Amateur Photographer Magazine

Amateur Photographer monthly forum competition results for February 2009

Saturday 14th March 2009

Damien Demolder

I thought this would be a tough round, as I was asking not only for a good picture (as usual) with well thought-out composition, spot-on exposure and careful focus etc, but also some communication from the photographer that would let me experience taste, texture, temperature and consistency. These are all experiences we have in the mouth, but food photography requires you to produce these same senses through the eyes – and as you now know (if you didn't already) that really is not an easy thing to do. There are not that many adverts in magazines and on TV that succeed in projecting these senses, but when you come across one it does make you stop. It might even be a food or drink you don't like, but you know immediately that the imagery being used is having an effect on you.

Good food photography makes you dribble because it puts wonderful things right there in front of you in a way that makes your brain begin to believe that steaming stew or ice-cool lager is about to enter the body. Look back over the entries in this competition and see how many have that impact – and I think you'll find there are quite few photographs that muster some sort of reaction.



Just to remind you, the forum competition is kindly sponsored by Nikon. The top prize each month is the delightful Nikon Coolpix S560 10MP compact camera. Our second and third prize-winners get an 'Amateur Photographer Loves My Pictures' mug.





Once again I've been having trouble knocking enough pictures out to make a proper short shortlist, but I managed to get it down to 40 – hence the pair of screen grabs again. I couldn't get Bridge to divide the 40 evenly either, so a few pictures appear in both grabs – that doesn't mean they are twice as good as the other shortlisted entries though!

Special mentions this month go to Badgerman, S1mon, zx9, rustyknight, GoeffL and Zou. A further special mention must go to TheAllSeeingEye for what became known as The Last Supper. I know some people hated it, but it is a powerful image and it generated plenty of discussion. 'Shocking' and 'art' are definitely not the same things, and it is not necessary to like something to appreciate that it is good. In this case though the concept was better than the execution, but I'm glad of the entry all the same.

So on to the winners:

Third place: Nicisme, for Banoffee Cupcakes



I'm mad into sweet stuff and am quite capable of making myself feel thoroughly ill when unsupervised near the dessert trolley. I have a feeling that this Banoffee pie would do the job pretty quickly! I picked this picture not just because I'm a glutton, but because Nicisme has really let me know what to expect when that cupcake passes my lips. I really do feel I can taste it. Well done. I have a feeling Nicisme made the cakes too – though obviously no extra points for that.

Second place: KBJokeRZ, for Cabbage



This is a very well shot still life, and although it doesn't project the strong flavours some of the other images do it does convey very well what the leaf will feel like to touch, as well as the crispness and chill on the teeth a bite into it would bring. The leaf also has a beautiful shape that has been used to great effect in the composition. The stalk leads us in and around the picture, and the backlighting works wonders to define the form and detail of the subject. It is all excellently done.

First place: Snowqueen, for Crisps



I'm off the crisps at the moment, so seeing Snowqueen's picture in the forum has really not been helping me. I think it's an astonishing picture. When you have a pile of random lines and shapes in front of the lens you really have to work to find the right elements that are going to add up to a good image – and she has found them. We are able to focus in on one crisp because she has made that single subject stand out from the rest, while the other crisps add complementary lines, echoes and details of information. Lighting them from behind shows how thin they are, and how crispy they'd be to crunch between your teeth. Those glistening surfaces remind us that they're fattening but delicious.

This looks like a simple shot, but if you think it is easy to do try shooting a bowl of crisps and see for yourself. I think this is a really strong image that is filled with taste, texture and consistency.

And now I am desperate for a bag of my own.

Thanks again to everyone who took part in this month's competition. The collection of images really is excellent, and I've had a lot of fun looking at them and deciding which I'd like to eat first. I really appreciate the wide variety of interpretations you all come up with, which demonstrates the breadth of the range of characters I always encounter in these forums. Thanks again

Damien

I hope you can all find the time to enter the March's round too.

Click the links to see all the Amateur Photographer forum photographic competition entries for February and here to read the February forum photographic competition discussion thread

This is where you'll find all the rest of the year's Amateur Photographer forum photographic competitions and discussion threads.

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