Robert Thoresen
John Hockemeier’s winning first place picture of Janelle’s Cutest Kids was taken at the home of Quail Creek resident Janelle Hyslop at Christmas several years ago. The kids are Cinnamon and Sugar Bear and they see Santa stuffing their Christmas stockings with treats. May’s contest theme was cutest pets and animals. John used his Canon PowerShot A630. f/4.1, 1/23 sec, ISO unknown, 55 mm (29.2 mm 35mm equivalent). No flash was used.
Second place went to Bob Aagaard for his photo of Oscar. Oscar had his picture taken at last year’s Quail Creek Fourth of July parade. A hobby of Bob’s is outlining the subject of a photo, especially dogs or people, and then removing the background and substituting a background created in Photoshop. The camera was a Nikon D60, f/7.1, 1/160 sec, ISO 400, 55 mm (82mm 35mm equivalent). The original photo was outlined using Topaz Remask 3 in Photoshop, and a new background was created and dropped in.
Bob Johnson’s third place hummingbird photograph was taken last November at the Sonoran Desert Museum. Bob has visited the hummingbird enclosure many times in the past and never got a decent picture because of the bird’s constant motion. Bob finally lucked out with a hummer sitting motionless for several minutes on a small branch. The subject didn’t fly off until Bob was able to get in several shots. The camera used was a Sony NEX-3, f/5.6, 1/100 sec, ISO 1000, 55 mm (82 mm 35 mm equivalent). No flash or tripod was used.
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. Guests are welcome. For current events and details visit the club’s website at http://www.pcqc.org.