Field and Forest Nature Photo Contest

Photographer's Comments

First Place - Bluma

Photograph: Unknown
Date taken: Unknown
Location: Unknown
Equipment used: Unknown

Comments: Unknown

Photograph: Black and Yellow
Date taken: August, 2001
Location: Cheektowaga, New York, USA
Equipment used: Nikon CoolPix 990; "macro mode" 1/659 sec @ F6.2 - hand held

Comments: Sometimes, when shooting nature photos, you don? have to go much further than right outside your back door. This was the case in this photograph. The sunflowers were grown from seed, and I enjoyed watching them, as they grew taller and stronger. Shortly after the sunflowers began to open, I noticed that I wasn? the only one admiring their beauty as a variety of bees were attracted to them as well. After watching the bees and their habits for a few days, I decided it was time to attempt a photograph. Bees are not willing subjects, and don? care to stay still for long. I took over 50 shots, and this photograph yielded the best result.

Third Place - Brian L. Zimmerman

Photograph: Luminous Spider
Date taken: Unknown
Location: Virginia, USA
Equipment used: Canon Powershot Pro 90 IS with zoom lens set to 370mm, 500D (+2) closeup lens, with tripod from about 20 inches away, 1/30 sec @ F5.6 and -1.0 exposure compensation.

Comments: I captured this image as the spider was hanging from the underside of her beautifully constructed web next to our front porch early one summer morning. The sunlight that began to peek over the trees was catching the underside of the spider and seemed to make her glow. The light appears to come from underneath because I rotated the image 90 degrees counterclockwise (and also cropped about 50% to enlarge the image). I did not fully appreciate the beautiful colors of this small creature until I saw it enlarged on my screen, and the color has not been enhanced in any way. By the way, I use the word "her" because I have been told by a more experienced arachnid photographer that it's most likely a female, because the "pedipalp" appendages in front of the mouth are larger in males.

Honorable Mention - Heather McFarland

Photograph: Propagation
Date taken: May 2001
Location: Cranbrook Gardens, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA
Equipment used: Nikon CP950, aperture priority, f/3.9 @ 1/50th using "macro mode".

Comments: I was shooting flower macros this spring when I heard a consistent buzzing sound. It sounded like bees, but went on much longer and louder than normal. So I went to investigate and found these two bees mating. I was thrilled to capture this behavior as I had never seen bees mating before. Just shows that our ears are also important in photography!

Honorable Mention - Patricia Michaels

Photograph: Bug Eyes
Date taken: April 2001
Location: Oregon, USA
Equipment used: Sony Cybershot DSC-S70
Website: greennature.com

Comments: This was one of those almost perfect early morning, early spring photography opportunities. The azaleas just bloomed, the bees just came out of hibernation and the garden light was angled nicely for marco-shots.

Honorable Mention - Greg Summers

Photograph: Floating
Date taken: July 2001
Location: Colorado, USA
Equipment used: Nikon F100, Sigma 14mm, Provia 100F, Bogen tripod and pistol grip handle
Website: Colorado Photos by Greg Summers

Comments: It was taken on a July evening as I came home from a disappointing garden shoot. It had been too windy for flowers in low light but the winds whipped up these clouds. I was very tired, but I could see what was coming so I thought I'd stop and take a few shots. I ended up filling almost two rolls of film. It made me feel as if I could fly.

First Place	Second Place	Third Place
Click on a place to read the judge's specific comments regarding our first, second and third place winners. The full text of the judge's comments can be found at the bottom of this page.