December 2024 Competition - Festivities

[Tim Mayo]

=== Please Read Before Submitting Your Entry ===

• Only submit images taken during the current and previous two months (October, November, December 2024).
• Metadata must be included and embedded with the image.

======================

Theme
For the final month of 2024 the theme is Festivities. All celebrations and special occasions are welcome, not just Christmas.

Competition Dates
Entries start: The date that this post is published.
Entries end: December 20th at 3am Eastern Time (9am GMT)
Voting starts: December 20th at 3am Eastern Time (9am GMT)
Voting ends: December 27th at 3am Eastern Time (9am GMT)

Shot Taken Date
Only submit images taken during the current and previous two months. The metadata including date must be included in the uploaded image.

What Do I Get if I Win?
I'm afraid now it's just the joy of taking park, but I will look into adding a special profile banner to winners profiles. In the past there have been vouchers for 1st and 2nd places, but we want to try and encourage people to enter without dangling a voucher code in front of them.

How to Enter + Rules

1. Post your entries in this thread by scrolling down to the reply box then hitting the 'upload images' button. Insert image as full not thumbnail.
2. Sony cameras only.
3. Camera metadata must be included in the images to verify.
4. Only submit images taken in the current and previous two months) The date must be included in the image metadata.
5. Only one photo entry per member.
6. Keep the photos clean and family friendly.
7. Please don't use sky replacements or AI image generation.
8. You are free to change you image during the entry period.
9. Not essential but it would be nice if you added a little background information on your entry.

How to Vote (when voting opens)

1. Use the vote button (up arrow) to the right of the post (below post on mobile) to vote up images that you like
2. You can vote on as many images as you like apart from your own

Upcoming Themes for 2024
Our themes for the year have already been decided to give you a heads-up on what's coming next.

• Dec: Festivities

Feedback
I'd really appreciate feedback about how the competition is running but please don't post it in this thread. Instead please post any feedback in this thread in the Feedback Forum.

Thank you for participating and good luck!

Tim

 

[BrianN]

Earlier this week my camera was returned from the Sony Technology Center after it fell on my trip in New Zealand and oddly enough broke the dioptric to adjust the EVF, I also bought a new lens in New Zealand, the FE f2.8 16-25mm G Lens.

I had returned from Glasgow after attending The Glasgow Gallery of Photography's Seascape Exhibition which I have an image being exhibited and with this theme wanted to test out my new lens.

This is two images blended to create the light trails on either side of the road.

• ILCE-7M4
• FE 16-25mm F2.8 G
• 16.0 mm
• ƒ/13
• 5 sec
• ISO 50

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Christmas Caroling on a chilly night in late November...

• E 17-70mm F2.8 B070
• 45.0 mm
• ƒ/4
• 1/125 sec
• ISO 200

 

[iamdlewis]

Let me introduce you to what might be one of the stranger holiday traditions. This is the Claymont Christmas Weed. Way back in 1993 there was a weed that was growing in the median of a well traveled road near access to an interstate highway that someone decorated with a few Christmas Tree ornaments which caught the eye of a local newspaper photographer. After a little story appeared in the paper about the weed the Dept of Transportation came by and took the weed down, which was followed by someone putting up little decorated tree in the weed's place. This replacement was then taken down by DelDot which was followed by yet another replacement plus another article in the paper and a writ of protection by the church located a stone's throw away. DelDot sensing defeat agreed to let the 2nd replacement stay till the 2nd Monday in January. The following year all the local religious groups devised that as part of the local holiday parade there should be a yearly planting and blessing of a new weed. This tradition is now in it's 30th year.
I was not able to attend the blessing ceremony this year as was my hope for this month's competition so I only have the weed as it currently stand. I added a screen shot of the original from the paper a bit to go along with this story.

• ILCE-1
• Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS (SEL100400GM)
• 400.0 mm
• ƒ/5.6
• 1/320 sec
• ISO 200

The original that started this tradition:

 

[NatureBoyOhio]

Angela Primm performing with the Gaither Vocal Band in Louisville, Kentucky

• ILCE-9
• TAMRON 16-300mm F/3.5-6.3 DiII PZD MACRO AB016S
• 250.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/250 sec
• ISO 6400

 

[TomF162]

This is our Dickens Christmas village that we set up each year.

• ILCE-6700
• 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary 021
• 20.1 mm
• ƒ/8
• 8/10 sec
• ISO 100

 

[Tim Mayo]

Well certainly not our most popular monthly competition. In hindsight festivities probably wasn't the best choice since the majority of festivities this month will be happening after entries closed. Still, thank you to all who have entered this month. Voting is now enabled.

 

[Tim Mayo]

A big thanks to everyone who entered and voted in this months competition. Probably our least popular theme of the year but with most festivities taking place closer to the end of the month it was probably a poor choice of theme for December, so I'll take the blame there.

• 1st place with 8 votes was @BrianN with his stunning festive light trails captured in central Glasgow. Well done Brian.
• 2nd place with 6 votes was @iamdlewis with his fascinating shot of the Claymont Christmas Weed. I might copy this idea for our garden!
• Also in joint 2nd place with 6 votes was @NatureBoyOhio with a smashing shot of Angela Primm performing with the Gaither Vocal Band in Louisville, Kentucky. I had to jump on YouTube to hear her voice and she certainly doesn't disappoint!
• 3rd place with 5 votes was @FowlersFreeTime with his lovely festive shot of some carol singers on a chilly night in late November.

With a new year just around the corner I'll be launching our first competition of 2025 tomorrow. I hope you all have a great start to 2025!

 

[BrianN]

A big thanks to everyone who entered and voted in this months competition. Probably our least popular theme of the year but with most festivities taking place closer to the end of the month it was probably a poor choice of theme for December, so I'll take the blame there.

• 1st place with 8 votes was @BrianN with his stunning festive light trails captured in central Glasgow. Well done Brian.
• 2nd place with 6 votes was @iamdlewis with his fascinating shot of the Claymont Christmas Weed. I might copy this idea for our garden!
• Also in joint 2nd place with 6 votes was @NatureBoyOhio with a smashing shot of Angela Primm performing with the Gaither Vocal Band in Louisville, Kentucky. I had to jump on YouTube to hear her voice and she certainly doesn't disappoint!
• 3rd place with 5 votes was @FowlersFreeTime with his lovely festive shot of some carol singers on a chilly night in late November.

With a new year just around the corner I'll be launching our first competition of 2025 tomorrow. I hope you all have a great start to 2025!

Happy New Year Tim, thanks a lot for the shout out... also it's in Edinburgh after I got back from Glasgow, sorry I didn't mention that.