Award Winners

I was honored and thrilled to receive word on Friday that two of my images were selected for the prestigious Loan Collection of the Professional Photographers of America.

The top image, titled "Blowin' In The Wind," is a Great Egret with breeding plumage. It was taken in St. Augustine, Florida on a very breezy day. The egret was sitting on a top branch of a nearby tree, and I was happily shooting away when the wind kicked up and blew its long, flowing feathers up and over its head. Shooting on rapid burst, I did not know exactly what I had captured until viewing it later on my laptop screen.

Because it was on a top branch, the smooth overcast sky formed an even-toned backdrop. I liked the white-on-white look, with the only color being the long orange bill. I debated whether to enter it into competition or not, since it does not show the head or the eye, which is often what judges look for in bird and wildlife photography. But I liked the unusual nature of the image, and its touch of whimsy, so I threw caution to the wind and entered it in the annual Professional Photographers of America International competition.

Needless to say, I was overjoyed when I received word that it had been selected for their Loan Collection, what they dub the best of the best.

The bottom image, titled "Eye On The Prize," was also selected for the Loan Collection. You might have seen the image before in this Blog. It was taken in Alaska on a gray misty day. Several eagles were circling our boat to catch fish, and this one was performing some amazing aerial acrobatics. The mist behind the eagle helped separate it from the dark green background. Again, shooting on rapid burst I did not know exactly what I had captured until viewing the results on my laptop. And doing some optimization in Lightroom really made the eagle pop out against the background.

All competitions are a complete unknown, and you never know what the judges will respond to. When deciding which images to enter, it is good to show them to a wide variety of people, and not all of them photographers. Show them to friends and family, as well as camera club buddies and any photo mentors you might have. It is best to get a wide range of opinions, and then weigh that against what your gut tells you is a great image.

TECH SPECS
Egret - 1/1250 sec. at f/11, ISO 1600. Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens set at 400mm on Canon 7D Mark II body. Handheld.

Eagle - 1/1000 sec. at f/11, ISO 1600. Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens set at 140mm on Canon 7D Mark II body. Handheld.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "All competitions are a crap shoot. Sometimes you get lucky, and sometimes you don't. The trick is to keep going, keep striving, keep improving. And at the end of the day, believe in yourself."  --Mollie Isaacs