Judging "Real Talent"

[JValaVIDI@xxxxxxx]

   I read with great interest (and concern) George T's response and
experience with the results of some judging.  I am by no means the definitive
word when it come to judging images, but.... I do have my opinion on the
matter ( and no one knows more about my opinion than me! :)  ).  Like it or
not, I have to agree that a 7-p mounted image does something for the visual
"Impact" of a projected image, and a 5-p has to work harder for the same
impact.  In all fairness, the two should really not be presented together.
 Ideally each should be projected at their full screen width to optimize
their respective aspect ratios.  But this really isn't practical.  So then
one may argue, 'fill the 5-p on the screen and let the 7-p overflow'.  but
then the audience will never see the entire image of a 7-p, seriously
degrading the effects of composition and framing the maker may have put into
it.  With the 'fill the 7-p on the screen and let the 5-p be a little under
sized' argument, 100% of everyones images are available at the (marginal)
expense of the 5-p makers (IMHO).  

   I really hope I'm not one who preferentially judges images because of
format.  There are a lot worse (and easier) things to mark down for in
judging many of these images.  I find that my most difficult images to judge
are those that lack color and contrast.  We had several in our last
competition that almost looked Black/White because the subject matter was so
drab.  For those I had to stop and put on my "creative, artistic license"
stereo glasses and look for something beyond the obvious in the image.  I
generally couldn't see anything!  This kind of bothers me in a way too
because I have a "weakness" for Black/White photography.  I usually spend far
more time looking over a B/W image by the classic photographers (Ansel Adams
et al.) than a full color one.  Can anyone explain why  B/W stereo doesn't
give the same effect as a B/W planar image.  Or have I just not seen a good
one yet?!

   Another interesting aspect about judging is how different three judges can
be sometimes.  When we score you can generally tell how the score you entered
faired compared to the other two (it's an averaging thing).  I can recall the
image George referred to with the lighthouse and was more than surprised to
see how high the final score ended up being.  There have been many times when
the other judges were clearly out of line because they didn't score the same
as me! ;)  But seriously, if I had to rank how I judge images, I'd say I
always look at initial "Impact", then go to composition, then look for stereo
effect and position in the window, and finally the warm fuzzy feeling of "is
this a nice picture or what".  When I do this I hope effects like format and
lack of color/contrast are non-issues and are figured into the four
attributes I use in judging.

   Just one guys opinion,


John Vala
Virtual Imaging Devices, Inc.
Plymouth, Michigan   USA


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