Robert Thoresen
Ken Haley’s first place picture of a Dead Saguaro at Sundown was taken on a June evening on Quail Creek’s RoadRunner Golf Course’s fifth hole. Ken periodically goes out towards early evening looking for sunsets, animals or whatever else he can find to photograph. This particular evening Ken did intend to photograph this dead saguaro that had been reduced to just its initial sun bleached infrastructure. He got this picture while waiting for the last fading sunlight called the Golden Hour and this was the result. The theme of the June contest was Sunrises/Sunsets and all three winning shots were taken in the general vicinity of Quail Creek. Ken’s camera was a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with EF24-70 f/2 USM lens. Focal length 70mm (35mm equivalent 92.1mm). 1/20 sec, f/11, ISO 400.
Helen Phillips was on her way with friends for dinner in Sonoita when she saw the metal sculpture of the cowboy and two cattle along the west side of Highway 83 north of town. She had her husband stop the car and she got out to shoot the photograph. The image has a realistic look but at the time she took the photograph the sky was still very clear. She added the sky’s sunset using Photoshop. Helen has created a file of sunsets to enhance her photos as needed. The camera was a Canon PowerShot SD600. Focal length 38.4mm (35mm equivalent 226mm). 1/25 sec, f/5.9 ISO 80.
John Hockemeier took his third place photograph on an early morning walk along Quail Range Loop near Miranda Road. He thought the clouds trying to hide the sun were the first sign of the seasonal monsoon. The direction of the photograph, toward the east just after the summer solstice, was to an area between the Catalina and Rincon Mountains. The sky above was a little lighter and just tinged the low lying Cholla near the bottom of the photo with a trace of silver. John used Photoshop Elements to crop the road pavement. The camera was a Canon PowerShot SD600. Focal length 10.1mm (35 mm equivalent 64.1mm). 1/500 sec, f/3.5, ISO unavailable.
The Photography Club of Quail Creek has a monthly photo contest for its members and schedules photo field trips throughout the course of the year. The club meets the second Wednesday of the month in the Gold Room of the Madera Clubhouse at 6:30 p.m. There are no meetings in July and August. Guests are welcomed. For current events and details visit the club’s website at http://www.pcqc.org.