More Than Fair, at the Fair

sm4him · Sep 9, 2013

I had eight entries in the Photo Contest at our local fair this year. Much to my surprise, FOUR of them won ribbons; two first place and two second place!

And while I toot my own horn, I'll toot TPF's horn too, because I must say: I truly believe that the help I've gotten on TPF over the past two years was a MAJOR contributing factor to this result. Ya'll rock!!

The award-winning photos:

1. Hoverflies Mating, 2nd place, Insect Category. You all actually even helped me PICK this one. I was torn between it and the Stink Bug, but in the end, the comment "sex sells" stuck with me and I went with this one.

This one I can specifically attribute to one person in particular: Charlie Gipson. My first insect macros were kinda pitiful, but Charlie never said, "That's awful. Your best bet would be to set down the extension tubes and back away slowly..." :lmao:
He just PM'ed and suggested ways to improve, then answered question after question after question...thanks, Charlie!! :hug::

2. Under The Dome, 2nd place, Reflections category.

SIDE NOTE: I just uploaded this one to 500px this morning. It moved up the ratings faster than any other picture I've ever put on there! It went to Upcoming within the first two minutes, and hit Popular within 4 minutes. Last time, I checked, it was up over 90 and still going. Wow!

3. In Your Face, 1st Place, Domestic Animals category. I was especially pleased with this because the Domestic Animals is a HUGE category with a LOT of entries. Standing out in that category is pretty tough.

This one is also directly attributable to help from TPF, but not just one person in particular. This was taken when I was practicing learning how to use my flash off camera, using advice on the forum.

4. Osprey with Catch, 1st Place, Birds. REALLY pleased with this, because the Birds category is probably the second-largest entry pool in the contest (first being People Portraits).

Again, the help from TPF made this photo possible. My first bird photos kinda stunk. :lmao: I can't possibly list all the people that helped me improve them, but I *do* appreciate all of them!

TPF Rocks!!

baturn · Sep 9, 2013

Well deserved recognition for awesome photos. Proud just to be on the same forum with you.

tirediron · Sep 9, 2013

Awesome Sharon!!!! So... when's the party? We're all invited, right?

Derrel · Sep 9, 2013

Awesome Sharon! Congratulations on all your successes! The above four photos are pretty darned good. I can see why Under The Dome rocketed up the popularity charts, and I really do think the cat portrait and the osprey catch are strong images. As to the "sex sells" thing...uh yeah...thank goodness we persuaded you not to go with an ole' stink bug, eh??? Congratulations again!

PixelRabbit · Sep 9, 2013

Woot! awesome Sharon! Very well deserved, great work

pixmedic · Sep 9, 2013

woohoo! gratz!
party at Sharons house!
i will bring the wine!
I have a 1994 chateau Lafite Rothschild that has just been BEGGING for a good reason to be opened!

Buckster · Sep 9, 2013

Well done, Sharon! They're all deserving, indeed! "Under The Dome" stands out as truly excellent to me! I really love that one! Congrats to you!!!

irfan.in.tx · Sep 9, 2013

Congratulations, Sharon. Great work.

Ysarex · Sep 9, 2013

:cheer::cheer::cheer:

Joe

sm4him · Sep 9, 2013

tirediron said:
Awesome Sharon!!!! So... when's the party? We're all invited, right?

pixmedic said:
woohoo! gratz!
party at Sharons house!
i will bring the wine!
I have a 1994 chateau Lafite Rothschild that has just been BEGGING for a good reason to be opened!

PARTY TIME!! Yes, you're all invited! Pix has the wine, I'll make a blender full of margaritas...someone's gonna need to bring a keg.
And WHO's bringing the bacon???

manicmike · Sep 9, 2013

So what kind of tips did Charlie give you? Just wondering. I always enjoy seeing your work.

tirediron · Sep 9, 2013

sm4him said:
And WHO's bringing the bacon???

Whaddya' mean "Who's bringing the bacon?" EVERYONE'S bringing the bacon!!!

SCraig · Sep 9, 2013

Well done! Congratulations! We're all proud of you and happy for you.

sm4him · Sep 9, 2013

manicmike said:
So what kind of tips did Charlie give you? Just wondering.

Uh...Charlie has given me LOTS of tips...but I assume you mean about photography? :lmao:

Seriously: everything from which lens to buy, to using flash, to HOW to use the flash on insect macros. I should assemble it all into a Macro Primer someday. But this is not that day.

Also, my first macro shots were probably something like f/8 or so--I'd never taken a shot in my life at apertures like f/29!
The flash stuff probably helped my insects go from "meh" to at least pretty cool.
Even the idea of getting out and looking for the insects early in the morning, while the dew was still on the ground and it was cool enough for the insects to be a bit sluggish. If there's dew on the ground, there's dew on the insects--once they dry off and really get flying, it can be much tougher to get them to stay still long enough for the shot.