Categories: Pictorial, Travel, Journalism, Monochrome
Judge: Charles Ginsburgh
About Charles Ginsburgh. “My name is Charlie Ginsburgh, and unlike many judges and club participants who have been taking images since dirt was first invented, I have only been actively involved in photography since 2011. I am a biochemist by trade, and as such have always been interested in nature, life and what makes living cells tick. One thing I enjoy is creating (design and manufacture) stained glass panels. I have done this off and on for over twenty years or so, and have given away much of my work to friends and family. In 2010 I sought to create a photographic catalog of my efforts, and proceeded to discover the joys and frustrations of photography. Fast forward to the present, and I am currently more involved in photography than in my stained glass endeavors.”
When I look at many truly excellent examples of photography, I generally am familiar with how the image was collected (technical aspects and the such) but am often struck with the thought that “I might not of seen that shot, were I there”. My journeys through photography have taught me the value of “seeing” what is in front of you, and how difficult it can be to do so. This represents a continuing challenge in my own photography which I find immensely rewarding.”
“I am up to taking pictures of almost anything (and I do), but I have a special affinity for macrophotography. In that discipline, I find that I focus (if you pardon the pun) upon “normal” life around me, showing a side of life which is always there, but is rarely seen. I believe that this is but another manifestation of “seeing”. I can be in group of master photographers at some truly mind-blowing scenic and/or iconic local, and darn if my eye isn’t caught by the little weed buried in the dust next to my left foot. Oh well, to each their own.”
“Examples of my photographic efforts can be viewed at my SmugMug site (https://charlie-g.smugmug.com).
When I first view an image I “look” for the emotional content of the image, and how I am affected by the image. There is nothing more satisfying than when an image (yours or another’s) is first viewed by a group, and hearing an immediate, collective spontaneous gasp from the audience, a sure sign that some level of emotional connection has
been achieved. I next look for how effectively the image was “seen” by the maker, and only then do I focus upon the more technical aspects (composition, capture and presentation) employed to capture the maker’s vison of the image. In the end, with each image I am striving to comprehend the maker’s vison of the image, and how effectively this
vison was captured.”