Youth Category Voting Analysis and Related Comments
Totals of the Judges’ Votes (each of 5 judges awarded each image 1-5 points):
1-Merlin on fence post: 19
2-Kestrel hovering: 18
3-Jabiru Stork silhouette: 17
4-Snowy Owl pano: 16
T5-Hawk Owl vertical: 15
T5-Hyacinth Macaws on fence: 15
7-Black-headed Gull braking in flight: 14
8-Great Grey Owl on post: 13
T9-Short-eared Owl on post vertical: 12
T9-Emu laughing: 12
Public Voting Totals (each of you was asked to vote your five favorite images 1-5 points with 5 being your favorite):
1-Kestrel hovering: 275
2-Hyacinth Macaws on fence: 212
3-Black-headed Gull braking in flight 178
4-Snowy Owl pano 117
5-Great Grey Owl on Post 107
6-Emu Laughing 93
7-Merlin on fence post 85
8-Hawk Owl vertical 82
9-Short-eared Owl on post vertical 49
10-Jabiru Stork silhouette 47
When I posted the ten images for the public voting (here) I almost wrote that I did not expect the tight correlation between the judges’ results and the public judging but decided against it. In any case, there was far less correlation in the two votes, most likely because the images were of very similar quality. I have no explanation for the 10th place showing for the Jabiru silhouette image in the public vote as compared to its much stronger 3rd place finish with the contest judges. Or vice versa for the Merlin image that won the category but finished only 7th in the public vote.
It is interesting that only four photographers made the final round of ten. Though we had hoped for greater participation in this category but were were happy with the quality of the winning and honored images.
The images below are presented in the order of the judges’ placement as above along with my comments.
|
|
Jenaya Cheyenne Launstein. Merlin on fence post: 1st place. |
The judges loved the perfect rule-of-thirds image design, the soft light, the colors and texture of the grasses, the exceptional sharpness, and the perfect head turn.
|
|
Jef Pattyn. Kestrel hovering: 2nd place. |
The sharpness, the beautiful underwing detail, the hunting pose, and the framing make this image special. My bad on this one: For the public judging round I took the liberty of lightening this image; the judge’s saw a much darker version than what you are seeing above…. Lesson learned.
|
|
Jef Pattyn. Jabiru Stork silhouette: 3rd place. |
The judges liked the sunset colors, the composition and sharpness, and the strip of trees at the bottom that frame the image. Julie Zickefoose called this one “Tiki God Storks.”
|
|
Jenaya Cheyenne Launstein. 4th place: Snowy Owl pano |
Fence posts, soft light, textured grasses, pleasing compositions, and textured grasses seem to be a winning combination for Jenaya.
|
|
Jenaya Cheyenne Launstein. Tied for 5th place: Hawk Owl vertical |
More of the same from this talented young photographer. This one could have used a bit less sharpening on the bird and a bit less saturation.
|
|
Jef Pattyn. Tied for 5th place: Hyacinth Macaws on fence |
The sharpness, two perfect head angles, the comical interaction, and the rich colors were all big pluses for this image but I believe that “Hyacinth Macaws on fence” would have done a lot better with the judges with a lot less fence, that is, with a good crop from the bottom as in the cropped version here. You can see the original version here.
|
|
Jef Pattyn. 7th place: Black-headed Gull braking in flight |
Everyone liked the sharp focus, the beautiful image design, and the evenly lit underparts of this gull in flight. The somewhat harsh sidelight on the bird’s face likely hurt this image a bit with the judges panel.
|
|
Marlise Tae Lynn Launstein. 8th place: Great Grey Owl on post |
This sharp image of a rare bird was popular with the public. Had the bird been looking right down the lens barrel it would have likely done much better with the judges.
|
|
Marlise Tae Lynn Launstein. Tied for 9th place: Short-eared Owl on post vertical |
I liked this one a lot for its sharpness, the great subject, a very love vertical rule of thirds image design, and the soft light.
|
|
Emily Nicole Henderson. Tied for 9th place: Emu laughing |
With the laughing Emu and the tilted horizon this one put a smile on everyone’s face. As a game park image, the continental mismatch (South America and Africa) might have been seen as a problem by some.
Comments Welcome
As always your comments on everything above are welcome. Coming soon: the Digital Category.
A terrific group of images from some very talented young photographers.
Artie, you stated that the winners would be announced the end of May, we are in the beginning of June and only 2 catagories have been announced. I’m only going by what you stated.
Not sure if that date was before or after we decided on the extension but in any case it was before I realized the great potential for learning and fun by announcing the results category by catoegory after a public vote.
Artie, Thats most likely an emu with the color of the eyes adjusted a little bit.
Artie, the suspense is killing me…I want to see more. 🙂
Patience is a virtue. Only 9 more categories to go :). We gotta go slowly so that folks can learn along the way.
Man I do not understand the judges call on this group. I believe the Mccae and the Gull to be one two or two one. Contests are very subjective and can be harmful.
That’s why I agree with Bill Richardson. Perhaps we should consider a different approach. One thought, group photos as excellent technique, and marvelous composure, call this group the best, and then choose groups as they show certain weaknesses. No limit on the number of good, better, best groups. There is an idea Good, Better, Best categories and perhaps a no ribbon, too many errors, or weaknesses.
Cheers to all.
I suggest that you and Bill collaborate on something much better. This was a difficult category to judge as there were relatively few entries. I would not have agreed exactly with either the consensus of the judges’ choices or the public choices. That’s why we had a panel of five expert judges!
Perhaps you both might withhold your negative comments until all the results are announced :).
All wonderful images by these young photographers. Congrats to all!
These are great examples of why I dislike photo contests. All are very nice but different in both feeling and difficulty in capture so I don’t think they should be vying against each other. Blue ribbon to all in my view. Judging is too subjective to be meaningful once you get beyond technical excellence. Only real vote that counts is the price it sells for! However, your critiques of individual photographs are helpful and eeducational.
What Jerry said.
The Rhea is the South American ratite, Art.
What species is shown in the image?
Definitely an Emu. The bill shape, nostril placement and the bird’s colouration say so.
Eye colour also. The Rhea Americana has very dark eyes.
and the short, wide neck rules out an ostrich (also from Australia).
Just a minor correction on your emu comment. Emus are from Australia not South America.
Thanks. What is the bird in the image?
The images by the Launstein girls definitely capture the ambience of the open prairies where they were captured. I can hear the wind in the grass. Their images capture the spirit of the bird for me. The first place Merlin is a beautiful image of a species I spent several years studying and love very much.