Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Fair Time? Already?!

So i've been dragging my feet choosing pictures for this year's Utah State Fair photography Exhibit thinking i still had plenty of time to decide. I'm really just not that good at picking favorite pictures, which is why i typically post way to many pictures here, i just can't narrow them down - i like them all. Anyway, the pictures are due by the end of the weekend, i probably need to turn them in to get printed on Thursday or Friday to submit on Saturday.
i'll try to break up the pictures by the lot i would submit them in. I'd prefer to only submit one picture per lot, and i can only submit three pictures.
Let me know which ones you like best in the comments.
Lot #12: Panorama


Lot #14: Portraiture: Children


Lot #15: Portraiture: Groups

Lot #16: Scenic (including hand of man)

Lot #17: Scenic (excluding hand of man)


















Lot #19: Still Life


Lot #21: Wedding




Keep the following in mind when comparing photos:
  • Impact (appeal, emotion, statement, composition, rarity)
  • Quality (exposure, sharpness, etc.)
  • Appeal (universal appeal)
  • Purpose & Meaning
  • Craftmanship (composition, depth, contrast, saturation, balance, difficulty, etc.)
Thanks for your help!

10 comments:

Ɓukasz Cyrus said...

The landscapes you present here are absolutely wonderful.

Rachel's Mommy said...

Hard decisions! I think your most compelling pix are your scenic ones. Do you have to submit only one per catgegory? If not, here are my choices (in order of WOW-ness).

1) The 1st Havasu vertical shot in your blog (falls at eye level in background, blue, blue water in foreground)

2) The arch (can't think of its name) with the sun breaking under the arch (it's gorgeous, but this seems like a popular shot--I've seen it from others before, which may be its only drawback)

3) The Fall/Mountain scene with "hand of man" (whatever that is).

I also really like the vertical bridal at Multnomah Falls and the Kira bridal at Columbia Gorge. So, if you need one per category, go with those two plus Havasu. Otherwise, I'd go with Havasu, either #2 or #3 above (depending on your thoughts about my #2 comment) and Multnomah Bridal.

Karen

P.S. What about Rachel's adorable Easter portrait...??? That even supercedes Havasu :>)

Taylor said...

Hey Alan,

They are all gorgeous. Could you please number them or something so that i can just be lazy and write that I like X, Y, and Z. Rather than saying I liked the one with the waterfalls which doesn't really narrow it down at all.

Super Daysh said...

That's a toughie.....let's see...my choices are:
Panorama: The Falls one
Portraiture, children: the one of Caden
Scenic (lot17): the one with the sun under the arch, the one with the beautiful fall trees (colorful), the 2nd tunnel looking one, the first havasu one, and the fourth to last havasu one. (Look- I'm helping you NARROW it down...tee hee hee)
Still Life: the leaves one- LOVE that one!!

Barbers4 said...

Here's my 2 cents (about all my opinion is worth :):

I like, in your scenic lot, your fifth, sixth and 15th best.
In your wedding lot, I think the last one is best.

I am surprised by the ones you chose in the other lots. You take great portraits, but I don't think your best work is up there. Can I vote for some not on this page? The one with Emily's youngest holding a stick at that same red sand location IMO is better than the one above of him. I also really like the shots of Rachel from Easter, they were composed just right and have lots of expression and emotion. I also love the one of Grace that is sepia and include a hand in the foreground and her a bit blurred in the background hooked up to all the tubes. That would be another good one for children. (Not so easy to get a good shot in a hospital, shows off your mad skills!) Good Luck, have fun and HURRY!

Mythreesons said...

Hmmm.... unfortunately, I'm not good at decisions either, but let me see if I can at least help narrow it down:
I love the panoramic falls one (your first picture)
I love the "scenic" including hand of man, mountain scene shot.
I love #5 in your scenic group, the arch with the sunlight coming underneath it, althought I realize that is a favorite shot (BTW, I want that one for Christmas)
I love #10 in the scenic group, the closeup of the falls
I love #13 in the scenic group, looking down on the falls
I love #15 in the scenic group, with the multiple falls
I love #16 in the scenic group with the closeup of the falls again
and #17 in the scenic group, with more pictures of the falls
Oh, and I'd like any of the above for Christmas. They look fantastic.
I also like the Gracey ones with Buggy blurred in the background... there's one where she's resting her chin in her hand that I love. It really captures the emotion of the moment.
I like the one of Caden with his toes, but I always liked the one of him holding the stick better, too. But it is cute how his toes are sticking out there.
I also really want an enlargement of that shot of Jared coming through the trees. My favorite picture ever of him.
Oh, and how come you're not submitting the Aaron and the brain pic? That's of course, one of my all time favorites!
So there. YOu're welcome for the help in narrowing it down! These all look amazing, Alan.

Rachel's Mommy said...

Whoever "barbers 4" is, they possess amazing insight!

Karen

Kari said...

My favorite's are in the scenic shots.
The arch with the sun poking through.
The shot under the arch shot with the cascading water beneath it.
The Havesu falls and pools shot (the sixth one of the Havesu shots).

I agree with Tara. I think of your portrait shots, you excel in different ones then you chose. I personally prefer most of your close ups with eyes. I think you should pick one of those. I will even keep looking for my favorite (because there is one that stands out in my mind, from a Hispanic couple that was GORGEOUS.)

I also prefer all of those shots of Ally. ;) jk. If Karen can do it, so can I!

Lady of the Rings said...

Stupid computer lost my comment. So I'll try again. I want a framed 11x14 or bigger of all your nature shots in payment for my vote here, and because I am your mother and you love me. By the way, have you run this by John Cox, he could be helpful here too. Since you don't have them numberd, you will just have to count from the top down. My favorites are: 2,3,6,11,19,20,25 and 30.

Sara and Company said...

I like the 2nd of the panoramas a lot. The lot 16 one (god and man). You had some amazing ones of grace and the folks that I liked a lot better, although I am too lazy to scroll down and find them. Love so many of the lot 17 ones: favorites are (counting down within category) 6th down of the flowing river (LOVE LOVE that one), 10th down up close small falls, and the 12th down. I like some of your other bridals better as well. Good luck!