Tom Cadwalader took first place with The Day was a Blur
Larry Hudson took second place for Aspens over Lava
Monte Hudson took third place winner for Lightning Never Strikes Twice
Deb Nesbitt
The Photo Club of Quail Creek (PCQC) July photo contest focused on trees. Eligible photos were taken within the last three years with only minimal post-processing allowed.
Tom Cadwalader took first place with The Day was a Blur. Tom shared this story. “Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. I have tried this technique a few times and have had very limited success. The idea is that if you have a camera fitted with a zoom lens and change the zoom setting quickly while the shutter is open, you can get an abstract rendition of the scene. In this case, we were cooking a shore lunch while fishing at a fly-in lodge in Northern Ontario, Canada. While our lunch was cooking, I was getting images of a nearby pair of islands. For this image, I was in the process of re-composing a shot, changing the zoom and moving the camera, all the while with my finger on the shutter release, when the quick movement must have caused more pressure on the shutter release and the camera fired…capturing this image. As soon as I downloaded the images, I knew I had a keeper.” Tom used an Olympus E-M1MarkII, f/8, 1/320 second, focal length of 12.0 mm, ISO 200.
Second place was awarded to Larry Hudson for Aspens over Lava. While Larry was driving the road between Cedar City, Utah, and Bryce Canyon National Park, the aspen trees were at the peak of their fall yellow and red colors. He shared that he noticed a group of aspens over a black lava bed. The lava provided a contrasting foreground to accentuate the beautiful fall tree colors. He took advantage of a roadside pullout and stopped to walk along the edge of the lava and photograph the trees. Previously having lived in Colorado, Larry said he has always enjoyed the quaking aspen in the fall. Larry used a Canon EOS 77D Tamron, f 6.3.0, 1/125 sec, focal length 35.0 mm, and ISO 100.
Third place winner for Lightning Never Strikes Twice was submitted by Monte Hudson. She took this shot in Prescott in the boulders around Watson Lake. It looked like the tree had been previously hit by lightning and a lightning storm happened to be brewing at the time. The storm helped illustrate the tree’s history. Monte converted the photo to black and white to accentuate the mood, then cropped and sharpened the image. Using a Canon EOS Rebel T6i, shooting parameters included f/10, at 1/320 second, focal length 18 mm, and ISO 100.
The PCQC sponsors several opportunities for club members, such as monthly and quarterly photo contests, field trips, access to extensive photography resources, and timely presentations during our monthly meetings. Visit www.pcqc.org and the HOA What’s Happening for additional information and to view photos on Flicker.