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The Competition Results Are In
This is a long one, but I think it is worth a cursory read. :)
My last post was no accident. I was hoping it would be a lead-in to this post, and that I would be posting some good news from the photo competition. I am happy to say that I am.
Sunday afternoon, Kendra and I drove back down to Monterey for the awards ceremony. Before I go any further, let me break down the contest.
First, there are two divisions, "Novice" and "Open". A novice cannot have made more than $200 from selling photography or have won more than three 1st or 2nd place awards in three separate photo competitions. Kendra is a novice. Everyone else is in the "Open". I was in this division.
You may enter no more than five total images, and no more than three in any one category. The categories are "Wide Angle", "Macro", and "Behavior".
After my disastrous first dive, I went with wide angle for my second dive. I had a much more enjoyable dive as I am generally more successful with shooting wide angle. The conditions and choice of reef were better, too. This did require a longer swim, which leads me to a funny story.
Two years ago, I competed in this very same contest. Kendra was just along for the ride. I wanted to maximize my chances of getting that winning shot, so I insisted on doing three dives. Now, I've done three dives in a day many times. Heck, I've done six dives in a day. From a boat. Ten years ago.
Needless to say, three dives in one day is just too many. The cumulative effect of three long swims out to the site, on the dive, and back to shore coupled with the trudging up and down steep beaches with 80 pounds of dive and camera gear resulted in my legs completely and utterly cramping on the swim in from the third and final dive. I have never had such pain and cramping in both my legs at the same time. We're talking complete cramping of quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves.
At one point, I was laying on the bottom, clutching my camera in one hand, both legs immobilized in pain, and clawing the sand with my free hand, pulling myself to shore, one arm length at a time. When I grew tired of this futile mode of transport, I inflated my BC jacket in order to rise to the surface and determine how far I was from shore. My legs would simply not work.
Meanwhile, Kendra is witnessing all this and laughing. Ultimately, she had to tow me in to shore, and I barely could walk up the beach.
Fast forward to this year's competition, and I knew three dives was out of the question. But I'm two years older, and still not much of a beach diver, preferring my kayak as the main mode of getting me to the dive site. So here we were, ending out second dive, and my left leg seizes up. Yep, complete and total upper leg cramp. As it loosens up, my right leg starts to seize. Memories of 2007 come flooding back, and I can only laugh...in between the flashes of pain.
Needless to say, I made it ashore, without assistance I might add.
Images were submitted back in Monterey. I submitted the maximum three in Wide Angle, one in Macro, and one in Behavior. Kendra submitted two in Wide Angle, none in Macro, and none in Behavior.
Back at the awards ceremony, Kendra and I wondered just how well we would fare. The Behavior category yielded nothing. Not unexpected considering Kendra didn't enter, and my shot was an afterthought. The Macro category was the same as Behavior.
Wide Angle is where the dynamic duo of Kendra Karr and Jim Patterson shined. Kendra won first and third in the Novice division. I won First, Second, and an Honorable Mention in the Open division. Wow! We were shocked and humbled to say the least. We also realized that we would both be competing for the "Best of Wide Angle" distinction wherein the judges choose their favorite of the two divisions' 1st place winners.
And Kendra did me One Better. She won "Best of Wide Angle".
Read Kendra's post to hear how the contest ended, it should be fun and entertaining.
And here are my three winning shots. Keeping with the theme of the contest, these are unedited, straight from the camera. All I did was add my signature and resize for Flickr. That's it.
What had started as a bar conversation earlier that year eventually turned into Marquette Rail's 1st Annual Santa Express. The railroad had leased a slew of GATX GP38-2s a few months prior and the best looking one, GMTX 2635 in fresh GATX paint, had its lettering nicely modified and MQT logos added. Along with their freshly-repainted former Chessie widevision caboose, the little train spent the day touring the entirety of Marquette Rail, stopping at most of the towns along the way so the kids could see Santa. A rousing success, the train ran every year until the G&W takeover. This would be one of only two times the 2635 would pull the train, as in subsequent years it was powered by either SD40-2 #3001 or GP38-2 #2005. The first train is seen here arriving in Kent City.
Most work days this is my breakfast from the 'roach coach'..two chicken tacos, a fried egg and a jalapeno. This morning the jalapeno was gigantor, I could have curled up inside of it and gone back to sleep. Monday - I ain't feeling it. I can skip lunch after this :)
Dover & Rockaway River DO2 has one load for Kuiken Lumber in tow as the train crosses Main Street in Succasunna, NJ.
and one brown on this Alaskan Malamute - taken at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, North Carolina.
Just an absolutely awesome cloud show on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes. One funny thing is that the locals here take the clouds for granted. They think it's just normal. I've lived in a lot of places, and I've seldom seen shows in the sky as spectacular as God puts on here. This day—Sunday, November 6th, with a steady breeze and ominously balmy temperatures—was an absolute standout. Really, people who were born here should appreciate it every day. They don't know what they have.
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My photo-centered website is:
Coming up on 19 years on the World Wide Web! With more than 10,000 posts and 300,000 comments so far.
Well it's finally done and I somehow survived. I never thought two years ago that I'd be competing in an Iron Builder, but it was a great honor to be able to compete over the past month. It definitely pushed me to create and build faster than I had in the past. I was pretty happy with how many builds I was able to churn out, though I had a few more on my list I wasn't able to get to.
Many thanks to everyone who took the time to comment on my photos throughout the month - your encouragement was what kept me going.
Now it's back to school and away from Lego building. But I'll be watching the SHIPtember madness with much excitement.
A green Chevrolet truck stands guard along the Benge-Washtuckna Road.
Texture by Elne', 56 www.flickr.com/photos/neighya/10400537844/in/set-72157624...
Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge. 2/3 series on this college. Been a while since I played with focus like this.
This weekend I got myself a gift (early Christmas one) and bought the Topaz suite. So, I had to experiment with the different components and found one candidate in the archives. I have used Simplify, Denoise, and Detail on this one. Hope you'll like it.
Wishing you all a great week ahead!
My Flowers & Macro set.
As we walked back to the car I kept stopping to take in the view, poor dan was getting fed up waiting so went on ahead, I just didn't want to leave this magical place and this was my last photo . UNTIL NEXT TIME WE VISIT ST. MICHAELS MOUNT.
totally inspired by the lyrics to this amazing song by U2
an oldie but a mega goody.. specifically this part-
"You say love is a temple, love a higher law
Love is a temple, love the higher law
You ask me to enter but then you make me crawl
And I can't be holdin' on to what you got
When all you got is hurt
One love, one blood
One life, you got to do what you should
One life, with each other
Sisters, brothers
One life but we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other
One
One"
Uh oh! At first glance you may think this squirrel is cute and innocent looking - just sitting there enjoying some treat he's discovered from the Goodie Bowls behind him. But looks are deceiving. Take a closer look.
Can you see the dirt on his nose and arms? And you see the freshly dug ground next to him? And can you see that, "You won't tell, will you?" look on his face?
Little stinker here just dug up a pecan another squirrel had painstakingly buried earlier that day. Easy come. Easy go.
Note to all squirrels - Don't burry your nuts right next the Goody Bowls. Burry them some place safer, like in the flower bed or potted plant on the deck.
Candle light and soul forever
a dream of you and me together,
Say you believe it, say you believe it,
Free your mind of doubt and danger,
be for real don't be a stranger,
We can achieve it, we can achieve it
Come a little bit closer baby, get it on, get it on,
'Cause tonight is the night when two become one ...