*2015/10/09 - People & Pictorial competition
Last Friday was the second people competition of the competition year at Cleveland Photographic Society. Although I wasn't expecting much with my entries into that category, I still managed to do alright!
2015-10-09 - Honorable Mention - People Competition - 20/27 - "Meditate"
2015-10-09 - Honorable Mention - People Competition - "Nancy"
2015-10-09 - First Place - Pictorial Competition - "Twisted Stairs"
*2015/09/27 - Nature & Pictorial competition
Time is absolutely flying, working at my new job!!! I can't believe it has already been 2 weeks since my last email...Be that as it may, I did much better for this contest than I had in the last Black & White / Pictorial competition!
"The Three Gossips at Sunrise"
Nature Competition - 25/27 - Second Place
I took this shot during my visit to Arches National Park in Utah last October... What an incredible place to visit! If you've never been there, I highly recommend it!!! I look forward to my next visit out there!
"Mystical Forest" - Pictorial Competition - 21/27 - Did Not Place
I already had this photo printed out from a few years ago, and decided to throw it in as a last minute substitute for a Nature photo that didn't turn out as I had hoped. This was taken at Virginia Kendall Lake in the CVNP... did a little photoshop magic to get the pink leaves... Although I think it's a neat photo, it didn't do well in competition...
"Portrait of a shelter cat" - Pictorial Competition - 24/27 - Second Place
*2015/09/11 - B&W and Pictorial competition
It has been 2 weeks, and another contest has taken place. This contest was particularly difficult because one of the judges gave every single photo low marks, which ultimately affected the outcome of every contestant. Despite this fact, I was still able to have one photo do well!
This photo was taken from the roof of the Terminal Tower in downtown Cleveland, using one of my specialty lenses.
This photo was published in a book a few years ago... Sadly it didn't do very well in this contest. It may have some other publications in the future, but only time will tell.
*2015/08/21 - People & Pictorial
"Breezy"
Category: People
Contest Score: 24/27 - Second Place
Print medium: Digital Upload
Location: A photo studio near Steelyard commons
Story behind the photo: Used a fan to make the hair flow, and a strobe flash to capture the motion.
Camera gear:
- Canon 6D
- Canon 17-40mm f/4 lens
- 1 Strobe light with a massive diffuser, a model light, and filler light with diffuser.
- Fan
- Handheld
Photo Specs:
Raw Image > saved as PSD > Jpeg
Focal Length: 40mm
Aperture: f/9.0
Shutter Speeds: 1/50
ISO: 100
Software used:
- Photoshop
- Photoshop Camera RAW
- NIK Color Efex Pro 4
- Alienskin Exposure 5 (for B&W conversion, and boarder)
Lessons learned:
- Friends make great models when trying to learn.
- It's nice to have someone around that knows how to use strobe studio lighting! It would have taken me a long time to try to figure it all out on my own..
"Not-so Picasso"
Category: People
Contest Score: 22/27 - Honorable Mention
Print medium: Digital upload
Location: A photo studio near Steelyard commons
Story behind the photo: Saw someone try this online, so I figured I'd give it a go... took a little fooling around to get the ladies aligned.
Camera gear:
- Canon 6D
- Canon 85mm f/1.8
- 1 Strobe light with a massive diffuser, a model light, and filler light with diffuser.
- Handheld
Photo Specs:
Raw Image > saved as PSD > Jpeg
Focal Length: 85mm
Aperture: f/16
Shutter Speeds: 1/160
ISO: 100
Software used:
- Photoshop
- Photoshop Camera RAW
- NIK Silver Efex Pro 2
- NIK Color Efex Pro 4
Lessons learned:
- using a 50mm lens at about 5-8 feet away from the models gave me issues of their heads being different sizes or being distorted. This also make it difficult to merge the faces.
- Using an 85mm lens at about 12-20 feet away from the models will flatten the image, allowing the models to appear merged, and have the same sized heads.
Final Thoughts:
One thing I learned from the studio owner is that shooting photos at the same height as the models creates a boring effect. By sitting in a chair at a slightly lower elevation than the models, I was able to gain a more dynamic and dramatic affect in the photos. So just remember, if you don't like the results of your shot right away, try slightly altering the angle by standing higher, or lower then the models. Don't be afraid to lay on the ground to try different angles (unless it's covered in snakes or spiders).
Just remember that pixels are cheep and that you should shoot a ton of different shots... but remember that you'll have to wade through the sea of photos that you take!
"Ready for Takeoff"
Category: Pictorial
Contest Score: 21/27 - Did Not Place
Print medium: Digital Upload
Location: Shot taken from the mouth of the Cuyahoga river looking South-East
Story behind the photo: I got lucky and met some people who granted me access to a good spot to catch photos in Cleveland! While taking the shots of a different direction, I head fireworks going off, and quickly turned to take shots of the action!!!
Camera gear:
- Canon 6D
- Canon 70-200mm f/4 USM lens
- Remote shutter release
- Tripod
Photo Specs:
Raw Image > saved as PSD > Jpeg
Focal Length: 122mm
Aperture: f/4.0
Shutter Speeds: 2.7 Seconds
ISO: 100
Software used:
- Photoshop
- Photoshop Camera RAW
- NIK Color Efex Pro 4
Lessons learned:
- Long exposures on top of a vibrating platform makes things a little more difficult. Just try to time your shots out to to allow enough light in to the lens, but not too much that everything is blown out.
- Luck has a great affect on photo opportunities. You just have to be there to get the shots! get out there and shoot photos as much as possible, and may run across that once in a lifetime shot! You'll never get them if you're not out there!
Have fun, and feel free to ask questions!
*2015/08/21 - People & Pictorial competition
As always, I you're doing great!
"Breezy" - Second Place - People Competition
My friend with an industrial fan drying out her contact lenses for a good cause... art!
"Not-so Picasso" - Honorable Mention - People Competition
"Ready for Take-off" - Did Not Place - Pictorial Competition
Warm regards,