St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

The winners of Photographer's Choice with 188 entries and (854) votes are...

1st place = srfmhg with 7.22 points and (19) votes (1st) taken 2015:06:09
2nd place = wattsimages with 6.70 points and (26) votes (1st) taken 2015:03:08
3rd place = DavidT with 5.90 points and (15) votes (5th) taken 2015:11:22
4th place = plessner with 5.62 points and (23) votes (2nd) taken 2015:02:04

Congratulations everyone - especially those who added a little more by telling us about their photos!!!

> http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/photo_contest.jsp?pcnum=202 <
- Click (ratings) to see all the entries at once

Running Totals - Underlined equals multiple time winners (RESET)
1st = Beercat, DavidT, RogueStorm, DWU2, pjarbit, jr168, Fuzzycoach, DavidT, RGreenway, Zulu inc, bob44044, Bonn, gotphotos, greg vescuso, Severums, BigEasy, loschiavo, BeaverNewby, bob44044, bob44044, plessner, RGreenway, Mormorazzi, Gryffon, LoneRangeFinder, fjrwillie, srfmhg
2nd = Captain Tom, kizzyk, ofwiah, wowbmw, mffox, actigner, stumbo, sleepydrdr, dwcee, Beercat, debbie wrazen, BasqueLady, Zulu inc, Gadgetaka, bob44044, debbie wrazen, erickter, DavidT, Margaret Greenway 1, Zulu inc, Double E, bob44044, Beercat, PW4GDF, abby, Zulu inc, wattsimages
3rd = Edas, photobyal, Indy5, DavidT, dsherwood3, Barbwire, ColdSnap, bosan, Beercat, Captain Tom, aesop, daldds, gjim9beam, goldie2, SunnyB, BasqueLady, pfrancke, debbie wrazen, Dots, LolaPL, Sdubois, Double E, smithdar, RGreenway, bob44044, Double E, DavidT
4th = LPigott, Captain Tom, sleepydrdr, jvcookies, Photos by Paula, jims203, Photos by Paula, MJPD, Fuzzycoach, jcjr8, pepper84, BigEasy, LeeG, DJ Craig, Arlene777, RGreenway, neco, Linda Strawbridge, Karen_F, haroldross, Zulu inc, ofwiah, Double E, Bonkles, bucketyr, jazz7, plessner
.

High and Dry Tahoe 2015: Monochrome with a splash of color


"Dragons Breath" This section of the Nevada desert is very remote. The area known as Finland is full of bizarre rock formations. I used a tight aperture create this starburst effect, and waited for the right time. If I had positioned my camera higher the starburst would've been more central in the Dragon's mouth. However that would also raised the horizon line and moved the orange sunset behind the upper portion of rock. Images that I had shot earlier didn't have as much color in the sky, so I felt this was the best balance of composition and color.


Baltimore, Maryland (Old and New). The shot was taken in a a narrow alley between modern high-rises and an old building. Used a 1-minute exposure to create streaks of clouds in the sky.


This is one of my favorite images taken in Iceland. It was a magical evening to watch the sun go down with such an awesome sight in front of us.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

To help this week's Photo Critique Volunteer please visit http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-359022-1.html

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

An interview with plessner,

This is an honor and I thank all who voted--some tough competition this week!

1) How long have you been into photography and what got you started?
I have always had a camera in my hands as far back as I can remember!

2) Do you have any formal training and what kind of photography do you do most?
I took a few classes from a lady who became a good friend back in the 80s when I got my first 35mm camera

3) In your opinion, what makes a good picture stand out from the rest?
One that makes me say "Oh WOW" you can follow all the rules--or break the rules--but it has to have the WOW factor!

4) What equipment did you use and was there any special setup? Can you walk us through it?
Used my Sony A65. I was on a photo trip in Iceland in Feb of 2015 with 7 other UHH friends. Our guide was also a photographer and he knew all the amazing and beautiful places to take us to. He brought us to this beautiful place for the sunset and we were free to wander around. When I found this spot with the reflections in the water puddle and decided to set up my camera and looked to my right and he was set up here too--I new it had to be a good spot! I was in touch with him a few months later and he said that this had been the best sunset all winter! How lucky we were

5) Do you post process your final images, and if so can you describe your workflow?
I use picasa and do some straightening and contrast adjustments

6) Who or what has influenced your photography and what inspired you to take your winning shot?
I love sunset and sunrise shots-in this awesome place you have to remind yourself to stop saying "oh wow" and press the shutter button!

7) Would you change anything if you could do it again, and if so what?
I certainly would love to go back to Iceland--not sure if that will ever happen--but the first trip was great in every way!

8) What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?
How much fun and a great hobby this would be as I am getting too old for the sports I used to do for entertainment are no longer possible!

9) What is your favorite photography accessory, other than your camera?
I really like my 18-250 mm lens. Covers a lot of focal lengths when changing the lens is not always a good thing to be doing! Used it in the photo

10) If you had to choose one lens which one would it be and why?
answered above...

11) What lighting equipment, if any, do you take on a shoot?
none really except my pop up flash

12) If you couldn't do photography what else would you do?
not sure

13) Do you have any funny or interesting stories about your experiences?
I travel a lot with 2 cousins who are into photography---our saying is after a nice shot and we see it on our screen is "oh yeah--National Geographic is going to be calling me!"

14) Is there somewhere we can see more of your work?
I recently did put some pictures on flickr which can be found on the bottom of my postings

15) Do you have any advice for the rest of us?
keep shooting away and have a good time!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

An interview srfmhg,

1) How long have you been into photography and what got you started?
I took my first photographs at age 10 in 1954. My 5th grade teacher at PS 64, Manhattan taught us rudimentary developing and printing. Her husband was a professional photographer and loved one of my first photos of the New York skyline taken with my father's Afga 120 bellows camera from the roof of a tenement on the lower East Side. I'd give anything to find that photo now.

2) Do you have any formal training and what kind of photography do you do most?
I have no formal training except tips from fellow "hoggers" as well as online tutorials and webinars. I love landscape photography which I take when we travel or around the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area but mostly I love taking photos of my three beautiful granddaughters.

3) In your opinion, what makes a good picture stand out from the rest?
Each of us has our own artistic sense of what looks good. That sense makes us appreciate certain photos or paintings in books or museums more than others. You think to yourself “I love that picture, I wish I could take one like it.” I think a good picture tells a story by "capturing the moment" as well as being well composed and well exposed (pardon the rhyme).

4) What equipment did you use and was there any special setup? Can you walk us through it?
I use a Nikon D7200 with a Nikkor 18-300 f3.5-5.6 in aperture priority and auto iso for 90% of my photos. I also carry a Tokina 12-28 f4 when I anticipate good landscape opportunities. This particular photo was completely fortuitous. My wife and I decided to take a walk on Commons Beach in Tahoe City, CA since the weather was threatening and we didn't want to ride our bicycles from Squaw Valley into town. We were astounded by the low level of the lake after 3 years of extreme drought. This pier, which I’d seen hundreds of times before with boats docked along it, had a completely different look. I took about 20-30 shots from different angles as well as under the pier. They all looked good on the screen so all I changed was the zoom. Everything was grey, except for a few flashes of color, and I thought these would make great black and whites – especially with the color splashes.

5) Do you post process your final images, and if so can you describe your workflow?
I post process most of my images using Photoshop Elements 13 with Topaz Labs Adjust, Clarity and B&W Effects plug-ins. I first download my photos to my Windows 10 HP Envy Phoenix which is a desktop gaming computer (I am not a gamer) and has 16 GB RAM and an AMD 3GB graphics card - great for photos and video editing. I use the built in photo program to import from my camera after each shoot. I review and delete any bad shots from the photo viewer. I then open a separate empty folder of “keepers” which I plan to either print, display as a slideshow or make into a photo book or DVD (using Pinnacle Studio 18). I open the Photoshop editor and drag and process each individual keeper and then save the processed photo to the titled keeper folder. I first crop and straighten and remove unwanted blemishes in PSE and then use Topaz Adjust for adaptive exposure to get the best possible color image with lots of contrast. They have great presets in all Topaz plug-ins and I’ve developed several of my own for different types of scenes. I then use B&W Effects to convert the color image. There is a “transparency” slider to bring back color in the entire image or you can use local adjustment to paint back color in specific areas with more or less hardness or opacity. The edge aware feature allows you to do this quickly and accurately. This is very simple to do and, I think, saves hours of Photoshop manipulation. I’d really like to thank the “hogger” who posted the information about the Topaz plug-ins about a year ago.

6) Who or what has influenced your photography and what inspired you to take your winning shot?
A trip to Yosemite 25 years ago and a visit to the Ansel Adams Gallery where I purchased a signed copy of “Yosemite and the Range of Light” has most influenced my photography – especially black and white conversion. My latest foray into color add-back was as a result of watching a B&W Effects tutorial by Nicole Pashal on the Topaz website. She has a great shot of her son on a boardwalk which she converted to B&W and brought back the color of his red boots. Another influence is Keoki Flagg, who has a wonderful gallery in Squaw Valley, CA. It’s worth a visit to the gallery just to see the display of his old Nikons. His black and white “Eagle’s Nest” hangs in our home as well as “Nine Dog Sunrise.” I recently purchased his new book “Elemental” which has wonderful photos and descriptions of Lake Tahoe and other places. It makes you want to go to those spots and try to re-create the shots.
The winning shot was inspired by seeing a very familiar scene as I’ve never seen it before and realizing that on that cloudy, rainy day it would make a great B&W image. This image could then be enhanced by bringing back a few colors from the original including the colors in the rocks hidden under water for many years and now exposed. Hopefully, if El Nino delivers the promised rain and snow to California, the photo will become a classic as the lake again fills to normal levels.

7) Would you change anything if you could do it again, and if so what?
I would not change anything in this particular image. I have another 20 of the same scene from different angles and focal lengths, and I like all of them!

8) What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?
That one day the digital age would come and you could take as many photos as you want without worrying about the processing costs. I regret missing lots of great shots because I couldn’t afford to have them processed.

9) What is your favorite photography accessory, other than your camera?
My Op/Tech sling strap which allows me to carry my heavy camera and lens without feeling the weight. Again, thanks to the “hoggers” who made this suggestion. I also love my new Sigma 70-200 f2.8.

10) If you had to choose one lens which one would it be and why?
My Nikkor 18-300 f3.5-5.6. It is so versatile and is useful for almost every situation I encounter. I think the image quality is great at all focal lengths since I rarely make prints larger than 8x10.

11) What lighting equipment, if any, do you take on a shoot?
I use a Nikon SB 500 speedlight in “bounce” mode occasionally at indoor family gatherings or at my granddaughter’s gymnastics class in a poorly lit gym. Occasionally I use the built-in flash for extreme back lit situations outdoors.

12) If you couldn't do photography what else would you do?
I do acrylic painting mostly of cartoon characters as commissioned by my granddaughters. I’m a great draftsman but not very creative in my painting. Perhaps when the kids get tired of my paintings (or run out of wall space) I’ll paint from my photos.

13) Do you have any funny or interesting stories about your experiences?
When I was a kid (about 7 or 8), I was a contestant on the Rootie Kazootie TV Show in New York. I answered a question correctly and won an “atomic energy set” with real radium. Another kid won a Roadmaster 26” bicycle but really wanted to trade with me. We traded prizes and the poor kid is probably glowing now. I really wanted to be a TV cameraman after seeing what went into that show. Instead, I became an Obstetrician/Gynecologist but I did publish and present 27 teaching videos of minimally invasive surgical procedures and techniques which I developed. I did wind up spending the last 20 years of my career behind the lens (of a laparoscope) after all! Retired for 9 years now, I much prefer spending my time looking through the lenses of my Nikons.

14) Is there somewhere we can see more of your work?
I am not a professional. I did post 3 more images in the Homage to Ansel Adams thread http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-351596-1.html. I’m in the process of sharing my B&W images on Shutterfly (link to follow)

15) Do you have any advice for the rest of us?
Take pictures of scenes that you like or that you think that a “creative” in your life would like. Believe it or not, my 7 year old granddaughter Hailey loved the curve of the glaciers at Gornegratt in my Switzerland pictures so I will often take pictures with her in mind. Also my daughter Devin and my wife Gail, both gifted writers, love and appreciate my photos so I’ll see a scene and say to myself “Devin or Gail will really love this picture,” and I take it.

Finally, to quote the other “Hoggers” who answered my questions about photographing my granddaughter’s theatrical performance and how to shoot from a train in Switzerland: “Shoot, Shoot, Shoot.” You’ll have to review thousands of images but with luck, you’ll find a few that blow you and others away.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

An interview with wattsimages,

1) How long have you been into photography and what got you started?
I have been making images for 30+ years. I started taking pictures for my dad's appraisal business when I was barely a teenager.

2) Do you have any formal training and what kind of photography do you do most? I studied photography for three years in college, unfortunately a death in the family cause me to drop out of school to run the family business.
Architectural, product, and food photography (I shoot these so I can afford to my Landscape and street habit).

3) In your opinion, what makes a good picture stand out from the rest?
Good picture will make you stop. Then it will make you either, question what you're seeing and want to investigate it, or evoke an emotion.

4) What equipment did you use and was there any special setup? Can you walk us through it?
Equipment used was a Nikon D800e, Sigma 50 mm 1.4, tripod, and cable release.
There was no special set up. I shot a seven bracketed frames, mirror-lock-up. f16 to create the starburst effect.

5) Do you post process your final images, and if so can you describe your workflow?
My typical workflow, would be to sort the images in Bridge. Then either Photoshop, and lightroom, for the post processing. It depends on the client, some make there own edits, some want me to finish them.
I'm starting to experiment with capture one, but it's not part of my normal workflow yet.
For this image I used Photoshop to create a 32 bit file. Then made basic adjustments in lightroom, mostly compressing the highlights, then adding contrast back in.

6) Who or what has influenced your photography and what inspired you to take your winning shot?
My professor in college was instrumental in shaping my photography. About three weeks into photography 101, we were reviewing the first couple rolls of film that everyone had shot. She pulled me aside, and told me to throw out the course syllabus. Then she gave me a book by Ansel Adams on the darkroom. She said "do whatever you want to do, as long as it moves and challenges you".
That was 30 years ago, so I might not have the quote exactly correct but the idea that she was conveying made all the difference.

7) Would you change anything if you could do it again, and if so what?
I'm happy with the final image. However I will go back to shot this same image with different lenses. Move myself further back with a longer lens, to keep the perspective the same. I am thinking a long lens would have compressed the scene and made the sunset more prominent.

8) What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?
How important the business of the photography business is. I would've taken more business and marketing classes.

9) What is your favorite photography accessory, other than your camera?
I would have to say my tripod/head (Gitzo & Fanotec Panorama head).

10) If you had to choose one lens which one would it be and why?
That used to be my sigma 35mm Art, but now the Zeiss 25 mm Batis. 25mm is a good wide angle for landscape, it's sharp and has low distortion (architectural). Oh yea...it's lightweight and great to hold.

11) What lighting equipment, if any, do you take on a shoot?
Lighting equipment is specific to the assignment. But I have large continuous LED lights, and half a dozen speed lights with radio triggers.

12) If you couldn't do photography what else would you do?
That's a tough one, maybe restore antique cars.

13) Do you have any funny or interesting stories about your experiences?
I was at the Scripps pier, in San Diego. It was looking like a "clear blue sky" sunset so I set up to get a good shot down the center of the pier. Maybe some gold reflections on the wet concrete pillars.
After about five minutes of waiting and watching the sun, a lady walked right in front of me. She then proceeded to put a rug down on the sand, and start to set up some type of dinner for her and her daughter. She was literally 10 feet in front of me dead center in the middle of pier. The Beach was clear for a 1/4 mile in each direction, but she had to be right in front of me. I raised my tripod up as high as it would go to shoot over the top of her head, but then she started standing up and swinging some type of Palm leaves around. But things really got crazy when she smashed a coconut on the concrete pillar next to me. Spraying coconut water all over me and my camera. I was left with no choice except to pick up my tripod walk right in the middle of a rug set my camera down and wait for my shot. She started yelling at me in a language I didn't recognize. So I told her daughter that I was sorry but I was here first, and the coconut was the last straw. The shot and I finally got http://jpgmag.com/photos/3801073.

14) Is there somewhere we can see more of your work?
My JPGmag portfolio http://jpgmag.com/people/Wattsimages
Or my web site wattsimages.com, but I can't maintain it like I should (bad web designer) some of the pages are 10 years old and I can't update them.

15) Do you have any advice for the rest of us?
Go out and shoot. There are many photographers on this site better than me, but we can all benefit from more time behind the lens.