*2012/03/23 - Creative competition
"Going Nowhere Fast"
Category: Through the Lens
Contest Score: 23/27 - First place
Location: Cuyahoga Valley National Park (North of the yellow houses on Riverview Road)
Camera gear:
- Canon Digital Rebel XTi
- Lensbaby Composer with Double Glass Optic
- Cokin graduated neutral density filter (also handheld because I forgot the bracket)
- Handheld
Photo Specs:
Raw Image > Converted to Tiff file > Converted to Jpeg to for printing
Focal Length: 50mm
Aperture: ??
Shutter Speed: 1/1250
ISO: 800
Software used:
- Photoshop
- Noise reduction software
Print medium: Metallic paper
Lessons learned:
- That Metallic paper can really help some images!
- Don't forget bracket at home, because it makes everything more difficult!
- Lensbaby can give the perception of movement even when things aren't moving. The train didn't even have an engine... it was just sitting there...
- Still a little heavy handed on the noise reduction software, but it didn't hurt this image too much.
"The Fleeting Redhead"
Category: Through the Lens
Contest Score: 20/27 - Did not place
Location: My parent's kitchen table with wilting flowers
Camera gear:
- Canon Digital Rebel XTi
- Lensbaby Composer with Double Glass Optic
- Lensbaby macro rings (2 of them stacked)
- Canon Macro ring II
- Tripod
Photo Specs:
Raw Image > Converted to JPEG for printing
Focal Length: 50mm then zoomed... not sure what the real focal length would be
Aperture: ??
Shutter Speed: 1/20
ISO: 800
Software used:
- Photoshop
- Noise reduction software
Print medium: Matte paper
Lessons learned:
- Once again did far too much with the noise reduction software.
- Cropped the image from a 2x3 ration to a 4x5... It helped in this instance...
- I should have sharpened the image, as the print ended up blurry.
*2012/03/09 - Projection Competition
This was the second photo competition I had entered at The Cleveland Photographic Society, and was before I had learned how to post-process images using Camera Raw in Photoshop, or NIK photo filters. I have learned much since then, but it's always interesting to see where I started.
Did Not Place - "Wha Wha What Happened to Fluffy"
This was a lucky capture during my volunteer work at The Cleveland Animal Protective League. That toy was unaltered in Photoshop, and was just worn by time and multiple washes... works perfectly with the cat's yawn! I was a bit heavy handed with the post processing, but that's all a part of the learning process.
Did Not Place - "Lilly Pond"
There's a little pond tucked away on a hill in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park that's only a few acres wide. It offers some nice views and is accessible 24 hours a day... I'm hoping to try some night photography here at some point, but there are so many other things I want to try!
Have a great day!
Regards,
Dan
*2012/03/09 - Projection Competition
This contest theme is similar to the Pictorial competitions, but is only a digital competition. Meaning the contestants need to upload their photos, to have the judges score the photos prior to the club meeting.
"Lilly Pond"
Category: B&W
Contest Score: 22/27 - Did not place
Location: Terra vista Natural study area (http://alltrails.com/events/2013/06/walk-terra-vista-natural-study-area)
Camera gear:
- Canon Digital Rebel XTi
- Promaster 11-18mm
- Can't recall if I used any on-camera filters or not
- Handheld
Photo Specs:
Raw Image > Converted to JPEG for uploading for the contest
Focal Length: 13mm
Aperture: f/5
Shutter Speed: 1/1000
ISO: 400
Software used:
- Photoshop
Print medium: Digital
Lessons learned:
- I should have used more contrast between the colors.
- Some of the areas were underexposed, which means I should have payed more attention to all the details in the photo.
- The photo itself was far too dark...
"Wha wha what happened to Fluffly"
Category: Color
Contest Score: 22/27 - Did not place
Location: The Cleveland Animal Protective League (https://clevelandapl.org/)
Camera gear:
- Canon Digital Rebel XTi
- Canon 50mm f/1.8
- Handheld
Photo Specs:
Raw Image > Converted to JPEG for uploading for the contest
Focal Length: 50mm
Aperture: f/3.5
Shutter Speed: 1/80
ISO: 800
Software used:
- Photoshop
- Noise reduction software
Lessons learned:
- I did an extensive amount of "noise" removal. The original photo had a lot of grain in it, but not a lot of "hot pixels".... Once again, I did more than I should have.
- I also used the dodge tool in Photoshop to a substantial degree in order to lighten the image. I should have used the Camera RAW tool to lighten the image, and bring up the shadows (the problem was that I didn't know it existed at this point).
*2012/02/24 - Nature competition
"B&W Waterfall" - Did not place
This photo was taken below Bridal Veil Falls in Bedford Metroparks (Bedford, Ohio) using a specialty lens. The lens used is a Lensbaby Composer with Double glass optic. It's such a neat place to visit!
"Engulfing clouds" - Honorable Mention
When I first purchased my first digital SLR camera, I decided to take a road trip to upper New York state for a road trip. Along the way, I stopped by the side of the road to capture a blanket of clouds rolling over the mountain. I look forward to my next trip to the North Eastern United States!
*2012/02/24 Nature Photo Competition
"B&W Waterfall"
Category: B&W
Contest Score: 20/27
(this photo later got 3rd place during the year end competition!)
Location: Bridal Veil Falls in Bedford Metroparks (http://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/Main/Bridal-Veil-Falls.aspx)
Camera gear:
- Canon Digital Rebel XT
- Lensbaby Composer with Double Glass Optic (DGO)
- Can't recall if I used any on-camera filters or not
- Handheld
Photo Specs:
Raw Image
Focal Length: 50mm
Aperture: ?
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO: 400
Software used:
- Photoshop
- Noise reduction software
Print medium: Matte paper
Lessons learned:
- Learned that the Lensbaby lens wasn't overly accepted by judges in the beginning. When people see areas with blur, they automatically believe that the photo was taken out of focus... with Lensbaby being a selective focus lens, that isn't actually the case. Although it appears to be a more accepted lens (or at least recognized) now, it can either help or hinder a photo. This lens is absolutely not for every subject matter, but when it works, it works well! Part of the fun is figuring out where it does work.
- Learned that my monitor wasn't in sync with the output images, thus causing me to produce printed images that were darker than on my screen. Instead of syncing my screen, I just started making the photos much lighter in Photoshop.
"Engulfing Clouds"
Category: Color
Contest Score: 24/27 - Honorable mention
(at least one person received a perfect score this evening)
Location: Somewhere in New York State, taken during a solo road trip through the Adirondack mountains.
Camera gear:
- Canon Digital Rebel XT
- Tamron 17-200mm Telephoto lens
- Cokin graduated Neutral Density filter (I think)...
- Promaster red enhancing filter (but maybe not...)
- possibly a Circular polarizer
- Tripod
Photo Specs:
Raw Image
3-Image HDR (+/- 2 stops)
Focal Length: 47mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed(s): 1/40 , 1/160 (-2) , 1/10 (+2)
ISO: 200
Software used:
- Photoshop
- Photomatix (HDR software)
Lessons learned:
- Learned how to process using HDR without being heavy handed. I only used it to even out the colors/tones.