Local Graffiti

[Mike Farley]

There is a new display of graffiti locally in St George's Walk, which has been designated an official site for the display of murals. The work has just been repainted after taggers recently defaced the originals.

http://www.croydonadvertiser.co.uk/pict ... res.html#1

[davidc]

Just bear in mind the typical UK judge attitude when it comes to photographing the artwork of others

[Mike Farley]

Just bear in mind the typical UK judge attitude when it comes to photographing the artwork of others

What I believe is going on here is that judges tend to see a lot of graffiti shots and do not find them to be especially creative. However, if you can find a new way to show it or discover something unusual which they have they have not seen before, then you can succeed. As it happens, I have two recent shots which have done well this season, one colour and the other mono, and been included in the club's print panels for the SLF competitions. Both are of man made objects, one being of architecture and the other of an artwork and I have made no attempt to disguise its origin. It is actually part of a well known statue in an easily accessible location, but strangely no one else seems to have captured it, so I am enjoying "first mover" privileges. I would not expect it to prevail if there were similar images around or when put up against more creative work.

[Mike Farley]

Immediately after posting my previous response, I came across this image by Steve Gosling. Yes, it prominently features someone else's work, but Gosling has selected a viewpoint, shown it in context, either been fortunate in having a dramatic sky or has waited for a suitable opportunity, and then given it a mono treatment, ensuring there is a range of tones with no clipping of shadows or highlights. While the viewer's response will always be subjective, I would expect most judges to respond favourably to the technical and visionary skills dmonstrated.

[Mike Farley]

And now to follow up with a graffiti shot of my own, taken on last year's outing to Brick Lane. This has been previously posted on the forum and I used a fisheye lens to try and do something different with a hackneyed topic.

Do I like the shot? Yes.

Would I use it in a competition? Probably not. I already have a good idea of its worth and what a judge is likely to say. I think that the fisheye lens has added to the image, but not sufficiently to differentiate it from other work in the genre. However, it still might do better than some of my more recent efforts where I have tried to give the judge something that they might not have seen before. And failed miserably in the attempt, I might add.