APRIL PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST

[DS1]

First 20 entries take part in this month's contest, much like last month's format, which is 10 entries vs 10 entries, and the top 2 entries of each bracket go up against each other in a 2x2 'playoff' round.

There is no theme this time around, post your best photographs in this thread, the first 20 will be accepted. One per person.

I will first run a poll of the first bracket, and then a poll of the second bracket as we have done before. The top 2 winners of each bracket will then face off in a final round.

I will halt submissions after the first 20 after entered. Time is on your side, so get them in quick.

You DO NOT have to be a participant of the DU Photography group to enter, just post a picture and a title in response to this post to be entered.

See the DU FAQs on how to post pictures if you're not sure how.
If you have a picture in your 'My Pictures' folders, the DU FAQs is a really good place to start.

[Left Is Write]

1. The Monarch

[DS1]

2. Oooh, nice

I like how the background is blurred, that's what the pros do ;-)

[Left Is Write]

14. Oh, thank you!

Of course, I'm no pro. I'm just lucky. :D

[Briarius]

3. Christmas Street

[Schema Thing]

30. I love that shot

what cast the light patterns?

[Briarius]

43. it was like a disco ball that cast snowflakes

it was putting them onto the Stuttgart Schloss during the Christmas Market. This was just a long exposure of the projected snowflakes

[BlackVelvetElvis]

4. Concert pic from 1990

Rickie Lee Jones

[DS1]

7. Nice pic

It's entered

[Webster Green]

5. Here's one of my favorites....

I took it with an old beater, 1.3 megapixel Olympus. You had to hold the on/off switch just right to even get a picture out of it.

The old boat was beached at Inverness, Ca. It may still be sitting there for all I know.

I just love the way the light looks in this shot...




Point Reyes

[DS1]

6. I like the way it looks, too

It's entered

[NV Whino]

8. Boat's still there n/t

[Webster Green]

9. Hey thanks!..... Thats nice to know!

Sounds like a good excuse to go back to Inverness..

[NV Whino]

10. Any excuse is a good excuse to go back to Inverness

there's an excellent art gallery in Point Reyes Station: The William Lester Gallery. Sort of on the corner as yougo out of town to get to Inverness. A nice photo gallery in town, too. Spent some of my hard-earned money in both of them.

[Webster Green]

12. True!........I lived there for awhile...

Can't afford that kind of rent these days.

[Blue_In_AK]

23. That's so pretty.

I used to live down there in Bolinas back in the day -- 1970-74. This makes me homesick.

[Schema Thing]

29. Beautiful light

[Schema Thing]

11. Road Trip

This is the first picture I ever took with a large format camera, and also the first picture I ever "made" as opposed to just "taking". My friend and I were taking an extended trip around the country, and used this picture to send to friends and relatives announcing our arrival. The truck is still sitting in the same place, 20 years later. Yikes!

[DS1]

13. That right there is why large format is better than 35mm

Great shot!

[Schema Thing]

15. Thanks!

considering how photographically *green* I was at the time, I like some of the technical elements even now, looking back.


For instance, I used strobes, and put up two heads with cones of paper around them to simulate two headlights providing the light. Also, the headlights on the jeep came from me "painting" them in with a flashlight after I'd taken the main exposure.

It's probably a miracle that it came out ok though, as it was the first sheet film I'd ever developed. I need to scan the negs, I'm sure I could get more out of them now than I was able to at the time in the darkroom.

LOL, I'm probably a bit overly proud of the fact that I caught the coffee being poured too. :D

[amazona]

16. ok here goes i think

Window, Munich, Bavaria

[ralps]

17. Here's my Entry

Troyplant


:hi: :loveya: :hug: :pals: :woohoo:

[Richard Steele]

18. OK, here's a "Diamond from the Dungheap" photo....

An auto-body shop near my house had a beautifully DECREPIT 1956 Packard Hearse sitting in its lot, awaiting some MAJOR restoration...

I walked up one sunny day and shot 60 photos of it...and they were all CRAP. Just BAD.

A few months later, as I was deleting junk from my iPhoto folder,
I took another look at this one, and realized that I had accidentally posed for a self-portrait in the chrome of the rear bumper.


So, here's my entry for April, "FiftySixPackard":

[GOPFighter]

53. We used to own a 56 Packard!

What a whale of a car! Neat picture BTW. Great idea!

[yellowdogintexas]

19. The Zipper

zipper

[CC]

20. The weather is warm

and time to get the bike out. HD 2001 Wide Glide. Saves so much on gas too. So can I join in? Nikon D100,1/100 f 5.3 Natural light.


I just call it The Bike.


Updated to add camera info then title.

[Greylyn58]

21. The Statue is named Friend to Friend

So that's the name of my pic. I took this around sunset in Gettysburg, PA and I always liked the way it looked.

[Blue_In_AK]

22. Beaver pond, Hatcher Pass, Alaska

I think I've posted this one here before, but I'm putting it up again because I like it.

[RagingInMiami]

28. Nice photo

[Schema Thing]

40. Nice. deeeeep focus, and subtle splashes of color.

[usedtobesick]

24. lest we forget

Oops new at this...

My first submission with much help from intheflow

[RagingInMiami]

25. Police vs. gangbanger

[Schema Thing]

41. Great shot

You could shoot for a million years and not get that accidental (or perhaps serendipitous would be a better word) choreography to happen again!

[intheflow]

26. I hope mine's not too late!

At the mouth of the Big Sur River

[RagingInMiami]

27. I'm glad you were able to make it

Nice photo. Nice capture of the waves crashing against the rocks.

[alfredo]

31. I just tweaked this.

Some have seen this picture before, but since then I have played with the curves.

[smurfygirl]

32. pirate ship

[ConsAreLiars]

33. John Day Nat'l Monument - Painted Dunes

<img src="" title="Free image hosting powered by xs.to">


Not the best, maybe, but the very first to get from slide to scan to web. The site is in Oregon, originating in volcanic deposits left whem Mt. Mazama went Kapow!

[Schema Thing]

39. I likes! great prep of the pic on your part too... the color and tones

are fascinatingly beautiful.

[ConsAreLiars]

45. The colors there are remarkable,

and quite responsive to changes in the light and weather. A fun place for photography.

See http://nps.gov/joda/Pressreleaseimagespage.htm for more info.

[smurfygirl]

44. this is so beautiful

I wish sometimes I could live out west just to get this type of landscapes.

But, I hate the dry air out there.

[intheflow]

46. This is lovely.

Looks photoshopped, but the slide format explains the ultra-3D effect. Beautiful colors! :thumbsup:

[ConsAreLiars]

50. "photoshopped" -- eek!

I understand the appeal of hyped up images (and even special effects), and have long used Velvia slide film for much the same reason, but a lot of current nature photography, in my view, has been "enhanced" so much as to present a caricature of Ma Nature instead of a tribute to the real. That said, it's been a while since I looked at the original slide (scanner didn't migrate to the new computer so the scans were done a while back), and the few steps from RAW to .jpg can go almost anywhere.
(edit to add, this means that the colors (on my monitor, at least) are like the colors found there but may or may not resemble the original.)

For what it's worth, I used Vuescan and then Picture Window Pro. The former works with camera and scanner input and can be used for processing, but I like PWP because it works the way photographers have learned to think about the art.

[intheflow]

51. Yikes! Did I put my foot in my mouth again?

I didn't mean to imply it was PS'd. It was the extreme 3D that made me think that, not the colors. The slide format completely explains both color and depth.

No offense meant! D'oh!

[ConsAreLiars]

54. No offense taken.

I understood your meaning and was just using the "photoshopped" reference to describe my biases. That said, I've come across an earlier scan and conversion done with the slide being used for comparison, the colors in the above version are definitely "enhanced." Other areas are more predominately red.

The colors there range all over the yellow-red-black spectrum; another section is built of blue and green shaded clay.

The more accurate version (on my monitor, for what that is worth - I think I prefer it - the first looks "photoshopped" (eek!) now that I am reminded of the original.) is this:



(edit grammar)

[intheflow]

59. I think the first photo probably looks like

how you remember it to be, while the slide may have scanned poorly or been faded with time. I like them both. It still looks 3D.

And I defiately want to go there. How did I live this long and not know about this place?

[GOPFighter]

34. Let's try this

French Quarter - New Orleans

[intheflow]

47. That's a cool picture.

And is that pink house? :silly:

[GOPFighter]

52. Well, what do ya know....

...where did that pink house come from???!

(Don't mind us, folks. Refers to an earlier thread) :evilgrin:

[F.Gordon]

35. "Blue"

Certainly not "my best" but I like the way this shot of a group of blue glasses turned out.

[alfredo]

36. this is great. The quality of the pictures rivals what I see on

sites just for photography.

We need to work with each other to help each other to improve our photography. We have the talent. We need to spread that knowledge around.

[F.Gordon]

37. There are some amazing photographs here

I've already picked out my fave. Course' we all know that godless liberal commies are better at artistic expression than the dark side.

I would like some of that knowledge spread my way. Had an idea that we have monthly "projects" where everyone posts a NEW pic that can be raked over the coals. I'm inspired by the level of talent here and I need to learn a thing or seven... :P

[alfredo]

38. I have done something like that where I posted a picture

and asked people to play with it to see what they can do. Critiques of works is up to the artist. We tend to be nice to a fault, so it might be best to post your pictures then challenge them to improve or change the image. Let them run with your image, letting them show by doing, not by telling. Of course the person should give a blow by blow description of what they did to the image. That is if they remember.

It is then up to you to practice the techniques posted.

[F.Gordon]

63. I agree... we should be nice

I was being sarcastic. It's a terrible fault I have.

It would be nice if people kinda' sorta' explained how they did a unique photo or how they PSed a photo. But maybe that's information overload.... we should just enjoy looking at them.

But I still like the "project" or "whatever you want to call it" idea. T-Nut's Sunset thingee was very kewl and got quite a few people focused on a single idea.

[Algomas]

42. Holy Jebus

[intheflow]

48. Religion or Reality?

I want what these people are smoking! :smoke:

[Mr. McD]

49. Maui sunset.

[GOPFighter]

55. Wow, look at those colors!

Sure wish we had palm trees here in West Virginia! :smoke:

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

56. I lost count... is it too late?

Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn open air entrepenurs...

[Fovea]

57. Union Station, main corridor, Sprint pavillion

4-15-05- 20:35 CST.

Shot with the D70 and kit lens.



http://65.64.114.185/journal/2005/April/4-15-05/UnionStaPO-4-15-05/index.html

To see the lines of cars burning gas to pay taxes.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

58. Union Station, Kansas City?

They fixed the old dump up.

[Blue_In_AK]

61. Oddly, I couldn't see your picture until I did this reply

to tell you that I couldn't see it. What's up with that?

[F.Gordon]

60. I count 24. May I make a suggestion DS1?

Go to 30 (3 x 10) entries with a 2+2+2 (that would be carry the 2....uh.. 6) 'playoff' round.

I've had over 1,000 unique hits on my "Blue" entry which means this thread is being viewed a lot. I'm just guessing that quite a few people did the math and didn't bother posting an entry.

Just a suggestion.
:shrug:

[Samurai_Writer]

62. Feline Contemplation

here's my entry in case you decide to do 30 entries instead of 20!

[CornField]

64. Sharing

A contribution also in case 30 are used.

[intheflow]

65. I love this!

I'm such a sucker for sappy, cute photos. Don't tell anyone. It'll ruin my rep as a hardass. :)

BTW, this photo perfectly illustrates why WC Fields refused to work with children or dogs--what show wouldn't be stolen by such a killer combo?

[intheflow]

66. When is the contest being posted?

I'm not going to be around this weekend, but will go to great lengths to find internet access to participate if I need to.

:shrug:

[ffm172]

67. London, British Museum

[ET Awful]

68. I'm going to add this one, just in case there's room . . .

If not, just consider it a pre-submission for the next contest (unless I get a better submission to submit by then :)).

[F.Gordon]

69. I promise. No more suggestions.

:spank:

It's just that there are so many good photos being entered, it seemed a shame to limit the contest to 20 total and only 4 in the 'finals'.

But.... I'll keep my trap shut. Zip it up. Say no more. I hope I didn't delay or screw up this contest because of my "suggestion". :-(

I promise. No more suggestions. Really. I mean it. ;)

[RagingInMiami]

70. Yes, it's all your fault

Even though you never got a response to your original suggestion.

[F.Gordon]

71. I knew it !!!!

:crazy:

I'm tryin' some of that reverse up is down down is up psycholomigical stuff.

Don't think it is working.

I see the quantity of participants increasing along with the quality of the photographs. I'd like to see it more democratic. We all need a diversion these days (well, I do...) and this forum is a great way to explore a real creative world to counter-balance the very unreal world we live in these days. We shouldn't restrict participation but rather find a way to allow anyone who wants to play... play.

Too over the top for a simple photo forum? Probably. I'll use the excuse that it's late, I'm tired, and fried....

[RagingInMiami]

72. I totally agree with you

That's why I took the contest from 10 participants to 20 participants last month when I hosted it. Right now, it looks like we have close to 30, but I haven't really counted.

Who knows how it will be done this month?

[F.Gordon]

73. One more suggestion

;-)

Why not have 2 or 3 regulars that host the contests? I'd volunteer since I'm content on just posting a few photos in this forum from time to time. As the numbers increase I don't think it's fair to exclude prior winners. Why not let the good photographers show their stuff every month? Given the nature of the whole "eye of the beholder" thing and the increasing quality/quantity of the participants, the possibility of someone dominating the contests from month to month is very slim. IMO.

[RagingInMiami]

74. That's a good idea

Before, the prior winner was excluded cause there were only ten entries, but now that we have 20 or even 30 entries, it should be open to everybody.

[MajorFlaw]

75. Locking by request.