THE DSD DIGITAL PHOTO CONTEST 2008
Looking through the Garden Gate
photo by Anna Davis
Hello Photo Enthusiasts! Your spring reminder – it’s time to start thinking about the annual DSD Photo Contest. I hope those of you who participated last year enjoyed the contest and the results. The results were published in the Winter issue of the Deep South District Bulletin and are on the DSD Website. I hope everyone has seen them and enjoyed them. We would love to have lots more of you join the fun this year.
The contest rules follow and they are pretty much the same as last year. Again, entries in classes 1 to 11 can be photographs of anyone’s roses, not just your own. This should give our photographers incentive to visit gardens and rose shows to get the best pictures.
Last year, Class 15 was somewhat of a challenge to many of our exhibitors. To clarify, please include both people and roses in the photograph as several entries were disqualified for including one or the other, but not both. People need not be society members - how about family, pets, or total strangers? Everyone enjoys roses and we love to catch them in the act.
I am looking forward to seeing all your entries and hope we are a big hit again this year. Please email me at roberthsnyder@bellsouth.net with questions and entries.
Thank you in advance for your participation, Diane Snyder
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 1-11 & 16 (cultivar shots) judged 50% on exhibition quality, 50% on photographic excellence.
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Classes 12 & 13 (artistic composition shots) judged 50% on arrangement design and flower quality, 50% on photographic excellence.
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Classes 14 judged on photographic excellence only. Class 15 judged on human interest and photographic excellence.
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Cultivar and arrangements shots, 50% on the exhibition quality or arrangement design, 50% on photographic excellence.
AWARDS:
Certificates of Photographic Excellence will be awarded in each class: 1st place - Gold, 2nd - Silver, 3rd - Bronze. 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.