*2016/07/15-Nature_&_Pictorial competition
Good day folks,
Although it has only been a week, it feels like an eternity has passed. Be that as it may, last Friday was the first Nature competition of the season, and it was a tough one! The judges were more critical than usual, which made for a lot of low scores across the board. That aside, I managed to do alright!I really liked this photo, and was disappointed that it didn't quite work out. The good thing is that we're allowed to re-enter photos into the same competition at the later date... I think I may try again with this one. Anywho, this was taken in TN during my vacation last April.
"Myriad of Color" - Did not place - Pictorial competition
Taken somewhere in the Smoky Mountains during sunrise... or possibly sunset... take yer' pick!
"Amber Haze" - Second Place - Pictorial competition
Another vacation photo from last April!
Well, that will be the last photo contest until August 19th, for the first People competition... I'm thinking I need to get some studio time in, because I don't have much to work with in that arena!
Until next time, have a wonderful time!
*2016/07/08 - Creative & Pictorial competition
Good day everyone!
Last Friday (07/08/2016) was the first competition of the 2016-2017 Cleveland Photographic Society's photo contest season. Being the Creative competition chair person, I was in charge of finding and organizing the volunteers for the evening, and being the MC. Despite being a little chaotic, as most first contests are, it still ended up being a great night!
I had several filters on my camera while taking this long exposure. The orange streaks near the bottom center of the image were actually cars driving up the long mountain road. I knew this image wouldn't compete well, but I still like it anyhow!
"Around the bend" - 25/27 - Creative Competition - First Place
It was scary setting up over a 20' drop on a precarious ledge, but that's what you have to do to get shots like this sometimes... with heightened senses and an active imagination every rustling in the darkness felt like some sort of savage beast... I whistled loudly for over an hour as to scare off any potential wildlife encounters... say what you will, but it can be intimidating standing alone in the darkness, while being surrounded by the unknown!
"Misty Mountains" - 25/27 - Pictorial Competition - First Place
Until next time!
*2015-2016 Year End photo competition
G'day folks!
It's been a while, but feels like just a blink of the eye. Since I last wrote, I've been busy with different fund raising events and other random photo related items. One of those related items is that an online publication decided to do a interview/article on me! You can check that out here: Interview Aside from that, last Saturday was Cleveland Photographic Society's year end banquet and competition. The point of this competition is to recognize the people who have accumulated the most points, and to determine overall winning photos that were entered into previous competitions from this past season. There are 7 different categories that were judged for this competition: Pictorial (Print), Pictorial (Digital), People, Creative, B&W, Photojournalism, Nature, and I'll share everything that I entered!
Pictorial (Print)
"Exploring Autumn" - Did not place
"Portrait of a shelter cat" - Did not place
"Cross-eyed kitty" - Did not place
Pictorial (Digital)
"Summer Solstice Sunset on the Cuyahoga" - Did not place
"Twisted Stairs" - Did not place
"Yeah, I want some treats!" - Did not place
People
"Breezy" - Did not place
"Nancy" - Did not place
"Not-so Picasso" - Did not place
Creative
"The Feds Never Sleep" - Did not place
"Awwwmageddon 4": Frost Princess Fright - Did not place
"Witches Brew" - Second Place
B&W
"Dark Flower" - Did not place
"Guiding Light" - Did not place
"Meditation" - Second Place
Photojournalism
"Emotional Dick Goddard" - First Place
Nature
"Bedford Metroparks" - Did not place
"Foreshadowing" - Did not place
"The Three Gossips at Sunrise" - Photo of the year
As you can see, I did alright for myself! I can't express how honored I am, and encouraged to continue doing what I'm doing!
On that note, I need to edit cat photos from yesterday morning.
Have an awesome day!
*2016 Smoky Mountain road trip - Recap
Greeting everyone!
April 2016 I took a road trip to Tennessee with the intent of photographing the great Smoky Mountains. Being a photo trip, I knew that meant relaxation would take a back seat to waking at 4am every day just to catch the perfect lighting conditions. Hiking miles up mountains carrying photo equipment in the the dark isn't always the most fun thing to do, but that's the cost of doing business.For 5 days a small group of photography lovers got together to follow a grueling agenda in a variety of weather conditions. It rained on several days, but that didn't stop us... we just put bags around our cameras and kept on shooting!
Morton's Overlook using a tripod and long exposure.
Morton's Overlook using a few on-camera filters and a long exposure. I like how you can see the headlights from the cars driving on the road in the valley.
Morton's Overlook using a few different on-camera filters and a long exposure.
Cades Cove on a rainy morning.
Cades Cove with some photoshop magic.
Cades Cove using my Lensbaby lens - On the surface, this is just a field with some trees and mountains hidden behind the fog. When I look at this, I'm reminded of being an awkwardly shaped kid, and being singled out by angst filled youths.
Cades Cove using my Lensbaby lens - I really like this one... the mountains are hidden behind the fog... it was surreal seeing the fog roll over into the valley.
Cades Cove and some photoshop magic
A settler's ranch in Cades Cove.
Taken from the observatory at Clingmans Dome... the hike was short but tough, and well worth it! The mountains were holding back a sea of clouds.
Sunset - Taken from the observatory at Clingmans Dome
Taken from the observatory at Clingmans Dome
Taken from the observatory at Clingmans Dome
The cabin I stayed it! This shot is composed of about 100 shots to capture the rotation of the earth.
Grotto Falls - this was the site of a new nickname due to some idiocy on my part... explanation is further down
Grotto Falls from a distance
Clingmans Dome on another day
Clingmans dome with a few on-camera filters in the evening
On the road back from Clingmans Dome, there's a corcscrew in the road where you loop around go back under the road... Looked like the perfect place for some long night shots! This was about 30 to 45 second exposure.
Oconaluftee overlook
Oconaluftee overlook
Oconaluftee overlook!!!
Oconaluftee overlook - so quiet... so beautiful!
Mingo Falls - North Carolina
Alone in the park, waiting for cars to pass... photo achieved by taking a 30 second exposure at night.
I remember whistling loudly to scare off wildlife as I was waiting for cars to pass every few minutes.
That cork screw again... just different angles... It's amazing how scary it get when you're standing on the side of the road in the pitch dark waiting for cars to dive by... every crash in the woods and howl from wildlife made my heart beat a little faster...
Grotto Falls again - with a Llama train taking supplies up to a resort that's only accessible via this trail. This is what caused my new nickname for the trip... When we first went to this spot, we were closely followed by the train, so I didn't have enough time to setup and get the shots I wanted. Even after I warned my party members to check their camera settings, I failed to do so in time. We had taken night photos the evening before, and I hadn't had a chance to change my settings to something more appropriate to daylight. That being the case, the 3 photos I was able to fire off ended up taking about 10 seconds each, which yielded completely white photos. This meant that I had to come back on my own a few days later to capture these shots. That spawned the nickname "Redo-Dan", because there were a few other places I went back to on my own to retake shots I had failed at on previous days... good times!
Somewhere down the road from Grotto falls... this shot took far too long to set up, as I was standing in the middle of the river, trying to position the tripod in such a way that my gear didn't spill into the rushing water below.
Mortons Overlook again!
Mortons Overlook
Mortons Overlook
All in all it was a great time, and I'd recommend going at least once in your life!!!
Have a great day!
*2016-2017 - Year end photo competition
Good evening/morning/afternoon!
This past Saturday was the very last competition of the 2016-2017 photo competition season at the Cleveland Photographic Society. The next season will start back up in July, and I'll be spending the next few months getting ready! For the year end competition, you can only enter photos that had been entered during the regular competition season. The photos didn't need to place in previous competitions in order to qualify; they just needed to be from that same season. We could only enter 3 images per category, which turned out to be difficult for me to whittle down. With that said, here are all the photos I entered into this competition.
People Category
"Guitar Solo" - Did Not Place
"Singer In a Band" - Did Not Place
"Smile with your eyes" - Did Not Place
Pictorial (Digital entry)
"Gone In 60 Seconds" - Did Not Place
"Early Morning Mist At The Beaver Lodge" - Did Not Place
"Breaking Through" - Did Not Place
Pictorial (Printed entry)
Overall Accumulated Points - 2nd place
"Sunset at the port" - Did not Place
"The Thriving City" - Did Not Place
"Misty Mountains" - 2nd Place
Creative Category
Overall Accumulated Points - 3rd place
"Around the bend" - Did Not Place
"Midnight racers" - Did Not Place
"Submerged" - Did Not Place
Nature Category
"Ice Cave" - Did Not Place
"Sunrise in the Smoky Mountains" - Did Not Place
"Misty Morning in the Smoky's" - Ruth Morrison award (for Best Authentic Nature Image)
- This image is a special photo of the year, and will hang on the "wall of fame" at the CPS clubhouse for the next year!
Nature Category
"Giant Arch" - Did Not Place
"One Stick To Rule Them All" - Did Not Place
"Slot Canyons" - William Meyer award (for Best Scenic Nature Image In B&W competition)
- This image is a special photo of the year, and will hang on the "wall of fame" at the CPS clubhouse for the next year!
In the end, I walked away with 5 ribbons for this season, and I achieved a goal I had set when I first started competing 5 years ago... which was to get 2 photos on the back wall in a single year! I'm already looking forward to the upcoming competition season! My next goal is to get a "Perfect score", which will likely elude me indefinitely.
Until next time, I wish you all the best!
Warm regards,
Dan
Daniel A. Sandy