SPA Award Winner

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Mike Farley
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Joined: Tue 11 Sep 2012, 16:38
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SPA Award Winner

Postby Mike Farley » Sat 03 Mar 2018, 16:17

I have been asked to show the image with which I won a judge's award in the 2018 SPA Biennial Exhibition. The award is one level down from an outright win, so presumably the shot was in contention for the top honour. There are three judges who each mark images in a range which goes from 2 to 5. The scores are combined to give the overall total and I achieved 14 with this photo. That is easily the highest mark which I have received at SPA in all the years I have been entering.

The image has an interesting history as I took it nine years ago in Italy, The subject is a real nun and she posed standing in an abbey doorway which accounts for the light coming from her left. At the time, I did not think much of the results from the session and they remained sidelined on my hard drive. It was only a year or so ago when I finally saw the potential of this particular capture. I believe that part of the issue was the amount of processing which it required. It is by far and away the most difficult image I have undertaken, taking two or three days and several prints to get a result with which I was happy. Nine years ago, I simply lacked the expertise required to realise the final image, not to mention that the applications which we use were nowhere as sophisticated as they are today.

Photography is a funny old game. While making a photo is straightforward, especially with all the automation at our disposal, there is no substitute for experience. It takes time to develop an eye and acquire all the necessary skills which go into creating a successful image. Neither is it a linear process nor one which has an ultimate destination. There is always something new to learn.

The other thing I would mention is subjectivity. The image has not been universally acclaimed, least of all within the club I feel. Despite scoring 10 in the Bamber Trophy for monochrome prints, it was a marginal inclusion in our panel for the first round of this season's SLF Monochrome Print competition. There it scored 9, with the judge saying he would have awarded 10 had he not felt that the hands were badly manipulated. Which is rather ironic given that is the part of the image which I thought required least attention and has received very little adjustment. Possibly as a result of the comment, incredibly it was relegated to being our tie breaker in the semi-final. Not that the entry which replaced it fared anywhere near as well. However, when I made the print which I submitted to SPA I did make a very small and subtle tweak to her right hand. Did it make a difference? That I will never know.

Sister.jpg
Sister
Sister.jpg (84.5 KiB) Viewed 1236 times
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)
Michaelplatts
Posts: 26
Joined: Fri 11 Mar 2016, 12:07

Re: SPA Award Winner

Postby Michaelplatts » Tue 06 Mar 2018, 15:20

Hi Mike,

I find this portrait quite captivating, i keep going back to it and find it holds my attention for far longer than i usually spend viewing this type of image. I note that you took the image some 9 years ago .Did you make a colour version at the time? It would be interesting to make a comparison side by side with your current monochrome print. If, and it's a big if, i had taken the picture i might have requested the nun to hold a prayer book in her hands, as i believe that would project a more powerful enhancement to her religious standing. However, i like it and am pleased that you have received recognition for your entry.
Congratulations,

Michael.

(standard class)

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