature photography, portraits and macro. His approach is very purist and edits images in a way that keeps the image looking natural and like a photograph rather than digital art.
You can check out his work via his website.
Thanks very much Pavel!
Thanks to all that few that have taken part and congratulations to those who were selected and can be seen in June’s edition of the Algarve Plus Magazine.
The next theme for Algarve Plus we will have to deal with is: “Backstreets“.
Selected & Published Images
Words of Wisdom:
09 Shelling Favas by Robert Pool
This is a particularly pleasing image on several levels. The composition is fresh and clean, with an interesting interplay of lines and shapes e.g. the table – horizontal and vertical; diagonals – the hands; circles – the bowls/glass; organic shapes – the beans. This is enhanced by the variety of textures in the wood, the beans, the hands, ceramic bowls and glass, the hands and clothes. The hands, two of which are still and sharp, and two which are in movement add a pleasing dynamic. Most of the image is crisp, sharp and well exposed, and there is a wide range of tones. All the shadows and highlights show detail. In an image such as this one, the technical excellence enhances the general quality of the image. Last, but not least, I found the colours to be very harmonious, with a pleasant warmth and natural rendition.
01 Needlework by Nigel Moore
This image has a fascinating rang of textures and I appreciated the fact that most of the image is crisp and sharp. The processing, which keeps certain parts of the image very dark serves to accentuate the lighter areas with the gloved hands and adds drama and atmosphere to the image. Essentially, there’s a broad tonal range just where it’s needed, and this serves to focus the viewer’s attention on the focal point.
17 Knoting the Tie by Glyn Parry
A very pleasing image in terms of composition, textures and colour. It’s technically a very well executed and processed image, with almost front-to-back sharpness and a broad range of contrast/tones, which is vital in an image which shows a variety of different textures, from the various kinds of materials, through to the textures on the skin, the man’s beard etc. The various details, such as the gel nails in the woman’s hands, the tie and its pattern, and the pattern on the woman’s shirt invite the viewer to think about the national, cultural and social backgrounds of the people in the image. I personally might have darkened the top hand (the left) just a little, to balance it with the right hand, but this is subjective.
14 Two Worlds by Ligia Glover
A very original and unusual image that one doesn’t see every day. There’s a pleasing array of colours, especially the blue of the water contrasted with the bright colours of the fish. The light parts of the hand further serve to accentuate the vivid colours of the fish. The sharpness of the bottom half of the image is accentuated by the blurry top half of the image/reflections and the view can see something like a window to what’s going on above the water surface.
11 Ready to Fly Again by Heidi Beck
There is mood and atmosphere in this image. It seems the photographer darkened certain areas of the image to emphasise the seagull, the bright white of which stands in stark contrast with the rest of the image. Indeed, it’s the brightest part of the composition, although there’s a complete range of highlight detail in the bird’s plumage. Images such as this, with stark contrasts of highlight and shadow are tricky to process, but this one has been done successfully. Whilst the background has been darkened, it still retains some shadow detail, yet adds mood and atmosphere. You can also see the man’s love for the seagull, and the bird seems calm and trustful. A moving image.
Main Gallery
