No feedback from challenge entry

I'm at the moment getting to grips with a Sony a55/18-250 lens combination, and in the meantime thought I'd try entering a challenge with a picture taken some time ago with a KM a200. I entered the attached image in the "First in this series... This week's verb is "Running", where it finished 28th of 50. Out of 14 scores, 6 were 0.5 or 1, 7 were 2 or 2.5. One kind soul gave it 5, but obviously most didn't like it. That doesn't worry me too much; what I'm looking to do is take pictures I like which will also please at least a fair number of people, but I've received no feedback despite asking for comments. So... has anybody got anything to say? Feel free, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me!

well technically the sky seems blown out. but I can;' comment on other colours though they maybe overcooked. hard to tell on this monitor.

My problem with it is you didn't convey a subject. is it the colour. the statue. the shadows . where is it supposed to have its interest?

--
http://www.fotosource.com/downloads/flyer/eye_cancer_en_CA.pdf

image occupied only a small portion. The look/viewpoint was the usual clinical and boring front going down. It may have some opportunities with different viewpoint. There was no exciting form and colors interaction. Lastly, we are both prisoners of the conservative outlook of reviewers .

You were lucky as you placed in the middle pack. My old entry to "portraits" for a flower like below (same flower but more isolated) placed at the bottom pack, lol.



--
Cheers,
gil - San Jose, CA
Cheap Lens, JPG and 100% Handholding Provocateur
Like happiness, photography is often better created than pursued.

Because of high contrasts, entire composition was challenging: bright sky, dense shade areas. You managed to get nice result with detail visible in both, light and dark areas, even clouds detail is visible (1 stop ND Grad placed diagonally would help). Most importantly flowering bushes are juicy; sculpture placement is perfect, perspective - interesting. Your photo does nice overview of what you saw...

As for 0.5 raters - they are crap of forums. Don't take close to heart, develop thick skin, but make clear to yourself that in modern days you shot mostly for own pleasure...

--
Make photos that will be interesting to check after many years.
http://stan-pustylnik.smugmug.com

Here goes my unqualified critique: nice colour, nice sculpture, but what am I looking at? Where is the main subject? The runner scupture? That's too small, and too much burried with busy background. In a word, there is no clear, dominant composition.

Human eyes see everything in 3D and we got excited by some of the scenery. Once captured in 2D photo much of the "impact" get lost in this 3D-2D translation. Photography is all about visually telling a story, and how to tell it.

I am struggling with composition all the time, I often delete 99% of images not because of bad exposure but lack of "story" or impact. One way I force myself improving comosition is to shoot B&W so I can concentrate on shape, size, etc. without the distraction of colour.

I’m a member of a Photographic Society and constantly enter competitions and view other peoples’ entries. It’s probably the best way of improving one’s performance. Sometimes my entries are successful but often not.

I see literally thousands of competition entries each year. What judges look for is something striking – out of the ordinary. I think your shot would have been hugely better had you taken it with a wide-angle lens with the statue relatively close-up in the foreground. As it stands, it is a figure on a plinth with a sense of detachment from its surroundings. In other words it’s just a statue in a park. You’ve got to make it arresting, in your face! Hope you follow what I mean. Have another go and let us see what you achieve.
Good luck!

This is how I felt. The sculpture did not seem to be the central subject in the picture. This is why I think it scored lower than was expected. I love the color and the detail in the picture though, as an overall photo it is excellent, but it does not convey the subject as readily as I think it should. Look at the winners of the competition, the runner is very pronounced, the statue in this picture tends to get lost in the beauty of its surroundings.

I'd have rated this photo fairly high. It appeals to many of my favorite things in a photo: depth (I love how the vista peeking between the bushes goes on and on), beautiful colors, crisp images, the contrast between the streamlined statue and lush natural surroundings. It's the kind of photo that you keep looking & looking at, enjoying different things. I like that kind of photo better than "one hit wonders" that make a strong first impression then pall because there isn't much to them beside one strong shape, a catchy subject or bright color. Plus, I like landscapes in general, whether painted or photographed.

Keep in mind people voting in the challenges probably are going by swift impressions as they click through the entries. "One hit wonders" have the advantage over pictures that draw you in slowly like yours.

It did not deserve .5 or 1's for sure

I like the composition, if you apply the rule of thirds it is well layed out. I do agree with others that it does not have a main focus point.

I guess if you see a scence you want to take to move around and shoot from differenct perspectives, different angles and such. WIth digital you can always delete the images later you don't like and you may capture a great angle you did not see at first. Its always best to study the scence if you have time, but move around and shoot. I sometimes don't realize the best shot I took until I review them on my computer later. Seeing it full size on my screen helps.

Nice shot and keep trying. Thats the fun of photography I think. I try to keep learning and impriving my skills.


Also, I think the better the picture is to the contest rules the higher your score will be. I see some enter pics that appear to have nothing to do with the contest. If its a great pic and doesn't have anything to do with the contest subject most voters will give it a lower score.

It represents different opinions and different approaches to photo making. Because it is hard to fit everything into 1 photo, I use journalistic approach (wide, medium, telephoto, details including macro) from same location. Later I pick favorites, but still, very seldom 1 photo can decribe well what I've seen...

--
Make photos that will be interesting to check after many years.
http://stan-pustylnik.smugmug.com

My thanks to those who responded to my request for feedback. While the competition point-scoring is intriguing, well-considered comment and criticism is what really matters. And, as stan_pustylnik said, good discussion.

A few remarks: Glenn thought the colours "maybe overcooked". The rainfall in West Yorkshire, spread evenly throughout the year, does often make such scenes surprisingly lush, but yes, I should have reduced the saturation slightly.

Most thought the statue should have been more dominant, that the picture didn't fit the challenge title adequately. I could, possibly, have titled my photograph "Running figure in a landscape". The pieces in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park are very carefully placed so that their meaning is enhanced by their relationship with their surroundings. Frink said ‘my Running Men are not athletes: they are vulnerable, they are running away from something, or towards it’. In this case, the figure is positive: 'This is not a man running from danger but running for the supreme pleasure of pitting himself against his own strength and endurance.' Of course, most will, firstly and quite rightly, judge a picture purely as an image. Is it valid to present a justification in words to give the viewer further information?

kozmocs advice about taking plenty of photographs with different approaches is well taken; I suppose I do tend to follow the old-fashioned approach of looking for the one "just right" image rather than give myself the chance to explore different ones in PP.

I appreciate the praise and encouragement, particularly that of contadorfan which chimes with my own opinion on the merits of pictures which reward more considered appraisement; I will, however, also try some more direct statements in future entries.
Thank you again.