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Contest #4 2003

(announced Jan. 19, 2004)

 

First Place - Craig Moline Second Place - Tom Schmitt Third Place - Paul Gibson Honorable Mention - Roy Eglinton Honorable Mention - Tom Schmitt

First Place "Enchanted Forest" Craig Moline

Second Place "Moonset Vista" Tom Schmitt

Third Place "Solitary" Paul Gibson

Honorable Mention "Elephant Drinking" Roy Eglinton

Honorable Mention "Rainy Daisy" Tom Schmitt

(See judge's comments at bottom of page)

Photographer's Comments First Place - Craig Moline Photograph: Enchanted Forest Date taken: March 2002 Location: Mchenry County, Illinois, USA Equipment used: Canon Elan. Comments: This is a picture I took last summer in Mchenry County, Illinois. Where I have lived for all of my life. I call this picture " Enchanted Forest". The equipment I used was a Canon Elan, with a Tamron 70-300mm lens. The film was Fuji Super 400 print film.   Second Place - Tom Schmitt Photograph: Moonset Vista, Wilkerson Pass Date taken: July 2003 Location: Wilkerson Pass, Colorado, USA Equipment used: Nikon N65. Comments: On my way to Buena Vista and Texas Creek Trail in mid-July, I was just beginning to descend from Wilkerson Pass at dawn. I almost didn't stop because I wanted to get to Buena Vista early. I saw a pull-off spot and shot a few frames. This one was the best.   Third Place - Paul Gibson Photograph: Solitary Date taken: July 2003 Location: Cynthiana, Kentucky, USA Equipment used: Fujifilm Finepix A201. Comments: I am an 18-year-old amateur photographer and photo editor, and will shortly begin my first semester at Oberlin college. I have lived in Kentucky all my life, and feel fortunate to live in a state with so much natural beauty. This photograph, "Solitary", was taken in early July 2003 on an overcast afternoon. This hillside with the single tree is located on a farm off Highway 32, just outside of Cynthiana, Kentucky. I am very pleased with this photograph: The colors in the brush are especially vibrant, and the lonely tree provides an nice conrast to the gently sloping hillside. I was at first disappointed in the overcast sky, but it provided an interesting background nonetheless. I shot this photo with my only camera, a cheap Fujifilm Finepix A201 digital camera (2 Megapixil). I used Photoshop to clean and prepare the shot. This is the very first photograph I have entered in any contest.   Honorable Mention - Roy Eglinton Photograph: Elephant Drinking Date taken: January - March 2003 Location: Etosha National Park, Namibia Equipment used: Minolta 600si. Website: Eggy's Photo Store Comments: I have just returned from a few months travelling around Africa and was extremely pleased with some of my photos. Having never entered a photo competition before, I thought I'd give it a try. I took this photo with a 30 second exposure at a low-lit watering hole. I love the way the trunk and front of the head have blurred due to the long exposure. Honorable Mention - Tom Schmitt Photograph: Rainy Daisy Date taken: September 2002 Location: Lovell Gulch Trail, Woodland Park, CO, USA Equipment used: Nikon N65. Comments: It was a beautiful foggy day that turned into a gray, drizzly day! I was soaked and I hoped my camera wasn't getting too wet. I just had to get this straight-down shot of this daisy that was just off the right side of the trail.

Judge's Comments: First Place: "Enchanted Forest" This is a delightful photograph which evokes a sense of mystery through the use of leading lines to the sprinting deer. The path of the forest and the burst of light at the end of the row of trees works well in this photo to bring our eyes to the fleeting deer - a moment which might have been lost photographically were it not for intelligent use of compositon and lighting. We see lots of photos of deer but few speak of the more ethereal quality of nature itself than this one. Second Place: "Moonset Vista, Wilkerson Pass" We are surprised that more photographs don't make landscape photos like this. It requires a "good eye" to see the scene and some ability with a camera to expose a scene like this. It reinforces the fact that the simplest scenes can often be the most elaborately beautiful. Third Place: "Solitary" This kind of photo requires a photographer with a strong sense of composition and the ability to see an image most would never notice. Imagine how many people have driven by this scene and never paid attention to such a lovely scene. The overcast sky helps enchance the overall mood and the photographer's title for the photo is fitting of the feeling - "solitary." Honorable Mention: "Elephant Drinking" It takes some "courage" to shoot scenes of animals at night with lengthy time exposures. Most would use a flash or other form of lighting. But here the photographer helps retain some of the enchantment of the circumstance by his use of the light available. The slight motion blur of the elephant only increases the kinetic thrill of the scene. Honorable Mention: "Rainy Daisy" Flowers are most likely the most photographed of all nature. And for good reason. Let this image remind us that often the best approach is the simplest. Combine it with good lighting and composition and there is little that can go wrong with the image. About the Judges:   Judges for this contest were: David Leeson, Kim Ritzenthaler and Darnell Jean David and Kim are founders and owners of www.fieldandforest.com. Darnell Jean is a Dallas, Texas freelancer.  For more about them please visit: About Us e-mail: David Leeson e-mail: Kim Ritzenthaler e-mail: Darnell Jean