The December 2023 competition theme was: Macro/Closeup. The judge was Joel Hoffman.
Advanced Projected
First Prize
David Terao ~ Flash Tube
This image depicts a flash tube as it is being triggered. The blue Xenon gas inside the tube is real, not photoshopped. I first shot the flash tube being discharged at its lowest setting to capture the lighted gas. Then, I removed the flash tube, placing it on a reflective, black plastic sheet and photographed the tube with two strip softboxes. The two images were combined in Photoshop using the overlay blending mode.
Second Prize
Karen Finkelman ~ Barkitecture
While hiking at Great Sand Dunes National Park, I came across this tree which had a wonderfully weathered and textured bark. It was full of personality! I played around with the image, cropping, flipping and rotating it before choosing this composition.
Third Prize
Wendy Kates ~ Dancing Coneflower
This was taken in Southern Maryland with a swipe of a flashlight to pull the boat details out.
Honorable Mention
David Blass ~ Focused on the Game
My hope was that I could set this shot up and just focus on the lens of my glasses to get the scene in-camera. The distances didn’t work out, though—I would have had to have the camera too close to the glasses, and then the glasses frame wouldn’t be visible. I ended up making the image as a composite of three shots, so that each part had the characteristics I wanted.
Ilona Linnoila ~ Feather
This is a studio shot of a jumping spider. These animals are small—the body length is about an inch including hair. They move quickly—hence the need for flash—to stop motion. The recycling needs of the flash unit limit the time between images—including those used for focus-stacking.
Honorable Mention
Novice Projected
First Prize
Anne Golfer ~ End of the Season
I’m always looking at details in a scene, which is why macro photography fascinates me. I can walk around my house on any given day, take 100 shots, and feel lucky if I end up with one that’s a keeper. I shot this a while ago with my Canon T3i and 50mm lens. To some, it may look like a dying weed. To me, the dandelion’s minute intricacies were breathtaking.
Second Prize
Will Rabinovich ~ Inner Glow
This picture was taken at Brookside Gardens using a Sony A7riv and a Sigma 105 macro les. The flower was backlit, which produced an interesting lighting effect. I cropped and did some basic post-processing in Lightroom.
Third Prize
Anne Golfer ~ Fly in a Tulip
This fly landed on an azalea bush (not a tulip), and stayed long enough for me to capture it on my Canon (point-and-shoot) G16 . Auto settings were f/5, 1/2000, ISO 800. The small depth of field worked well.
Honorable Mention
Gerry Woods ~ Hot Pink
This was taken in the summer of 2023, at a local park in Northern Virginia. Camera Used: Nikon Z8, Z105mm Macro Lenses. ISO 100, F10, and 1/160 Second. I used a tripod. No extra lights – only available lights.
Advanced Printed
First Prize
Beth Koller ~ Silverware Camouflage
This was my first foray into the tilt-shift world. I set up the scene using a roll of dotted wrapping paper (on sale from Michael’s $1) on a table with a sweep back. I took test shots with a mounted trigger to adjust the overhead and 45 degree side lighting. I had to learn how to use a grid system to focus on the front of the object and then focus again on the back while using the opposite hand. Maintaining a still position while shooting freehand was the most difficult thing. Next time I will use a camera mount.
Second Prize
Beth Koller ~ Hanging On Tightrope
IThis is a tiny red-eyed tree frog. Their leg length equals or exceeds the length of the body–so they will jump out of the image scene very quickly. I used a 2-headed ring flash and a macro lens. For this session of photos, I kept the ISO at 100 or 200 and the aperture at 20 or 22.
Third Prize
David Terao ~ Dragonfly
I shot this image of a blue-dasher dragonfly at Patterson Park in Baltimore. To get the entire length of its body in focus, I used a feature in my camera that shoots a burst of 15 focus-stacked images hoping the dragonfly doesn’t move during that time.