Washington Apple Pi Photo Contest 2007: 1st place and overall
Ross Hatch, "Shake It Off." Best In Show; First Place Novice - Nature. Judges Comments: Fabulous moment. Very strong lighting and composition, dark background. Strong sense of action. "I have taken animal pictures all over the world, but 'Shake It Off,' taken in the wilds of the Houston, TX zoo is my favorite. I had gotten some great shots of the tiger swimming in his pool. Then he stepped out of the water and the picture fell into place." Canon T-90 SLR probably with 400 speed film and a 100-300 lens.Lewis Norman, "Thirsty Pride Ruaha National Park Tanzania." First Place Advanced - Nature. Judges Comments: striking, rare moment, strong composition. "We had been following a local pride of 21 lions during our morning game drive. This pride considers our camp on the Mwagusi River as part of its territory. The 'Alpha' female struck out a measured, deliberate pace toward the river. Suspecting that the pride would be drinking there, we drove our vehicle to a spot some three meters from a water hole. Sure enough, the lions of the pride, pacing in single file, approached the water hole. They moved around our vehicle at distances less than a meter from us, then lined up shoulder to shoulder to drink." Canon EOS 20D, Tamron 28-300 lens at 28 mm, f11.0, 1/320 sec, ISO 400.Dave Ottalini, "Washington Roof Shot." First Place Advanced - Washington Apple Pi. Judges Comments: pleasant view; captures some D.C., icons. "This was a shot from the roof of the building CNN used for live shots to its affiliates in Washington D.C. We had many evenings that were just as beautiful! Taken with a Nikon film camera." Canon PowerShot G1, f2.8, 1/8 sec.Walter Taylor, "Watch Your Step." First Place Novice - Architecture. Judges Comments: great shapes and lighting, well composed, makes the ordinary be special. "The photo was taken in September 2002 at the Cape May lighthouse in, you guessed it, Cape May, New Jersey. I took quite a few shots both inside and out, but as I was descending the spiral stairs this just caught my eye. Something about the area just seemed to pull me off balance, and I had to grab the rail, so I took a photo of it. Hold on!" Fujifilm MX-2700, f3.2, 1/4 sec., ISO 120.Jim Ritz, "Two Ships at Sea." Firstst Place Novice - Travel. Judges Comments: great composition, juxtaposition of power vs. sail. Great lighting and mood. "While cruising the Baltic I was immediately struck by the contrast of the two forms of power, the span of time for each.... not to mention the bright light on the sail opposed to the darkness of the tanker off in the distance. Another lucky shot but it shows so well what suddenly was in front of us as we cruised along."Travis Good, "When Stations Offered Service." First Place Advanced - Architecture. Judges Comments: nostalgic scene, well composed, good light, snow is lovely. "This picture was taken as I drove down old Route 66 in search of images of American culture from the 1930s through 1970s. In Dwight, IL I came across this beautiful little gas station from the 1940's. From back when attendants would check your oil and tires, fill your radiator; clean your windshield and all while you filled up. Back when such places were called 'Service Stations' for a reason. Back in an era now passed." Nikon CoolPix 8800, f7.0, 1/170 sec., ISO 50.Gene Haddon, "An Apple a Day." First Place Novice - Washington Apple Pi. Judges Comments: creative, intriguing. "The winning Apple A Day photo in the WAP category was my worst shot. I was determined to put something in each of the categories. Two apples. Eat one. Take picture of each. Put them together with layers. Play with opacity a little bit. It was fun, but primitive." Nikon D-80, f6.3, 1/60 sec., ISO 200.Eric Elane, "Francis with Cicadas." First Place Advanced - People. Judges Comments: great moment, strong composition, good exposure. "The photograph was taken on June 3, 2004 right outside my family's apartment in Rockville, when my son Francis was a few weeks short of being 2 years old. Although his 4 year old sister Mia -- who was with him at that same afternoon -- was very scared and squeamish upon seeing the cicadas all over the yard, Francis was very curious and somewhat playful when he got in contact with the bugs. I look forward to take another photo of him in 14 years when the cicadas return in our area." Nikon N90, 105mm F 2.8 Micro Nikkor Lens, SB-26 Flash, color negative scanned on a Nikon Super Coolscan 4000 Film Scanner.Lawrence Charters, "Punts at Oxford." First Place Advanced - Travel. Judges Comments: strong repeating shapes and geometry, good exposure, interesting subject. "I took this photo while my daughter was doing laundry, much to her disgust as she didn't get to see the punts. Once used for commerce, punts are now more associated with Oxford students goofing off on the river instead of studying." Minolta 5D, f7.1, 1/160th sec., ISO 100.Jim Ritz, "London Store Face Image." First Place Novice - People. Judges Comments: creative, mysterious, thought provoking. "An incidental photo... while riding a coach to a London restaurant I thought the store front would be a nice shot. Holding the camera to get the shot, I captured my image reflected in the window of the coach. Quite surprised to see it, I immediately thought it very interesting." Canon PowerShot S40, f2.8, 1/60 sec.
