2017/11/17 - Creative & Pictorial competition
Hey there!
Things are going pretty good here, and I hope all is well on your end! Along with competing in a creative competition last week, I also got some studio time at a friends place for a little fun! I'm not sharing all of the photos here, but I will be posting them on my site in the next few days, so keep an eye out... or not... that's totally up to you! Although this shoot was a little less conventional, it was a lot of fun!!!
Along with having a ton of great light at the studio, but there were also props! Found these glasses among an assortment of costumes and trinkets!
I love how this shot turned out!
You'll be seeing some of these again in the future, as I intend on entering them into competitions!
Good times... anywho, I competed also in a creative photo comp last week, and I did fairly well!
This competition was only for images that were digitally processed.
"Tangerine CLE" - Did Not Place
At some point last year, I decided to wake absurdly early to capture sunrise photos in Cleveland. The sky in the original shot was fairly bland, so I did some extra processing to punch it up a little bit... along with the treatment in the sky and water, I also did a black and white treatment on the buildings to help contrast against the orange. It may not have done well, but you have to swing the bat to hit the ball.
"Salivation Salvation" - 2nd Place
I had taken this photo of a former co-worker's pug a few years ago, and got lucky in capturing her lil' tongue sticking out! That got me thinking of what I can do in a creative image... this was the result. This image was originally going to be in color, but I found if difficult to match the colors/tones of the different elements that I imported into the background, so I decided to go with a B&W sepia image. I think the B&W really places an emphasis on the barren wasteland, and her longing for her treat. Is it a mirage, or does it really exist? One may never know!
Pictorial Competition
"Zen Garden" - 3rd Place
Took this while at the Japanese garden in Portland during my trip earlier this year. I think the contrasting angles and color of the image work well together!
That's all I have for now!
Best wishes to you and yours!
Regards,
Dan
2017/11/03 - B&W and Pictorial competition
Pictorial Competition
"Snoqualmie Falls" - Did Not place
This photo was taken during an earlier trip to northern Washington where I explored a different part of the state. The sky in the original photo was pure white and not very interesting... with the aid of movie magic (and Photoshop), I was able to replace the sky in the image to look like a beautiful sunset.
B&W Competition
"Doyle 03" - Did Not Place
Taken during the second concert I ever photographed (not the one mentioned above). It did horribly in competition... I think the composition is what doomed this entry to a lower score. In retrospect, I probably had a better image to enter into this category.
" Sea Side Stacks" - 3rd Place
The first two days of my trip though Oregon offered a torrent of rain... The Third day offered a beautiful sunset in Bandon, Oregon. Worth a visit if you're in the area!
That's the last competition till 2018!
Hope you all have a great holiday season!
Regards,
Dan
2017/10/13 - People & Pictorial competitions
Good day to you!
I hope that all is well!!! Since I last wrote I've been quite busy! Just in the past few weeks, I've covered a few concerts, photographed and donated art to a gala event for the APL (The Fur Ball), judged a photo competition, and had something pretty cool happen.
The cool thing that happened is that a larger company has licensed cat photo for a greeting card that will be out in the coming months. I have no idea what the final design will look like, but I'll let you know as soon as I know!
People Competition
"Free-Flowing" - Did Not Place
This was a fun shot that was only possible with the use of studio lighting and a fast shutter speed. I just love how the hair looks as it's flowing upward! One of the judges said he didn't like the photo because her feet were crossed...
"Blown Away" - Did Not Place
The shot of my friend was taken at the same studio as the last photo, and then was used for a double-exposed image. Double-exposure started as an accident back in the film camera days, where the photographer would forget to advance the film to take the next shot, resulting in the two images exposing the same piece of film. This would cause the two different shots to merge causing some interesting effects. It didn't take long before photographers were intentionally using this effect to explore a more creative side of photography.
When I realized that my digital camera had a Double-Exposure setting, I had to try it out! Furthermore, I realized that the photos didn't need to be taken consecutively, and that I could load any image from the memory card as my first shot. That being the case, I knew there was nothing stopping me from loading studio shots in the camera and then just taking the second shot during a different time. This shot is composed of the studio shot, and then a photo taken in the metroparks at a later date. Good times!
Pictorial Competition
"Tilted Palouse" - Did Not Place
Another shot from my vacation to Palouse, WA earlier this year. I tried something a little different as you can tell, and it did terribly in competition. Be that as it may, I still really enjoy the dynamic nature of this photo!
Until next time, I wish you all the best of days!
Warm regards,
Dan
2017-09-22 - Nature & Pictorial competition
Greetings and salutations!
Last Friday was the second Nature photo competition of the 2017/2018 photo season at the Cleveland Photographic Society, and it was another tough one! There was a perfect score during the Nature category which meant that everyone else had to do better just to get average scores. Be that as it may, I still did pretty good!Pictorial Category:
Nature Competition
"Sea of Clouds" - 3rd Place
I took this photo in the great Smoky Mountains in TN during a trip with several friends from the photo club. I was standing on the observatory at the top Clingmans dome. You are able to get good views of sunset from the parking lot, but if you're daring or motivated, there's a 1/2 mile hike up a very steep incline for this view.
"Oregon Coast" - 3rd Place
Another shot from my trip earlier this year while I was in Bandon, Oregon. It rained almost the entire time I was in Oregon, but there were a few days that turned out nice. This was during sunset among several sea stacks on our way from Newport towards Crater lake.
The next photo competition will be a People category on October 13th, and I'm really looking forward to it!
Hope you have an awesome day/week/month!
Regards,
Dan
2017-09-08 - B&W and Pictorial competition
Good day everyone!
Friday, September 8th was the most recent B&W photo competition at the Cleveland Photographic Society, and it was a tough one. There were fewer entries than normal, which meant that there were even fewer photos that actually placed.A while back ago I had mentioned that I was going to do a little work with a local potter to capture some creative photos. That day has come and gone, and another one will be in the future! Two of this evening's competition entries were from that shoot.
B&W competition
I didn't personally know the artist, but she was extremely friendly and happy to help in my pursuit of different creative photography. I thought this image was neat because it showed the spinning vase as she was sculpting. Although I enjoyed this image, one of the judges felt that the treatment around the edge was distracting. I'm hoping to take the critiques in mind while I photograph during the next shoot.
"Spinning Clay" - Did not place
I really like this shot... The tonal range and lines created by the spinning table while using a slower shutter speed on the camera. Both of the B&W entries were taken using a tripod and a solitary light source. The one judge stated that the abrupt cropping of the curved lines at the bottom of the photo interrupted the flow... Can't say I disagree with that assessment...I look forward trying different shots with this artist in the coming months! Stay tuned!
Pictorial Competition
"Dusty Dirt Road" - 1st place
Although it has been several months since I took a trip out west, I'm still editing photos from the vacation. This shot was captured on a road just north of the entrance to Steptoe Butte in Palouse, WA. When I first started shooting on this road, I left the car windows down as I drove around, not realizing how dusty it really was. After driving around for a few hours, the interior of the brand new rental car and my camera gear was coated in a fine dust. Despite that fact, it was still pretty fun driving around roads where you almost never saw another living soul... I'm just happy I didn't have any car troubles, because phone connectivity was spotty in places.
Take care,
Dan
Daniel A. Sandy