Live Performance – Competition April 11th 2024

The judge for this month’s competition was Paul Pegler, an experienced photographer with decades of experience. Paul made a number of useful general comments that all photographers could put into practise to improve their photography. Paul suggested photographers use a tripod and practise to get the sharpest photo they can and then they will know the standard to which they should aspire for all photographs. Another tip is to learn to look through the image you are taking to the background so you can see if there will be any distractions behind the subject(s) that will draw the viewer’s attention away, if so, consider moving to a different position. Where there are a number of potential stories in a composition consider selecting one story to tell if the image will be too busy. When composing a photo concentrate on where your eyes go as that will be where the viewer’s eyes will go too. Paul also advised when submitting a photo in digital format consider the border, if the background is dark a thin light border will help identify the edges of the image, but a thicker border tends to shut out the viewer.

In the projected images – colour set subject , scoring top points was Michael Selge’s “Amy”. The Judge said it told a good story, with good separation from the background. The viewer can see the type of music the singer performs.

Gordon Lindqvist’s “James” also scored very well. We get the story of James and his trumpet and his understanding of music. The viewer can almost hear him.

Of “Down the Lens” by Michael Selge the Judge said that the subject is looking straight at us, giving a strong and personal story. You felt the subject could see us.

In the projected monochrome set subject Michael Selge also scored well with “Attitude”. The subject definitely has attitude as the name suggests. With the smoke machine we get story and detail, we want to know more about him.

“Concert Performer” shot by Penny Williams told the story. Even though we can’t see the fingers of the flautist, her face shows us the story.

Michael Selge’s “Kimbra” projects to us, the detail is in the face.

In the open category for colour projected images, Judy Sara’s “Tossing the Bud” caught the moment well, with nice detail in the surroundings, there is nothing in the water that drags our eye away, The image gives us the time and place.

Amanda Goulter’s “Marsupial Mice” has nice detail said the Judge. The viewer can see the the detail from the eyes, the fur and to the whiskers. The story is of the mice, going back and looking for more food, they are on the road.

“The Pinnacles” by Steve Wallace has a strong background, it shows dark clouds with a possibly recent storm but with the sun shining straight on the pinnacles telling a clear story.

The top scorer in the projected digital images monochrome in the open section was Gail Iskov with “Coorong”. Paul said the image takes a good lead from the first pole right through to the horizon. He said the image hasn’t lost detail in the foreground or the background and keeps the viewers attention on the detail.

Also scoring well was Judy Sara’s “Trunk Splash” with the judge noting that the photographer had chosen to just include the trunk and legs and picked a special moment in time. The image has detail throughout and the background does not drag our attention away from the subject.

Moving to the Print section, in the colour set subject categotry, “Noiseworks” by Michael Selge scored top marks. The judge said that everything is beautifully sharp. The view can imagine they are hearing the song. There is good detail throughout and there is good separation of the background.

Also by Michael Selge, “Dubstep NZ” gained top marks. The judge said the subject was sharp and you could see the tattoos. The background’s nicely out of focus and the viewer gets the place and the story which is nicely told.

Mark Pedlar’s “Byron Bay Blues” told a good story, it has good background which contributes to the story giving us time and place, the performer is playing his guitar, he is laid back and casual.

“Courtney in the Moment” by Sheila Gatehouse had a very sharp image, we can see the drummer and the guitarist, we get place and good detail.

Also by Sheila Gatehouse, “Are you in my Tribe” scored well. Paul said you could see the personality of the performer.

Following the colour prints the monochrome prints were judged. Michael Selge’s “Chester” impressed the judge who said you got a sense of a raspy voice. The singer is certainly yelling into the microphone. A little detail may have been lost the overall moment was well captured.

“Concentration” by Paul Hughes told a good story. Between looking down, using a pick the musician is working hard to get the music across. Good storyline with reasonable detail throughout.

In the open category, monochrome prints, Judy Sara’s “Dust Bath” scored well. The image gave us the captured moment. He said Judy did exceptionally well to capture the moment and there was no lost detail.

The judge also liked Judy’s “Buffalo and Egret”. He said the interesting part of the photo was the fly buzzing around the head of the buffalo and the egret picking at bugs.

In the print open monochrome section there were a number of high scoring photos. Mark Pedlar’s “Dunedin Station scored well. (Image not supplied)

The “Cazneaux Tree” by Heather Connelly got top marks. The judge said it had wonderful detail on the tree, with good separation from the background.

The judge liked Judy Sara’s “Darter on Stump” . He said with the glaringly white background the attention is kept on the bird, it is almost high key and the contrast is done well.

Also by Judy Sara, “Watch Out” had great detail throughout and is lovely and sharp.