Apogee Photo Magazine: Photo Contest & Sunset Photo Winners

Wow! Great sunsets everyone! I was really pleased by the quality of images we received this time. I wish we had more time and space to show you more, but I had to limit our selections to the ones below.

I was also pleased to have to struggle to choose one image per photographer. I almost made the mistake of including two images from the same person.

I was asked following last contest if I would comment on the photographs I chose and give some hint as to why I chose the winner and the runner-ups. I am happy to do that.

Sunsets are like pictures of one's children. We all have them, but most often we are not really pleased with the way they turn out. They are special to us because we made them or remind us of a special time, but on the whole we have to admit they aren't great photography. Perhaps it was the exposure that was wrong, or the wrong choice of lenses. But most of the time we feel that they just don't measure up to the real thing.

The secret to a good sunset photograph is that in composing the photograph one must not be over-awed by the phenomenon and forget things like composition. The sunset must be a part or element of the overall composition. It must work with the other elements either as a supporting actor or when it is the lead, it must be properly supported by the other elements of our composition. It all must work together. We will rarely stand wowed in front of a photograph of a sunset where the sunset exists naked all by itself. Even though when it was happening and we were taking the picture, we thought it was the most beautiful thing we ever saw, a sunset is too magnificent, too grand to be caught on a small portion of film. Therefore we must remember that in order to capture the essence of the sunset we must include elements within the photograph that express our emotions, that give it a sense of scale, or that allow this small portion captured on film to having meaning to someone who wasn't there with you when you took it.

This is what I kept in mind when choosing the winner and runner-ups. Ms. Ferguson's image of Abbott's Point illustrates this well. It has gone beyond a photograph of a sunset. The wispy clouds, the use of color and the reflection in the foreground create a scene at once full of mystery and maybe romance.We are drawn into the image and can almost feel the night air and hear the creatures of the early evening singing.

I chose Malie Rich-Griffith's image for another reason. This is a splendid example of the interplay and balance of negative and positive space. The sunset in this case becomes the canvas on which Malie paints the palms. It is a very strong graphic image.

Monique C.M. de Jong's image of Monument Valley went beyond some of the usual shots of this scene because of her composition and the colors she captured. This is also an example of using elements within the photograph to create scale. Here the grandeur of the landscape matched that of the sunset.

Lastly, Pete Detsky captured a rare moment when a shaft of light shot up from the horizon like a hand of God. There is something wondrous and magical about the Sonoran Desert and saguaros. I witnessed many scenes like this one growing up in this unique ecological area. The colors and clouds add mystery to the image and like our winner's photograph we are drawn into the photograph to perhaps experience the the fresh desert air after an afternoon monsoon thunderstorm. The only thing I can suggest to have made this image stronger was the saguaro could have been a stronger element and more visible. And perhaps it is - in scanning photographs the shadow detail is often lost. In the original photo perhaps the outline of the saguaro is stronger.

My other choices were made because of the strength of the compositions and their emotion content. I liked the silvery sky of Amelia Chandler's "San Diego", showing that not all sunsets need be red, yellow and oranges. The clouds in this image are magnificent. The dark brooding skies of Aviva Bassan's "Mazatlan Sunset" are full of mystery and foreboding. In Jeffery Botkin and Eldore Woods images we see that a sunset can be the light source for amazing renditions of the landscape. In these, the sunset is not the lead player but an important supporting player. Larry De Kock shows us how a great composition can make an ordinary sunset into a fine work of art.

	Grand Prize "Abbott's Point" Emily L.Ferguson Wood's Hole, MA
	Runner-up "Sunset with Palms" Malie Rich-Griffith Kaikua, HI
	Runner-up "Monument Valley" Monique C.M. de Jong The Netherlands
	Runner-up "Sunset during Monsoon Storm" Pete Detsky Tucson, AZ
	Honorable Mention "San Diego" Amelia Chandler Chapel Hill, NC
	Honorable Mention Aviva Bassan Riverside, CA
	Honorable Mention "Sunset on Mt McKinley" Eldore Wood Westminster, CO
	Honorable Mention "Antelope Island Sunset (Utah)" Jeffrey Botkin Park City, UT
	Honorable Mention "River Reflections" Larry De Kock Rochester, NY

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