LHSA's Raffle - Unbelievable Prizes!

The International Leica Society is running its annual raffle right now. This year's prizes are unprecedented. True, last year's grand prize was a Leica M9-P. I had the pleasure of meeting the lucky guy who won it. But this year, wow!

APO Summicron M Aspheric 50mm f2 Lens

Image Source: http://www.overgaard.dk/leica-50mm-APO-Summicron-M-ASPH-f-20.html

 

The current grand prize is the winner's choice of either the $7,000 Leica M (240), the newest Leica M rangefinder body, or the 50mm APO Summicron, valued at $7,300 or so. Second prize, the X2! Third? Dlux 6. All of these are excellent prizes.

 

So, how does one take part in the raffle? First, you must be an LHSA member. For $55 per year (electronic membership), you're in. Pay a little more and you get the paper version of the excellent Viewfinder magazine.

 

(Click Here) to join LHSA.

 

Once you're a member, (Click Here) to get your raffle tickets. Raffle ticket prices are $10 per ticket, $60 for a book of ten, or $100 for a book of twenty. Not bad for prizes worth several thousand dollars.

 

Hurry, as your tickets must be purchased by July 12, 2013!

 

So, what makes a $7,300 50mm lens? Well, the APO M Aspheric 50mm is probably the most well-corrected, high tech 50mm lens ever made. APO stands for apochromatic correction, which ensures that all colors in the image focus at exactly the same point. An aspheric element, which requires exotic manufacturing techniqe, corrects for other aberrations.

 

(Click Here) to read more about the lens on Thorsten Overgaard's site.

 

Personally, I'm going for the APO Summicron when I win. I'll be happy with any of the prizes, however.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

monchan on mu-43.com Wins a Japanese Photo Contest - Awesome Dramatic Shot

 

Image Source: http://www.mu-43.com/f42/i-won-prize-my-first-stoked-40225/

 

monchan, a member on mu-43.com, has won a local photo contest in Japan with this shot.

 

(Click Here) to read monchan's post on mu-43.com

 

The vertical wall of white water is amazing. It's really a great thing that the fisherman is wearing a dark color, contrasting well against the water. He has red on this hat and lower pants leg, which also help. The line of the fishing rod, essentially visually connecting him to the flying water, and the converging lines of the seawall complete the picture. And, there's a reflection even. Wow. Very nicely done.

 

By the way, this was shot with the Olympus OM-D.

 

Congratulations to monchan!

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Decisive Challenge on Rangefinder Forum - Winners Posted

 

First Place: Man Centered Square Triangles by Clint Troy

Image Source: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128570

 

Rangefinder Forum has just completed a photo contest, and the winners have been announced. The winner of the first prize is shown above. Congratulations, Clint Troy!

 

(Click Here) to see all of the winners.

 

There are some really great images here. And the prizes were awesome as well - a vintage Leica camera and lens included! Wow.

 

I need to keep my eyes open for these challenges.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

I Won A Contest - Two of My Images Will Be in the 2013 Calendar of Annual Reviews!

 

Image Source: http://www.annualreviews.org/page/photochallenge

 

Two of my images (below) were selected for inclusion in the Annual Reviews 2013 calendar! One of my colleagues at work forwarded the call for entries (thanks, Jeanne!).

 

(Click Here) to see the full list of winners. As far as I can tell, you have to be a subscriber to get the calendar. They've offered to send me a copy; I wrote back asking if I can buy a few.

 

 

 

Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) in Flight, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor Ai-P 500mm f4 Manual Focus Lens

iso 500, f5.6, 1/1500 sec

 

Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus), by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor Ai-P 500mm f4 Manual Focus Lens

I find it very rewarding to win a contest like this, especially a nature photography contest - they're notoriously difficult to win. So many great photographers focus their attention and cameras on the beauty of nature.

This is great motivation for me to keep pushing my skills!

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Landscape Photographer of the Year - First Winner Loses Title Due to Overmanipulation of Image

 

The New Winner - Landscape Photographer of the Year, Simon Butterworth

Image Source: http://www.petapixel.com/2012/11/02/landscape-photographer-of-the-year-2012-stripped-of-title-for-too-much-shoppin/

 
 
"Take A View" (www.take-a-view.co.uk) has announced a new winner for Landscape Photographer of the Year. Originated by photographer Charlie Waite, the competition is in its seventh year.
 
Unfortunately, the initial image selected for first place this year was disqualified after the fact for over-manipulation.
 
(Click Here) to read the original posting, and see the excellent image that ended up being disqualified.
 
The website reports that the original winner, David Byrne, had not intentionally misled the judges; they simply found too much manipulation in the image to suit the requirements of their contest.
 
This is an important lesson for photographers. We all (or very nearly all) do some manipulation of our images. In fact, manipulation in the darkroom certainly precedes Photoshop. But, it's important to know the limits. And, the limits are different, depending upon the competition or venue.
 
I like to think that I use "straight photography" techniques, and don't rely too heavily upon manipulation. That said, I certainly have examples in my mind as I write this where the original image was, well, "ho-hum," until I got it into Lightroom for cropping, levels adjustment, conversion to black and white, and toning. Now it's one of my recent favorites. I would not consider it "manipulated" by today's standards, but it's certainly not straight out of the camera. Here's my image in question.
 

Forest Edge, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4 lens

iso 160, f8, 10 secs

 
Personally, I think what I've done here is quite acceptable, as all of these things could have been done easily in a wet darkroom. But is that the right measure? We also know that composites (made from multiple original images) can be made in the darkroom. I would think that's too much (obviously).
 
Where do you think the limits of acceptable manipulation are? I guess as long as we're honest about it when we're done, it's always up to each of us.
 
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