At first glance one would think that this was going to be one of the
easier contests in recent memory here at Apogee Photo Magazine.
Indeed we got many really fine images. The problem came in our
judging when we had to reject so many of these because they didn't
fit the theme.
Pattern is a lot harder concept to grasp than we first thought. The
winning image had to have a natural pattern as part of their
composition. There are many subjects in nature that make you think
of pattern immediately. However, it is possible to photograph these
subjects in such a way that you are not showing pattern. For
example, sand dunes are a good subject when you want to represent
pattern, but a single dune is not. Another example is leaves. Leaves
on a branch may be a good example of patterns, but a single leaf
would not show pattern by itself. There were many examples of this
sort in the entries we received.
Line, on the other hand, was less of a problem for people. Briefly,
lines come in many flavors and just as many ways of creating them.
For example, lines can be thick, thin, plain, single, contour,
broken, continuous, curved or straight. Lines can be massed together
to create value. And then there is the implied line, where two
contrasting areas of color or value meet.
Another issue was the word "nature". The theme was "Nature's Lines
and Patterns." We received some awesome images of man-made patterns
and lines.
These did not meet the criteria of the theme.
We also considered composition. Taking a picture of a pattern or
line does
not make the photograph immediately interesting. An example would be
a photograph of a piece of plaid fabric. One could arrange the cloth
in an interesting fashion to create an interesting photo. Most
people, however, might lay the cloth flat, and shoot it straight on.
Unless there was something spectacular about the fabric or the
plaid, it probably wouldn't be too interesting. So just
photographing a pattern or line without consideration of composition will
severely limit the success of the photo.
For us, the winning image needed to demonstrate pattern or line, or
a combination of the two, but show
consideration of composition and focal point. The pattern or line needed to
help create a unique composition. and not just be a demonstration of
pattern or line. Finally, the photograph needed to be technically strong.
The focus, exposure, use of darkroom technique, whether traditional
or digital, all needed to be used correctly and purposefully.
For Grand Prize we chose the image
"Hosta Unfurling in
Spring",
by Bob Gates. This image is the best of all of our
criteria. It had a combination of lines and patterns creating a very
strong composition.
"Colorado Sand Dunes" by Allen Thorton takes the
First Runner-up slot. This was a beautiful example of implied
line. The implied line was created by the abutment of the light tones of the
dunes with the shadows.
In the Second Runner-up position was Jay OBrien's image,
"Snow Drifts
at Bottom of Waterfalls, Steamboat Springs, CO." Like the previous
image this was another strong example of implied line.
Congratulations to the Honorable Mentions in this
contest. Your images beautiful!
Click on each image to see larger version.
All images
copyrighted by the individual photographers. All Rights Reserved.
These images are for your viewing pleasure only and not be downloaded
for any other purpose.
