July Photo Assignment - Vote Now!

“I thought this warranted a new thread, if for no other reason than to get attention. I've turned on the comments in our July assignment gallery, Flora. If you want to register a vote, please include your trailtalk name.... also a few brief words pertaining to what you like about the photo would be interesting.”

“How about patronizing the folks who sent entries and voting?”

“I just voted. Excelent work folks. Very nice. It was hard choosing just one.”

“Vote early and vote often...”

“have voted :)”

“who did ya vote for?
I voted for the bleeding hearts.”

“since it would be tacky to vote for my own photo (lol) i voted for the purdy pink flower, although i have to admit that the bleeding hearts were a close second...”

“I kinda had the same idea. ;-)”

“I voted for the Queen Anne's Lace. The intricacy of the flower was really captured well. It's a gorgeous shot. Who took it?


http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/3098889Don't forget to vote.
last edited: 8/02/07 4:32:33 AM”

“Not me Sass. Though one of them is mine.

So when does the voting close?”

“Interesting that everyone posted flower photos....I might have posted a Tree or something.

"Flora - refers to all plant life occurring in an area or time period."

Off to vote!”

“I had some pics of broken tamarak trees in a ghost forest that were among my finalists. Maybe I will figure out a way to post them here just to get some feedback.”

“meangreen - Try Flickr”

“I just remembered I had a photo album on Flickr. I upload it in 2005...lol..guess I didn't like it since I didn't put anymore on it

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ewker/”

“As for ending the voting, when it looks like they have trickled down to nothing I'll put a fork in it.”

“gottcha Hobbit.

I just figured out why they said to try flickr. We can't upload any freaking pics here! GRRrrrrrrrr!”

“Really cool pics! I voted for the Queen Anne's lace photo.”

“Okay guys, I'm going to call it. Congratulations to Ewker for his winning shot of a Queen Anne's Lace in the Smokey Mountains. If y'all wanna know who shot what, I've added that info to the captions of each picture. As the winner of this round, if there is any interest in continueing this little thang, he gets to choose a subject for August. Make it something everyone can participate in (nothing like "cactus" for instance, as that would make things difficult on someone in upstate NY). Let us know so we can get shooting.”

“Congrats, Ewker! A lovely shot, but as noted elsewhere, I'm not into things so centered... and am not into Queen Anne's Lace, so subjectively my vote went elsewhere.

Now, however, I would like to know the settings of how you shot it? Thanks! And congrats again. :-)”

“Congrats Ewker. Mine was the white flowers with the bee. Did I get any votes BTW?”

“I like to hear the stories behind the photos, the trips, too, so please share! Here's mine on my entry, the yellow flowers by the logs. I'm copying a note I sent to Hobbit on it (hey, I'm a poet and don't know it!)....

"Certainly not sure that is the BEST shot from my recent trip. I have lovely close-ups that would certainly rival what I've seen in the gallery. I have an aster that nearly matches the one on display and also have a single bloom, plus buds, of the flowers you have posted, as well as a daisy (or similar) in close focus whith out-of-focus hills in the background. I was having a dilemma in picking between the close-up shot... and this, a more complete, tranquil, overall lovely flower scene.

"BUT... I want to see reaction to this type of shot. So I posted it.

"I found what I guess is a 'spring box' -- a log structure built by miners and frontiersmen that would have a spring routed through it -- and where they kept goods that needed to be kept cold while in the field. When I first saw the overall scene I was stunned by its beauty. It looked like a beautiful, small, wet flower garden some surburban type might HOPE to create in their backyard, complete with the logs rotting away, etc. :-) And nature had done it all (well, with help from man in the late 1800s or so)

"I know it looks better with a big-size print, where the flowers show up so much better (since they're small) so that will be a downfall of showing it in this gallery. Oh well. I am contemplating my flower entry for my next fair, so need to see some reaction. Unfortunately, that entry needs to be on Monday, July 30.

"Also, it's a place I found a year ago when I stumbled up and into the Bighorns in darkness, not knowing a clue about anything, since it was my first time there. And I had camped by this lovely, wet, boggy meadow. Across the road was an old mine and old log cabin. I chuckled to see a geocache listed called 'Lost Cabin Mine.' Was pleased on this trip to drive right to the location and, as I suspected, the geocache was at the cabin by the mine. The guy who placed it listed the nearby spring box, which I'd found a year ago. I have yet to send him pics to verify, but he said it was in a nearby meadow.

"anyhoo... that's my story!" ”

“It was a tough decision to make this time, as there were so many great photos. I think rather than subject matter, the single thing that swayed my vote the most was composition. I liked several of the submissions, but the way Hikin' Mike arranged his macro shot appealed to me the most compositionally. There is an inclination for many people to see their subject matter, center it in the frame, and shoot away. I think the "rule of thirds" is a very good rule of thumb for those of us (such as myself) who may not have an eye for composition. I may not "see it", but I can always follow the rules if I want to.

As for my own shot, I was driving home from Jackson Hole a couple of weeks ago, and at the top of Teton Pass was a dirt road that led down to a creek. I hate to pass a dirt road off the thoroughfare, so I took it and did some exploring. I found a few wildflowers there, and so I started shooting. Boring story, but that's it. Next time I'll make something up that's a lot more interesting.
last edited: 8/04/07 8:07:31 AM”

“All the pics were awesome..so hard to pic!!!!!

...congratulations Ewker!!!!!!”

“Mine was shot while walking up THE HILL and going into Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island in Michigan. We were on a family vacation in which we spent a week in Traverse City fishing, shoping, sailing on the schooner Manitou and taking in the light houses and sleeping bear dunes lake shore where I took some more incredible pics. On the trip was myself, my 3 young daughters, my parents, and my sister. We were gone 9 days and had an incredible time.”

“Congratulations, Ewker!

My Trip Report:
It was a cloudy day at home, I had a new "macro lens" and I was bored...let's take some photos! I put on a pair of shorts and got on my wheelchair. I threw my tripod, camera bag and a bottle of water behind my wheelchair and started the trek on the side of the house.

I looked at the map and I decided the best route was the front door, because the ramp was there. Once I got out the door I had to find the right location. I finally found the right location, but the sand was digging into my wheels, so my wife put a few boards under my wheels so I could move around easier.

The Shot:
Since I was still in my chair, about 3' tall and my subject, A Pink Rose, was about 5 feet tall...I had to use a rake to move my subject closer, yet not damage it. I put my Manfottto 3011N tripod into position and fastened my Canon 300D, 50mm f/1.8 and 20mm Kenko Extension Tube together. For extra measures I used my remote cable to prevent movement.

I shot about 12 different compositions, some really close and others full-size. I liked two versions, one with a softer look and one with some mist and a "harsher" look. My wife and I liked the softer look so I posted that one.

Here's the specs: ISO 400, 1/200, f/6.3.
Here's the other photo here.

Post Thoughts
Lizs - Thought the flower looked "dirty". I kind of agree and I may "clean" up the photo a bit later.
Sarge - What can I say! :-)
last edited: 8/04/07 2:18:33 PM”

“Cool! That's WAY more gear than I have. I don't know jack about cameras but have a good 35 mm that I'm learning how to use.

Is that SLR or 35mm HM?”

“Posting "dirty" pink photos... GASP!

Enjoyed the trip report, Mike. :-)

SAY, A QUESTION TO ALL YOU PHOTOGRAPHER TYPES: If entering a photo in a "foliage" category, do you think that would include pine needles? I have a shot of longer pine needs with snow and, yes, little icicles on them. FYI, there are trees with leaves in the background.

trees with leaves in the background. WTF??? LOL! It was dead of winter. Must be some kind of bush, but geez. Sure looks like leaves... And I'm shooting up, so would need to be a tall bush. Hmmm....”

“absolutely.

Yes that is weird unless you are in the UP then you can have icecicles year round.

Then again, maybe you are just shooting up a tall bush...”

“Hey, if you like doing these contests, there is a similar deal WEEKLY on Webshots.

There is a blog there:
http://blog.webshots.com/

Then either read the blog, or check the "Creative Challenge" section.

I had seen they had doors, just realizing I had one I could enter (OK, taken a couple weeks ago)... but it is completed. Now they're onto "Hometown Pride."

Could be fun!”

“Lizs - I agree with "meangreen".

MeanGreen - My camera is a DSLR...Digital Single-Lens Reflex. Kind of the same format as a 35mm, except it's digital.”

“I thought so. It's a great shot BTW.”

“Wow Hikin' Mike. You must have a really nice camera! (tic)”

“LOL, hobbit!! :-)”

“LOL!

No, HM has a really good eye. :-)”

“Congratulations, Ewker. I just got back from out of town, so didn't vote. I would have voted for the Queen Anne's Lace or the two daisies.”

“Ewker is backpacking in Canada for the next 10 days. Poor baby! Anyway, he asked me to let you guys know that the next subject for the contest will be "Tree(s) in Fog or Clouds". Good luck everyone!”

“Congratulations Ewker!

Really nice shots this month. It was very difficult to choose.”

“I voted for ya Ewker. Great shot.”