The January 2024 competition theme was: Open. The judge was Bob Webber
Advanced Projected
First Prize
Lisa Auerbach ~ Church Light
In an historic area of Texas are several churches built by German settlers. The light coming from outside was lovely. The light waves coming in through the church window were an added surprise for me.
Second Prize
2nd Steve Harvey ~ Young Warrior
The young man in this photo is a national champion dancer who belongs to an extended family of dancers – father, mother, sister, aunt, and maybe more – who participate in pow-wows throughout the DMV region. I’ve photographed him three years in a row at the Johns Hopkins University Indigenous People’s Day (Oct 12) pow wow and have lots of shots of him spinning in his regalia, feathers and ribbons flying. It’s been a challenge to get a good shot of his face, though: The dance he performs is done in a somewhat stooped over position, knees bent, leaning forward, and and looking towards the ground. This year I not only managed to get a clear shot of his face for the first time, but a brilliant smile just after he concluded his performance and, a serendipitous bonus, the backlighting of a very sunny fall day illuminating the eagle feathers of his war bonnet from behind.
Third Prize
Larry Gold ~ Red & Yellow Lily
Honorable Mention
Maude Svensson ~ Clarksdale
Retirement is wonderful! To celebrate, we went on a musical round trip to the Deep South. At Clarksdale, Mississippi, – the birthplace of Blues – we stayed in a restored sharecropper’s shack at “Shack Up Inn Hotel”. Our shack bordered a large cotton field. The compound surrounding us was littered by yesteryear machinery, old cars, and other items. From the windows we could see this beautiful and retired fire truck that was parked by the other side of the railway tracks. I do not know what year it was born, but it was likely even older than us! I worked in Photoshop to enhance the rustic feeling, mainly by adding textures and colors.
Honorable Mention
HM Beth Koller ~ Tufa and Windy Sunset
Located in north eastern California, Mono Lake is a bowl of water flanked by mountains on the west side which create weather on the lake. It is known for its tufa formations. The limestone results when carbonate minerals precipitate. The springs that feed this lake are visible everywhere and critical to the existence of the lake and the tufa. This picture was taken at sunset. There was variable cloud cover that would move and break-up over time with the wind. This resulted in a rim of rosy light along the shore. The rim and the sky were different in sequential images because of the wind. Note the slight movement of the foreground grass and the waves. Because the tripod was seated in sand and the wind was blowing, I was happy that nothing fell over. Because the area generates its own weather, one can take very different pictures standing in the same area on different days/times of day.
HM Larry Gold ~ Monarch Butterfly on Purple Flower
Novice Projected
First Prize
Will Rabinovich ~ Zombie Walk
The image was taken at this year’s Silver Spring Zombie Walk. The most outstanding zombie there was Zombie Lucy. She was just absolutely amazing in makeup and also staying in character. But also great was the anti-Zombie lady who walked around railing against zombies. When the two of them got together, I couldn’t resist grabbing a shot. Taken with a Sony A7riv with a 24 mm f/1.4 lens at 1.4 (it was dark). Some cropping and minor adjustments in Lightroom were applied.
Second Prize
Michele Dastin-van Rijn ~ Cobbling Through
This was taken at the Queen’s House next to the maritime museum in London. It has a cobblestone road running right through it. I saw a couple walk and waited until they were centered and further away.
Advanced Printed
First Prize
Sherm Edwards ~ National Gallery Tunnel
The tunnel between the East and West Wings of the National Gallery of Art, shot from the east end.
Second Prize
David Terao ~ Prickly Cacti
This image was taken at the Rawlings Conservatory. I was intrigued by all the fine needles in the cacti. I shot this using 24 stacked images and combined them in Helicon Focus.
Third Prize
Kate Woodward ~ Architectural Ensemble
The city of Chicago is one of the best cities for photographing architecture. What I hope to communicate in this image is the wonderful way the buildings fit together and seem to interact with each other–in color, tone and shape,—even though they represent different architectural styles. I took this photograph with my previous iPhone (7 plus).
Novice Printed
First Prize
Karen Finkelman ~ Abandoned Memories
Second Prize
Will Rabinovich ~ The Oculus
The Oculus is a combination of subway station and shopping mall built in lower Manhattan as part of the reconstruction of the World Trade Center. Its stunning architecture is, by now, famous, but I took this image soon after it opened. I had not read or heard anything about it before. I just happened to be wandering around lower Manhattan and I walked in the front door. I was stunned by what I saw. This image was taken with a Sony A6500 and a 10-18 f/4 Zoom at 10 mm (15 mm full frame equivalent). Basic exposure and saturation adjustments in Lightroom.