>DSS #9: Dusk or Dawn Feedback Thread [Sitemap] - Digital Grin Photography Forum

Greensquared

Oct-06-2008, 04:56 AM

Okay guys, here's your chance to really pull these Challenges together as a community. This is the thread where I will post feedback on both my own and the other judge's chosen top ten, but go ahead and start giving input for each other.

Post your own favorites, give critiques, add comments. The more you are able to provide, the more helpful this will be to your peers. Keep it constructive and polite, and help each other to learn how others view their work. :D

The theme for this round was: Dusk or Dawn (http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?p=927150#post927150)

__________________________________________________
PaulThomasMcKee - Feedback

First, let me say what a privilege I feel it is to have the opportunity to participate in the DSS this way. A big thanks to Greensquared and DoctorIT & Smugmug (& sponsors) for keeping this challenge series going.
It was great to see all the entries for the first time all at once without the preconceptions of the pre-entry Q&A feedback banter. I wanted to make my picks as much as possible without the halo of influence of knowing the photographer behind the photo. So, my system was to tape a piece of paper over a portion of my monitor so that I could save each photo to disk without the title or photogapher's name. I then loaded the whole bunch into Lightroom to progressively sort and evaluate each photo. 1st pass = 50; 2nd pass = 28; 3rd pass = 19; 4th pass = 16; 5th pass = 12…then I went to the entry thread to view each photo and the EXIF. Here are my 10 selections:

#04 – douglas - Multiple Points Of View
Wonderful execution on this – perfect exposure! My eye is drawn right to the subject and then to the other elements. I like the tension in the figure’s pose. I get the sense he’s pointing to the single light on the far shore.

#05 – SherwinJames – Heading Into The Night
Beautiful shot! I love the soft hues captured in this photo. It’s a little like the train is poised to run off into the water - an interesting perspective for sure.

#35 – Ratty2austin – Enchanted Breakfast
Enchanted indeed! Fantastic composition and capture. I love the way the sheep are small medium & large – and all in order. Did you instruct them to line up that way?

#45 – bch2300 – dusk storm
Mmmm…Tasty eye candy! The gradient of color from orange to blue is especially sweet. I love the ethereal look of the sun shining through the misty rain. I know that the rule of thirds is not law – but, to my eye, this image would also work with a slightly longer focal length to position the tree on the left third line.

#51 – Tdcompton – Evening Prism
Fantastic colors and so delicate! Great use of a large aperture to create a nice sense of depth while keeping the subject tack sharp. I like that there are brother & sister bubbles in the frame.

#54 – Swinton – Night Evaporates
Love the layers in this. The very definite fore, mid and background and I like that they also graduate from dark to light. Very, very nice. Very crisp & smooth. Sweet!

#55 – jwear – Getting Up
Amazing! I love the orangey tone. Great use of ISO/shutter speed/focal length/aperture/white balance to create a stunning capture. I’d like to know how to cause birds to fly into the frame at just the right moment! It’s obvious that you had everything worked out & ready when the moment presented itself – beautiful.

#62 – sherstone – Celestial Alignment
Other worldly cool! Since I am writing these comments without having looked at any threads related to this theme (other than the entry thread)…I have no good idea how you accomplished this – but it is very fun to look at. It says Dawn to me in an extraordinarily sci-fi way.

#67 – mactoll – Morning Dorys
Mmmm…the first rays of morning light! I can feel the warmth on my back as I look at this photo. Perfect exposure. It’s interesting how the sky so closely mimics the water in this image. I love it as presented and I think it could also work zoomed-in to show just the three boats on the left. Beautiful capture!

#84 – Michael Atkins – Evening Mist
Stunning Scene! Crisp cool feeling to this image - Love it.
__________________________________________________
GreenSquared - Feedback

#19 - JAG - Oats in the morning
Really nice on the composition and color. A very appealing image.

#22 - KevXman - The 6:47
I loved the story with this image. Very nice exposure getting great detail in the shadows.

#28 - divamum - That ole' man river
I kept coming back to this one again and again. I just love the composition, the light, the shadoes, the lines. All equals
a great image.

#29 - Grly - All Swung Out
Another one with a great story and really nice, simple and effective composition.

#35 - Ratty2austin - Enchanted Breakfast
I love everything about this image. If ti were mine, I'd print it huge and put it on my wall.

#39 - peterst6906 - Home Time!
Stunning. The symmetry, color and movement all make this a very dynamic image.

#55 - jwear - Getting Up
The title of this one indicates a sunrise, but the feeling to me is one of an autumnal migration. It's a lovely composition with a splash of glory and a touch of sorrow.

#59 - sbarge - Another day's end at Horsetooth Reservoir
Out of all of the amazing sunrises and sunsets in this challenge, this one really stood out for me. The sky looks so painted and the water reflection really pulls the composition together. Great on the exposure too.

#67 - mactoll - Morning Dorys
Awesome light, great exposure and really nice composition. Great image!

#81 - Lars - Golden Harvest
This was another that I kept coming back to, trying to identify what it was that appealed to me. In the end, I still don't think I can pinpoint it - I just know that I really, really like it.

peterst6906

Oct-06-2008, 05:00 AM

Before posting my picks, I just want to say that I think some of the entries in this round are some of the best that have been entered so far (including both the LPS and DSS).

It's going to be tough for the judges to narrow down the selections, because there are many, many entries worthy of being chosen in a top 10.

I couldn't narrow it down and could have easily picked more photos, but as a selection, here are 15 of the many images that I really liked:

http://peterstacey.smugmug.com/photos/387974265_ojMeb-O.jpg

So good luck to everyone.

Regards,

Peter

Llywellyn

Oct-06-2008, 05:31 AM

My favs from this round:

#5 Heading Into The Night by SherwinJames
#17 Morning Dew by WomanWithACamera
#19 Oats in the morning by JAG
#22 The 6:47 by KevXman
#35 Enchanted Breakfast by Ratty2austin
#39 Home Time! by peterst6906
#51 Evening Prism by Tdcompton
#54 Night Evaporates by CSwinton
#69 Capturing the Morning Light by anwmn1
#73 Wake Up and Smell the Coffee by Halite

Several great entries this round, but these stood out to me for their stories, compositions, and colors. :thumb

divamum

Oct-06-2008, 05:38 AM

MarkR

Oct-06-2008, 06:00 AM

Peter, I would absolutely agree. I'm leaving for the airport right now, but when I get home I'll post my picks, although there are definitely going to be more than ten, I have a feeling!

One thing is that, while definitely *truly* challenging (the time and weather constraints definitely made things harder!), because of the no PP rule, it did exactly what I'm sure it was intended to do: it really forced me, at least, to start thinking a little differently and really *look* at light and what was around me and be absolutely 100% focused (pardon the pun) on what I saw through the viewfinder, cropping in camera as accurately as I could, learning some of my cameras' more buried features and adjustments, and not indulging in the "oh, I can just tweak that on the computer" approach (the irony here is that it's taken me a couple of years to START remembering that I can tweak it on the computer, but that just made me smile as much as anything). Back to "pure photography" if you like. (That said, is anybody else now DYING to get their hands on some of their shots that were "great, except for <fill in="" the="" blank=""> " and start pp'ing the problems out of them??!!:rofl)

And, most importantly, it REALLY got me out shooting. I was lucky in that my work took me somewhere this past weekend where there was weather, something visually interesting to try to capture, and I (more or less) had the time to do it, but even at home in the first week it got me out of the house and exploring a whole new area of mystate and prompted some family outings to go exploring that were really fun! (My 10-year old demands to see the entry thread every day - she is nearly as glued to it as I am!)

I've posted a couple of times about how much this challenge has fired me up, and I can only reiterate my thanks to *everybody* - the folks who run it, and the people in here who've been so generous with their feedback to help nudge me along. It's been great!:clap:thumb

:agree

In the past two weeks I learned how to:

1) hold my camera straight. Er ... straighter. By the end my pictures weren't entirely lopsided!

2) Use the bracketing function of my camera. Until this challenge I barely new it existed!

3) take LOTS of pictures. Obsessively, almost. But now I have cool pictures of a storm over Lake Ontario, Kodak HQ at sunrise, a creepy water treatment plant, and a gaggle of ducks. I wouldn't have gotten any of these without a little challenge to push me.

So a big thank you to Dgrin in general and Greensquared and DoctorIT for giving me a little push!

Favorites:

#17 morning dew -- says "dawn" in a very creative way. Love those dewdrops!
#19 Oats in the morning -- love that silhouette.
#22 The 6:47 -- wonderful mood, makes me feel like I'm part of the scene.
#34 Slippin' into Darkness --I'm a sucker for cityscapes.
#36 Cascade Sunset -- this would make an awesome desktop wallpaper.
#39 Home Time -- I'm also a sucker for long exposures. The arch brings it all together nicely.
#45 Dusk Storm -- scary!
#55 Getting Up -- just lovely.
#58 It's about Twilight Now -- love that moon hanging in the sky.
#71 Got a nibble -- made me smile, and adds a wonderful human element.
#84 Evening mist. :bow :bow :bow the colors are amazing!

divamum

Oct-06-2008, 06:07 AM

3) take LOTS of pictures. Obsessively, almost. But now I have cool pictures of a storm over Lake Ontario, Kodak HQ at sunrise, a creepy water treatment plant, and a gaggle of ducks. I wouldn't have gotten any of these without a little challenge to push me.

Is anybody willing to 'fess up to just how many shots they took? I haven't done a final tally, but I know it was... er... ::cough::.... a lot (nobody will ever want to buy my XT, I have a feeling!! lol)

Tentacion

Oct-06-2008, 06:17 AM

I'll Fess up....

it took me 15 tries for this shot, but I was shooting with a wrapped up arm and wrist, took quite the tumble this week past and dislocated elbow and thumb, I would have kept going but the pain was starting to annoy me...LOL. (Note: Never walk on tile floors with slightly wet feet :D )

Good Luck to All in this Round

Peace
Donna

WomanWithACamera

Oct-06-2008, 06:24 AM

KevXman

Oct-06-2008, 06:37 AM

I ONLY SHOT ONE EXPOSURE AND THAT'S THE ONE THAT I ENTERED!

Yeah, right. If we were still using film I would own stock in Kodak or Fuji right now. I usually shoot with available/natural light to start with (don't own lights and hate using the on-camera flash unless absolutely necessary) but this challenge still pushed me to new limits. Oh, and Roaddog, I'm saving your title suggestion of "Night Train" for another challenge. I liked it but want to shoot something worthy of it.

Kerry, Mark, Halite, Gage, Anita, mactoll, ilbcnu, Linda, Donna, Karin, Pyro, Jeff, and Michael, thank you for putting me in your favorites list.
THANK YOU Emily for putting me in the voting round!

Here's my top ten.

http://photosbykevin.smugmug.com/photos/387939537_757JB-L.jpg

— Kevin

WomanWithACamera

Oct-06-2008, 07:00 AM

My favs from this round:

This was hard, there were so many great shots.

#3 Desert Dusk- ilbcnu
#8 Stockton, NJ 09/24/2008 7:36 PM- richters
#35 Enchanted Breakfast- Ratty2austin
#46 dusk storm- bch2300
#47 Soft Light- Danspage
#55 Getting Up- jwear
#67 Morning Dorys- mactoll
#70 Quest For Light- izzy
#79 It's Around Here Somewhere- Travis
#84 Evening Mist- Michale Atkins

There were so many wonderful pictures. Good luck everyone!

Travis

Oct-06-2008, 07:03 AM

Is anybody willing to 'fess up to just how many shots they took? I haven't done a final tally, but I know it was... er... ::cough::.... a lot (nobody will ever want to buy my XT, I have a feeling!! lol)

I cracked under pressure :rofl . I took 14 exposures Saturday evening but everything that could go wrong did. You can read about it in "So What Happens When Things Don't Come Together as Planned?" (http://travisowneyphotography.blogspot.com/2008/10/so-what-happens-when-things-dont-come.html)if you are interested.

Last night I decided to shift gears and go for I knew would be a surefire winner :D only to have everything once again miss the mark. I shot 70+ frames and had nothing earth shatteringly beautiful. There's a short recount in "Two in a Row with a Miss. Tough Weekend (http://travisowneyphotography.blogspot.com/2008/10/2-days-in-row-with-miss-tough-weekend.html)."

After viewing the entries that were posted, I debated on even posting an entry this round but the thought of sitting out was no fun. :scratch Everyone did an incredible job. I haven't narrowed down my top-10 (okay, it will probably more like top-30) images yet. Hopefully I'll get a chance to do it in the next couple of days. I don't envy the judges one bit! Good luck y'all!!!!!

Travis

Oct-06-2008, 07:06 AM

My favs from this round:

This was hard, there were so many great shots.

#79 It's Around Here Somewhere- Travis

There were so many wonderful pictures. Good luck everyone!

Thanks WWAC! You made my morning. :ivar

shatch

Oct-06-2008, 07:08 AM

Ok...I looked through all the photos and narrowed it down to 83.:scratch Here is a link. (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=106496) Seriously...what an amazing set of photos!!! Good luck Paul and GreenSquared! If I was a judge and had to narrow it down to 10 I'm afraid I would have to either use a dart board or pull names out of a hat. Very well done everyone!!!! I felt like I was looking through a stock photography book. Good luck.

The Curious Camel

Oct-06-2008, 07:46 AM

Wow, I'm so glad some of you are fessing up...I took a 150 or so shots.

When I did finally get something I liked it wasn't straight. I had several ideas that got posted first so I moved on to something else.

I did learn more about my camera and it's settings which is always good.

I have to admit that my rhythm for getting things right lately is off. When I had a chance to get out and shoot either the weather didn't cooperate or tragedy struck. I even went out before sunrise this morning but it was raining and dark.

I would love to hear what others have learned. I certainly have more to learn and will be reading my book even more. I always depend on my brothers wise opinions but I think he even got sick of me so I had to punt.

Ok I'm done crying now.

BTW, awsome shots all of you.

Peace, gail:D

peterst6906

Oct-06-2008, 07:52 AM

Wow, I'm so glad some of you are fessing up...I took a 150 or so shots.

I envy you. We had rain, fog and flat dead light for the last two weeks in Holland, so I ended up taking in excess of 600 frames this round and travelled over 400 miles.

I captured a number of shots that will be good after I process them, but couldn't get anything I liked straight out of camera until in desperation I went only about 5 minutes from home and in the space of an hour between one downpour and the next, I captured the image that I submitted (though I had to hold an umbrella up over my camera a couple of times while waiting for the ambient to drop down to where it balanced with the street and car lights).

Tough round, but very rewarding overall.

Regards,

Peter

MarkR

Oct-06-2008, 07:58 AM

Somewhere around ~300 exposures for this contest, but many/most of those were bracketed :deal.

And I still think I could've done better. :dunno

The Curious Camel

Oct-06-2008, 08:01 AM

peterst6906 I envy you. We had rain, fog and flat dead light for the last two weeks in Holland, so I ended up taking in excess of 600 frames this round and travelled over 400 miles

Don't envy me your shot is wonderful.

I don't ever remember a fall being so unattractive as far as light goes around here.

peace,g

Travis

Oct-06-2008, 08:15 AM

I certainly have more to learn and will be reading my book even more.

Peace, gail:D

I'm with you Gail except I had 3 books and a video to help me venture through all of the sub-menus of the D300 to set the flash controls, jpg atributes, etc. :deal I think I build a small rocket ship now but I did learn a lot! :rofl

divamum

Oct-06-2008, 08:16 AM

(airport wifi makes sitting around waiting SO much more pleasant...)

Yeah, I think I was around the 400 mark (including exposure bracketing multiples), although until I get home and check the other hard drive I'm not sure. "Lots'n'lots" should cover it specifically enough :lol3

Things I learned this round:

- ALWAYS take my dSLR on trips with me even if it seems like too much trouble - you never know when a place that sounds like it's going to be boring has something worth shooting!

- feet (ie moving to a new spot) may be the "original" focal length adjustment but long and wide-angle lenses frequently open up possibilities that would be otherwise IMpossible (ie, when feet would take you into the river or the middle of the street!).

(Did I mention how much I missed my dSLR rig this weekend? Why yes, I think I did....:rofl)

- my p&s will never be my favorite camera, but it is capable of a lot more than I thought it was :) I for sure learned the reality of "the best camera is the one you have with you"!

- automatic exposure bracketing is your friend, as is exposure compensation. Plus, experimenting with metering off different items in the shot - resuts in totally different effects (all of which coud be termed "good" exposure)

- light, light, light. NEVER forget about it. What direction it's coming from, how far away it is, what objects/items it's hitting. While this may seem obvious to the pros and more advanced photographers, to those of us just graduating from "good snapshots" to "real photography" this realisation is a Really Big Deal.

- while shooting for one "assignment" you may well get shots which don't fit the bill but are good in their own right. The shots I got at the lighthouse were useless for this challenge, but some of the rainsoaked docks ones are beyond my expectations of what I could capture, and I KNOW it's because I was concentrating on really good composition and exposure (for the SOOC requirement) and thus got much better shots than if I'd just started shooting indiscriminately. Lesson learned :D

To date, most of my better shots have been of living things, ie people and animals. Faces,, situations, expressions, actions. This is the first time I've really explored shooting... other stuff. Places. Light. Ambience. Mood. It's exciting to realise how much more there is out there to explore!

Tentacion

Oct-06-2008, 08:26 AM

JAG

Oct-06-2008, 08:32 AM

So many great entries. These comps are getting more and more challenging! I love it!

Thanks Peter, Llewellyn and Mark for the mention of my "Oats in the Morning". That really makes my day!

I think I took about 75 shots. On the first day that my pnuemonia was some better I went out in freezing morning before sunrise to get those shots!

None of them were of the original thought I had. I was going to have my eldest daughter dress in a midevil dress she had and have her posing as the morning light (could have been artificial) came through a window....I was going to call it "Through yonder window breaks..." Taking if from this verse in the play Romeo and Juliet...

But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief
That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.

But I couldn't find a window that was made of stone or get my daughter up that early in the morning on her day off!:cry

Ok as for my top ten...thats a hard one....but heres my first pass list (the ones that made stop and really look)...in no order other than post numbers. Mine would be included in this if I had not posted it:wink This is as far down as I choose to go...I am glad that I do not have to judge it an try to pick only ten!

#4 Points of view- douglas
#8 Stockton- Richters
#13 City silhoette- davev
#26 a morning after drink- pemmett
#28 that ole' man river- divamum
#37 Castle Rock- Nikolai
#39 Home time- Peterst6906
#48 Ersatz Luminary -mtmillz
#55 Getting up-jwear
#59 Another day's end at Horsetooth Reservoir-sbarge
#60 koombaya-shatch
#67 Morning Dorys-mactoll
#69 Capturing the morning light-anwmn1
#71 Got a nibble-cmurph
#73 Wake up and smell the coffee-Halite
#83 San Francisco from Mt. Tamalpais-Harrington
#84 Evening Mist- Michael Atkins

Halite

Oct-06-2008, 09:14 AM

Great set of images, everyone! It's fun to hear about everyone's efforts to make that one image that was going to pop straight out of the camera.

After looking at the entries forward and backward a couple times (literally). I've narrowed my favorites down to the following fourteen. There were a lot of strong images not in this fourteen that didn't quite speak the theme to me as strongly as the following:

#5 Heading Into the Night--SherwinJames
#8 Stockton, NJ--richtersl
#14 Sunrays--dlplumer
#18 Basking--Llywellyn
#19 Oats in the morning--JAG
#22 The 6:47--KevXman
#26 The morning after drink--pemmett
#35 Enchanted Breakfast--Ratty2austin
#45 dusk storm--bch2300
#60 Koombiah--shatch
#67 Morning Dorys--mactoll
#69 Capturing the Morning Light--anwmn1
#79 It's Around Here Somewhere--Travis
#84 Evening Mist--Michael Atkins

Good Luck on DSS # 10!

jrnylst

Oct-06-2008, 09:20 AM

In no particular order and size not indicative of anything other than perfect background, here are my favorites, and as has been the case each of these challenges, I'm very thankful I don't have to judge this. There are just too many awesome shots!

http://snowcatcher.smugmug.com/photos/388035539_BkNgi-L.jpg

One of the coolest things about this particular challenge is that all the great color and compositions were achieved straight out of the camera, the way we had to do it back in the days of film. That, to me, is just amazing in this day and age. A big hand to all.

I snapped about 80 shots, bracketing like crazy, but my main concern was the dust bunnies I've not yet been able to dislodge from my sensor. So I had to compose my shot to hide two very stubborn dust particles. The first shot I posted looked fine on my laptop, but when I looked at it later on a desktop, it was too dark (which often happens with images I initially think are fine on my laptop, regardless of what screen adjustments I make). So I looked for one of the bracketed exposures with the same composition but more light, and my horizon was not level. Dang!!! So I had to go with a composition that wasn't my favorite because it was the only one with the proper exposure and the lake not slowly draining out of the photo.

I then lucked into seven more gorgeous sunrises in the days that followed, and I was so tempted to change my entry again. I literally had to stay off this site to eliminate the temptation of changing my entry every day!

idiom

Oct-06-2008, 09:34 AM

Here is my top ten, certainly was a lot a great photos to choose from.

http://precise.smugmug.com/photos/388056612_TGPY6-L.jpg

Grly

Oct-06-2008, 10:12 AM

Wonderful shots everyone! This challenge was... well... very challenging for me! I certainly did learn a lot though!

http://grly.smugmug.com/photos/388082149_E9Q5q-L.jpg

mactoll

Oct-06-2008, 10:59 AM

I agree with all the other posters, many great entries. It is hard to pick what seems like just a small handful.
Sincere thanks to all who included my shot in their choices! I am a relative newbie here, so any recognition is great :barb.
As for the number of shots taken...too many to count.
I took a whole lot of shots of the sunrise that morning, then turned around to head back to my car and saw the dorys. Its like I had been looking the wrong way for 45 minutes...
Mactoll

#3 Desert Dusk- ilbcnu
#5 Heading Into The Night -SherwinJames
#8 Stockton, NJ 09/24/2008 7:36 PM - richters
#14 Sunrays - dlplumer
#17 Morning Dew - WomanWithACamera
#22 The 6:47 - KevXman
#35 Enchanted Breakfast - Ratty2austin
#50 In the Misty Morning Fog - ic4u
#59 Another day's end at Horsetooth Reservoir - sbarge
#69 Capturing the morning light - anwmn1
#84 Evening Mist - Michael Atkins

ilbcnu

Oct-06-2008, 11:53 AM

Thank you to all who have Desert Dusk in thier favorites! I am honored as the images submitted for this competition and on this site are truly top notch!! Thank you for all the help on "#9 which one" thread. I shot alot of images and referred back to my instruction manual embarrising amount of times for this comp.! I'm also trying for the first time showing image collage in favorites---so here goes in no particular order my "Dusk Dawn" favorites-

http://amandag.smugmug.com/photos/388145479_YmhAa-L.jpg

WomanWithACamera

Oct-06-2008, 11:55 AM

I ONLY SHOT ONE EXPOSURE AND THAT'S THE ONE THAT I ENTERED!

Yeah, right. If we were still using film I would own stock in Kodak or Fuji right now.

— Kevin

If we were still using film, my husband would be broke!! :barb

I must of taken at least 200 shots... but did learn more about my camera. Especially about iso, and aperture.

richtersl

Oct-06-2008, 01:46 PM

Thanks to everyone who included my sunset shot from Stockton NJ in their favorites. :lust

Below are my 10 favorites. There actually were many more. This particular challenge was especially competitive. :bow

http://lrichters.smugmug.com/photos/388235874_ZQFYa-L.jpg

This was a good challenge -- if anything, it's taught us to rely less on post processing! Thanks Emily!!!!

Flyinggina

Oct-06-2008, 02:03 PM

OMG, Linda. I am so honored that you included my picture in your favorites. :lust

Wish I had time to put together my favorites but we are on the road until Thursday.

The entries are truly remarkable. I am in awe and also very, very glad I'm not a judge for this round!

Virginia

Tentacion

Oct-06-2008, 04:25 PM

http://dpstudios.smugmug.com/photos/388340907_Zp8No-L.jpg

cmkultradome

Oct-06-2008, 04:39 PM

I agress with shatch - I think we have 83 winners!! What a great challenge and great learning tool!! Below are my 15 favorites in order of entry, but I had another 15 standing by right behind them.

Stephanie

#4 Multiple points of view by douglas
#8 Stockton, NJ by richters
#13 City silouette by davev
#17 Morning dew by WomanWithaCamera
#29 All Swung Out by Grly
#34 Slippin into Darkness by Roaddog52
#39 Home Tme! by peterst6906
#51 Evening Prism by Tdcompton
#59 Another day's end at Horsetooth Reservoir by sbarge
#67 Morning dorys by mactoll
#68 Soft Flowing Morning by swintonphoto
#69 Capturing the Norning Light by anwmn1
#79 Its Around Here Somewhere by Travis
#81 Golden Harvest by Lars
#84 Evening Mist by Michael Atkins

dlplumer

Oct-06-2008, 04:52 PM

http://dlplumer.smugmug.com/photos/388358093_aksqG-XL.jpg

pyroPrints.com

Oct-06-2008, 05:11 PM

2 lists this time, one for great images, and one for awesome images

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Pyro979/top_great.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Pyro979/top_awesome.jpg

jwear

Oct-06-2008, 05:20 PM

This time I will try and pick 10 Nik my comment is from friendship:D :thumb

#3 Desert Dusk ilbcnu

#5 Heading into the night sherwin james

#19 oats in the morning jag

#22 the 6:47 Kevxman

#23 the chime of dawn jrnylst

#35 enchanted breakfast ratty2austin

#37 castle rock nik Nik glad you swapped the
shots did not like the other one :huh

#59 another day's end sbarge exifer :rofl thanks again to
#67 morning dory's mactoll

#84 evening mist michael atkins I do love alaska

note CMURPH your shot was a great idea just wish
the comp was a bit more to the right and a bit more
light ,but I did feel that shot :clap

divamum

Oct-06-2008, 05:22 PM

You know, I think it says something about the high quality of all the entries that so few of the pictures are appearing on every single list - there really are an awful lot of fabulous images to choose from!

And I am BESIDE myself to be included in a couple of people's lists - I'm such a beginner, and feel so completely n00b at all this that ... I'm just over the moon that anything I shot was noticed among such superb entries - wow... I'm all verklaempt here... ::snif::! :barb Thank you so very much!

Anyway, my shortlist (although I could easily have created another list using completely different pictures! As somebody said... all 83 are worthy :). I've really struggled to get it down to only 15... had to cull at least 7 more that were all on my WOW list...:cry

In order of posting:

3 Desert Dusk
9 Nightguard
23 Chime of Dawn
35 Enchanted Breakfast
39 Home Time
41 Apple at Dusk
50 In the Misty Morning Fog
51 Evening Prism
54 Night Evaporates
67 Morning Dorys
69 Capturing the Morning Light
71 Got a Nibble
72 Day is Done
76 Fog Diner
84 Evening Mist

jwear

Oct-06-2008, 05:44 PM

Hey I made the finals :barb Thank you dlplumer, Jag, Idiom, Markr, WomanwithCamera, and Peter for picking my shot in you top ten just as much an honor as making the vote list .Thanks again Jeff

Greensquared

Oct-06-2008, 05:44 PM

Ok, judges' feedback has been added to the first post in this thread. :thumb

divamum

Oct-06-2008, 06:01 PM

:jawdrop

::falls down in dead faint::

::picks self up:: :wow

::looks at finalist list again::

:barb

Ummm.... Wow. Just... WOW. Thank you!!

sdways01

Oct-06-2008, 06:05 PM

This challenge was great to participate in and there truly were some amazing photos entered. Congrats to everyone. Here is my top 10 choices.

http://sdways01.smugmug.com/photos/388409872_qRYbS-L.jpg

Grly

Oct-06-2008, 06:23 PM

Wow! Thanks to all that put me in their top lists and thank you for choosing me as a finalist! Holy cow! :barb I am super excited and honoured to be mentioned among such talented people! Thanks again and good luck to all!

WomanWithACamera

Oct-06-2008, 06:28 PM

Thanks to everyone who included my shot in their top 10.

Congrats to the finalists!!!! GL!! :D

Roaddog 52

Oct-06-2008, 06:30 PM

A great round of entries. Congratulations to all who entered and to those picked by the judges, I know what they went through to pick just ten. Thank you to those that included me in there favorite picks

I have been killing myself to pick my top ten.
I recently became semi retired :ivar and have been trying to hand off the keys to someone else, enter the challenge and pick some favorites while putting my van back together to leave the 8th for three weeks in Montana and Yellowstone. :barb :thumb

I took 40 shots of the basic same image, I have been working right across the street from the park.

Here are some of my favorites by order of entry,

#14 Sunrays, dlplumer
#19 Oats in the Morning, JAG
#36 Cascade sunset, quark
#45 Dusk storm, bch2300
#50 In the Misty Morning fog, ic4u
#55 Getting up, jwear
#67 Morning Dorys, mactoll
#73 Wake up and smell the coffee, Halite
#83 San Fancisco from Mt Tamalpais, Harrington
#84 Evening Mist, Michael Atkins

Now I must check my gear and pack, and will hopfully get to see who wins this round before disappearing into the land of no cell phones and computers (a good thing) :D

JAG

Oct-06-2008, 06:39 PM

Oh wow!!! Thank you for picking me for the voting round! I am very honored!:barb

Also a big thank you to all who have me listed in their favorites. I am very honored to be here with all of your great photographers.:clap

ic4u

Oct-06-2008, 07:10 PM

Thank you so much to KevX, mactoll, divamum and roaddog for including me in your favorites! I am smiling big:D!
So many fantastic images this round...scratch that, they were ALL fantastic!
Congratulations to all who made it to the finals, and best of luck!

EDIT: And thank you to everyone who offered up their opinions on my requests for help, I'm not sure that I would have chosen the right one!

I seriously struggled getting down to 10, but these are the ones that seemed to make the most impact on me, (in no particular order)

http://ic4u.smugmug.com/photos/388466761_E9tY9-L.jpg

sherstone

Oct-06-2008, 07:32 PM

Wow is all I can say for this round
amazing what you all were able to achieve in Camera!

The last entry in this round was my personal favorite out of all of them! But here is my top 10

A big thanks to Pyro for giving me permission to shoot my idea that was cooked up before he posted his but I was not able to shoot it until Saturday. How could I not have his idea in my top 10 when it is a similar off the ground idea :wink

Oh and thanks PTM for your vote! I am floored it was chosen from among all the greatness this round.

http://sherstone.smugmug.com/photos/388478361_TAJh8-O.jpg

Thanks everyone! & Emily and Dr. too! :clap

Sean

P.S. - since the subject came up I took over 400 frames of my planets to get the composition, angle of light, Saturn ring angle and sparkle just the way I had envisioned it in my head... it still is only about 80%
of the way there.

Tdcompton

Oct-06-2008, 08:01 PM

I am absolutely ecstatic that I was chosen as a finalist... When I look at the photos posted by the members of this forum I am almost always in awe and hope to shoot something of that quality someday!

A special, heartfelt thank you to those who have listed me in their favorites as of now...
Greensquared
Llywellyn
Cmkultradome
PyroPrints
Divamum
Sherstone

Cameron

Oct-06-2008, 08:03 PM

First of all - thanks to everyone who picked my image as a favorite! I'm thrilled to be in the finals and in such good company. I'm SOOO glad I didn't have to judge the top-ten. Here are my favorites from the round, in no particular order (could have picked a LOT more too...)

http://cswinton.smugmug.com/photos/388511866_F5j8U-L.jpg

AaronNelson

Oct-06-2008, 08:37 PM

congrats to the finalists, now how do i vote for just one?.....:dunno

dlplumer

Oct-06-2008, 10:00 PM

congrats to the finalists, now how do i vote for just one?.....:dunno

Aaron, how come you did not enter?

Michael Atkins

Oct-06-2008, 10:00 PM

Huge thanks to everyone who picked me as a favorite! I'm completely floored by the wonderful response to my picture :barb and I am honored to be in the voting round with such incredible entries! Truely this has made my day!

Here is my top 12 pictures from the round placed in no order. It was really difficult to narrow it down. Some really fantastic work from everyone in this round.

http://atkinsphotography.smugmug.com/photos/388607811_k3mYt-XL.jpg

JAG

Oct-06-2008, 10:16 PM

Thanks Michael for including my pic in your favs. My hubby and I were wondering where you shot your picture? Mine was taken at the Cook inlet arm down by McKinsey Point.

cmurph

Oct-06-2008, 10:32 PM

Its nice to be back and shooting again and thank you all for putting my shot in your ten..ish...things

First great shots everyone..lots beautiful photographs in here.

I have to say if you can shoot them this good right out of the camera I can't wait to go back and look at the previous rounds

Anyway few favorites of mine and a quick behind the scenes (we still do that don't we...?)

1st post is the hardest so all of these deserver a big congrads :barb

http://cmurphy-photo.smugmug.com/photos/388431896_jnoqf-M.jpg

as for a quick behind the scenes...I haven't seen this posted so I guess this is where it goes?

Shooting straight out of the camera is tricky...I had to pick this round to get back into this...nice choice to jump back in the water so to speak.

So here goes
I had a hard time figuring out what dusk was so I checked weather.com to find out what time the sunset then pulled the kids in the car at about 4:30 pm on Saturday - and headed out for the lake...had no plan in mind but figured something had to happen :)

Got to the lake about 5:30 pm and walked down to the lake spotted the tree and said...hey boys want to get wet?...as if they needed to be asked

http://cmurphy-photo.smugmug.com/photos/388602238_NhXaX-S.jpg

So I shot around 150 frames...figured dusk had to be in there somewhere

http://cmurphy-photo.smugmug.com/photos/388344904_Qxruq-M-1.jpg

For me dusk didn't come as the sun was setting rather it seemed to have started after the sun went down and it turned blueish

http://cmurphy-photo.smugmug.com/photos/388345532_dQFPm-S-1.jpg

For some reason after the sun set I couldn't find the light but decide to do something I normally wouldn't which was to use the silly pop up flash thingy...I really don't like a flash as I have no idea how to use it.

low and behold it made the sky red as a fire ant..and I was off

http://cmurphy-photo.smugmug.com/photos/388346475_bdP44-S-1.jpg

change the settings a tad and blue goes red..weird...ok...I also put my fingers over the pop up flash to lesson the harsh light it puts out...who knew fingers work as a diffuser...

http://cmurphy-photo.smugmug.com/photos/388342568_BonVn-M-1.jpg

Title for the shot came a few frames later...when you guessed it...got a nibble...and a fish that sent his little brother scurrying off the log

http://cmurphy-photo.smugmug.com/photos/388593156_M8sJx-S.jpg

Good luck with the votes...on to the next round for me....who is poe and why does poem have an m at the end...did he make these...poem things :scratch

Michael Atkins

Oct-07-2008, 12:44 AM

Thanks Michael for including my pic in your favs. My hubby and I were wondering where you shot your picture? Mine was taken at the Cook inlet arm down by McKinsey Point.

I shot my picture at 6-Mile lake on Elmendorf AFB. It's on the north side of the base back behind the flight line out in the woods. The base is pretty big back there with several lakes. After the snowfall sunday I thought I would try to get back there for the sunset and get some shots since I hadn't had an opportunity to shoot earlier in the week for the challenge. Let me rephrase that, I went to shoot on Friday morning out in Girdwood but got distracted on the way by about 30 Baluga whales in Turnagain Arm. I've been down that road probably 50-60 times in the 2 years I've lived here and never seen any. Was an opportunity I couldn't resist. I didn't get anything I thought was too spectacular and was even considering sitting this one out cause the weather didn't seem to be cooperating after that on Sat or Sun. But at the last minute I was like screw it, I'll go and see if i can at least get an entry. I'm really glad I did.

McKinsey Point is that down KGB road? I haven't ever continued down that road towards the end. Been about as far as that little inlet with the abandoned boat sitting out there. Always wondered what was further down the road but haven't made it that far. My father-in-law lives out there so I'm a little familiar.

Kwarta

Oct-07-2008, 05:22 AM

I just want to say thank you to all who had chosen my pic as one of their top ten. I really meant a lot to me with all the great photos out there.:barb

divamum

Oct-07-2008, 06:33 AM

Ok, pulled the trigger and voted. It nearly killed me, since I could happily have chosen any of them for a winner, and there were four that were a dead tie imo - I practically had to draw out of a hat to click that poll!

Glad to see others posting background stories - I was wondering if/when that would happen :) I alluded to a fair bit in the (numerous - sorry!) posts I made while shooting for the round, but here's the whole story.

Here in the mid-Atlantic we had HORRIBLE weather for most of the last 2 weeks - torrential rain (oh, my poor roof!) and when it wasn't pouring, skies were grey and dull. You don't necessarily get spectacular dusks/dawns in this part of the world anyway and while a sunrise or sunset wasn't strictly necessary, dull, grey, suburban gloom isn't exactly photographically appealing. What to shoot?

My first idea was to hope that one of my "New Dawn" rosebushes might throw out a rogue autumn bloom that I could catch in early morning light, but no luck there - they finished their second flush about a month ago, and then when the downpours started... not a chance. So, I scratched that idea as a non-starter.

At the end of the first week, the weather report said that we would get a Sunday afternoon that was intermittent sun/t-storms. Since that was the bset we'd had in 10 days, I sweet-talked my husband and daughter into coming on an "adventure" with me (it's all in the sales pitch - that sounded better than "keep me company and hold my lens bag while I stand in the rain trying to take pictures" lol), and we drove out to Havre de Grace, MD up near the PA border where I'd heard there was a lighthouse and boardwalk along the Susquehanna. Sure enough, very pretty location. When it wasn't raining..... (I took this just to prove how BAD it was for the memory collection! This is when we were huddled in the car hoping that it MIGHT clear up. Well, I was hoping it might clear up - my family were hoping we could go home and dry out!)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/mezzomg/SOAoJVCUPFI/AAAAAAAABWU/PZqEmLOHwLc/s640/IMG_1136s.JPG

I got some decent shots of rain-socked docks and stormy light on boats, but none of them were really "dusk". So I went back a few days later to try again, and came up with my first entry of the bird on the water.

Last weekend, I had to travel to Iowa to sing a concert with a symphony there (ok, I'm now totally outing myself, but it's all good!). Before I left, I couldn't decide whether to take the dSLR rig with me, but in the end figured it was a small town, wouldn't have that much time on my hands during the short trip, and blah blah blah. I didn't take it.

Imagine my surprise when I got there and discovered that the hotel was practically IN the MIssissippi river (which, despite having travelled this country far and wide I had never seen before!), and that the bridge just up the road was definitely shot-worthy... And I only had the little Canon Elph 750 with me (a camera which has NOT lived up to my expectations given the reviews it got). However, on the grounds that "any camera is better than none", I decided to give it a try. The first attempt was on my way to rehearsal at 5.45, but it was too early; I got some neat shots, but way too bright and sunny for "dusk" (and also in need of some pp, ie cropping, to make them work.)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/mezzomg/SObYzXWKRwI/AAAAAAAABpo/rm0uuH0vj1s/s640/IMG_0958.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/mezzomg/SObY-o0GQ6I/AAAAAAAABp4/xRFHJi6h2Dc/s640/IMG_0944.jpg

I went back out after the rehearsal during the dinner break (missing my dinner in preference for shooting, since everything had CLOSED by the time I got back!), and got the first batch of sunset ones that I posted for feedback - these had great light, but I'd had trouble keeping the cameral level and even SEEING the composition in the LCD (no viewfinder on this P&S), and everything was too centered up, or crooked or ::some kind of obvious technical flaw::

The concert was the following evening - I have a real routine before gigs which most certainly does NOT involve sneaking down to the river in between doing my hair and putting on my gown and makeup, but I figured I had one last chance and that as long as I was at the theater by 7 I'd be fine... so I managed to do another 1/2hr of snapping between 6-6.30. I also realised that the Elph had a "wide" mode which opened up some better composition possibilities, so I tried that for a few of them... including the one I entered. I didn't have the camera's manual with me, but I groped through the menus and found several in-camera adjustments which enabled me to raised the picture quality a little (the lens on this camera is invariably soft, so I sharpened it slightly) Got quite a few good ones, although the one I entered was the one that worked best without pp to balance the high contrasts and crop out a few stray bits and pieces.

And, I'm happy to say, I was dressed, warmed up and ready in plenty of time and the concerts I was there to sing went extremely well!! :D

Anwyay, there we have it. The obsession has now clearly taken me over enough that I'm sneaking out of the theater to go and take pictures - I dread to think what happens next.....:rofl

Tentacion

Oct-07-2008, 08:23 AM

Wow pretty cool....

I had 9 of the winning photos selected in my Top Favs.

Peace
Donna P

JAG

Oct-07-2008, 08:23 AM

I shot my picture at 6-Mile lake on Elmendorf AFB. It's on the north side of the base back behind the flight line out in the woods. The base is pretty big back there with several lakes. After the snowfall sunday I thought I would try to get back there for the sunset and get some shots since I hadn't had an opportunity to shoot earlier in the week for the challenge. Let me rephrase that, I went to shoot on Friday morning out in Girdwood but got distracted on the way by about 30 Baluga whales in Turnagain Arm. I've been down that road probably 50-60 times in the 2 years I've lived here and never seen any. Was an opportunity I couldn't resist. I didn't get anything I thought was too spectacular and was even considering sitting this one out cause the weather didn't seem to be cooperating after that on Sat or Sun. But at the last minute I was like screw it, I'll go and see if i can at least get an entry. I'm really glad I did.

McKinsey Point is that down KGB road? I haven't ever continued down that road towards the end. Been about as far as that little inlet with the abandoned boat sitting out there. Always wondered what was further down the road but haven't made it that far. My father-in-law lives out there so I'm a little familiar.

Yes I have been on the base several times...there are lots of pretty lakes there.
Point Mckinsey is on KGB road and where we stopped for the picture was not much further than the boat you are talking about. Did you know this old boat had belonged too Joe Reddington Sr? ('the father of the iditarod'). He use to travel between anchorage and his home there in old Knick Town.
http://jagcreations.smugmug.com/photos/354604197_Urot2-L.jpg

Nice find to see belugas. I have seen them once before years ago. But I don't travel that way often.

Halite

Oct-07-2008, 08:38 AM

Wow pretty cool....

I had 9 of the winning photos selected in my Top Favs.

Peace
Donna P

Sorry to ruin your chance for a 100% average :D , but thanks for putting "Wake up and Smell the Coffee" in your top picks. Thanks to everyone else who picked my image in their favorites as well. After numerous other attempts for this challenge failed, this was my last ditch effort to at least get something that worked even if it wasn't going to be a contest winner. Continuing to push through to make an image was a good exercise and proved the value of these challenges goes well beyond winning (although we probably all would agree that winning would be sweet as well!:rofl )

Elaine

Oct-07-2008, 09:42 AM

Yes I have been on the base several times...there are lots of pretty lakes there.
Point Mckinsey is on KGB road and where we stopped for the picture was not much further than the boat you are talking about. Did you know this old boat had belonged too Joe Reddington Sr? ('the father of the iditarod'). He use to travel between anchorage and his home there in old Knick Town.
http://jagcreations.smugmug.com/photos/354604197_Urot2-L.jpg

Nice find to see belugas. I have seen them once before years ago. But I don't travel that way often.

Hey! I've taken a picture of that old boat!
http://e-heasley.smugmug.com/photos/237406562_KoP9Y-M-1.jpg
It wasn't a very good day for it...Oct 28 '05...trying to rain. What a neat spot, and how cool to know more about that boat. I'll have to tell my brother that (he lives up Lazy Mountain and brought me to this spot).

JAG

Oct-07-2008, 09:48 AM

Hey! I've taken a picture of that old boat!
http://e-heasley.smugmug.com/photos/237406562_KoP9Y-M-1.jpg
It wasn't a very good day for it...Oct 28 '05...trying to rain. What a neat spot, and how cool to know more about that boat. I'll have to tell my brother that (he lives up Lazy Mountain and brought me to this spot).

Cool. Glad you got to visit up here Elaine! Come again soon! With all the photographers that are smugmuggers too up here...we could have our own shoot out!

Elaine

Oct-07-2008, 09:54 AM

Cool. Glad you got to visit up here Elaine! Come again soon! With all the photographers that are smugmuggers too up here...we could have our own shoot out!

My husband is from Anchorage, my brother lives in Palmer, and I once lived at Victory Bible Camp (went to first grade at Glacier View School on the Matanuska). We'll probably be up there at Christmas! :D

Grly

Oct-07-2008, 10:08 AM

I really like reading about the behind the scenes work!

For me, this challenge was difficult due to the time limits. I had to sneak out of the house without my little daughter noticing several times! haha I think that I hit over 200 shots!

At first I tried to think outside the box and do something at home. Like this one which I was thinking of titling "It just dawned on me!" hahahah (my poor husband)

http://grly.smugmug.com/photos/379792671_4vkVe-M.jpg

I also considered adding a new toilet paper roll to my previous entry in DSS #8 "polished off" and calling it "the dawning of a new roll".

Realizing how goofy these ideas were I decided to brave the 6 am saturday morning breeze and head out to shoot. I was most upset to find out that it was extreme overcast and never once saw the sun peak out from behind the clouds.

This lead me to my evening adventures at the park. I am sure that all the families playing thought I was completely insane. I would hop from one subject to the next, laying in the sand, climbing on slides, and looking like a mad woman! Oh well! That's the price we pay for art right? :D

Thanks again for putting these challenges together! They truly get me thinking outside of the box and also give me new appreciation for things that I would normally take for granted, in this case how beautiful and peaceful it is to watch the sun rising and setting :)

sbarge

Oct-07-2008, 12:15 PM

#3 Desert Dusk
#13 City Silhouette
#14 Sunrays
#17 Morning Dew
#18 Basking in the Afterglow
#19 Oats in the Morning
#35 Enchanged Breakfast
#50 In the misty morning fog
#54 Night Evaporates
#56 Dawn of your new pants

This has been a lot of fun and a great learning experience for me. Looking forward to future challenges!

dlplumer

Oct-07-2008, 01:02 PM

Thanks to all who included me in their favs, and a special shout out to PYRO for including me on his "Awesome" list :barb :ivar

Flyinggina

Oct-07-2008, 01:15 PM

Wow pretty cool....

I had 9 of the winning photos selected in my Top Favs.

Peace
Donna P

Yay!! Wish you had had ten, but thanks for including mine in your choices. I was in excellent company. :clap

Virginia

slpollett

Oct-07-2008, 07:05 PM

I had a hard time picking my favorites & I still haven't voted because I can't decide which one I like best.:scratch

I also want to send a special 'thank you very much' to Pyro for including me on his 'awesome' list. That made my day & I appreciate it!

My faves (in order of entry):
3 - Desert Dusk, ilbcnu
13- City Silhouette, davev
28-that ole man river, divamum
46-an evening stroll, cmkultradome (beautiful shot)
50-Misty Morning Fog, ic4u
52-We all live under the same sun, pyroPrints (Very unique!)
54 - Night evaporates, CSwinton
55 - Getting up, jwear (the flying geese really add something)
59 - Another day's end at Horsetooth Reservoir, sbarge
68 - Soft Flowing Morning, swintonphoto (I really like this one too--unique)

There were many more that I also liked a lot, but it was so hard to narrow down to 10. I'm glad I don't have to judge these. Well shoot, if I were judging that would mean I had a shot that was good enough to win. I guess I'll have to make it my goal to be a judge one day after all. :wink

Congrats to all the finalists. Good luck.

Sherry

GeNe

Oct-07-2008, 09:18 PM

woot!

Thanks to cmurph and pyroprint for including my photo in their collages! I really didn't expect to get any recognition! I was flying back into Los Angeles and the rare clouds were fantastic. Thanks guys!

sherstone

Oct-09-2008, 11:04 AM

Looks like this is the place to post a behind the scenes or outtakes post,
since cmurph also posted hers here.

Several of you have asked me how was my entry for DSS#9 done in camera.

I wasn't going to bother putting up a outtakes post but since it was asked so many times here it is.

Celestial Alignment was created using several Styrofoam balls (the dense variety) laying on black felt, Saturn was stuck onto a wooden skewer and the rings are a red clear plastic with glitter glued onto the plastic disc then stuck into the planet with another skewer. Color temperature set to 10000k for warmth, lit by already 6200k Flash.
The small moon by Jupiter is stuck to the planet with a pin.

The trick is to get all the planets aligned so that the light hits each one evenly.. Not easy!

After several configurations with and without Saturn (with and without glitter) I finally decided on the final entry mainly due to the way it looked 3 dimensional and like an actual photo of some planets vs. what they really were.

I hope this answers some questions about HOW.

I have to thank SmugMug, Digital Grin and the whole human element behind both entities for bringing such motivating challenges to us.

Here are a couple outtake images that reveal the mystery behind the image.

http://sherstone.smugmug.com/photos/390237222_nnyxK-M.jpg

http://sherstone.smugmug.com/photos/390237226_CTTRF-M.jpg

CHEERS!

shatch

Oct-09-2008, 01:41 PM