Weekly Photo Contest, July 20-27: SERENITY

[Clix Pix]

Congratulations to MarkO for an absolutely stunning and beautiful image! I would have been shocked if it had not been the first-place winner!

I am really delighted and honored to be on the second-place podium with so many excellent photographers! This particular contest brought out some really wonderful and intriguing images celebrating the theme of "serenity." Everyone, not just those on the podium, who participated had a really interesting perspective on the topic and it made for fun viewing this past week!

 

[Mark0]

Thank you @deep diver for the comments. I struggled to pick an image for this one because I have a lot that fit the theme as my Landscape photography is all about calm, serenity and solitude.

That night will live long in my memory as it was so calm, quiet and peaceful under the stars.

I’ll have a new comp up later today. I think I’ve got a theme/topic, explaining it clearly will be the problem!

Thanks again

 

[Robotti]

Robotti – I have said before that I love your images of the acrobats. It is amazing to me how these athletes can do things that are so hard and make them look so effortless. You do a remarkable job of capturing the grace and beauty of their athleticism. Tehri looks so peaceful in a setting that is very engaging for me.

Thanks! I love working with dancers and acrobats. It goves me such joy.

As I said, each of these images is worthy, and I struggled with this for quite a while. I just did not know what criteria to use. Finally, I settled on just a single criterion for my choices: Which image would I most like to be in.

What an excellent way to decide! Good judging and congrats to the winners!

 

[Apple fanboy]

Here it is. First the usual disclaimer: These are just my thoughts as a rank amateur. Judging this is really hard because each of these images is worthy of the win. Some of my comments might sound nitpicky. I did not intend to be that way, but I had to reach deep to find things to differentiate the images.


needfx – When I first looked at this I did not like it. The orientation was far too disorienting for me. (You all decide if that’s a pun.) It reminded me of Han Solo being encased in the carbonite. The more I looked at it and got used to the perspective, the more I became drawn into the image. Everything about this conveys serenity. I just wish I could smell the grass and feel the sun.

Alexander.Of.Oz – This image resonates with me a lot. At one time, cycling was my escape. I have spent most of my life around large bodies of water (Atlantic Ocean and Great Lakes). Water is very calming for me. Having some solitude at sunset is a very meditative moment for me. The only thing about the image that bothers me is the sign on the left. The railing draws my eye across the frame. It carries me outside of the frame on the right, but the sign on the left stops me short, which is very jarring.

Darmok N Jalad – Ducks are deceptive. They always look calm above the water while working very hard under the surface. What catches my eye here are the ripples in the water. I would like to have seen a wide shot to give me more context and more of those patterns.

cogi0490 – I know that look. “I’m feeling great. Leave me alone.” I frequently see it on my cat’s face. I think the cat’s posture says it all. I have not been able to figure out what I think of the shadow across the face. On one hand, I want to see more of the face. On the other hand, the shadow adds some very good texture to the image.

Susurs – I think I understand what you are going for here. As it is, the image does not work well for me. The sunset and water are what help me to feel serene, and I want to see more of them. The sprig in the middle blocks that. I would love to see this shot from one or two steps to the left. Also, the dark area in the upper right is very distracting to me.

Robotti – I have said before that I love your images of the acrobats. It is amazing to me how these athletes can do things that are so hard and make them look so effortless. You do a remarkable job of capturing the grace and beauty of their athleticism. Tehri looks so peaceful in a setting that is very engaging for me.

Donka – This reminds me of my cat and myself. Every evening she climbs on my lap, stretches out, and falls asleep. Somehow, she and I calm each other enough that we become completely relaxed. My wife says that is my narcotic.

mollyc – Open water, clear sky, and a warm sunset. There is little more calming that this. Because the frame is bisected, my eye keeps getting drawn further and further into a scene that seems to go on forever. The jet trail at the top is a bit disturbing to me, and I wish you had cloned it out...

decafjava – I lived on Lake Michigan for 17 years. There was a lighthouse at the end of a very long causeway. Periodically, we would go there to enjoy the sunset. This image brings back that memory. I appreciate the way that every feature of this image brings the eye to the lighthouse.

Clix Pix – This is an image that I “feel” more than see. I can feel the warmth of the sun, see the rippling of the water, and hear the rustling of the leaves. The only thing I don’t like is that I am sitting at my desk rather than on that bench.

hbruss – Otters often look like they are just lounging around without a care in the world, and you have captured that very well. As with Darmok N Jalad’s duck, I would like to have seen this shot wider to show more of the water and context.

someoldguy – What a beautiful place to take a long and lazy stroll. I like everything about this.

Janichsan – I appreciate landscapes that are much more about the sky than the land. (Skyscape, perhaps?) The rich blue and the soft clouds capture the theme very well.

Laird Knox – This is extremely cool. It is one of the most Zen images I have seen in a long time. The subtle swirls in the whirlpool are mesmerizing. It is captivating to see that “mushroom” of water just hangs there in this frozen moment in time and space. How did you do this?

Apple fanboy – I don’t get to walk on an ocean beach very often, but it is one of my favorite places to be. Looking at your image, I can feel the cool sand and smell the salt in the air. I love that smell.

MarkO – This is spectacular. I have nothing more to say.

Indydenny – This is a very familiar scene for me. Dusk is great time to be out on the water. It can be so quiet and peaceful. When I was a camp waterfront director, I would sometimes take a canoe to the middle of the lake at dusk and immerse myself in the moment.


As I said, each of these images is worthy, and I struggled with this for quite a while. I just did not know what criteria to use. Finally, I settled on just a single criterion for my choices: Which image would I most like to be in.


1st: MarkO
2nd: Alexander.Of.Oz; mollyc; Clix Pix; someoldguy; Laird Knox; needfx; Apple fanboy
3rd: Everyone else


I know I took the easy way out by picking so many 2nd place images, but this was already hard enough.

I am so glad this one is over. MarkO, it is now in your hands.

Thanks for the podium!

I knew @Mark0 had the winning shot as soon as I saw it. A superb shot!
Well done everyone else and thanks for making the time to give feedback for all.

I too don't get to the ocean all that often. I live about as far from the sea as you can get in my country.

 

[Janichsan]

View attachment 773139

I don't remember a time where I was more at peace than that night.

A more than worthy winner. A stunning shot.

 

[Alexander.Of.Oz]

Congrat's to @Mark0 for the win! Looking forward to your attempts to explain the unexplainable!

Thanks @deep diver for the judgement and wrath! The sign, the bin, the sky with only that tiny bit of colour to it, all irk me in this one. The best compromise was to go wide with it like this, I felt. I really should have stepped closer and gotten the frame filled with under the shelter and all that fabulously intense colour filling the frame, but was on the way back to the car with the family squawking at me to stop taking photo's...

 

[decafjava]

@deep diver thank you for the kind evaluation. @Mark0 congratulations, an amazing image!

 

[someoldguy]

Congrats @Marko . What a great shot! Kudos also to @Laird Knox for his amazing stop motion . Also thanks for the .28571429th (2nd divided by7) .My image was taken in the Japanese Garden located in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco . One of my favorite places to visit when I'm out there . But it's never a bright sunny day when I visit .

 

[deep diver]

I too don't get to the ocean all that often. I live about as far from the sea as you can get in my country.

I've lived by the Great Lakes for 27 years, but they just are not the ocean. I'm going to Virginia in a couple of weeks to see my aunt and cousins. The place we stay at is across the street from the beach. Family, ocean, and all the fresh crabs I can possibly eat........ Can't wait.

but was on the way back to the car with the family squawking at me to stop taking photo's.

Yeah. Sounds familiar. There ought to be laws that prevent them from treating us that way.

 

[Mark0]

Thanks for the kind comments.

The new comp is up: New Location Luck

 

[mollyc]

Great feedback, and fantastic photos everyone! Congrats, Mark!

 

[akash.nu]

Damn, missed this week. What can I say, work has been crazy!

But a well deserved first place. @Mark0 . Awesome entries this week.

 

[Laird Knox]

Laird Knox – This is extremely cool. It is one of the most Zen images I have seen in a long time. The subtle swirls in the whirlpool are mesmerizing. It is captivating to see that “mushroom” of water just hangs there in this frozen moment in time and space. How did you do this?

Thanks!

Thank you for taking the time to do a write up on each entry.

To be honest this was just a test shot so there wan't any thought given to framing, composition, or lighting.

This summer I took a photography class called "Splash." I was testing out a Pluto Trigger and Valve setup I had purchased so that I could do the shots at home. This image was one of the tests as I was dialing in a two drop shot. The first drop creates a spire known as a Worthington jet. First you dial in the strobes to catch the jet at its tallest. Then you adjust the timing of the second drop so that it crashes into the jet at that same apex.

Here is a bad photo of the setup.

You want as fast of a strobe as possible so that you can freeze the action. Speed lights are typically good with very short flash duration. Here I'm using Einsteins that range from 1/2000 at full power (650 watt seconds) to 1/13,500 at minimum power (2.5 watt seconds). I think I was running around 20 watt seconds so they were nice and quick.

Many references say you want a shallow water depth for the tallest jet. I hadn't read them so I used just grabbed a handy bowl. The classroom setup used about a half inch of water max. After my initial testing I filled the bowl to the rim and re-calibrated to the new height. I love the optical illusion in this one. The drop looks like it is inside of the bowl but the water level is actually at the very rim.

The Pluto trigger was very repeatable. When I imported the files into Lightroom I noticed how consistent they were. I took 14 consecutive images and imported them as layers into Photoshop. The only post I did was changing the layer blend option. Being repeatable is key.

Here's one of the images I used for my final project.

That image was shot in a fish tank as I wanted to show what was happening below the water line as well. The valves were setup in a triangle formation so the drops in the back are not as clear as the center one.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Thanks!

Thank you for taking the time to do a write up on each entry.

To be honest this was just a test shot so there wan't any thought given to framing, composition, or lighting.

This summer I took a photography class called "Splash." I was testing out a Pluto Trigger and Valve setup I had purchased so that I could do the shots at home. This image was one of the tests as I was dialing in a two drop shot. The first drop creates a spire known as a Worthington jet. First you dial in the strobes to catch the jet at its tallest. Then you adjust the timing of the second drop so that it crashes into the jet at that same apex.

Here is a bad photo of the setup.

You want as fast of a strobe as possible so that you can freeze the action. Speed lights are typically good with very short flash duration. Here I'm using Einsteins that range from 1/2000 at full power (650 watt seconds) to 1/13,500 at minimum power (2.5 watt seconds). I think I was running around 20 watt seconds so they were nice and quick.

Many references say you want a shallow water depth for the tallest jet. I hadn't read them so I used just grabbed a handy bowl. The classroom setup used about a half inch of water max. After my initial testing I filled the bowl to the rim and re-calibrated to the new height. I love the optical illusion in this one. The drop looks like it is inside of the bowl but the water level is actually at the very rim.

The Pluto trigger was very repeatable. When I imported the files into Lightroom I noticed how consistent they were. I took 14 consecutive images and imported them as layers into Photoshop. The only post I did was changing the layer blend option. Being repeatable is key.

Here's one of the images I used for my final project.

That image was shot in a fish tank as I wanted to show what was happening below the water line as well. The valves were setup in a triangle formation so the drops in the back are not as clear as the center one.

Fascinating read. Whenever I've tried these sort of shots I've always gone with luck and missed 99% of the many shots I took. I did by a trigger trap a few years back, but never really got it to work as intended.

 

[Laird Knox]

Fascinating read. Whenever I've tried these sort of shots I've always gone with luck and missed 99% of the many shots I took. I did by a trigger trap a few years back, but never really got it to work as intended.

I always try to add as much detail as possible so that we may all learn from each other.

The Pluto setup is pretty robust and reliable. I found it more consistent than the Stop Shot and Miops rigs they have at school.

Trying to do a manual capture is about a 1 in 1000 proposition. When the Splash class was first offered the first assignment was a manual setup using a baggie with the corner clipped. From what the professor says the results were less than stellar.

 

[needfx]

Here it is. First the usual disclaimer: These are just my thoughts as a rank amateur. Judging this is really hard because each of these images is worthy of the win. Some of my comments might sound nitpicky. I did not intend to be that way, but I had to reach deep to find things to differentiate the images.


needfx – When I first looked at this I did not like it. The orientation was far too disorienting for me. (You all decide if that’s a pun.) It reminded me of Han Solo being encased in the carbonite. The more I looked at it and got used to the perspective, the more I became drawn into the image. Everything about this conveys serenity. I just wish I could smell the grass and feel the sun.

Alexander.Of.Oz – This image resonates with me a lot. At one time, cycling was my escape. I have spent most of my life around large bodies of water (Atlantic Ocean and Great Lakes). Water is very calming for me. Having some solitude at sunset is a very meditative moment for me. The only thing about the image that bothers me is the sign on the left. The railing draws my eye across the frame. It carries me outside of the frame on the right, but the sign on the left stops me short, which is very jarring.

Darmok N Jalad – Ducks are deceptive. They always look calm above the water while working very hard under the surface. What catches my eye here are the ripples in the water. I would like to have seen a wide shot to give me more context and more of those patterns.

cogi0490 – I know that look. “I’m feeling great. Leave me alone.” I frequently see it on my cat’s face. I think the cat’s posture says it all. I have not been able to figure out what I think of the shadow across the face. On one hand, I want to see more of the face. On the other hand, the shadow adds some very good texture to the image.

Susurs – I think I understand what you are going for here. As it is, the image does not work well for me. The sunset and water are what help me to feel serene, and I want to see more of them. The sprig in the middle blocks that. I would love to see this shot from one or two steps to the left. Also, the dark area in the upper right is very distracting to me.

Robotti – I have said before that I love your images of the acrobats. It is amazing to me how these athletes can do things that are so hard and make them look so effortless. You do a remarkable job of capturing the grace and beauty of their athleticism. Tehri looks so peaceful in a setting that is very engaging for me.

Donka – This reminds me of my cat and myself. Every evening she climbs on my lap, stretches out, and falls asleep. Somehow, she and I calm each other enough that we become completely relaxed. My wife says that is my narcotic.

mollyc – Open water, clear sky, and a warm sunset. There is little more calming that this. Because the frame is bisected, my eye keeps getting drawn further and further into a scene that seems to go on forever. The jet trail at the top is a bit disturbing to me, and I wish you had cloned it out...

decafjava – I lived on Lake Michigan for 17 years. There was a lighthouse at the end of a very long causeway. Periodically, we would go there to enjoy the sunset. This image brings back that memory. I appreciate the way that every feature of this image brings the eye to the lighthouse.

Clix Pix – This is an image that I “feel” more than see. I can feel the warmth of the sun, see the rippling of the water, and hear the rustling of the leaves. The only thing I don’t like is that I am sitting at my desk rather than on that bench.

hbruss – Otters often look like they are just lounging around without a care in the world, and you have captured that very well. As with Darmok N Jalad’s duck, I would like to have seen this shot wider to show more of the water and context.

someoldguy – What a beautiful place to take a long and lazy stroll. I like everything about this.

Janichsan – I appreciate landscapes that are much more about the sky than the land. (Skyscape, perhaps?) The rich blue and the soft clouds capture the theme very well.

Laird Knox – This is extremely cool. It is one of the most Zen images I have seen in a long time. The subtle swirls in the whirlpool are mesmerizing. It is captivating to see that “mushroom” of water just hangs there in this frozen moment in time and space. How did you do this?

Apple fanboy – I don’t get to walk on an ocean beach very often, but it is one of my favorite places to be. Looking at your image, I can feel the cool sand and smell the salt in the air. I love that smell.

MarkO – This is spectacular. I have nothing more to say.

Indydenny – This is a very familiar scene for me. Dusk is great time to be out on the water. It can be so quiet and peaceful. When I was a camp waterfront director, I would sometimes take a canoe to the middle of the lake at dusk and immerse myself in the moment.


As I said, each of these images is worthy, and I struggled with this for quite a while. I just did not know what criteria to use. Finally, I settled on just a single criterion for my choices: Which image would I most like to be in.


1st: MarkO
2nd: Alexander.Of.Oz; mollyc; Clix Pix; someoldguy; Laird Knox; needfx; Apple fanboy
3rd: Everyone else


I know I took the easy way out by picking so many 2nd place images, but this was already hard enough.

I am so glad this one is over. MarkO, it is now in your hands.

Tip of the hat for the extensive feedback @deep diver !! Much appreciated!

Well played @Mark0

I've been a noshow these past few days, I know