Bruce Hartsell
Steve Piepmeier won first place in the Photography Club’s monthly contest on the theme Reflections. His image, Calm Clouds, was captured over the lake near the front of Quail Creek. Steve says he often returns to a site repeatedly, because images can change from day to day. “Photographing at sunrise, one is always surprised just what Nature may reveal to us in the presence of awareness. Coming over the crest of the hill, the stillness of the reflection was the Photo of the Day, with sunrise before she came over Ms. Santa Rita! The synchronicity can stagger you!” Apple iPhone 16 Pro, 2.22 mm, f/2.2, 1/200 sec, ISO 50.
Monte Hudson won second place with Livorno Italy Boats, taken from a cruise ship in the Port of Livorno, Italy. She said she liked the way the masts on the boats aligned with the reflections of light in the water. Cropping, sharpening and leveling the horizon were the only post-processing elements. Apple iPhone 14 Pro, 9mm, f/ 2.8, ¼ sec, ISO 800, Exp 0.1.
John Tubbs won third place with Window Reflections. John said he “tried to make this composition raise questions with viewers and hopefully have them linger a bit to figure out what initially isn’t obvious. The tree on the right is obviously outside the reflecting window. However, due to the angle of the shot, its trunk is not reflected in the window. And the tree is throwing leaf shadows on the wall below the window from high branches that can’t be seen directly. And, again because of the angle, the window is reflecting the outside tree—but only the higher part, which can’t be seen directly in the image either. The window reflection and wall shadows fill out what can’t be seen of the tree in this shot.” Leica SL3, 30 mm, f/7.1, 1/800 sec, ISO 1600.
The Photography Club of Quail Creek sponsors a photo contest each month, with the winners selected by a panel of independent judges. Additional information is available at www.pcqc.org. Membership is open to all Quail Creek residents.