Tell Us About Your Contest Image...the Winners Tell All

[picturesque]

<p>I thought the following image information I received from the contest winners was so interesting and fun to read that I am posting it here. We can all learn from it.</p>

<p>I also want to invite anyone who entered the contest to tell us about your image--how you came to shoot it--circumstances, technical data, funny story connected with it, how the subjects were, what you envisioned and how reality compared, etc. Be brief, though.</p>

<p>You may post your contest image again, but if you do, you must follow size guidelines or I will remove the image. <strong>A horizontal image must be 500 pixels wide. A vertical image must be 333 pixels wide</strong>. This is not a contest but a chance to share and learn. Feel free to ask questions.</p>

<p><strong>Zach Gray--First Place, Over 3 Years Experience Category: Bride and Groom Running</strong></p>

<p>This image was from a day after session with the bride and groom. This was shot two weeks after they got home from their honeymoon. These guys were married on a rooftop after dark in Nashville, TN and did not want to see each other before the ceremony, but wanted great shots in the city (where they live) during the day. So we headed out to have a great three hour shoot! These guys were amazing and the bride and groom were a dream to work with.</p>

<p>This shot was set up and I told the couple to just run past me and look at each other having fun. We took 8 or 10 shots and this was the favorite.</p>

<p>Camera - Canon 5d<br />Lens – 24-70 2.8L at 24mm<br />1/100^th of a second<br />ISO 50<br />F 10</p>

<p><em>Lighting Rig:</em><br />Westcott 24x32 inch Softbox<br />Photojenic 500 watt mono-light (to camera left)<br />Triggered by Pcoket Wizard Pro Plus 2’s<br />Powered by the Vagabond 2 from Alien Bees<br />Avenger C-stand</p>

<p><strong>Neil Ambrose--Second Place, Over 3 Years Experience Category: Abi and Dan's Hora</strong></p>

<p>The shot was taken in a reception in Quaglino's, a famous restaurant and celebrity hang-out in St James, London.</p>

<p>It was a lovely location for a reception, but an immense challenge for the lighting. The room was lit with red up-lighters on all walls; green spots into pillars and corners, and the ceiling was blue glass so any kind of bounce flash was out of the question. So was getting a consistent white balance. Additionally there was huge variance in the light levels. There was an upper floor that was too dark to shoot in with a dropped ceiling that was only 8 inches above my head. The lower floor was lit with rear stage lights in front of the dance floor, and nothing at all on the tables. To make it really tricky, there was a roving videographer with a continuous light source who raised exposure levels by four stops at every place he aimed his video.</p>

<p>It was apparent immediately that we'd need additional light sources. We positioned three speedlights on stands on the upper deck, each pointed in different locations. One was aimed at the dance floor to balance out the backlighting. One was aimed at the top table, where we knew we'd need directional light for the speeches, and the last was positioned down the restaurant for cross-lighting. Each was on a different channel so the lights could be fired either as a group or independently.</p>

<p>As photojournalists, we were mobile through the entire reception. We'd pick out moments that were interesting photographically, while remembering the location of our remote speedlights so we could pick appropriate shooting angles for the light source. A quick flick on the transmitter and we were dialled into the light we wanted. We'd also have to watch the videographer, who seemed to be taking a lot of his cues from what we were photographing. As soon as he approached we'd be faced with huge overexposure relative to our settings, needing us to switch off the flash transmitter and quickly dial in a new exposure for ambient light.</p>

<p>This particular shot was a good example.</p>

<p><strong>Carlos Montero-Caballero--Third Place, Over 3 Years Experience Category: Heathland</strong></p>

<p>The image was made on 2009/09/28, around six in the evening, during a nice & warm September afternoon. A typical 'after-summer' day. This was the third and final location we picked, the other two being a great flowerfield and a little rustic village. The location is close to where I used to live, it's some sort of preserved heathland. The sun was slowly setting, casting a glow. It was one of the last images I took, the shoot started around three and ended around seven. We don't shoot non-stop, we pause to talk, or have a few drinks, or grab a bite, whatever the couple feels like doing. My main goal is to keep it fun. I never shoot these portraits on the same day as the wedding ceremony itself, because I think it's all too rushed. Doing the shooting on a separate day allows me to 'control' the weather, it gives me more time to make the couple feel at ease, and we have more elbow room when choosing locations that are further apart from each other. I don't know how it works in the U.S., or other countries for that matter, but here in Belgium everything is usually performed on the same day. I like to take my time, I've done a couple of shoots on the same day as the wedding ceremony and hated having only a tiny window of approximately 1 1/2 or 2 hours to come up with interesting portraits. To me this feels forced, and I'm also not a big fan of specifically directing a couple. I only want them to have eyes for each other, hence you rarely see people looking directly into the lens.</p>

<p>Back to the image: we make a habit of completing a shoot by opening a nice bottle of Champagne, and having the couple make a toast. After finishing the bottle, sitting around and talking for a while, the bride and groom became giddy, she leaned over and tried to pin her husband down in a playful manner. From that position, it occurred to me that I'd never shot a couple from a true top-down viewpoint. So I mounted a 14mm to my camera, placed it on an fully extended monopod, connected a remote trigger wire and suspended the camera above their heads, carefully trying to 'guess' the correct framing. Not being able to look through the viewfinder prevented me from framing as a rectangle, which was good because the image forming in my head was square. I fired the shutter six times. In the first shot, her feet were barely in the picture. The shot I submitted for the contest is the second one. The camera was suspended in the same position but a little higher, which allowed her feet took keep some distance from the border. Shots three, four and five were composed the same, but with a different look on their faces because they were heading for a gentle kiss. For shot number six, I reframed once again but I didn't like the new composition so I stopped. This image is my favourite from that particular session. I have a weakness for the square format but find it hard to picture a square composition through a rectangular viewfinder. The image was not planned beforehand, it just happened.</p>

<p>About the couple: very relaxed, easy-going and patient people. Also probably the most photogenic couple I've worked with. She's Dutch, he's Italian. They were happy with the end result. And so am I :-)</p>

<p>Technical: EOS 5D, Sigma 14mm, monopod, remote trigger. ISO100, f5.6 and 1/250.</p>

<p>In the original image, the low sun casts an orange glow, which I found distracting. I wanted to emphasize white so I tweaked in Photoshop until I was satisfied. The heath had to be sharpened considerably because the 14mm Sigma I own is a very soft lens. I don't have the budget for the superior Canon version, so the Sigma will have to do for now.</p>

<p><strong>Marek Dziekonski--First Place, Under 3 Years Category: After the Storm</strong></p>

<p>Camera: Nikon D700<br />Lens: Nikkor 50 1.8<br />Aperture: f/2<br />Shutter Speed: 1/320sec.<br />ISO: 320<br />Exposure: Manual<br />No flash, no reflectors, available light only<br />Editing: Adobe ACR to process RAW file and Adobe Photoshop CS3 for jpg – processed with my own actions and spot corrected by hand.</p>

<p>This image was taken in October 2009 at a destination wedding in Warsaw, Poland during a "Rock the Dress" photo shoot. It was a typical autumn day with gray skies and drizzly rain. The couple – Alina and Piotrek - was extremely fun and easygoing, but they were actually concerned that the pictures would not turn out very well because of the weather. I asked them to grab a black umbrella and convinced them that the drizzly, gray day would actually make for the perfect, romantic mood for the pictures, which I believe it did :).</p>

<p><strong>Annalene Rautenbach--Second Place, Up to 3 Years Category: In the Field</strong></p>

<p>Canon 5D mk1<br />24-70 f2.8 lens, f 6.3<br />ISO 400<br />1/250 no flash</p>

<p>The image was taken at the beginning of May, which falls in autumn in South Africa. The bride got married on her farm just outside Witbank in the Highveld of South Africa. I went on a walk before the ceremony and decided to use this field as a backdrop, since I liked the rolled bales of grass. The day was lightly overcast. Just moments before that shot I was shooting into the sun with fill-in flash [image 263]. Then the clouds parted and these great rays of the setting sun was lighting up the field. We turned 90 degrees and took the image with the sun to the left. I used no flash and this image was hardly retouched in Photoshop. What made the image better was the fact that the bride and groom was wearing grey and silver wedding colours. The colour works well with the blue sky and yellow grass. For the rest it was just being ready at the right moment. Three minutes later the sun was gone.</p>

<p><strong>Javier Herrera--Third Place, Up to 3 Years Category: A Father Letting Go</strong></p>

<p>I happened to be watching the bride hug and thank several of her guests as the night started winding down. The DJ announced the father/bride dance and the guests cleared the dance floor. It was a very bittersweet moment in which everyone had their eyes on the two. The father, struggling as he accidentally rolled over the dress with this wheelchair carefully held her hand and led her around in circles. It was a beautiful moment between father and daughter. As the song came to an end and the guests clapped in adoration the bride sat on her daddy's lap as if she were a little girl again. I lifted up my canon 5D Mark II coupled with a 70-200mm F2.8 L IS lens and depressed the shutter. A precious moment was captured that meant so much to the father and the bride.</p><div></div>

[markonestudios]

This was excellent work indeed! Thanks for sharing. Javier, you image was especially moving...

<p>About my own submission: I saw this beautiful canopy as I was driving up to the bride's parents' house (where she was getting ready). I knew I just had to take a shot there, so when we were done with the photo session later that day, I quickly posed them, fired of a few shots and we were off to the reception. I love B&W images, so I had a play with this one in PS. Whether that was to its credit or detriment, I do't know, but I like it :)<div></div>

[javier_herrera1]

<p>Thank you Mark Anthony</p>

[david_schilling___chicago_]

<p>Seems like this has been the quietest contest that we've had here at P-net, I'd really like to hear from others about their entries. Especially, Natalie Brown-Norberg (looks like you used some external lighting in addition to a spot-on exposure and excellent post work), Michael Marker (beautiful post work, exposure control, and the perfect POV for a great moment), and Todd Laffler (I'm guessing that you were already familiar with this venue and had planned for this shot way in advance).......Wonderful work! Please post some additional info.</p>

<p>I'll offer up some info on my entry. This literally was the girl next door and I've watched her grow up since she was about 6 or 7 years old. I also took her school portrait when I worked for a school portrait studio (Van Gogh) when she was in 7th or 8th grade. The wedding/reception was at a local venue that I was quite familiar with and I took the portrait just after shooting the formals of the wedding party and family. <a href="http://dwesleyportraits.smugmug.com/Weddings/Lori/9642018_VFAiF#651412826_hQzxd">http://dwesleyportraits.smugmug.com/Weddings/Lori/9642018_VFAiF#651412826_hQzxd</a> I don't believe we spent more than 15 minutes on all the formals and individual bride and groom portraits.</p>

<p>Camera was Canon 30D, Stroboframe bracket, EX580, with omnibounce, 50mm, 1/60th, 400 ISO, f/5.6 my goal was to catch the beauty of her eyes, details with her bouquet, top area of the dress and I wanted good deliberate contact/energy toward the camera. I also added a slight vignette and an internal sloppy border to help frame the image.</p><div></div>

[mbbrown]

<p>Alright, I'll go...</p>

<p>My entry, "Secret Garden" is actually a secret garden of sorts in the area where I shoot. It's known as a quick-stop spot between the ceremony and reception, depending on what part of town the wedding is in. It's a privately owned garden and the bride wanted some special pics of just her and her new husband done there. But it was a cool, overcast October day, and the lush, green foliage and flowers were slowly heading south for the Winter.</p>

<p>What we shot and what the this shot ended-up becoming were two totally different things. I'm going to post the original RAW file (in JPEG convert) as I shot it...flat and zeroed, as I always do. I want to show how some images evolve and change to meet the needs of the client. I knew, from having met with the client she wanted a very deep, colorful image of her and her new husband at this garden. But, the changing landscape was totally different than her vision. What I did was have her and I both select an image based on the pose and little else. I took close to 25-30 good shots at this location, but this image, I felt, needed some TLC.<br>

I began by doing something I rarely do and that's change the orientation. What began as a vertical ended-up as a not only a horizontal, but a pseudo-panoramic. I explained it was a special circumstance and, should she want prints, she could likely get nothing larger than a 6x9 as the crop removed a lot of resolution.<br>

In addition to that, the image went into total make-over mode. I totally cropped out the sky to "enclose" the couple within the scene. I further enhanced this by cloning some of the surrounding foliage to add more elemental opacity...a "wall" of trees. I removed any and every trace of any man-made elements from it, removed some lens flare you can see close to their feet as it was a backlit shot, cloned more flowers, trees, foliage...really filled it in. I then cleaned certain aspects of it; removed his hand from her back, sharpened here, softened there...finally, I saturated the ever-loving bejeezus out of the earthy tones. Especially the greens, obviously. I boosted the black to give it depth and clarity, gave it a 25% gaussian blur to add an element of heat and mist; a trait of Summer weather rather than Fall weather, and I think I ended with a vignette.<br>

It became my project of the week around that time because I knew it had potential. Now, obviously, I don't alter all my wedding images to that extent, but this one became kind of a visual icon that we use to this day with our advertising. It's become synonymous with the look and feel of our company.<br>

In the end, I had 3 printed on metallic paper, professionally matted and framed, and gave them to the B&G and both sets of parents. The response to this image has been fantastic and I'm happy to have had the pleasure of sharing it with all of you.<br>

I'm retiring from professional wedding photography at the end of the year (27 years is long enough) and will pursue other interests in photography, but what a great experience this has been. You should all be proud of your work. Wedding photogs are a special breed. I hope this image inspires you to look beyond the original and give your clients something different. Keep professional wedding photography in the realm of the professionals and the up-and-coming professionals.</p>

<p>Anyway, here it is in its original, flat, zeroed, uncropped form:</p>

<div></div>

[mbbrown]

<p>Became...</p><div></div>

[lee_copp]

<p >This shot was taken at my first wedding assignment last August. Both the bride & groom (a nephew) were keen to have someone they knew taking their photographs. The day itself started out disastrously with me having to get dressed for the wedding in the Registry office car park 15 minutes before the ceremony itself & then to make matters worse realising that I had left behind my wedding photo list that I had discussed earlier with the bride & groom!</p>

<p > </p>

<p >By the time we got to the reception I was feeling more at ease & I soon got into that place where as a photographer you feel almost invisible as you become more & more absorbed in what you are doing - in this case recording a special event.</p>

<p > </p>

<p >I came across this shot by chance - the bride was engaged in a conversation with her father who was studying a piece of paper. I personally like this image because a.) it was a natural, un-posed shot that I literally stumbled upon & b.) displays - I think - a brief but rather touching, intimate moment between that of a daughter on her very special day with her father. </p>

<p > </p>

<p >Taken with a relatively slow zoom lens & being indoors (& having no flash) I had to push the ISO up a bit to keep down camera shake. Post production wise I only use Lightroom - the image has been cropped & I used (for the first time) a third party Lightroom preset. </p>

<p > </p>

<p >Oh, yes, shock, horror it was taken as a jpeg too…</p>

<p > </p>

<p >Camera: Nikon D50</p>

<p >Lens: Nikon 70-300mm AF G 4.0/5.6</p>

<p >Meter: Matrix</p>

<p >Speed/aperture: 1/125, f4.2</p>

<p >ISO: 800</p><div></div>

[kiva]

<p>This photo was planned out ahead of the wedding day. The couple were fanatics of sports in general and especially golf ... the wedding and reception were at their golf course. When I shared the idea with the couple they laughed until they cried and were very interested in making time for the planned shot. It was a cold rainy day and they still insisted (to my surprise!) so I put down a palates exercise mat that I carry to keep the groom dry; the groom pulled a nice tee out of his pocket and the groomsmen had the golf bag close by with a driver with a monster head on it. </p>

<p>I choose a fisheye in order to capture the scene; the shot was as much about the scene as it was the pose; the sky was strong and powerful looking so I wanted to get a nice skyline. </p>

<p>I called the image "Commitment" and we all had a good laugh about that too. I was struck by how the groom just laid down right away with full trust knowing that bride was above him with a huge headed golf club. I laughed audibly when I saw him place his hands in his pockets ... it was so relaxed ... he truly was playing the roll of a committed husband/golf tee. </p>

<p>The golf course asked for a nice print as well. Letting the couples "strengths" dictate the fun gave us a fun shot to go along with all the other shots that day. </p>

<p>I used my Canon 5d, ss 1/100, iso 500 and f16 ... Camera in the usual M mode ... I probably puffed in a wee bit o' diffused flash too.</p>

<p>The family and bridal party were standing behind me huddle against the cold wind and laughing hysterically and we were about to finish the shooting to head into the reception area for introductions so it gave a fun boost to the wedding party on a day the bride started out a bit sad because her outdoors ceremony plans had to be canceled. </p>

<p>Note: I cloned out clutter like curious on lookers in the upper left hand corner who where in the parking lot area. Also, cloned out a wee bit of the palates mat that was showing under the groom (the ground was saturated with water).</p><div></div>

[rachel_larson_moreau]

<p>This photo is from one of the first weddings that I have captured. It was taken on a rainy day in Oct. following their outdoor wedding ceremony. I was able to have the bride and groom to myself for a few minutes. I suggested the placement of the couple on the sofa, but initially the bride fell into a rather stiff pose, with her attention right at the camera lens. I didn't want the look of a posed portrait. I suggested that she kick off her shoes, and place her hand up towards him, and I stepped out of the room and told the couple to ignore me, and shot from the adjacent room. After a few shared whispers between the newlyweds, they gave me one of my favorite shots that I've ever captured. <br>

This photo was taken with a Canon Xti, Tamron 28-80 lens, no flash or reflector just available light.<br>

Rachel Larson-Moreau<br>

RJL Photography</p><div></div>

[booray]

<p>Okay, I'll bite. My image was shot in the bathroom of a bridesmaid's home. I stood on the bathtub with my shoulder to the wall and my head bent over under the ceiling and bounced my flash off the mirror at camera left. Then I just waited for her head to come through the dress. I try to get this shot at every wedding but this one is by far the best of the group. I narrowed it down to this and another that was a bride formal shot in a cathedral with off-camera flash. Although I was leaning towards the artistic, tricky lighting shot, a friend said, "This is what every bride wants to be on her wedding day. Happy and beautiful!" So I went with this one.</p><div></div>

[2yellowdogs]

<p>This was a standard first dance photo using an on-camera (bracket) SB-800 bounced off the ceiling. The out-of-camera photo had an extremely distracting background, so the image was converted to B&W and the background burned out. <br>

D300<br /> ISO 800<br /> F4.5<br /> 1/80<br /> NEF</p><div></div>

[2yellowdogs]

<p>And the original image.</p><div></div>

[debra_rantilla]

<p>Wow! I'm very excited that I was mentioned in this contest! Thank you, judges, for taking the time to review all these great photos and for giving my image a special mention! And thank you, Nadine, for organizing the whole thing :-)<br>

Obviously, the particularly unique thing about this shot was its location - the reception was held in a museum. When I was hired by the couple, I had to sign a waiver with the museum that indicated many limitations on what I could (and couldn't) take photos of, and whether I could use any flash. Taking photos of the artwork with flash was a big no-no, so I was limited to available light in certain areas. I also was forbidden from taking any photos that showed a piece of artwork in its entirety. Still, despite all those limitations, I knew I really wanted to play upon the fact that we were in a museum at some point… it’s just too cool of a venue to pass up iykwim.<br>

During one of the quieter moments of the reception, I scouted out a bench that would be a perfect place for the bride and groom to sit, was reasonably lit, and also had interesting artwork in the background. However, as I was setting up, a security officer approached and tried to shut down the shot. I flashed the security badge I had received when I arrived at the museum but he still would not let me shoot. He then called in another guard, who then called in the head of security for the event. <br>

At this point, I was sweating bullets but I *knew* I was within my limits because I had a copy of the waiver in my bag. (Note to everyone: *always* bring a copy! You never know when you'll need it.) So I basically begged the head of security to let me shoot, and I promised that I would keep it extremely short, and I would show them the images as soon as I shot them so they could be sure I wasn’t violating any of the agreements. He agreed. I ended up getting about ten shots off, a few with the immediate family and then three with just the bride and groom, and all of them with about six security guards standing around staring at me! I had to stop and show the head of security all the shots as well. But as soon as I saw this one, I knew I had gotten the shot I wanted!<br>

One of my favorite things about this shot is that the bride had just a little smile on her face as they kissed. She didn’t seem to mind the big hullabaloo that was going on around her, and I call that true love! </p><div></div>

[mgk1966]

<p>My photo was the subject of the critique of the week here:<br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00UkAQ">http://www.photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00UkAQ</a><br>

This was a shot of the first dance of a bride and groom who are very talented dancers. It would not have been possible with the standard "hug-n-sway" first dance. There was a lot of swing movement, which allowed me to sit back and wait for the right time to fire. <br>

I typically shoot the first dance with an off-camera speedlight on a tripod to give a backlight to the subject. I like the angelic halo look. I wait for them to pass between me and the flash, and then take the shot. In this case, I had gotten the "safe" shots in the first minute of the dance, so I turned off the on-camera fill and went for a silhouette.<br>

The technicals were f9, ISO 800, 1/100th. An odd combo, but that happens when you change on the fly. My on-camera flash is generally in TTL, but automatic settings would not have worked in this case because the remote flash is firing straight back at the camera. That would confuse the sensors like nobody's business.<br>

During dinner, I set the remote flash up on a stand with a pocket wizard, on manual at about 1/4 power. I have my assistant stand in the middle of the dance floor and take a couple trial shots and chimp the aperture until it's just right.<br>

It's very easy to mess this up because sometimes I get the flash in the shot. For that reason, I can't use an umbrella. Once in a while it's a happy accident, but not usually. So I shoot until I get the one I want and then experiment a little.<br>

Thanks again for the pick, and congrats to all!</p><div></div>

[chan_kong_yaw_peter]

<p>Shooting data:<br>

Canon 400D<br>

Lens : 70-300 EF<br>

f4.5 1/60sec Program Mode<br>

ISO800<br>

The bride was so calm while waiting for the bridegroom to come round her house (our local custom) on their big day. I tried to shot from far using a tele-zoom in order not to disturb her calm mode.<br>

As she leaned forward to look at her shoes, I clicked the shutter finding the best posture with her eyebrows as the focus point of this picture.<br>

This photo was composited tight as I clicked the shutter without any cropping in later stage. I wanted to avoid any distracting background and all these were achieved by making full use of the telezoom.<br>

I used an attached 580EX head tilted at portrait position with a bounced-card. Bounced up to the ceiling (about 10" height). TQ.</p><div></div>

[toddlaffler]

<p>At David's request. :)</p>

<p>David, this was actually my first time at this venue, so it was not planned at all. When I had pulled in to the venue I saw this circle and sort of filed it in the back of my head to try and work it in a shot somehow. Well, it had been raining pretty badly almost all day, but later in the afternoon it finally stopped and we actually had a decent sun set. Just before dusk I walked outside to try and find something interesting to incorporate into a bride and groom shot. Basically I framed this up and envisioned the couple in the circle. Then I asked them to come outside for a few minutes, posed them, had an assistant behind them with a flash pointed at them, triggered via pocket wizards. I got a good exposure for the sky and that was pretty much it, pretty straight forward.<br /> With the 333 pixel wide criteria for this thread, the couple looks so small. This shot looks really good on my 30" monitor though! ;)</p>

<p>My photo won't upload...I get a "Server Error...the requested URL cannot be accessed due to a system error on this server"</p>

<p>I tried several time...oh well!</p>

[toddlaffler]

<p>Try in a separate post</p><div></div>

[picturesque]

<p>Mike Hallock sent me the following story about his contest image, "Genevieve".<br>

The photo was taken in the basement gathering room of a very old Catholic church in Rockford, Illinois. I used natural light coming through a half-sized window on the bride's left, with a fill from an Olympus FL50 flash, with a Gary Fong diffuser, on an Olympus E300 camera.<br>

The bride and groom were from Washington State. His family is from Canada and her family is from Illinois. They attend church in Rockford, because the church offers Mass in Latin. The bride was gracious, intelligent, conservative and shy, with an underlying peacefulness that shows in her expression.</p><div></div>

[fotografz]

<p>My entry this year wasn't necessarily my best, but it was one of my favorites because it represented something different for me. I do not do a lot of posed work, favoring a more candid B&W approach ... and when I do posed work it is most always using supplemental lighting. This was neither candid, nor did I employ flash. </p>

<p>The client wanted some shots done in the upper floor of an old 1880s building that once had been an Opera house ... now abandoned and used to store old display items from a store that was housed in the lower floor. Lighting was very challenging and almost non-existent. A Leica M9 rangefinder was used with a Leica M Noctilux f/0.95 shot wide open ... ISO 800 @ 1/60th shutter ... the second shot posted here showing the environment was ISO 800, 1/15th shutter (in steady hands, rangefinders can utilize lower shutter speeds than DSLRs because there is no mirror slap or auto aperture closing down).</p>

<p>Both of these were printed 17" X 22" for the client to frame.</p>

[fotografz]

<p>Oops! posted pics at the wrong size.</p>

<p>Per Nadine's request ... here it is again ... please remove the above images.</p><div></div>

[david_schilling___chicago_]

<p>Todd, You've got a great eye, I envy your ability to visualize this shot earlier in the day. I suspect that you didn't take the couple away from the reception for more than just a brief moment and the image is wonderful. In combination with the off-camera lighting, I thought this was one of the best crafted images from the day. Well done!</p>

<p>Now, If I could just hear from Natalie B-Norberg and Mike Marker :-)</p>

[bogdan-octavian]

<div></div>

[bogdan-octavian]

<p> </p>

<p >I am honored to have had my photo chosen to be in the Semifinals. There were many wonderful photos entered and I feel humbled to have one of my images chosen.</p>

<p > <br>

Much of the time, photographers take images of very interesting things, but those things don't really tell a story. Imagery, to me, is about connecting emotionally with the subject. Every photograph has a story, like this one, which was taken at the Princess’s Palace, a work of art to starting construction in 1907but war and economic crisis slowed down the work. The palace was almost finished in 1940, when he was hit by the earthquake. The War led off the works of restoration and consolidation. Now this place comes alive and starts to spread his mystical force only when people’s love return to it in a communion between them. I chose these ruins, because I knew they will enhance their feelings and emotions, marking the perpetuity of life: with every ending story, a new one begins.</p>

 

[toddlaffler]

<p>Thanks Dave! :)</p>

[david_schilling___chicago_]

<p>Bogdan, the image above would have been a really nice entry.....well done!</p>