The Pagosa Springs Photography Club is pleased to announce our Sixth Annual Digital Photo Contest.
There will be four Contest categories this year: Landscape, People, Creative, and Nature. The contest is open to all current members of the Club. New or renewing members may join at the time they enter the contest. Each member may submit two images per category (up to six total), for a flat entry fee of $10. Images should be submitted as digital files. Submissions are due by September 15, 2023. Awards will be presented at the PSPC October meeting and Awards Celebration, which will be held at the PLPOA Club House on Vista Dr., on October 11, 6:00 pm. The top 3 images in each category will receive cash prizes. All entries will be displayed at the Awards Celebration. We will again have “People’s Choice” voting on the images entered, as well.
If you haven’t taken part in the contest previously, this is a great opportunity to get feed back, both from our judges and from other Club members, about your images. Our goal with this contest is not only to recognize members for their talent, but also to encourage everyone to share their best work. So pick your images and submit them!
I was in Grand Gulch, Utah on a backpack trip and ran across a lama tour for photographers. (The lamas hauled the camping and photography equipment.) I talked to one of the photographers from London who had a gallery where he sells images of the US Southwest. He was photographing the Anasazi ruins with a large-format view camera. He told me that he took only one shot of any subject but that he was very careful in taking the shot. And he normally took up to two hours in setting up the shot.
Maybe that works, although occasionally he must get an unusable shot. And when he does, it’s inconvenient to return to Grand Gulch from London to get a replacement shot. But for most artists who are photographers, that’s not a normally smart or efficient way of producing art. Indeed, just the opposite is true; keep shooting until you can’t stand up any longer. Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But shooting lots and lots of shots is a time-honored photographic technique that most fine-art photographers use routinely.
After Glow – Best of 22 shots
Even those iconic photographs taken on the spur of the moment within a window of opportunity only a few seconds or minutes long are the usually the result of taking multiple shots. For the above photograph, I walked out the door and saw a brilliant sunset. By the time I hurried inside, got my camera, and ran out the door to a good place to take a photograph (about 2 minutes), the brilliance was gone, unfortunately. But with 22 shots (over about 3 minutes) I was able to capture a useable remanent of the spectacular sunset.
I’m not saying that careful photography is not de rigueur. Of course, it is. But multiple careful shots are more productive of good photography. For instance, have you ever taken a photograph of someone outside that turned out to be the perfect photograph; but in postprocessing the subject turned out to have a tree branch growing out of their ear? In an uncontrolled environment (most photography), unless you take an inordinate amount of time setting up a shot, you take a substantial risk of ending up with a shot that’s not usable. And long setups are just not practical much of the time.
Try using a mental checklist for each photograph. You can do it in less than a minute; and you can take a lot of shots and still be careful.
Of course, stationary objects where the light is not changing very quickly are more susceptible to generous amounts of time spent being careful. For the following photograph, I had plenty of time to shoot. So, I shot 24 photographs to be sure I got the photograph I wanted.
Creek Garden – Best of 24 shots
Then there is the shooting situation. If you are with someone else (hiking, traveling, exploring, etc), invariably you don’t have the time to take carefully executed shots. You need to keep up with the group or person you’re with. Thus, taking multiple shots is your best bet of getting the photograph you envision.
Even during the years of film, professional photographers used lots of rolls of film to insure they got the shots they wanted. On a photo field trip, the difference between an amateur and professional photographer was typically that the amateur brought along three rolls of film and the professional brought thirteen. Today with virtually unlimited cheap digital storage, there is no reason not to use this valuable technique. Just shoot a lot of photographs.
Of course, each shot should be not only careful, but each shot should be a little different. Change the exposure, angle, framing, or depth of field an increment for each shot. In other words, bracket the photo op with a lot of incremental shots. You are more likely to get what you want (to satisfy your vision of the photograph to be taken). And you will substantially reduce the risk of a missed opportunity.
Finally, what about the great photograph you take inadvertently? It doesn’t happen very often for me. But it happens more often when I take more shots.
One of many carelessly snapped shots turned out to be pretty good
I try to take a lot of photographs, often to the delay of the group or person I’m with. And when I’m alone, I take shots until the tedium becomes unbearable. I have never felt I took too many shots. I have often felt I didn’t take enough; that is, I couldn’t get the photograph I envisioned. So, my advice to myself is to take even more photographs in every situation.
What’s the downside? Well, you may have a bigger editing job. But do you really? Let’s say you take a dozen photographs of a subject. You know what your vision is of what the photograph should be. If you have captured your vision, you can quickly pick it out from a dozen photographs. If you haven’t captured your vision, you will also know quickly.
If you haven’t captured your vision, the editing process becomes more difficult. You need to evaluate whether one of those dozen photographs can be manipulated in post processing to match your vision. But just the fact that you may be able to correct your deficiency in post processing is a benefit of generous shooting.
There are plenty of other benefits to shooting lots of shots. But let’s keep it simple. Suffice to say that shooting lots of shots has been a technique that has separated professionals from amateurs for many decades, and it continues in the new digital age.
The Fifth Annual Digital Photography Awards Celebration of the Pagosa Springs Photography Club was held on September 14 at the Elk Park Meadows Lodge, and by Zoom. This year 18 photographers submitted images in four categories: Landscape, Creative, People, and Nature. Images in each category were evaluated by impartial judges on the basis of composition, impact, and technical quality. In addition, Club members voted to determine “People’s Choice” winners for each of the four categories. During the evening, we enjoyed dinner, socializing and viewing all of the entries in this year’s competition.
In the Nature category, 1st place was awarded to Darryl Saffer for Terror Heron. Herb Grover received 2nd for Great Blue Flight, and 3rd was awarded to Kathie Disner for Pasque Flowers. This category was very competitive, with six images receiving Honorable Mention: My Fish and Little Blue Heron, both by Adrienne Disbrow, Dancing Cranes, by Andy Butler, Two Ravens by Herb Grover, Rufous by Liz Jamison and Hunting Stare by Scott Galabota. In the People’s Choice voting for this category, Disner’s Pasque Flowers received 1st, Darryl Saffer was awarded 2nd for Unhappy Fox and Grover’s Great Blue Flight was 3rd. (Click for larger images)
The winning image in the Creative category was Black ’n’ Yellow by Scott Galabota. Second was awarded to Chris Roebuck for BNSF8470 and 3rd went to Bill Milner for Penitente Cactus. Andy Butler and Tony Aldwell received Honorable Mentions for Desert Sunset and Glass Lights respectively. Topping the People’s Choice poll for this category was Spiders by Adrienne Disbrow. Roebuck’s BNSF8470 and Aldwell’s Glass Lights tied for 2nd.
Among the images entered in the People category, Kathie Disner received 1st place for Rascals, and also 2nd place for My Boots. Bill Milner was awarded 3rd for Charles Martinez, and Scott Galabota’s The Joy of Color received an Honorable Mention. Results of the People’s Choice voting for this category were Disner’s Rascals in first, Galabota’s The Joy of Color 2nd, and Fishin’ by Adrienne Disbrow in 3rd.
In the Landscape category, the top image was Yei Bichei & Totem Poll, by Andy Butler. Dave Anderson received 2nd for White Sands Dark Cloud, and Herb Grover’s Bosque Sunrise was 3rd. Receiving Honorable Mentions in this group were Lake San Cristobal by Scott Galabota, Echo North Slot Canyon in Fall by John Farley, and Homestead by Chris Roebuck. People’s Choice voting selected Anderson’s White Sands Dark Cloud first, Piedra River by Adrienne Disbrow 2nd, and Butler’s Yei Bichei & Totem Pole in 3rd.
Congratulations to all the winners! Thanks to everyone who entered, all those who voted for the People’s choice, and those who helped with the logistics of the contest and Awards Celebration. These include Scott Galabota, John Farley, Liz Jamison, Susanne Russell, Chris Roebuck, Doris Gellert, and Gregg Heid. Special thanks to our judges, Yvonne Lashmett (Creative and Landscape) and Eric Pahlke (Nature and People).
The Pagosa Springs Photography Club (PSPC) is pleased to announce our Fifth Annual Digital Photo Contest. The contest is open to all current members of the Club. New members may join at the time they enter the contest. There will be four categories: Landscape, People, Creative, and Nature. Each member may submit two images per category (up to six total), for a flat entry fee of $10. Images should be submitted as digital files, and are due by August 10, 2022. Awards will be presented at the PSPC September meeting and Awards Celebration, which will be held on September 14, 6:30 PM. All entries will be displayed at the Awards Celebration.
Our goal with this contest is not only to recognize members for their talent, but also to encourage everyone to share their best work with the rest of the group. So pick your images and send them in!
The Fourth Annual Digital Photography Awards Celebration of the Pagosa Springs Photography Club was held on October 13 at the PLPOA Clubhouse, and by Zoom. This year 17 photographers submitted images in four categories: Landscape, Creative, People, and Nature. Images in each category were judged by a professional photographer on the bases of composition, impact, and technical quality. In addition, Club members voted to determine “People’s Choice” winners for each of the four categories.
In the Landscape category, Dave Anderson won first place for his image Great Sand Dunes Sunset. Second place went to Andy Butler, for Ancient Twilight, and Chris Roebuck received third place for Death Valley 2021. Dave Minkel’s photo Firehole River was awarded Honorable mention in the category. In the People’s Choice voting , Anderson’s Great Sand Dunes Sunset was 1st, Bill Milner received 2nd for Utah Toadstools -1 and John Farley was awarded 3rd for Approaching Snow Squall. (Click the thumbnails to see larger versions of the images).
The winning image in the Creative category was Coyote Maddy by Bill Milner. Milner also received 2nd in this group for his image Tin Cup Cemetery. Third place went to Dave Minkel for Engine, and Linda Pampinella received Honorable Mention for Oasis. For the Creative category, the People’s Choice winner was Buckskin Gulch by Andy Butler, 2nd place went to Linda Pampinella for Oasis, and 3rd place was a tie between Black Light, by June Russell and Globe Mallow Soft by Steve Merchant.
Among images in the People category, Andy Butler’s In the Hall of the Mountain King was judged 1st. Angel, by Barbara Jetley received 2nd place. Scott Galabota’s Creede Hotel received 3rd and Linda Pampinella received Honorable Mention for Faces. In the People’s Choice voting for this category, Galabota received 1st for Creede Hotel, Pampinella’s Faces was 2nd, and Jetley’s Angel received 3rd.
The winning image in the Nature category was Ernestine by Chris Roebuck. Second place went to Andy Butler’s Here’s Looking at you and Darry Saffer received 3rd for Meals on Wings. This was a very competitive category, and three images received Honorable Mention. These are Owls by Dave Minkel, Poppy by Natalie Duran, and Flower Power, by Steve Merchant. In the People’s Choice voting, Diane Cirksena won for her image Rain, you want Rain. Minkel’s Owls received 2nd, while there was a tie for 3rd between Combat Zone by Darryl Saffer and Butler’s Here’s Looking at you.
Congratulations to all the winners! Thanks to everyone who entered, and all those who voted for the People’s choice, and those who helped with the logistics of the contest and Awards Celebration, including Scott Galabota, John Farley, Susanne Russell, and our judges, Mark Langford, Gary Musgrave, and Jeff Laydon.
The Pagosa Springs Photography Club (PSPC) is pleased to announce our Fourth Annual Digital Photo Contest. The contest is open to all current members of the Club. New members may join at the time they enter the contest.
Our goal with this contest is not only to recognize members for their talent, but also to encourage everyone to share their best work with the rest of the group. So pick your images and send them in!
There will again be four categories: Landscape, People, Creative, and Nature. Each member may submit two images per category (up to six total). Images may be submitted as digital files. This year, there is no entry fee. Submissions are due no later than September 11, 2020. Awards will be presented to the top 3 images in each category at the October PSPC meeting, which will be held on October 13, 6:30 PM. All entries will be displayed at the awards gathering.
Pagosa Springs Photography Club 