Photo Challenge 91 - December Skies

[pdk42]

This Photography challenge runs until Friday 30th December. I will announce winners on New Year's Eve.

The subject is "December Skies". I originally thought I'd do Winter Skies, but then I thought that might be unfair to our antipodean members. In any case, it might be interesting to see the contrast between here and there. Feel free to interpret as widely as you like. All that matters is that the sky appears in it somewhere and, ideally, it adds to the drama.


Here are the rules, which should be copied and pasted into the opening post of each round:-

1) The winner of each round becomes the Curator of the next challenge and is responsible for setting the theme and making final judgement of 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. Ideally he/she will make a few comments concerning what they liked about the winning pictures and why they were chosen, but this is not compulsory.

2) A separate thread should be started for comments with each new round and all discussions should take place there, not in the main thread, which should feature pictures entered for the competition only.

3) Each round should be open for entries for two weeks, with the Curator posting the results as soon as possible after entries have closed and the winner setting a new challenge as soon as possible after that.

4) If for any reason a Curator is unable to complete judging their challenge, or a winner is unable or unwilling to become the next Curator, they must contact a moderator immediately so that alternative arrangements can be made.

5) The Curator's decision is final and cannot be disputed. The challenge is designed to be a light-hearted and fun way to encourage friendly competition.

6) All entries must have been taken on an Olympus digital camera, including compacts. Third party lenses on E-System bodies are acceptable. The Exif data should be preserved for every entry. The exception is for processing techniques where the exif for the final image is lost, i.e. for montages, HDR, focus stacking, etc... and in this case all that is required is for one of the original images used to be available to the Curator to check Exif, if needed. It is not anticipated that this will be needed except in the case of a complaint from a forum member. Remember, this is not a competition with prizes at stake and the main purpose is to encourage members to showcase their favourite shots whilst having a bit of fun and friendly rivalry, at the same time demonstrating what a talented bunch we all are!

7) There are no time limits on when a picture was taken, provided it meets all other criteria.

8) Only one entry per challenge, please. If you want to withdraw an entry and replace it with another, that's OK, but you must make it clear in the post containing your replacement picture that this is what you intend doing.

9) The Curator cannot enter his or her own challenge.

Please use the separate thread I have started for discussion / comments on this challenge whilst the competition is in progress.

Good Luck!

[blu-by-u]

Along the banks of Kemijoki in Rovaniemi. In the far ground the bridge is Jorma Ston tie.

[wornish]

Earlier this evening

[Walti]

Christmas eve sky...

[MJ224]

Hendy Sunrise

Hendy Sunrise by Mark Johnson, on Flickr

[skids]

Early this morning just outside Alderton (EM1, 7-14 on my Polarie Tracker).

Wiltshire Morning Starscape by jonskids, on Flickr

[OM USer]

Silhouette.

[pdk42]

Hi all - I thought I'd leave this to run a little longer since the entry roll call was looking a bit thin. Perhaps we need to do something to get the number of entries up since it's definitely getting progressively lower I think as time goes by. Maybe we should try to add something as a reward - maybe the chance to get a short portfolio featured in the site landing page for the following month? I'll PM Ian and see what he thinks.

However - to this month. Firstly, I'd like to thank all those that entered for some great shots. Despite the small number of entries, it wasn't easy picking a winner But, here goes...

Since the entry list was so short, I won't do a 3rd, 2nd and winner, but commend each of the entries first and then pick one.

Originally Posted by blu-by-u

Along the banks of Kemijoki in Rovaniemi. In the far ground the bridge is Jorma Ston tie.

This is a wonderful shot with great composition and mood. However, the burn-out around the sun is pretty severe and could really do with toning down. I'm sure a bit of PP would do the trick. Nonetheless, a super shot.

Originally Posted by wornish

Earlier this evening

Beautiful colours and mood in this image. It really does capture the theme of the comp perfectly.

Originally Posted by Walti

Christmas eve sky...

Similar to Wornish's shot in many ways and just as satisfying to look at. I think Walti's decision to minimise the ground to the benefit of sky has really worked and given us a great example of how winter sunsets can be so dramatic.

Originally Posted by MJ224

Hendy Sunrise
Hendy Sunrise by Mark Johnson, on Flickr

Super shot. The beam of light above the clouds has lots of visual impact and has been very well captured

Originally Posted by skids

Early this morning just outside Alderton (EM1, 7-14 on my Polarie Tracker).

Wiltshire Morning Starscape by jonskids, on Flickr

A subtle and beautiful capture of a star studded sky with just the right amount of foreground interest to give it perspective. Super - I love it.

Originally Posted by OM USer

Silhouette.

A lovely industrial silhouette. Colours are fantastic and the foreground subjects give interest that makes you want to linger. Great shot.

So .... The winner...

It has to be Jon's Wilshire Starscape. Fantastic technical image and captivating artistically.

So - over to you Jon for the next challenge!

[blu-by-u]

Congratulations to Jon.

And to Paul, thank you for the constructives comments.

[wornish]

Congratulations Jon

[MJ224]

As per the December discussion thread, Congratulation to Jon and his Wiltshire morning sky,

And thanks to Paul for doing the biz.

Looking forward to January's challenge............

[OM USer]

Congratulations Jon, a worthy winner.
Thank you Paul for the competition and your constructive comments on all the entries.

[skids]

Never expected that given the quality of the other entries. Thanks very much indeed all. Will get my thinking head on for the January challenge.