Robert Thoresen
The February contest was open to all Quail Creek residents instituted as an annual open event last year by club members. Again there was a very large submission of entries with two of the three places garnered by non-club members.
In early January club member Jeff Krueger took his first trip to Death Valley on a four day photo trip. He had to experience the sand dunes so he hiked out about a mile from the highway to catch the morning light coming over the mountains. Unfortunately it was a cloudy morning and with no apparent visible sunrise. Just after packing up to head back to the car the sun blazed through a hole in the clouds. Dropping down to get a steady grip with his camera he got a few shots completed before the clouds swallowed up the sun again. Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, f/8, 1/200 sec, ISO 100, focal length 44mm, aperture 4.125, Aperture Priority, no flash, modified with Adobe Photoshop.
Mike Tumchewics dropped one position this year but beat the odds with a strong second place. Mike’s picture was taken near the Quail Creek Roadrunner course in May shortly before sunset. He had gone to the area hoping that the sun would break through the clouds making for a dramatic sky picture. He was lucky to capture the scene moments before the sun disappeared behind the hills far off on the horizon. The photo was done using HDR and post processing using NIK software and Aperture. Camera: Nikon D800, f/16, ISO 100 focal length 18mm, exposure time unknown, Aperture Priority, no flash.
Jeff Webster’s Curve Billed Thrasher was the third place photo. He was birding in Florida Canyon (near Madera Canyon), when he saw the thrasher perched on an ocotillo. It was around noon on a beautiful January day. It was a compelling pose and the thrasher seemed to be asking to be photographed. Camera: Canon Power Shot SX 10-IS f/5.7, ISO 80, 1/640 sec, focal length 100mm, Maximum Aperture 5.03125, no flash, modified by Adobe Photoshop.
The Photography Club of Quail Creek has a monthly photo contest for its members and also schedules various field trips over the course of the year. Guests are invited to monthly meetings and presentations. The club meets the second Wednesday of the month in the Gold Room of the Madera Clubhouse at 6:30 p.m. Visit the club website at http://pcqc.org.