Weekly Photo Contest, 28th July - 4th August : New Location Luck

[Mark0]

Ok, I've had a hard time describing and naming this theme, but here goes! New Location Luck!
The idea for this came to me just a couple of days ago when I visited a new location with virtually no knowledge of the area and ended up with me witnessing some mind-blowing light and managing to capture an image.
I want to see images from when you have visited a location for the first time ever (no pre-visits, no locations a few mins down the road etc) and have come across sheer good luck, much to your surprise. Photography to me, isn't just about the shot - but the overall journey and experience. Therefore, due to this rather peculiar theme, the contest will require some sort of short paragraph or narrative to go with the photo in order to set the scene or give us an idea of how luck played into your hands.

Here are some examples:

Derwent Water, Lake District, England (2018): A few nights ago, I drove to Derwent Water with absolutely no idea how to tackle or find a location. With 20 mins left before sunset, I drove and saw a spot where I felt I'd possibly get a composition and parked up. Luck and light did the rest! (Pic is a work in progress)

Eilean Donan Castle, Wester Ross, Scotland (2006). Drove here chasing the diminishing daylight in hope of getting to Eileen Donna Castle in time for sunset. Arrived and the light wasn't good, and within 5 minutes it all changed, leaving me with this:

A Tree With A View, Galloway Hills, Scotland (2017). Arrived here in cloudy, overcast and generally dull weather. I wandered down to the loch side to see this tree and sweeping curve, just as the blue sky decided to break through. It lasted 5 minutes before the clouds rolled in again and I came away with an image that made the day look entirely different.

Reflections, Loch Tulla, Scotland (2007). Drove here in the heavy rain, and marched down to the boggy loch side to see what I could come up with from the cluster of trees. For a few minutes, the rain eased to just a few light drops and I was lucky to get some morning light breaking through the cloud to create some contrast. About 10 minutes later, absolutely torrential rain again and the sky closed up.

Loch Valley & Merrick, Galloway Hills, Scotland (2014). Probably my best luck, I hiked way up into these remote hills on my own during a overcast, windy day to scout a possible winter location only to see these huge glacial erratics stacked on top of each other breaking the horizon of the hill and sky. It was as if they were like a beacon saying "come and photograph me!". I immediately set a bearing and got up close. I took a few reference images of the views from N,E,S,W and in doing so, spotted this tree. I then hiked over to it and the harsh, afternoon light broke through for a few minutes, moving in sheets across the land. I cobbled together the composition and set up my panoramic film camera as quickly as I could and managed to shoot around 8 frames before the light was gone. This was the best frame. That trip featured the best luck I've had on a visit to a new location. It still makes me smile looking at the image.

So, the theme for this week is New Location Luck. Show me what you've got!


The usual rules apply:

· The photographs must be your own work.

· Be creative and have fun.

· You may only submit one photo per contest.

· Please do not comment on photos until after the judging has taken place.

· The contest runs for one week, starting NOW!

· At the end of the week, The Judge (last week's Winner) will choose a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place photo, providing as much feedback as possible.

· If the Judge is unable to complete the selection within 48 hours of the deadline for close, then a vote will be carried out to select a winner. This will be based on the number of "likes" each image has. In the event of a draw, the second place winner from the previous week will choose the tiebreaker.

· The 1st place Winner will start a new thread with the topic/theme of their choice, and act as the Judge for that contest. (Winner has 48 hours to create new theme, after that it defers to 2nd place).

· Winners please update the Weekly Photo Contest Master thread

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/weekly-photo-contest-master-list-2015-tbd.1945331/

 

[deep diver]

Putting up that many images of that quality....... That's just showing off.

 

[Hughmac]

OK I give up, you've won the comp. already @Mark0

Cheers

Hugh

 

[deep diver]

OK I give up, you've won the comp. already @Mark0

Cheers

Hugh

Maybe we have to add a rule that says judges cannot give the win to themselves.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

A writing-intensive class?! At least there is no math...

 

[deep diver]

A writing-intensive class?! At least there is no math...

f-stops, apertures, ISO, shutter speed, focal length, DOF, aspect ratios, rule of thirds,....... What am I doing wrong?

 

[stillcrazyman]

This is from sometime back, in 2012, shortly after getting serious about digital photography. The place was called Fantasy Of Flight - a privately owned collection of vintage aircraft. I'd heard it was an interesting experience but didn't expect much more than to see a few old planes.
Turns out the man that owned the place also flew all of the aircraft he had restored. The following was a low level flyby I tried to capture with a 90mm macro lens. I was still fairly new at this photography thing...

 

[mollyc]

In 2014 my family visited Oahu, Hawaii for the second time. At the time, my kids were 6 and 8 (an vast difference from the ages of 3 and 4 of their first visit). It was a lot more fun since they were much more capable travelers by this point. We hiked Diamond Head. I am not great with heights, especially with open areas, and I struggled a bit with the climb, a couple of times bordering on panic attacks. However, I kept going, and part of me felt pretty silly since my kids basically ran up the whole thing. However, in the end, I was rewarded for my efforts with not only fantastic views, but also a double rainbow spread out over the Kapiolani Park area.

 

[kenoh]

Here is one taken from this years' recent trip to Portugal. The rocks in the bay were stunning but I couldnt get them right.

DSCF1756-Edit.jpg by Ken OHagan, on Flickr

EDIT: Can i call it luck? does it qualify? it took me 5 attempts to get this and I am still not happy with the colour change in the water from the line the rocks under the water made.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Ok, so this shot goes way back to my very first digital camera, an HP Photosmart 320. It was as basic as it gets, point and shoot, 2MP, 4 AA batteries, direct pass viewfinder. In the scene below, I held the camera blindly at water level and clicked the button. I don’t think I even edited it. Still one of my favorites.

 

[malofx]

Perfect timing for me, I just came back from a road trip and visited 11 parks, all new to me.

Monument Valley Utah right before sunset as we were hit by a sandstorm. I decided to share this one because the lighting was perfect.

 

[inkmich]

I love the landscape of the desert west in the US. I've spent a couple of summers in my younger years in California but I have never visited the national parks in Utah until 2014. What a revelation. Absolutely beautiful landscapes. I rediscovered how much I enjoyed hiking while visiting the parks. Additionally I got the opportunity to use my first DSLR every day which I had had for about a year at that time.

This picture is not of one of the arches that Arches National Park is famous for but while hiking back from the Double O Arch on the Devil's Garden Trail this vista opened up to me to the northeast and I couldn't help but stop and admire the view in the late morning. The quiet, dry air, it was wonderful and so peaceful.

Devil's Garden Trail View by Lance Randall, on Flickr

 

[akash.nu]

On my recent trip to Northumberland, came across this awesome sunset. I had no clue where I was. In fact, I was actually lost and was trying to find my way back to the cottage. But that sunset made me stop and take it all in. Luckily found the cottage after about 2 hours of driving around.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I love the landscape of the desert west in the US. I've spent a couple of summers in my younger years in California but I have never visited the national parks in Utah until 2014. What a revelation. Absolutely beautiful landscapes. I rediscovered how much I enjoyed hiking while visiting the parks. Additionally I got the opportunity to use my first DSLR every day which I had had for about a year at that time.

This picture is not of one of the arches that Arches National Park is famous for but while hiking back from the Double O Arch on the Devil's Garden Trail this vista opened up to me to the northeast and I couldn't help but stop and admire the view in the late morning. The quiet, dry air, it was wonderful and so peaceful.

Devil's Garden Trail View by Lance Randall, on Flickr

Yes, Arches NP is quite beautiful. I haven’t been there since the late 80s, so I probably wouldn’t recognize Moab anymore. Mountain bikes hadn’t been invented yet either!

 

[someoldguy]

So some time back I'm visiting family in the SF Bay area and decide to go up to Point Reyes and check out the lighthouse . Anyway , decided to grab something for lunch later in the day and I see this grocery/deli on the roadside . There's a bay or lagoon in back of it and, after grabbing my food ,I go and check it out , and find this.....

Been back a few times since , never seen the flowers again , nor the boat .

 

[Apple fanboy]

Went looking for a blood moon, but actually found I could do some landscape shots with my 200-500 mm lens!
Probably call it dumb luck as I was their 24 hours too early!

_DSC7931 by apple fanboy1, on Flickr

 

[inkmich]

Good luck @Mark0, you are going to need it judging this week.

 

[inkmich]

Perfect timing for me, I just came back from a road trip and visited 11 parks, all new to me.

Monument Valley Utah right before sunset as we were hit by a sandstorm. I decided to share this one because the lighting was perfect.

View attachment 773487

If you visited that many parks in that part of the world . . . I'll just say I hope we get to see some of your pictures. I truly find that part of the world beautiful.

 

[themumu]

Having spent a little over a year living in California, I can say with certainty that while the natural wonders in the western USA are indeed top notch, to take the sensations to a higher level you gotta go to Baja California, Mexico. The casual remoteness combined with exceeding friendliness of the locals - despite what some would have you believe north of the border - makes for a very different type of exploration.

Pictured is a trail in Baja California Sur. A local (expat) told us that it leads to some of the most easily accessible and most beautiful cave paintings on the peninsula. He said it's an easy 40 minute ride followed by a short hike. The ride went through everything from super easy hard packed dirt to semi-dry river beds where I had to be very cautious about where I stop to take photos so as not to get stuck in the loose tracks. During the rainy season the area is prone to flash floods and can be extremely dangerous, but thankfully, this was dry season.

It took us over an hour to get through the motorized portion of the route because we got off track and made a few wrong turns. Then for hiking, we also almost got lost in a canyon, but eventually did find the cave paintings.




If you get a chance, go to Baja California, and I don't mean the resorts of Cabo San Lucas.

 

[needfx]

just the result of a stroll at the Niarchos Cultural Center

https://www.flickr.com/photos/needfx/

 

[deep diver]

I got my first SLR in 1983. This was shot in 1984. We lived in St. Louis at the time. There was a big hot air balloon rally there every year, and we decided to go. We had never been to one before. I was struck by how big and bright the balloons were. It is hard to get a feel for that when they float overhead. There was a strong breeze that day and some teams were having difficulty managing their balloons on the ground. There was a lot of very dynamic energy, and I wanted to capture it. So, I did what I do. I pretended I belonged there, crossed the safety robe, and found the team that was working the hardest. I only shot 2 or 3 frames because I did not have a lot of money at that time to pay for the film and developing. (In fact, I knew if I loaded the film just right I could get an extra frame out of each roll. I felt very good about that, as though I had gotten something over on Kodak and Fuji.)


I shot this on Kodachrome with a Nikon FG and Nikkor 35mm lens. I lost the slide for a long time, and found it just a couple of years ago. I do not have any of the exposure information, but based on the graininess of the image, I am guessing that the film was 400 ISO.

 

[hbruss]

Last year (at this time) my son and I drove up 395 to Yosemite. At Yosemite we left the Eastern Sierra's for the Western Sierra's. Although we been to Yosemite many times we've never been to Hetch Hetchy. It was overcast the day we were there so my picture suffers somewhat.

 

[Clix Pix]

This past weekend I went to Ocean City, NJ for their annual "Night in Venice" Boat Parade and also a concert at the Music Pier. What a delightful place that beach area is! I've been to other beaches before but this was my first visit to OC NJ and I suspect it may not be my last....
Anyway, the Boat Parade was really fun to watch and to photograph. Along with the Mayor and the Town Council on boats and celebrities on boats as the joint "Grand Masters," there were also many boats decorated in the theme of TV shows....

As for the element of luck, earlier in the day and even into early evening the sky was cloudy and it looked as though we would have rain, but somehow everything cleared up in time for the boat parade and we had the most beautiful light for watching the parade and for shooting photos.

ETA: Realized that I had posted the image with a bit too pinkish a sky and have replaced it with the same image with slightly lighter exposure and sky looking more the way it did at the time I shot the photo.

"Holy Boat Parade, Batman!"

View attachment 773936

 

[Apple fanboy]

This past weekend I went to Ocean City, NJ for their annual "Night in Venice" Boat Parade and also a concert at the Music Pier. What a delightful place that beach area is! I've been to other beaches before but this was my first visit to OC NJ and I suspect it may not be my last....
Anyway, the Boat Parade was really fun to watch and to photograph. Along with the Mayor and the Town Council on boats and celebrities on boats as the joint "Grand Masters," there were also many boats decorated in the theme of TV shows....

"Holy Boat Parade, Batman!"

View attachment 773936

They look like they are having a lot of fun!
[doublepost=1533141364][/doublepost]

I got my first SLR in 1983. This was shot in 1984. We lived in St. Louis at the time. There was a big hot air balloon rally there every year, and we decided to go. We had never been to one before. I was struck by how big and bright the balloons were. It is hard to get a feel for that when they float overhead. There was a strong breeze that day and some teams were having difficulty managing their balloons on the ground. There was a lot of very dynamic energy, and I wanted to capture it. So, I did what I do. I pretended I belonged there, crossed the safety robe, and found the team that was working the hardest. I only shot 2 or 3 frames because I did not have a lot of money at that time to pay for the film and developing. (In fact, I knew if I loaded the film just right I could get an extra frame out of each roll. I felt very good about that, as though I had gotten something over on Kodak and Fuji.)


I shot this on Kodachrome with a Nikon FG and Nikkor 35mm lens. I lost the slide for a long time, and found it just a couple of years ago. I do not have any of the exposure information, but based on the graininess of the image, I am guessing that the film was 400 ISO.

View attachment 773930

I've been to the Bristol hot air balloon show a few times, but these days there's no chance of crossing the rope! The H&S police would grab you!

 

[deep diver]

This past weekend I went to Ocean City, NJ for their annual "Night in Venice" Boat Parade and also a concert at the Music Pier. What a delightful place that beach area is! I've been to other beaches before but this was my first visit to OC NJ and I suspect it may not be my last....
Anyway, the Boat Parade was really fun to watch and to photograph. Along with the Mayor and the Town Council on boats and celebrities on boats as the joint "Grand Masters," there were also many boats decorated in the theme of TV shows....

"Holy Boat Parade, Batman!"

View attachment 773936

I was debating between the image I posted and one from the boardwalk in OC. It's a great place, and still what a Shore town should be.
[doublepost=1533142931][/doublepost]

I've been to the Bristol hot air balloon show a few times, but these days there's no chance of crossing the rope! The H&S police would grab you!

There is always a way. Quite a few years ago when my kid was in marching band, I found a school issued press pass. I can still get onto any school's field for any game in NE Ohio. Nobody questions it. At the very least, you can probably shoot off a few frames before getting caught. You just have to hope the officer appreciates good photography or has a sense of humor, or both.