The Great Outdoor Photo Contest

I just entered two photos in The Great Outdoor Photo Contest contest being put on by National Geographic Traveler. I entered the amateur division with the grand prize being a trip to Hawaii. The first round of judging is going to be based on 33% Creativity, 34% Sense of Place and 33% Capture the Moment.

Moon over Rio Pacuare, Costa Rica

I entered this picture in the SCENICS OF THE NATURAL WORLD category because of the cool atmosphere and light. I think you can feel the sub tropical humidity with the fog in the background and the water has a cool look and texture. The flaw in this picture is that I shot it at the wrong ISO. I had it set the camera at an ISO of 400, if I had shot it correctly at ISO 100 there would have been a lot less noise in the picture. Anne like the noise though, she thinks it adds something to the picture and maybe it does.

Perfect conditions in Colorado

I entered this one in the OUTDOOR SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES category, of all the sports shots I have taken, I liked this one was one of the best. I was torn because I really wanted to use a kayaking shot but I really did not have anything that matched the creativity and feeling that this picture generates. I took this picture with my new Christmas Superwide angle lens that everyone helped me get and I am sure the judges will appreciate the grand vista in the background and the Anne action in the foreground. Technically this was not an easy shot being that the sun light coming from behind Anne, yet I think I did a reasonable job as she is not a silhouette as it could easily have been. The flaw of course is the lens flare that falls right on her shoulder. That happens easily with super wide angle lens when you point the camera off angle at a light source.

I don't really stand much of a chance however, check out the latest entries and you will see the types of photos being entered. They are very good, here is the link: Latest Entries

Here are some of the other pictures that I like but that I did not enter, mainly because you have to pay $12 for each photo that you enter.

I think the action and creativity in this kayaking shot are good as it looks like the person taking the photo is about to get wet (which he did and the camera as well) but there is little else to interest the viewer.

I really liked this picture of Tom, he is obviously out of balance and the scenery in the background is stunning. The only reason Anne's picture won out over this one was the orange boundary line that I found a little distracting. This one did make the poster though, yeah Tom!

I am not sure where I would have entered this picture but I like the feeling and mood of the silhouetted surfer against this spectacular sunset. I ended up not liking it because of the other swimmers in the water. If he had been alone it would have been perfect. I could have taken the trouble to photoshop the people in the water out but in the end I did not think it was worth the effort.

I will let you all know how it goes, they will announce a winner by the end of the month.

Chris

Zeitgeist, an intersting conspiracy movie

Have you all seen this video yet? Not that I am a conspiracy nut but some of the questions raised in this video do merit some thought. It is long but check it out when you are bored and want to watch something. I think the most interesting part of this is the central banking system, I am going to have to ask Peter about that one.

Videos

I have produced many videos of friends and adventures over the years, I will begin posting those videos on this blog so that they will be easy to find. Here is one of my paddling favorites, check it out.