Assigned Category – Faceless Portraits
First Place
Point of Conception Greg Smith
Point of Conception was a project that took a couple of months from conjuring up an ideal to completed print. The swimmers are actually the little spoons that come with Cosco Creme Brulee, individually ground to the general likeness of a sperm. The background is an opaque light table, backlit with a rectangular softbox and red gel on the flash. I made numerous attempts on the top lighting before settling on a localized flash through a snoot with grid. Even at minimal setting on the flash the light was too bright and harsh. I ended up choking down the light with a black cardstock washer and some cotton filter material. The final challenge was cooking the perfect egg. My camera settings were: ISO 320, f/7.1, 1/160th second, and 32mm. Canon 5d, Mk IV camera and 24-105mm lens.
Open Category
First Place
Mystical Sunset Cynthia Briseno
Mystical was shot at Tule Lake with my Canon 5d mark IV along with my 100-400 lens. I shot it in the sunset as it caught my eye as we were driving out. I stacked 3 photos and the colors came out!
Second Place
All Fluffed Up Susan Sheets
Two Third Places
The Understory Susan Sheets
Vigilant Wolf Jim Heern
