Tom Cadwalader won second place with his photo entitled NBC.
Denny Huber took third place with his photo Mexican Sand.
Ed Stephens won first place with his image entitled Have a Seat.
Bruce Hartsell
The Photography Club of Quail Creek recently announced winners of the First Quarter Challenge for which members submitted up to three photographs on the theme of “Texture or Patterns.”
Ed Stephens won first place with his image entitled Have a Seat, a photo taken at the Paris Baguette Café in Scottsdale, which Ed visited with his wife. He reported that being a member of the Photography Club has raised his interest in everyday surroundings. “I immediately noticed the décor inside and thought, how could I possibly miss this opportunity?!” Ed took the photo with his Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max, 6.86 mm lens, f/1.8, 1/125 seconds, ISO 64, and no flash. He used no additional editing.
Tom Cadwalader won second place in the challenge with his photo entitled NBC, which captures the patterns and texture of a peacock feather. He “set up the feather to be in natural light that was coming primarily from the side” and “tried different angles for the feather,” eventually settling “on one that entered the frame at an angle, forming a natural leading line.” He used his Olympus OM-1 with a 90 mm Macro lens on a tripod with a remote shutter release, aperture priority at f/8.0, 1/5th second, with ISO 200, and “1 stop of negative exposure compensation to tame any brighter areas of the subject.”
Denny Huber took third place with his photo Mexican Sand, which he took while visiting his brother’s winter home near Zihuatanejo, Mexico. He said he “was on the lookout for textures during a walk on the beach, and right there was the coolest layering of dark and tan sand.” He took the shot with his Apple iPhone 13, 5.1 mm lens, f/1.6, 1/3200 second, ISO 50, and used very little processing. He said he “didn’t know whether to crop out the reflected sun at the top of the shot” but “then decided it gave the whole shot a ‘wet’ feel.”
The Photography Club of Quail Creek has a quarterly challenge in which members may submit up to three photos taken within the quarter. Extensive post-processing is allowed, and winners are selected by club member voting. The club also has a monthly photo contest in which members may submit up to three photos taken within the last 13 months and with minimal post-processing. Winners are selected by a panel of judges from across the country. The club also schedules episodic photo field trips and educational meetings.
Regular meetings are held the second Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m., usually at the Kino Conference Center, Mesquite Room. Consult the club’s website at www.pcqc.org, as well as the weekday HOA What’s Happening, for additional information. Membership is open to all Quail Creek residents.