This month saw some fantastic submissions added to the monthly photography project. They didn’t just showcase students’ talent in editing but their set up and creativity when shooting images too. This made choosing a winner a tough task. However, since the project itself was focussed solely on editing, I’ve chosen a winning image which displayed a technique that even I had trouble understanding!
Winner
Cath Pooley
From concept to completion this is an image which almost falls under the category of a science experiment. A carefully planned out process has happened with this image, which went under the scrutiny of what I can only imagine to be a very time-consuming editing process to give us this beautifully ambiguous, colourful and surrealist image. It turns out Cath used smoke to create the initial effect when shooting here, then added colour and cleaned up the image and background in the editing process and the result is this immaculate organic shape which is just a total pleasure to explore with our eyes.
It had me completely stumped when passing comment and I frankly, loved this. All I could go on was my desire to look at it more and more. The swirls at the bottom left end gave me the feel of an animal’s ribcage or the skeletal structure. I then thought about deep sea creatures and their ability to glow in the murky depths of an unexplored ocean.
This image took my thought process on a unique journey just y suggesting shapes, colours and tones. It’s a true first for IOP, and I think it’s a genuinely excellent display of patience and decision making when editing.
Well done Cath, more like this, please!
Special Mentions
Ben Taylor
I felt as though I had to try and include a black and white image in my credited shots at least since B&W is a difficult process to work with. Thankfully I didn’t need to look too far after this submission from Ben. Normally you would assume an image of plant life and nature, in all, it’s vibrancy and delicate shifts to always be in colour, but Ben has seen passed that with this capture.
He’s picked up on the light source and how it’s illuminated these intense tonal shifts between flower and backdrop and in converting to B&W almost creates a communication between tone and shape. I just love the way the petals curve, twist and pierce through the frame, on a backdrop which is jet black at points!
On top of this, he’s captured the two bees to great effect, excellent clarity and a little movement blur in the wings.
A great capture and an even better choice in the edit.
Well done, Ben!
Georgina Tall
Editing is just as much about slight of hand and subtitles as it is bold colours or tonal punch. That’s why I wanted to include this wonderful shot by Georgina. The image itself is lovely, to start with. You have this seascape which is pretty much all sky, crystal clear with absolutely no noise or impurities.
That composition helps us pick up on this wonderful slight shift from cool to warm colours and then finally, sat within the rule of thirds, the windsurfer stood up in total, golden sunlight. Playing with colour gradients and balance can quickly muddy up an image, but Georgina has managed to steer away from that happening here, playing the image up to its strengths and presenting what I think is a wonderful execution of delicacy in the editing process.
Great work, Georgina!
