Brighton PhotoFringe 2014 Submission. Help!

Love that Brighton pier photo - the pier meeting the Milky Way seems like the perfect submission for a Brighton photo contest.

My fav for the fourth entry would be the star trails photo because the purple colours match the others and so they seem more like a set. Think if you label it up as 'star trails' people will be fascinated by it especially if it's something that they haven't seen before.

Anyway, my those are my thoughts. Good luck!!!

My favourite is, as I have said before, the windmill.  The pier shot is really good especially the lighting on the pier.  The fishing one has that humorous touch that shows clever perspective and the star trails is very eye catching. These would be my choice, hope this helps.

Hi Sumitra

Your photos are great. Personally I think your 'walking back from the Moon' should be your 4th as its well composed.

A sharp print needs an image resolution of 300dpi. Resize your images to this. They won't look any different on the screen as that's limited to 72dpi.  Also if you are using Photoshop there is normally an option for the type of resizing used. BiCubic Smoother is normally the best,

In Photoshops crop tool just select 29.7cm x 21cm (A4) and 300dpi and crop to improve the composition and resize at the same time.

Photoshop will give good results but to get the best from your compact, I would suggest you try something called 'Perfect Resize'. Its on a trial so you can see what its like.

http://www.ononesoftware.com/products/resize9/

It uses a fractal sharpening method so does not add any nasty ringing like normal methods. The suite of OnOne software is quite good and better value than just getting Perfect Resize in its own.

All you need to do is load the image in Perfect Resize. It will assume 300dpi and ask about the end use i.e. Paper. You then choose the size i.e A4 and a crop screen will appear with the 'Rule of thirds' grid for composition. That's it.

The resize engine can also be used within Photoshop although you do need the Premium version for this. An actions plug in from ProDigital is available

http://www.prodigitalsoftware.com/dSLR_Fractal_Sharpen.html

This allows you to use the power of fractel sharpening in Photoshop and is just loads better than using Gaussian Blur / Unsharp Mask etc.

While on the subject of ProDigital, they also do an Astrophotography Actions plug-in for PS

http://www.prodigitalsoftware.com/Astronomy_Tools_For_Full_Version.html

This really saves a huge amount of time and is well worth it. They do a discount on this for societies which I am going to talk to them about.

Re your printing. What printer do you have? If its one with an option to replace the black cartridge with a multi colour then do this for sure. It improves the tonal range massively. I personally use Fuji paper but most are pretty good. I tend to use a gloss paper as it just gives the images a bit more crispness than a satin.

Hope this all helps

Rupert

Dear Christina and Brian, Thank you for your praising comments and suggestions, they are very much appreciated!! It's so hard to make a choice! 🙂

Your photos are great. Personally I think your ‘walking back from the Moon’ should be your 4th as its well composed.

Dear Rupert, many thanks, I am glad you like them! I am also fond of 'walking back from the Moon' especially as it has also special meaning. I took it a week exactly before my viva and I remember walking up to the ROG for a Flamsteed History of Astronomy talk.

Thank you so very much for all the information for printing. I have never printed before and so did not know anything of these things. It is tremendously helpful!
I will have a look and follow your instructions!

Re your printing. What printer do you have? If its one with an option to replace the black cartridge with a multi colour then do this for sure. It improves the tonal range massively. I personally use Fuji paper but most are pretty good. I tend to use a gloss paper as it just gives the images a bit more crispness than a satin.

Thanks again for more tips. I do not have a printer and the club members pointed me towards a couple of places where I can print the photos. I will ask for Gloss paper!

Very many thanks for all the information! I shall resizing etc.! 🙂

BTW, I would invite you all to the private viewing, but given the geographic location and on a Thursday, I think I can safely say you will join me in spirit! 🙂

Sumitra

The clear standout for me, is the fisherman photo.  Its the least astronomical picture but there is a story of life going in there as the sun sets, the birds make their last scouring search for food, the fisherman snatches up his meal, "you aint touching my food, birdie" as he reels in defiantly but precariously on the edge of the rock against a restless sea just before the mother of all life, sets in the horizon.   The colour hues perfectly complements the setting, the composite of the fish been reeled in is a lovely touch topping off a beautifully orchestrated moment.   I dont know if it would be cheating but what would make it absolutely perfect is to displace the bird a little lower down and crop the whole thing into a cinemascopic format giving it a truly epic scope.   If I was to be shopping for a framed wall decor photo, I'd buy this but then looking at my current chaotic interior decor, it would be insulting to your image!  It deserves a place in a much classier environment...such as an art gallery.

The collage is a nice idea giving a different narrative perspective but it doesnt do it for me because the story is already told in one frame and so reduces the scope.   I also noticed the aspect ratio has changed for each frame and so that seagull and the rock which to my interpretation of the image were both integral to the story has been cropped out.

As a backup choice its bloody difficult to choose, they are all splendid pieces of work in framing, direction, and composition.  The pier image is action packed with photographic features: scattered meteorite trails, the illuminated pier, reflection of pier in the water and of course the milkyway.  The only thing was the stars are slightly trailing but that's just a technicality with compensating exposure to etch out the milky way which itself is an amazing feat.    So that's my backup choice.   However the Fisherman is the clear choice by far...narrative rules for me 🙂

Thanks, Tej, for your lovely comments, narrative for the fisherman and suggestion for the 4th picture!

Perhaps we should have a little game on the forum where we each put photos and get others to write a narrative for them. I'm sure you'd win with your imagination!! haha

Mike, what do you think??

dont know if it would be cheating but what would make it absolutely perfect is to displace the bird a little lower down and crop the whole thing into a cinemascopic format giving it a truly epic scope.

I think it's a nice idea to get the bird to compete with the Firsherman. As I have to submit my printed photos Tuesday at the latest, I am not sure I will have time to do a composite on this occasion! 🙂

If I was to be shopping for a framed wall decor photo, I’d buy this but then looking at my current chaotic interior decor, it would be insulting to your image!  It deserves a place in a much classier environment…such as an art gallery.

I'm curious what your interior decor looks like now!

Thanks!!

"Walking Back from the Moon" is your fourth, I'd say! A lovely photo, engaging because of the people in it who have real character - and a story - even though they're only seen in silhouette.

I noticed your 'Moon rising over the observatory' photo the other day and loved it - but it almost works better as an in-joke for us lot rather than the Brighton gang.

“Walking Back from the Moon” is your fourth, I’d say! A lovely photo, engaging because of the people in it who have real character – and a story – even though they’re only seen in silhouette.

Thanks Andy! I think that's becoming quite the favourite as I am also keen on this one. I was not sure only because it was with my compact camera but since Rupert advised it will be ok when printed, it's getting a bigger vote from me at the moment!

I noticed your ‘Moon rising over the observatory’ photo the other day and loved it – but it almost works better as an in-joke for us lot rather than the Brighton gang

Thanks - I think you also have a point. This kind of audience may find the one with the kids walking down more attractive than the one with the observatory.

Thanks all for your help!!

remembered what the people in 'Moon Walk' were making me think of. Peter Pan!

remembered what the people in ‘Moon Walk’ were making me think of. Peter Pan!

Ah! That's so lovely to be reminded of such a nice story through this image 🙂
Thanks!

Rupert's right!

So as soon as I capture this photo, I'm sure to win APotY!! 😉

I imaged hundreds of people flying across the moon...they were inside an aeroplane :p

btw Sumitra, you do not want to even imagine what my decor looks like, its a terrible mishmash of noir movies, sports, "art" and toys for films that begin with "star.." and then there's sdjfos89hjw=ds

....sorry, bloody R2 just ran over my keyboard, never listens to me...