Perfect Score Drought Broken as 3 Images Earn 27’s in October’s Competition
It’s been a while since our 3 judges came to an agreement on a competition image and awarded a perfect score of 27, but that drought was ended in triple fashion, as 3 images earned that achievement in our October competition. The three images are highlighted below, along with a short “behind the image” remark by the photographer:
Endless by Johannes Banck
Thank you for the perfect score, judges.
This image is of a quarter of the 2015 circular Infinity Bridge sculpture in Aarhus, Denmark.
When we visited in August, we were lucky to arrive towards the end of a rain shower, as minutes later the bridge filled up with joggers and tourists, and every one of their steps shook the bridge making long exposures impossible.
When developing the image I determined that color would not work. B&W instead would reveal many subtle gradients, enhance the “mood,” and “simplify” the image. Carefully selecting highlights and enhancing them added to the depth. The sky added drama and the silhouette of the person scale. Amazingly, that person stood still and was not added later.
Technicals: 30 sec, f16, ISO100, 17mm, 6-stop ND Filter and polarizer
~Johannes
Brown Trout Fishing by Jean-Marc Bara
My first overseas trip since the start of the pandemic was Iceland at the end of July 2021. While I had already been to Iceland twice before in the summer, the combination of Iceland’s good COVID management and stable travel regulations for tourists, made Iceland again the most attractive destination for me.
Given that I had decided to do the exact same itinerary as twice before (round the Island and some of the Highlands), I chose to focus on specific themes. One of these themes was “Man in Landscape”, where I would try to capture large vistas with just one or two persons on the far ground for scale, and to let the viewer place himself or herself in the landscape. In a way, that theme was a way to incorporate my passion for street photography in landscape work. In particular I chose not to pursue the iconic Icelandic views and perspectives, since I had already focused on those twice before.
Since I had this “Man in Landscape” theme top-of-mind, when I saw these two fishermen fishing on the perfectly oval crater lake in the Icelandic Highlands, it was an automatic reaction to try to get a good image. I walked back and forth on the rim of the crater lake to find the best perspective. The time was around 6PM and the sun was low in the horizon (the sun really only sets at around 10PM at this time of the year) creating a huge contrast between the water reflecting the sky and the rim of the lake and giving the scene a minimalist look.
While trying to keep an open mind when photographing, to me this experience reinforced the benefit of having a theme in mind while shooting (Not a pre-chosen subject or pre-visualized image, however. Just a broad theme).
Technical: FF digital, 200mm focal length, 1/125s, f 7.1, ISO 100. RAW processed in Capture One; burning of sides of the crater to darken them; sharpened water surface and fishermen; conversion to B&W in Nik Silver Efex.
~Jean-Marc
Baroque Horse by Carlotta Grenier
This scene was photographed in Poland. His name is Dazante and he is a Pre Andalusian and demonstrates a war movement which does get practiced a lot here. The light was cloudy and in the morning.
~Carlotta
Congratulations to Johannes, Jean-Marc and Carlotta for this achievement on your excellent images. These images will be added to our Perfect Score Gallery
