“The Valley of Fire” – Rudy Dierks
This image was taken in Nevada at the Valley of Fire State Park. The early morning light really helps bring out the unusual colors of the rock formations. The image was shot using a Canon 5D camera with a 24mm lens.
Rudy writes about his image:
Congratulations, Rudy, on a spectacular image! Watch for his winning photo in the Daily Courier!
First Place
Fire and Ice – Larry Pollock
Larry says of his image: At 14 degrees outside it was a good time to play with some steel wool spinning. Black ice made it hard to stand. We put down some sand from outside of this underpass to help the Spinner. Shooting this in a confined concrete space is safest as the burning steel wool ejects larger pieces from time to time and could become a fire hazard for hair and the surrounding areas. Don’t do this unless you know what you’re doing and have a safe place to do so.
Second Place (tie)
By Appointment – Rudy Dierks
Friends – Larry Pollock
First Place (Tie)
In the Cold Morning Light — Rudy Dierks
Looking Up — Jim Ingraham
Jim says about his image: ”Looking Up” was taken at Reinhart Volunteer Park (All Sports Park). Taken with a zoom lens on a full-frame camera set at 460mm and an aperture of f5.6. ISO was 1600 and the shutter speed was 1/400th of a second handheld with vibration reduction on the lens. I sometimes see this particular ‘pose’ when there is a bird of prey overhead.
Second Place (Tie)
Frosty Day in May — Rudy Dierks
The Bottom — Susan Sheets
Third Place
Contemplation — Julie Padgett
First Place
Looking for Prey Rudy Dierks
Two Second Places
Mufasa Rudy Dierks
Puss Face Susan Sheets
Third Place
Dune Grass Susan Sheets
Two Honorable Mentions
The Orb Russ Williamson
Bandon Pastel Larry Pollock
First Place – Assigned Category – An Idiom Expressed as a Photograph
Two First Places
Spread One’s Wings Bridget Cline
It was taken in Myrtle Beach, SC at sunrise.
Thunderstruck Ross Steensland
This photo was taken in November of 2019 during an intense thunderstorm over Myrtle Creek. I was there before sunset and long into the night. As the sky got darker I was able to take repeated 2 minute exposures at f7.1 iso 250. I blended together two lighting strikes into the same sky photo, then blended that with the foreground and orange horizon from sunset. Canon 6DmkII Canon 24-70mm f2.8
Three First Places – Open Category
A Crack In The Sky Reflected Susan Sheets
I shot this at Bandon beach on a wintery, wet and windy weekend this January. The gear: Olympus 12-100mm lens at 12 mm, F8, 1/60th sec., on a tripod, Olympus EM5 MkII.
Go Ahead, I’m Listening Jim Heern
Golden Eagle Rudy Dierks
Image was shot at Wildlife Images. Two shot focus stacking was done on the bird to achieve sharpness over most of the image. The background is a blend of a couple of my own shot textures. I used a Canon 5D Mark IV with a 100/400 lens set at 263mm/F-8/500 shutter speed/2500ISO. Image was processed using photoshop 2019 and DXO software. Amazingly beautiful bird up close!
Three Second Places
I Hear You, I See You, I Smell You Susan Sheets
On The Lookout Rudy Dierks
The Image of the Bengal Tiger was shot at the West Coast Game Park near Bandon. The image is a time lapse of one cat taken several minutes apart. The background is a combination of images that were taken at Joshua TreeNational Park. The tigers were blended into the background using Photoshop. I used a Canon 5D MarkIV with 100/200mm lens/F-8/600Shutter speed/ ISO400 to shoot the cat shots and a 24/70 lens for the background shots. I hope this cat likes it’s new home.
The Boot Jim Ingraham
First Place – Assigned – Fog, mist or rain
Waterfall In The Sky Susan Sheets
I shot this in September 2019 from my back yard. A first for me in catching lightening. 2.5 sec, f5.0, iso 500.
Four First Places – Category – Open
SnowFlake Dancers Dale George
This image was taken at the dress rehearsal of Stillpoint Dance Studio’s version of The Nutcracker. I have waited 3 years to get this image for myself and it was worth it. Shot using a Canon MKIV and 24-70 mm lens combination. I had my ISO set at 6400 and aperture 4.0 as most of the dance was in challenging low light conditions.
Not a lot of post editing, mostly some color correction and bringing up some shadows and highlight control…as well as some sharpening and noise reduction.
The Ghost Of The Mountain Jim Heern
Snow Leopards inhabit the highest altitude of any big cats. These most elusive cats nicknamed ” Ghost Of The Mountains”. They are perfectly equipped to thrive in extreme high-altitudes (up to 20’000 ft.)
Snow Leopards can endure temperatures as low as -40 degrees F , they are vulnerable to extinction, there only 6,000 left in the wild.
Shot at f/ 8.0
ISO 2500
1/250 sec.
Aurora Vintage Larry Pollack
Purple Pier Ross Steensland
This image was taken late December in Avila Beach California. After the sun went over the horizon I checked the North side of the pier and found a warm glow still illuminating the structure. I composed the image as to where the pier was leading into the brightest point of the sunset. I shot at multiple focus points, several exposures to compensate for the highlights and darks, and then about 3 additional minutes to create the smooth ocean. All of them were then blended in photoshop.
Canon 6D mkII. Canon 24-70 f2.8. B+W Polarizer filter.
Two Second Places
Aurora Contemplation Larry Pollack
Waiting For Prey Greg Smith
