View Full Version : Photo Challenge Thread (PCT): Show Me Your Neighbourhood
Show Me Your Neighbourhood
For this challenge, I want you to find a view in your neighbourhood that portrays in a definitive or iconic way the area where you live. It could be a landscape picture, it could be a street view, it could be a photo of a building, it could be a ‘people’ shot, or anything else as long as it fits somehow within the above definition. It could be a beautiful shot, it could be a gritty shot, or it could just be a fun shot, as long, again, as it meets the criteria. A written explanation of your picture is optional: welcome, but not necessary. I want to be able to understand or feel something about where you live.
The technical rules are as usual: all entries must be taken with the contest period; no heavy photoshopping or other alterations. Otherwise, all photos welcome. The contest period runs until midnight, Pacific North American time, Sunday, September 25.
To give an idea, here is something that I would post (if I could make an entry) that could meet my criteria (except, obviously, not being taken within the contest period). This is a photo of my son setting out for a late-afternoon skate on the Rideau Canal - world's largest skating rink - that cuts right through our area, with the picture itself having been taken about 500m from our house. The Canal almost certainly would be viewed as the definitive geographic feature of the neighbourhood and affects the area and those who live here in a number of ways.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6070/6054199885_29826ae67c_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/18678497@N03/6054199885/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
I just want to highlight this month's PCT to see if a bit of promo can get us more entries.
This is kind of a tough one, and a lot of people don't like the idea of posting this kind of stuff as it might give away where they live.
I don't mind giving away where I live, but I'm not home to take a neighborhood pic, and I don't know the city I'm in well enough to get an iconic pic of there.
This is kind of a tough one, and a lot of people don't like the idea of posting this kind of stuff as it might give away where they live.
Quite a few are quite open about it (including you). Actually, some of your own shots are what I would have in mind as good examples. And for people who do not want to give anything away, a picture can be taken to avoid giving any real indication. I am not looking for name and address here. :p More than anything else, I want to know how your neighborhood makes you feel. Naturally, if anyone does not want to participate, that's fine too.
Interesting that you mentioned some of my shots, since I cannot think of anything overly iconic or interesting in my neighbourhood. :D Oooh now I'm actually inspired by something... this should be good actually! ;)
GSpotter
2011-08-22, 17:31
That's really a challenge (to find some new pictures from my area. ;) I have an extra set on flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/iphotograph/sets/72157618200593016/) with pictures that were taken in walking (or cycling) distance of my home ...)
Let me be clear too, while my example shot was taken about half a kilometre from our house, I am open to a wider definition of "neighbourhood". Anything within a few miles - about 5 km - would be fine. And I am not going to be too fussy even about that - neighbourhood is an elastic concept.
GSpotter
2011-09-01, 13:59
I maybe find a better picture until the end of the contest, but for now this would be my (placeholder) entry:
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6084/6103429257_547db28b53_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/iphotograph/6103429257/)
It was taken less than 100m from my doorsteps. On the right side, you see the remainings of a railway embarkment going straight through the town. If you know where to look, you could see a ventilation shaft of the local salt mine (http://www.flickr.com/photos/iphotograph/3599002472/in/set-72157618200593016). (The former railway led from the salt mine to an ammunition factory in WWII). You can also see that I live in a rather rural area (Although world's biggest automobile plant is only 25km away).
Wow. That is some placeholder.
Incidentally, GSpot, I am now in your (former) neighborhood, staying in Stuttgart on a family vacation. I have been here before of course (I even lived here as very young boy), but I haven't been back for many years. Pictures to follow.
Okay here is a possible entry. Typical shot of Downtown Vancouver from Stanley Park. I have a few others that I might like better, but this is a start.
http://robdphotos.smugmug.com/Photography/D700/i-RGGbt4j/0/L/Downtown-Vancouver-L.jpg
GSpotter
2011-09-01, 23:34
Pictures to follow.Cool! Looking forward to them. :)
I maybe find a better picture until the end of the contest, but for now this would be my (placeholder) entry:
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6084/6103429257_547db28b53_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/iphotograph/6103429257/)
Quick technical question - is that an HDR? Seems like any time I try to properly expose a sunset like that, everything in the foreground is black/underexposed.
Here's a shot I took last night with my little old iPhone 4:
http://i.imgur.com/0BZUX.jpg
Like PB PM, it's also taken from Stanley Park, but on the other side, looking to the west. (Duh, obviously...)
It gave me that "I live here!?" feeling, so I thought it was appropriate.
I mean, technically, me and PB PM are cheating on this one, given that we live in The Best Place on Earth.* ;)
* = Now officially second because of a road closure on a nearby island.
Wait, what?
RowdyScot
2011-09-02, 12:58
Vancouver would be better if cheese weren't so fucking expensive. *grumble*
Tough to believe I've been away from Vancouver for almost a year now...
GSpotter
2011-09-02, 13:31
Quick technical question - is that an HDR? Seems like any time I try to properly expose a sunset like that, everything in the foreground is black/underexposed.No, it's a single shot. I used a gradient neutral density filter (to be exact: a 0.9ND Reverse Grad (http://teamworkphoto.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=14715)).
Nice pics so far. Let's see more! And remember, you have a lot of latitude as to to type of photo within the theme. See my opening post for details.
GSpotter
2011-09-04, 02:23
I cannot edit my original post anymore. I'd like to make this post my official entry for the contest. Although the word "neighbourhood" is interpreted a bit more freely, this picture (taken from my driveway) still shows that I live in a rural area: I can see lots of stars in a dark night ;)
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6191/6109821817_b8263cc5ba_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/iphotograph/6109821817/)
Dorian Gray
2011-09-04, 05:41
The Milky Way as your neighbourhood. I like it! :lol:
What's the post code of the Milky Way? :p
Nice photo, GSpotter. I guess getting the stars to look like stars instead of streaks required a bit of technical skill, too.
GSpotter
2011-09-04, 06:21
Nice photo, GSpotter. I guess getting the stars to look like stars instead of streaks required a bit of technical skill, too.ISO 6400, f/4, 10sec, 16mm (FX). With that focal length, the rotation isn't visible. I only needed a sturdy tripod (and a flashlight to find some buttons on the camera, it was rather dark...).
Just a reminder for those you might be considering an entry....
2 more weeks! Working on it!
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6191/6109821817_b8263cc5ba_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/iphotograph/6109821817/)
Aha! AHA!
I did some postprocessing in PS: I used Topaz Denoise and did play with the levels and curves (mainly to get a darker sky). The shooting conditions weren't optimal
http://i.imgur.com/smsn4.jpg
I knew this GSpotter guy was too good to be true. ;)
After some hemming and hawing, I chose to submit this photo for the Show Me Your Neighborhood PCT. While I thought there were some 'nicer' shots on my roll, this one came back as the one showing my neighborhood as it is. I live in a small village and the neighborhood activity hub is the primary school and environs, pictured here at the beginning of a Sunday morning as kids congregate to do their stuff. We live no more than 200m from where I am standing. It's a dull place really but nice in that sense that there is never anything interesting happening so entertainment is impromptu, as I hope the shot conveys. Nothing special but I wanted in. :)
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6203/6152375328_56cff7b008_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/23209874@N00/6152375328/)
GSpotter
2011-09-16, 11:49
I knew this GSpotter guy was too good to be true. ;)I expected some reaction likethat ;) .The changes weren't that much: For the resulting size, the denoise doesn't make much difference anyway, and I could have corrected the color cast in the camera if I weren't too lazy for that. Apart from the (slight) color change, the original shot looks very much like the posted picture ...
Great. Let's see some more entries! :)
For your consideration....
I am determined that a lack of entries this month will not be due to lack of promotion. Enter if you want, but if you want, by all means enter.
I support your effort! A more convenient topic would be harder to find (perhaps: Your Kitchen!). :)
I will keep my present entry, simple as it may be, although glad you like the CERN one, Chinney.
billybobsky
2011-09-19, 09:50
I have to get an entry in for this months challenge...
You have this weekend to get your shot in.
Trying one more time - the last time I suppose - to see if we can get more photos submitted this month.
billybobsky
2011-09-25, 16:11
i really would have submitted an entry but i've been carrying an umbrella for two months...
I totally forgot about this again. Hmm... I'll see if I can find something.
The results are being carefully tabulated.
Thanks for the entries this month. After consideration, I am going to award this month's title to AWR. Although the photo may initially appear ordinary, something about his shot grew on me as an illustration of the underlying theme that I set for the photo contest. The picture makes me feel that I am in the neighbourhood. Also, upon closer examination, I quite like the photographic qualities of the pic - the strong geometric themes, the skewed horizon, and the long shadows offsetting what might otherwise just be a sweet picture of kids playing. There is an unusual quality in the final effect which leaves me feeling a little off-balanced, but curious: not so much a feeling of there being "something wrong", but there being "something more".
I would award a strong second place to GSpotter's photo, which certainly stretched the theme to its limit, but made me laugh in doing that and made me think about the concept of "neighbourhood". It is a stunningly beautiful picture to boot.
I like the other entries as well. I hope that we can keep this contest going and can expand participation.
Thank you for the kind words, Chinney. I too wish there were more entries to judge from, but also know firsthand how the seemingly simple pleasure of chasing a theme can turn into a task that gets demoted on the To Do list. I thought the subject was great, not out of the way, and I was looking forward to seeing some AN neighborhoods. That said, let's give it another twirl.
I will give the next PCT topic some thought and hopefully have something up by the end of the week.
To all entrants, everybody's a winner!
vBulletin® v3.6.4, Copyright ©2000-2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.