2013-06-28 - Creative Competition
"Autumn Stairs"
Category: Through the Lens
Contest Score: ??/27 - Honorable Mention
Print medium: Matte paper
Print Size: ??
Location: Bridal Veil Falls in Bedford Metroparks (http://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/Main/Bridal-Veil-Falls.aspx)
Story behind the photo: One of my favorite places in the park, for it's awesome waterfalls (there are several others below the first waterfall) and unique geology. I had entered this photo in a previous contest, but it didn't do well due to my cropping http://www.dansandy.me/blog/2015/7/2012-02-10-pictoral-photo-competition... I didn't crop this version...
Camera gear:
- Canon Digital Rebel XTi
- Promaster 11-18mm
- Handheld
- Natural lighting
- Cokin Neutral Density graduated filter
Photo Specs:
Raw Image > saved as Tif > converted to Jpeg for printing
Focal Length: 11mm
Aperture: f/4.5
Shutter Speeds: 1/250
ISO: 800
Software used:
- Photoshop
Lessons learned:
- Cokin filters can be used to take photos that could otherwise be impossible due to bright skies and darker foreground.
"A warm day in hell"
Category: Through Processing
Contest Score: ??/27 - Honorable Mention
Print medium: Metallic Paper
Print Size: 11x14
Location: Blue Hen Falls (http://alltrails.com/trail/us/ohio/blue-hen-falls)
Story behind the photo: The skies were gray on another Ohio winter's day, and therefore decided to use some Cokin filters to save the day! I don't recall the actual filter I used on camera, but did a fair number of adjustments during post-processing, which is why I entered it in to the "Creative, through processing" category.
Camera gear:
- Canon Digital Rebel XTi
- Promaster 11-18mm
- Handheld
- Natural lighting
- Cokin graduated filter(s)
Photo Specs:
Raw Image > saved as Tif > converted to Jpeg for printing
Focal Length: 14mm
Aperture: f/5.0
Shutter Speeds: 1/800
ISO: 200
Software used:
- Photoshop
Lessons learned:
- Cokin filters can make for some really cool effects, and can save some otherwise difficult photo situations. They have saved many photos that would otherwise be impossible.
Final Thoughts:
Some purists don't believe filters should be used on cameras, but I say that's a bunch of hooie! On camera filters can save some otherwise difficult photo situations. In both cases with this contest, my photos would have looked drastically different without... to the extent that they wouldn't have been good enough to even enter.
