The deadline is quickly approaching for this month’s Picture This photo contest. Our guest judge is Rich Pomerantz of Rich Pomerantz Photography, and the theme for this month is “The Intent of the Gardener.” Here’s how Rich described what he’s looking for in the winning entry:
“Capturing the Intent of the Gardener can be a much tougher photographic assignment than to photograph a plant portrait or a combination planting, since it tends to require a broader view of the landscape. Successful gardens tend to have some unifying principle, whether it be color, structure, formality, plant selection or something else. Find that principle in a garden and use your camera to create an image that conveys it through your eyes.
Look for a theme or design scheme. You can keep the entire scene sharp, or use selective focus or shoot through something, like a gate or doorway or even the branches of a tree to create a sense of putting the viewer into the scene.
Be selective in your view; taking in too many parts of a garden view frequently results in a cluttered photograph, or a photo with unwanted elements like utility poles, wires and hoses.
Look to see if the designer took her cues from the land, using the contours, rock outcroppings, existing water features or other natural aspects, and then use those elements in your image. You can use a part of the garden to show the designer’s thinking, so don’t be overwhelmed trying to include the whole world in your photo!
I’ll judge entries based on application of the basics: good composition, effective use of light, leading lines, point of view, use of color and overall visual impact. Above all I will look for images that interpret what the gardener has created, as opposed to just snapping an image of something, however beautiful it may be, that could exist anywhere. Remember that sometimes the obvious angle isn’t the only angle. Walk around and see what else the place has to offer!”
You have until 11:59 PM Eastern time on Wednesday, July 21 to submit your entries. For entry rules, see the announcement post: GGW Picture This Photo Contest for July 2010. You can find a gallery of this month’s entries here.
Note: So many of this month’s entries did not follow the 500-pixels-on-the-longest-side rule that Fran and I have decided to give up on requirement for this month and future contests.
Once you get your entry in for this month, why not try your hand at some digital collages in preparation for the October Picture This? For details, see Picture This Challenge: Bloom Scans.
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