Mike Page wrote:
That makes it a bonsai PHOTO contest, not a bonsai DISPLAY photo contest.
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As I look through some of the photos of bonsai on a stand, too much of the frame is taken up by including the stand, which makes the tree and pot diminished in size, with consequential loss of detail. I think this would make the judges job more difficult.
Mike
Mike, its because this is "bonsai photo" contest that the photo of the bonsai should be as strong as possible. When taking a photo of a bonsai one IMHO should strive to do more than show a picture of a tree. The photo of the tree should aim to elicit some emotive response, just like a viewing a real tree might. Hence the tree needs to be in context of some greater whole. The purpose of moss is to relate the tree to a natural scene. A tree in pure bonsai soil, such as akadama, doesn't accomplish this. It looks unfinished and artificial. The purpose of the stand is to elevate the bonsai and pot to more than a tree in a pot - but to a work of art. Therefore a photograph of the whole becomes a photograph of a work of art.
For evidence of this look at any Kokufuten album or a Taiwanese bonsai photo album - trees and stands and beautiful emotive bonsai.
Loss of detail is not a problem when photographing a tree on a stand if the photo resolution is high enough. But even so, it is the whole effect of the photograph that means something. After all a photo is only capturing a 2D representation of the 3D tree. There is by definition a tremendous loss of spatial differentiation merely by taking a photograph.
Usually I would advocate a relatively uncluttered background, but the tree in front of the water fall, in my mind evokes a tremendous feeling and by far is the best bonsai photograph submitted.
As for Vance's question why talk about this? Simple - the reason is to learn. Now that we have a sample of what various North American and European bonsai artists think are world class photographs of bonsai trees, we don't need the judges to to tell us what is good or what we like. Discussing it can be very enlightening. Maybe next time, the quality of the photographs will improve dramatically.