St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

The winners of Mailboxes with 92 entries and (338) votes are...

1st place = jim hill with 8.17 points and (22) votes (1st) taken (Unknown)
2nd place = Beercat with 6.29 points and (12) votes (1st) taken (Unknown)
3rd place = DavidT with 5.66 points and (12) votes (1st) taken 2015-03-06
4th place = Kalskag2 with 4.95 points and (9) votes (1st) taken 2014-08-25

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

From VOTING
> http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/photo_contest.jsp?pcnum=165 <
- Click (ratings) to see all the entries at once

Running Totals - Underlined equals multiple time winners
1st = Mobad58, Nosaj, Kalina54, CaptainC, smd25, jcjr8, mcdykes, Nikocarol, O hi O, Photon, Cathy Russ, BigEasy, BasqueLady, wowbmw, jim hill
2nd = FrodoBaggins, Shaughnessy, patcarls47, BigEasy, Bridgeman, Coolcameragirl, melequus, manofhg, charben, wowbmw, tavares, turtlepond, jcjr8, jvcookies, Beercat
3rd = LovePhotography330, fjrwillie, KTJohnson, Bushpilot, garthurdavis, LovePhotography330, Skip Murphy, roxiemarty, jcjr8, jcjr8, (removed), qhorse, louelke, Jeep for Larry, DavidT
4th = blackbear, Preachdude, O hi O, Photos by Paula, sedwards3, North West Bob, manattee scrubber, jcjr8, bob44044, melequus, Clasina, cat2560, DavidT, plessner, Kalskag2
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Moonrise Over Bell St., Arlington, NE


The old mailbox ain't what she used to be :(


Snow-covered Mailbox


Mailboxes and cornfield near Vergennes, Vermont

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

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St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

An interview with jim hill,

1) How long have you been into photography and what got you started?
Since 1971 after viewing the photographic art by Brett Weston at the Friends of Photography in Carmel, CA

2) Do you have any formal training and what kind of photography do you do most?
I have no formal training other than three workshops in 1971: Ruth Bernhard, Henry Holmes Smith and Wynn Bullock,

3) In your opinion, what makes a good picture stand out from the rest?
If I knew every photograph I make would be an incomparable winner - sadly, such isn't the case.

4) What equipment did you use and was there any special setup? Can you walk us through it?
I used and handheld Nikon P5100 converted to Infra-Red by Life Pixel.

5) Do you post process your final images, and if so can you describe your workflow?
I don't know what workflow is. I see it all the time but figure it doesn't apply to me as I am retired and just let things flow normally.

6) Who or what has influenced your photography and what inspired you to take your winning shot?
Recently, I have been inspired by the work of minimalists in all art forms - except photography. Most of it is derivative or just plain boring. I mean, how many skylines or buildings with 5 minute exposures on moving clouds are there?

7) Would you change anything if you could do it again, and if so what?
I would not change anything except my treatment of others in my former life. I was a conceited self engrossed butt-hole and lived only for my own pleasures. I would love to live that over again and know of a far better way of relating to people.

8) What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?
How to be myself and not derivative.

9) What is your favorite photography accessory, other than your camera?
Just my camera and a decent pair of glasses.

10) If you had to choose one lens which one would it be and why?
I suppose a multi mm one.

11) What lighting equipment, if any, do you take on a shoot?
Just the sun or a bright overcast day.

12) If you couldn't do photography what else would you do?
Shoot myself? Just kidding. A composer of music a la Philip Glass and John Tavener.

13) Do you have any funny or interesting stories about your experiences?

14) Is there somewhere we can see more of your work?
Just the link under my avatar. I don't really push my stuff.
http://jimdhill.blogspot.com

15) Do you have any advice for the rest of us?
Yep. Everyone is unique. Be yourself and don't be deterred by by anything that holds you back from that goal. Being derivative is no fun at all. At least, not to me.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

An interview with Beercat,

1) How long have you been into photography and what got you started?
I've been shooting video for 15 years but only in the last 18 months have I been snapping stills.

2) Do you have any formal training and what kind of photography do you do most?
No formal training, just KelbyOne. In my spare time I like landscapes and old buildings but weddings are in the near future as an addition to the video services we provide, meaning husband and wife team.

3) In your opinion, what makes a good picture stand out from the rest?
Depends on the subject. If it's landscape of old buildings I would say natural light followed by composition. For weddings it's all about capturing the moment, meaning candid stuff. Capturing the moment in the split second while it's there is more important than anything else.

4) What equipment did you use and was there any special setup?
Can you walk us through it? For the image entered I used a Canon 70D and a 'kit' lens, 18mm - 135mm 3.5/5.6 EFs STM. Nothing fancy

5) Do you post process your final images, and if so can you describe your workflow?
I use LR 5.7. I'm a bit of a purist, I'll push the PP to bring out the best but I don't over cook the picture and make it appear to artsy, I prefer the end picture to be believable.

6) Who or what has influenced your photography and what inspired you to take your winning shot?
The two people who have influenced my style and ability have been my wife who is an accomplished film editor and picture artist. The other person who I admire and have gleaned his teaching material a zillion times over the last 18 months would be David Ziser, an accomplished wedding photographer and an instructor on Kelby One. He makes learning easy and fun. He is a "keep it simple" type of photographer. As far as snapping a winning shot I spent an afternoon driving around rural roads to find what I thought was a standout, that being you could tell it was hand made, no store bought mailbox here .......

7) Would you change anything if you could do it again, and if so what?
Nope, I like it the way it came out.

8) What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?
Boy, that is a tough one. I don't really have an answer.

9) What is your favorite photography accessory, other than your camera?
Circular Polarizer ......... love it!

10) If you had to choose one lens which one would it be and why?
I have only 3 lenses, my 'kit' lens I mentioned above, 1 nifty 50mm EF 1.4 and a EF 100mm Macro. I use my 'kit' lens 90% of the time, so there is my answer. Now someday when I have a full frame, yes I drooling for a Canon 5Ds when they come out, well if the camera gods are nice to me. If I get a full frame I would love a 70-200 2.8 II

11) What lighting equipment, if any, do you take on a shoot?
For running around snapping landscape and old buildings none. For weddings I have 3 Canon 600RT speedlights

12) If you couldn't do photography what else would you do?
I already am an accomplished videographer. I'm also a real estate broker. Multi streams of income is a good thing

13) Do you have any funny or interesting stories about your experiences?
Haven't been doing photography long enough to have good stories yet.

14) Is there somewhere we can see more of your work?
I post daily on my Facebook group site for my small county of San Luis Obispo. Just place in the search for Facebook, "you know you grew up in Northern San Luis Obispo County if ....... " I started the group about 3 months ago and there are about 1,000 members already. I use the name Gerald Dallons. You can also go to my business website, www.zelleolsonstudios.com, there are samples of our work, both video and stills for weddings. When I say our I mean my wife and I.

15) Do you have any advice for the rest of us?
Keep it simple. Learn to do the basics well. If you do the basics well you will have good stuff 90% of the time. Learning is a daily process, there isn't a day I don't go snap something. I watch Kelby One, learn something and then immediately go apply what I learned. No better way then to actually do it.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

An interview with Kalskag2,

1) How long have you been into photography and what got you started?
I became interested in photography after a backpacking trip in several national parks in the 1970's. bought my first SLR shortly thereafter. I shot and developed black and white photos in the 1980's.

2) Do you have any formal training and what kind of photography do you do most?
I have no formal training; I took a community college photography class but I already knew more than was being taught. I prefer landscape photography.

3) In your opinion, what makes a good picture stand out from the rest?
It must be correctly exposed and focused, but what really makes a photo stand out is the story it tells.

4) What equipment did you use and was there any special setup? Can you walk us through it?
I use a Nikon D4100 and had on the kit lens when the photo was taken. This was one of a series of photos I took as I was riding my bicycle around rural Vermont as the sun came up.

5) Do you post process your final images, and if so can you describe your workflow?
I usually shoot RAW and process in photoshop elements 10. The first thing I do is correct the white balance and camera profile (if need be), then crop if necessary, then see if the shadows need to be lightened and highlights darkened, then check the contrast, then sharpen as needed. After converting to a TIFF file I may do some fine tuning of the highlights and shadows.

6) Who or what has influenced your photography and what inspired you to take your winning shot?
Nothing in particular.

7) Would you change anything if you could do it again, and if so what?
Instead of a straight on shot I might go down the road 15 or 20 feet and shoot back at the mailboxes and down the road. It was a foggy morning and I may have been able to get some silos in the foggy background.

8) What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?
Understanding composition!!!!

9) What is your favorite photography accessory, other than your camera?
ND filter

10) If you had to choose one lens which one would it be and why?
Don't have enough experience with different lens to opine on this.

11) What lighting equipment, if any, do you take on a shoot?
NO lighting equipment--shot during the morning magic light.

12) If you couldn't do photography what else would you do?
Don't know!

13) Do you have any funny or interesting stories about your experiences?
A friend is an artist and after seeing some of my photos said "you must have a good camera." A few weeks later I saw some of her work and said "you must have good watercolors."

14) Is there somewhere we can see more of your work?
No.

15) Do you have any advice for the rest of us?
Take your time; photography is not a race.

ladyofwales Loc: High Desert of Nevada

Jim Hill's photo was awesome! #3 was somewhat dynamic with the sharp color contrast but the simplicity holds one's attention.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

Thank you for taking time and giving encouragement!!! S-