THE DSD PHOTO CONTEST 2006
Shoot for One Thousand
Looking through the Garden Gate
photo by Anna Davis
The 2005 Photo Contest was an astonishing success! 31 exhibitors submitted a total of 540 digitals in 15 classes. A 190% increase over last years in the number of entries and 135% increase in the number of participants. Wow! Thank you! Let’s do it again!
Lazaro Potestad from the Tropical RS won the 2005 “Best DSD Digital Photograph Award”. His “Crazy Dottie” from Class 9 was fabulous and a worthy “best of the best”. Who will have the winning photo for 2006?
Combining the last two years we now have over 800 digitals in our district photo database. After this year’s contest, I’m confident we will be able to make these digitals available in a format that we can all use to teach, educate and promote our national flower. With digitals and a sharing format, we will have a formidable resource for display and programs. Thanks to our photographers, we are leading the nation in this new area of district photo networking…keep up the good work.
This year’s contest has same classes, with one exception. There are now two Open Bloom classes, one for HTs & Grs and one for Minis & Mini-Floras. There are now Sixteen (16) Classes, with the number of entries per exhibitor, per class, remaining at four (4).
Also remember, for you film photography buffs, entries made on film cameras are not excluded, the entries just have to be submitted in digitized form. Most film developers now provide proofs on CD discs, so this should not be a problem.
It won’t be long before our roses will be reaching for the sky, making us very happy with this year’s new production of blooms. As we watch Mother Nature do her thing, a snapshot is a wonderful way to capture some of those “points in time”. I hope some of you will have opportunities for the “Winter Rose Scene” Class 15 this season. That is just a great Class. So, get the camera out and begin taking pictures for our third annual Deep South District Digital Contest. If you have any questions, please contact me, 404-870-0973 or rob@russellproperties.com. Let’s shoot for a thousand!
HELPFUL HINTS:
- You will probably be using equipment, principles and techniques of close-up photography in Classes 1-10, 13 and 15. These might include the use of supplementary close-up lenses or a macro lens made specifically for close-up work.
- Be careful using the zoom on digital cameras. If you move out of the optical zoom into the digital zoom range you can significantly reduce your picture quality and get jagged edges.
- Use a tripod and cable release to help eliminate camera movement and expose with a small aperture (F 11, F16, F22, etc.) to gain more depth of field for most shots.
- Remember to plan each shot and to carefully search the viewfinder for any distracting objects or reflections before snapping that shutter. A written record of each exposure is helpful for later review.
- The winning photos usually are the ones in which the bloom or subject fills as much of the frame as possible, but care should be taken so petals or parts of the desired image are not cut off.
- The rule of thirds for off-center placement should NOT be used as one-bloom photos should be as close to center as possible.
- When that really great specimen comes along, take a number of shots, bracketing the exposures. It often is a good idea to use both a vertical and a horizontal format if the subject is suitable.
- When photographing a one-bloom specimen at close-up range, a camera angle of 30-45o to the bloom will usually produce a better photo.
- Grooming, when needed, is very important as slight defects are magnified when the photos are projected onto a screen.
- A gray card may help you determine exposure when photographing difficult-to-capture true colors such as white blooms with a dark background, mauves and some reds. Artificial backgrounds can eliminate some distracting objects in backgrounds of photos. Use of reflectors can help eliminate dark areas and uneven lighting.
JUDGING:
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The panel will consist of ARS accredited rose judges and qualified digital and photograph judges.
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Classes 1-10 (cultivar shots) judged 50% on exhibition quality, 50% on photographic excellence.
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Classes 11 & 12 (artistic composition shots) judged 50% on arrangement design and flower quality, 50% on photographic excellence.
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Classes 13 & 14 judged on photographic excellence only. Class 15 & 16 judged: Landscape scenes, 100% on photographic excellence.
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Cultivar and arrangements shots, 50% on the exhibition quality or arrangement design, 50% on photographic excellence.
AWARDS:
Six Certificates of Photographic Excellence will be awarded in each class: 1st place - Gold, 2nd - Silver, 3rd - Bronze and 4th, 5th and 6th Honorable Mention. The first place image in each class and the name of the winner will be published in the DSD Bulletin and on the District website. All first place images will be eligible for the Best DSD Digital Photograph Award.