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Pacer’s Fan Photographer Of The Game #5

We are sad to say that this was the last round of submissions, as our Pacers Fan Photographer of the Game has officially come to a close. We saw such wonderful and exciting images throughout the entire duration of this contest and we were consistently blown away by the amount of talent in this town!

Frank McGrath, the official staff photographer of the Indiana Pacers sat down with us last week to take a look at the wide variety of photos that we received. This submission period was slightly different than the last because, while there were very good pictures submitted for this round; we could not stop thinking about a certain photo from our last submission period. So, without further ado…

We want to offer big congrats to Ted Remble of Carmel, IN along with TWO runner ups. This was again a very close contest. Franks comments are included below:

“Wrapped Up In Defense,” by Ted Remble

Winner: Wrapped in Defense

By Ted Remble

Comments from Frank: This picture won second place in the last contest, and when we came back to look at it again, it was still a picture that I kept going back to. There is something pure about this photo that makes me think this is exactly what this contest should be about. I especially loved what was conveyed in this picture related to the action of the game and specifically the action of this play. The body contact in this picture is great, because it shows the struggle of the play, and then also the outcome as you see the player in the white jersey just barely get her foot on the ball after what we can assume was a race for the ball. You also see all the girls in the background with their eyes trained on the ball waiting to see what will happen. Usually as photographers, we are capturing one moment of a play, and what is very difficult to do is capture the entire story of a sports encounter with just one shot. This photographer did that here, and it is very refreshing to see. Using outdoor light is always nice as it gives you great color – and this photographer used that to his advantage. The color and clarity is excellent and there is really nothing that you could improve upon with this picture. You could not be ignored this time Ted! Thank you for submitting a great shot and bearing with us through two rounds.

“Untitled,” by Greg hess

First Runner Up: Untitled

By Greg Hess

Comments from Frank: This shot was very close to being our winner! The ability to catch this kind of action and this kind of a moment in a game takes quite an eye and very good timing. While there are some technical improvements that I would make related to the quality of the image and the backlighting – I could not ignore what is going on with the players, and the action around the block of the ball. The action itself supersedes any technical improvements that you need to make here. If this picture had better editing, it would be in any of my front galleries. The photographer should be very proud of this image and has a lot of potential.

“Untitled,” by Dave Nelson

Second Runner Up: Untitled

By Dave Nelson

Another really excellent action shot that I stared at for a long time! This too could have easily been our winner. This photographer definitely knows what he is doing. The anticipation of this play is very, very good. Capturing the players in the air like that, and so clearly, is not an easy task. The height that the photographer is able to capture on the Orlando Magic player shows the pure athleticism of the game, which is sometimes hard to depict. It looks like this shot was taken from the second or third row of the stadium, so he had some good angles and good lighting to work with. There is not much room for improvement on this shot – I am very impressed with this photographer. Well done Dave!

Overall comments: This was a really fun contest to run. We want to thank the Pacers and especially Frank McGrath for giving his valuable time to judge this contest each month and for all of the time that he spent mentoring each Fan Photographer. His insight and comments have been very valuable. As always, we would like to extend a very heart-felt thanks to those of you that took the time to share your images with us. As we said before, everyone really rose to the occasion of this contest. We love looking at all of the entries and we appreciate you giving us the chance to evaluate them, because that is how we all become better photographers. Keep taking pictures and keep sharing them!

Thank you!

“How the West Won You” Photo Contest Results

We want to start out this post with saying how honored we were to receive so many truly stunning photographs for this contest. It was obvious that you all went to great lengths to take these fantastic shots. The level of skill and technique was above and beyond what we could have hoped for. Thank you to everyone who submitted a picture for this contest. As we always like to acknowledge – it is very difficult to put your pictures out there for critique and judgment, so we are grateful to all that participated. Each one of you should be very proud of the pictures that you took, and we hope they are all hanging in your homes!

We would also like to take a moment to thank our very gracious judges; John Vanausdall, President of the Eiteljorg Museum of Western Art and professional photographer Marc Lebryck, who is the custom content photographer for the Indianapolis Star. Your opinions, point of view, artistic eyes, knowledge and experience were such a huge contribution to this contest. We appreciate all of your time and comments regarding these photographs.

And now…for our winner! We would like to congratulate Cynthia Baldauf of Pittsboro, Indiana for her winning photograph, “Cowboy in the Dust.”

Winner: Cynthia Baldauf; “Cowboy in the Dust”

Summary of comments from Marc and John: This photo stood out in the very beginning as a potential winner. It embodied everything that we were looking for related to the theme of this contest. This picture is truly a piece of art. One of the things that we loved most about this picture is the story that it tells; which is the ranching story of the West and that this story is not just about the past, it still goes on today. We also love the anonymity of it. You can’t see the cowboys face, but you can still see his story and a small glimpse of his life. Everything about this picture, from the cows walking towards you to the dust in the air, makes you feel like you could actually be there. The technical aspects of this picture are also very good. The composition is very well thought out, it is sharp where it needs to be and it is colorful where it needs to be. The subject stands out perfectly. It is not trying too hard or forcing the image upon you – it is just simply a beautiful picture telling a beautiful story. Congratulations Cynthia!

See more of Cynthia’s images at www.cynthiabaldaufimages.com

Second Place: Kamthorn Lee; “Stormy Night in a Wild West Town”

Summary of comments from Marc and John: This was another photo that caught us by surprise from the start and we kept coming back to it. This beautiful picture gave us such a different and modern take on the West. This picture has a clear focal point of the lightning, which is perfectly captured, but it also has the very captivating small western town. Everything from the lights gleaming off the wet streets to the store names leaves you waiting for an old style gun slinger to come running out and jump on his horse. We were also very taken with the colors in the picture. The blues of the sky are so vibrant, but the orange hue of the street lights and the store windows give you a warm feeling. The only thing we would have improved up on here is that the left hand side of the picture is a little too dark. It would be interesting to see this photo with that either cropped out or with a little different post-production work to the lighting. All in all, a really fantastic image that this photographer should be very proud of.

Honorable Mentions

Not that we are complaining, but this was a difficult contest to judge because we received SO many really great entries. Therefore, our judging would not have been complete without us mentioning these additional photos. While they were not our winners, these pictures (along with many others) gave our winners a run for their money and we were really impressed by their beauty and originality.

John Barrett: “Milky Way over Bodie, California”

Summary of comments from Marc and John: This picture was one that we all agreed upon was one of our top choices! We love the planning and the thought that went into taking this picture. This is a difficult shot to get and the photographer waited for the right timing and pulled it off very well. First off, the image of the stars is breathtaking. You probably only see stars like this out West, and this photographer went to great lengths to capture that. The way you illuminated the house was also a very nice touch. The only area where we felt you could have improved this picture would be to make it a little warmer by using white balance or post-editing to get some more orange or reddish tones on the house. The blues are beautiful, but that warmer color balance would have really added a lot to this picture. Regardless, a stunning image that captured us from the start.

Cynthia Baldauf: “Partners”

Summary of comments from Marc and John: Yes, another image from our winner…but we couldn’t resist. We also loved this photo and really loved the story that it told. This is a true rancher in his true environment. As with the photographers winning image, this picture also tells the story, but leaves her subject anonymous using shadows and lighting. The sepia tone is a very nice choice for this picture, because it gives you that dusty feeling of being out West, but it also gives you a feeling of warmth. The contrast of the light and shadows gives this picture very nice detail as well. It is illuminated enough just so you can see the weathering of the barn, the cobwebs on the ceiling and the dirt and hay on the ground, which tells more of the story. There were not really any changes we would recommend making to this picture – another excellent image!

Grant Nesbit: “Canyonlands”

Summary of Comments from Marc and John: This was a very good shot! Everything worked together beautifully in this picture. The photographer waited for the right time of day so that there were not shadows or glares – just great blue sky and colorful landscape. The composition of this photo is what really won us over. The angle is an interesting view point, and the relationship of the tree root to the arch of the rock is excellent. The tree root is also in such sharp focus. It makes for a great focal point, but still compliments its’ beautiful background. All in all, this picture is great. The only thing that might have made it better (but which would be completely out of the photographer’s control, is if there were crisp white clouds and big patches of blue sky to accentuate your colors – but as we said, out of a person’s control). You should be very proud of this picture!

Ron Wise: “South Coyote Buttes”

Summary of comments from Marc and John: Anyone looking at this picture will have no question as to why this was one of our favorites. We love the texture that this photo contains, and we love that the photographer chose to display it in black and white. The black and white contrast really brings out the detail and the beauty of the mountain. If this picture was in color, you would probably miss a lot of what this contrast highlights related to the lines and ridging in the mountain. You can also still see that it was a clear, beautiful day by the sky and how the light hits the side of the ridge just right. We hope this picture is framed in your home! It is a great picture.

Rob Baker: “Glacier National Park”

Summary of Comments from Marc and John: Something about the beautiful cobalt blues of this picture really drew us to it. There is a purity and stillness to it that makes you feel like you are there. The stillness of the water and clarity of the reflection is something that is difficult to capture – you either have to stumble upon this moment or plan for the perfect time of day to take a picture like this. It is a very nice landscape shot. Even though the left hand side of the picture is a little dark, it is very balanced and peaceful. Overall, an excellent picture!

Okay…a couple more:

We wanted to highlight just a couple of additional great photos simply for cultural reasons. We felt that these two portraits really captured the spirit of the West from a people perspective. Many people are not aware that these modern, western lifestyles are still there and still going strong. We felt it important to include these two portraits so that you can put faces alongside these beautiful landscapes.

Tom Hissong: “Acoma Native”

John Siskin: “Charlie the Ranch Hand”

Final Comments

We were extremely impressed with the amount of VERY good photographs that were submitted for this contest. One overall piece of advice that we would give is that in photography, waiting for the right light or the right time of day is crucial to getting a winning image. Good timing is the difference between a good and a great picture. Go out and get those morning or evening sunsets, wait 10 minutes for a cloud to move past so your photo doesn’t have shadows that are out of your control, wait for the light to hit that ridge just right, etc. Timing can be luck and you can stumble upon it, but it can also be everything in your picture. Thank you to everyone that submitted their pictures. We loved reviewing each and every photo and feel honored that you shared them with us.

Pacer’s Fan Photographer Of The Game: Contest 1 Winners

Our first submission period for our Pacers Fan Photographer of the Game has come to a close! The first time around is always a learning experience for us at Roberts in terms of making sure we are clearly communicating the contest. We tried to make the requirements minimal in that we would just like to see a person or even some “people action” as the primary subject of the photograph. While landscape and outdoor photos produce amazing images, we feel that if we are going to send someone to shoot some of the best athletes in the country, we want them to be comfortable with their subject matter!

With that said, we just have to start out by saying, WOW! We received some beautiful images of beloved sports players, loved ones, loved sports, gorgeous days and meaningful icons. We appreciate so much that you took the time to enter our contest and put your art and your images out there – because that is NOT an easy thing to do.

Without further ado – we sat down with Frank McGrath, the official photographer of the Indiana Pacers, to determine our winner. We want to offer big congratulations to Kevin Matson of Indianapolis, along with three runner-ups; as well as a few comments from Frank.

“Ohhh… This Is Going To Hurt!” by Kevin Matson

Winner: Ohhh…This is Going to Hurt!

By Kevin Matson

Comments from Frank: This photo stood out to me from the very start. The timing is perfect and it is an incredible action shot. The photographer perfectly utilized the beautiful outdoor light and therefore, the color on this image pops like no other. The clarity of the image is impressive and the overall composition is great. All in all, this picture stood out to me as a clear winner for this first contest.

With that being said, I was blown away with several of the other photos as well. I saw many other photos that also contained the same perfect timing and clarity that I love in photos. Here are our runner ups:

“Splash and Save” by Dave King

First Runner Up: Splash and Save

By Dave King

Comments from Frank: This is an excellent picture. I have shot soccer many times and it is very hard to shoot. This photo contains a great image and great emotion in the goalie’s face. Without being at the game, you can almost feel the tension in the crowd. Truly, there is very little in the photographer’s control that they could have done to make this picture significantly better. Slightly better lighting would make the color really come out at you, but when you are in outdoor light, there is not much you can change. Overall, a very impactful image.

“The Block” by Rob Baker

Second Runner Up: The Block

By Rob Baker

Comments from Frank: Again, the timing on this photo was impressive. The composition could have been improved slightly by zooming in on the blocker and filling the frame a little bit more. It is also always great to have a face in pictures – seeing the face of the person making the block would have been ideal (but that may not have been possible at that specific game). The editing and color correction on this is also nice as I have to assume you were in a gym with fluorescent lighting, and that can be tricky. With some different zoom and editing, you would have a killer picture.

“Racing” by David Johnston

Third Runner Up: Racing

By David Johnston

Comments from Frank: I felt like I was watching this accident happen! The clarity of the crash, the other rider and the grass flying up behind the ATV is awesome. Being able to see the faces of the people of the crowd and their expression as they watch the crash makes for a great picture, so some additional zoom and focus in that area would improve the picture. This picture, from a composition perspective, is very nice, but there could be some editing improvements. I would take this picture in Photoshop and brighten it up with backlighting, even at the expense of brightening the sky a little bit. I would also crop this in a little tighter and especially take the leaves out of the top of the picture.

Overall comments: When shooting people in a moment of action or even in a moment of peace, timing is everything. Timing can change the entire feeling of the picture. In the Pacers field house there is a saying on the wall that states, “Luck is preparation, plus being in the right place at the right time.”

You can only prepare so much, but when you get that perfect shot, it is truly because your timing was right on target, AND probably because you were lucky. The images that I have chosen tell a story about what was happening at the time the picture was taken.

It takes so much to put your pictures out there an open them up to comments, so I truly appreciate viewing all of the work that I saw in this contest.

There were also many wonderful images that were not mentioned here and we encourage you to view all of the entries on Facebook! We would also like to keep all of the images and enter them in the next submission period so that we might consider them for the next Pacers Fan Photographer of the Game! (You may submit additional images for the next round even if your picture from round one is being kept.)

Thank you!

The Decisive Moment Wrap-Up

Our judge has made his selections, and now our first-ever Facebook-ran photo contest has come to an end. Before we get to the winners, we need to apologize to everybody about the lack of communication when photos were not accepted. While we did make it clear that photos we didn’t feel matched the prompt would not be entered, we still owe it to everybody to inform them when this has happened, and to give them a chance to defend their entry. This was an unacceptable oversight on our part, and while it can just be put down to growing pains with a new system, we would much rather own up to it and make sure it never happens again. And it won’t, we promise.

Now, that said, here are the winning photos, along with comments from our judge, local photojournalist and sports shooter Marc Lebryk:

"Tossing One Back" by Thomas Jones

Winner:
“Tossing one back” by Thomas Jones.

Comments: I love the actual moment in this shot as a half of a second sooner, or later and the shot would be missed completely. The fish is framed within the birds mouth, and its got a little bit of blur from the motion of being flung in there. Beautiful capture of the Decisive moment, filling the frame enough to not lack in any details. The frame is sharp, and fills the frame meaning the image was well thought out and the photographer waited for “the” moment, not just any moment.

"Motorcycle Stunts" by Ian Hanslope

First Runner up:
“Motorcycle Stunts” by Ian Handslope

This image is very pleasing to the eye with a simple composition, as well as being a definite decisive moment. The motorcycle and the rider are now frozen in the air for eternity providing what is almost a feeling of incompleteness for the image. Incomplete in a good way, being that at the first glance the viewer sees the bike and rider in the air, but the more the viewer looks the more they wonder how or if the rider landed the trick they are performing. The red of the bike and warm tones of the rider greatly stand out against the solid blue sky, providing enough contrast to be very pleasing to the eye.

"Martin Brodeur Eyes Puck And Saves The Day" by Richard Druckman

Second Runner up:
“Martin Brodeur Eyes Puck and Saves the day” by Richard Druckman

Comments: This shot is a great example of freezing time. The shutter is fast enough that the puck is frozen in time, and it is crisp enough that you can see the Goalie’s eyes eyeballing it. The shot would be made better if the image was tighter, either by a crop (assuming sharpness is there), or if longer glass would have been used. It can be hard to use long glass shooting hockey though, since usually you’re shooting through Lexan or shooting through a hole cut in the lexan. It’s like I tell students I’ve taught in classes in the past; Fill your frame.

"Hit By pitch" by Phil Strauder

Third Runner up:
“Hit by Pitch” by Phil Strauder

Comments: I love the emotion in this frame. The batter was definitely just nailed by the ball and it shows, and the ball itself being in the frame make it so that you understand the elements of the story without needing any explanation. This really is a great example of the decisive moment because it freezes a window in time, and could honestly be named anything because the elements in the image tell the whole story.

Comments for everybody else:
Lots of things can be decisive moments, even if you stage them to be a moment. Example being photographing water droplets. The key to the decisive moment with people though is telling a story through the image as opposed to the title. A few images were beautiful, but required the title to tell the story. Another image used a longer shutterspeed to create an abstract image; which while pleasing to the eye, wasn’t really a “decisive moment” as much as it was an “extended moment”. Extended moments can be part of a Decisive moment, but really only when Panning, or providing as light motion blur for surroundings and not the subject. Faces are also incredibly important. leaving someone faceless can be just as important as showing their face. Leaving things to the side, or half covered isn’t the way to go. It’s kind of an all or nothing deal, like sharpness.

There are two things that my photo professor taught me that I feel as though can greatly improve any photographers images. Your image needs to be either Razor Sharp or very obviously intentionally unsharp, as well as always remember to Fill the Frame. Those two things will greatly increase the visual interest and quality of any photographers work. I hope that everybody in this contest takes that to heart, and the next contest everybody feels as though their work has been greatly improved by those simple words.

I’m glad everybody went out on a limb as entering a contest can be nerve racking sometimes. You never know how the judge will react, and hopefully some of the participants feel as though they were able to learn something with my few thoughts of the group as a whole. Continue to enter the contests, get feedback, become a better photographer. It’ll be the easiest, cheapest, experience you can get.

-Marc Lebryk

And there we go. Thank you everybody for entering, even if your photos weren’t accepted for the final competition. Thomas Jones will be receiving a $50 Roberts Gift Card and an 11×14″ canvas wrap print of his winning image. We are looking to try another contest in July, so, keep your eyes peeled.

Roberts Re-Launches Photo Contest, Now Through Facebook

Now, this didn’t take us too long, did it? We know you guys all loved the new photo contest, so, we worked extra hard to get it back up, online, and totally better. So, what’s new, then?

The contest will now be run through our Facebook page. If you do not use Facebook, you will find a link there to submit through an alternative method.
We will now be using a non-Roberts, professional photographer as our judge: Marc Lebryk.
All photo contests will now include an hour live webcam critique of the five finalist photos, with tips, advice, compliments, and thoughts from our judge.
The rules are now a bit tighter. Heavily watermarked images or advertising will be disqualified, and we strongly expect all submitted photos to be new and unique for the contest.
To help encourage you to stick with the higher expectations, we’re raising the stakes, too. Our first photo contest will be for a $50 Roberts Gift Card plus a canvas-wrap print of your photo.
The contest will be every other month, or six times a year.

So, that’s the news! The first theme is “The Decisive Moment,” which most of you will probably recognize as the key concept given to us by photographic pioneer Henri Cartier-Bresson. The idea was that the photograph, unique to any art form before it, was able to capture precise moments, and that used properly photography was a way of capturing that unique moment in every situation that defined the whole. For Cartier-Bresson, photography was about taking hundreds of shots in the quest for the perfect one that got the scene and timing exactly right. And, that’s what we want you to push yourself to do. See the world around you as a series of moments, and work on knowing when to hit the shutter, and on focusing on which photo best captures the essence of the scene you wanted.

And that’s it. You can read all the official rules over on the FB page, and get going. You have through the end of the month, and winners will be announced the first Wednesday in June. We’ll let you all know later where the video critique is happening, and you’re all invited to that.

You can enter here: https://www.facebook.com/robertscamera/app_242718965836285

Monthly Photo Contests Put On Hold

So, you’ve all probably noticed our running of the monthly photo contests lately has been a bit… er… bad. We’re sorry. We can’t actually say enough how sorry we are. The problem is, we’ve gotten ourselves busy with an unexpected and totally cool project that we’ve all been working our butts off on, and we let this slip through the cracks. And that’s bad. But, we’re still too busy with the Super-Cool Secret Project to run the contest the way it needs to be done. So, for now at least, we’re calling an end to the monthly photo contests. We’re sure they’ll come back someday, we just can’t tell you when that’ll be.

Judging has begun for entries to the last contest, and all pending entries have been approved and are up. We’ll announce the winners on here once we have them.

New Photo Contest: White Space

It’s a new month, and that means a new photo contest! While our judge gets to work reviewing last month’s delicious pie photos, we’re going to go ahead and get you going on our new theme: white space. You know, that space around your subject. Sometimes called “negative space.” It’s empty, “unused” space around your subject matter used to help isolate the subject and give it visual weight and impact. It’s an important compositional concept, not just in photography but in all arts, and we want to see what you can do with it. Sort of like a back to basics course.

So, you know what to do. Get out there, shoot, pay attention to your background and foreground. Are they too busy? What can you do to reduce the visual clutter? Maybe find a cleaner wall? Change your angle on that field? And, either way, show more of the space, don’t close your subject in with the crop. Give them room to exist, give them space. And then upload the picture to our contest page before midnight November 30th.

And, because we love you all dearly, he’s an example photo we like to get you started on the right path:

Enter this month’s contest here: http://blog.robertscamera.com/monthly-photo-contests/white-space/#axzz1cTtM976T

Extending the Hot

Due to some staff shortages around here this week, our judge for the contest is buried and won’t have time to review last month’s entrants until next week. Sooooo…. we’re just going to extend the August contest through to midnight September 11th. You’ve now got an extra few days to get us those pictures of “Hot,” don’t waste them.

New Photo Contest – Forced Perspective

So, we finally got a new photo contest up (whoo!). The theme? Forced perspective, baby. You know, that trick they used to turn Elijah Wood into a hobbit? You know, using distance between a far object and a near one to create a spacial illusion with their differing size? Oh, you know what, just check out the Flickr group:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/catching_sun/

Then go out and shoot your own. Come back and upload it here. At stake, as always, is a 16×20″ print for your own personal collection. And some fun. Do people still like fun these days?

March Photo Contest Winners Announced (Finally)

So, last month we had a photo contest, it was called For The Birds. It was out biggest turnout ever (thanks everybody!) and as such took our judge a lot longer than usual to get through. Sorry about that. But, without further ado, here are the multiple winners for that contest: