I suspect we don't all have the same criteria. Erm, duh...
There are a lot of things like focus and irrelevant noise and graphic composition that are fairly consensual, I would think. When it comes to interpretation of a challenge though - not so sure.
I myself was looking for pictures that carried the mood of age. While this can be carried by the subject as well as the composition of the picture, e.g. an old person's face or perhaps an old car parked next to a newer one, it's not good enough (for me) to take a picture of a mountain and put some sort of estimate of its age in the title. Gloss and high contrast work against the theme. Things need to be articulated slowly if they are to carry the respect implied by age. Monochrome can be effective, but there's a trap to avoid of imitating a damaged and poorly focussed sepia picture - it's a tempting trap but it fall (for me, again) outside of the implied parameters of this sort of challenge.
What score do you give to a great picture that doesn't respond to the challenge as you see it? |
