Grant Galbraith has won the Focus May competition with a striking image of water flowing over colourful rocks. He receives a $200 voucher to spend with any Focus Sponsor.
Second place was awarded to Melvyn Jacobs and third place to Suzanne Nelson.
The Focus May competition, themed THE INTIMATE LANDSCAPE, attracted 132 entries. Two independent judges, Timothy Moon and Lee Duguid, studied and scored each one.
Every competition entrant can access their scores by re-entering the competition website.
A gallery of the top 20 images is available https://comp.focusphotographers.org/enter/results.php?competition=FocusMay2019Comp
Timothy Moon said
“Eliot Porter is generally credited with the phrase “intimate landscape” as it was used as a title for an exhibition of his work held in 1979 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
An “intimate landscape” is one in which the photographer isolates one small part of a scene. It is different to a macro image which is an extreme close up, rather the aim is to put a frame around a small portion of the world before us.
In some ways an intimate landscape is easier to photograph than a grand view. It’s easier to find order in chaos when dealing with a smaller area and less objects. The challenge is to find a compelling composition, capture the viewer’s eye and lead it through the image.
The winning image does just that. Simple and layered, with a balance of light and dark within the frame. The cascading misty veil leads to a focal point offset from the centre of frame, which has been highlighted using colour and brightness. It is a soft and engaging image, that meets the competition brief. Congratulations
Lee Duguid said
“Yet again, the Focus Group delivered over one hundred high calibre images. I am always impressed at the level of creativity and skill the competition entries are crafted with.
Now, for me, an ‘intimate landscape’ means different things and can vary day by day. I really appreciated the story-telling in some of the images, with everyone producing their own take on what ‘intimate’ means.
For me this was lost on some of the wider grander landscapes. I couldn’t connect with what the photographer was trying to communicate, or I misinterpreted it.
That being said, not all images need to convey a message; some just need to look cool, and different, and interesting.
I think both these takes on ‘intimate’ are displayed by the top images. Congrats and thanks to all the entrants, and the winners, and thanks to Focus for inviting me to judge.
Side note : please be mindful of your post-processing techniques. Don’t over sharpen your images, use precise or very soft masks, and don’t crush your blacks or blow out your highlights !”
John Armytage, Executive Chairman of Focus Group, said
“Congratulations Grant Galbraith. Thanks also to our two judges, Timothy Moon and Lee Duguid, who donated their time and applied considerable skill to their task. And finally, thanks to everyone who entered this competition. Whether or not you were successful, entering a free competition is a great experience, to develop the quality of your work and test how well it communicates.”
The next Focus competition is the annual Focus Awards, now one of the most popular and most valuable amateur landscape photography competitions in Australia. The 2019 Focus Awards will open on 1st September and close on 30th September 2019. https://comp.focusphotographers.org/enter/home.php