Picture This

Rich And Color-Full

Staff  |  Oct 3, 2014

Illusion
Jim Mitchell zoomed during exposure of this photo made in Paris, France. Exposure with a Nikon D800 and a Nikkor 28-300mm zoom lens was f/10 at 1.6 seconds.
© Jim Mitchell

Our Picture This! assignment this month was Rich and Color-Full, and we asked readers to submit images that displayed an intense play of richly endowed images, with vividness married to content and that also showed how photographers see and interpret our many-hued world. Readers responded with everything from natural to man-made subjects. While we accepted some “juicing” using hue and saturation controls, we tried to pick those that did not stray too far from what the eye and camera could record.

Backyard
This colorful scene nearly covers the spectrum. Gerald Swede shot it with a Nikon D300 and a Nikkor 16-85mm VR zoom lens set at 34mm. Exposure was f/4.5 at 1/80 sec and ISO 250 with the white balance set to daylight.
© Gerald Swede

Feeding Koi
The intensity of motion matches the intensity of color in this photo made at a temple in Suzhou, China, by Cynthia Lee Katona. Exposure with a Pentax DLX and a 14-45mm lens was f/8 at 1/125 sec.
© Cynthia Lee Katona

Rainbow Over Indian Head
Gerald W. Shonkwiler caught this intense rainbow with a Nikon D300 and a Tamron 18-270mm lens onto which was mounted a B+W circular polarizer. Exposure was f/16 at 1/200 sec with a -0.33 exposure compensation off the spot meter reading. Shonkwiler wrote: “Indian Head is an iconic geological formation visible from in and around the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in Borrego Springs, CA. On this day, a rare desert storm was moving across the valley. The intense sun penetrated the falling rain from the storm, creating a spectacular prismatic rainbow. As the sun to the south moved from east to west, it created the rainbow that moved from west to east. I could see that if the rainbow continued, it would be framing the Indian Head formation.”
© Gerald W. Shonkwiler

Bahama Colors
This row of buildings seems ready-made for a photographer’s eye, and for this assignment. Taressa Lynn Troxell captured them to perfection with a Sony Alpha A77 and a Sony 18-55mm lens. Exposure was f/13 at 1/320 sec.
© Taressa Lynn Troxell

Mexican Market
Antonio Salazar told us that on the famed Olvera Street in Los Angeles the sale of “Nacho Libre”-type masks is very popular. He caught a colorful lot of them with a Canon EOS 50D and an EF-S 17-85mm lens; exposure was f/10 at 1/320 sec and ISO 250.
© Antonio Salazar

Colorful Cloth
The effective use of shadow and highlight always serves to enhance color and Jeff Colburn did just that with this photo of pieces of clothing displayed at a vendor’s booth at the Arizona Renaissance Festival. Exposure with a Canon EOS Rebel XSi and a Canon 18-55mm lens was f/13 at 1/60 sec and ISO 400.
© Jeff Colburn

Macro Magic
The macro world offers exciting and colorful options and Laurie Schaerer caught this magical scene with a Canon PowerShot SX50 with an exposure of f/2.7 and 1/100 sec at ISO 400.
© Laurie Schaerer

Playground
Calvin Morgan used deep depth of field to offset the intense blue of the foreground structure with touches of red and yellow, and a light shade of blue, in the background. Exposure with a Nikon D7000 and a Nikkor 18-55mm lens set at 32mm was f/25 at 1/250 sec at ISO 560.
© Calvin Morgan

Black Light
Eva Gryk told us she painted flowers and a vase with fluorescent paint and placed the props on a silver Mylar reflective sheet. Two black light lamps were placed closely on either side of the table. Once the camera was secured on a tripod the room lights were turned off and the setup was photographed. The resulting colorful image is an upside-down reflection of the vase and flowers on the sheet. Exposure with an Olympus C-750 UZ was f/8 at 1/2 sec.
© Eva Gryk

Rusty Saw
Deep shadows and bright highlights and weathering combine to create this intense abstract photographed by Ron Hampton with a Nikon D70 and a Nikkor 24-85mm lens. Exposure was f/7.1 at 1/200 sec, with color enhanced using Photoshop 5.
© Ron Hampton

Art Brushes
This photo of colorful brushes was taken by William Carson using a light box with a blue background. He photographed with a Nikon D90 and a Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8 lens with an exposure of f/2.8 at 1/90 sec.
© William Carson

Picture This! – Our Next Assignment
Backlight
There’s nothing quite like backlight to create contrast and add an often ephemeral sense of beauty to a scene. The interplay of light and shadow, especially when the subject is all or part translucent, can be striking and transformative, and it all counts on proper exposure and particularly point of view. We’re looking for images where backlight and even strong directional light dances with the subject, be they fall leaves, stained glass windows, or curtains in a sunlit room—let your eye guide your way.

Daylight Backlight
This photo was made from ground level to take advantage of the backlight, even in the midday sun. Taken with a Canon EOS 5D and an EF 16-35mm lens; exposure was f/22 at 1/250 sec at ISO 320.
© George Schaub

How To Submit Online
1. Go to www.shutterbug.com and register. Scroll down the page and on the right side you will see a box for entering your username and your password. If you have already registered and/or submitted images for the Galleries you can skip this step. Respond to the activation e-mail. Registration is free. You will use your username and password whenever you visit or, with some systems, it will automatically load for you when you visit www.shutterbug.com.

2. Check the assignment and closing dates in the magazine. When the magazine is printed we will create an appropriate gallery for your images. The limit is two images per assignment.

3. Select and prepare your images. We only accept files at a maximum 5MB size, JPEG format. Save the JPEG at a quality level of 10 or higher. Note that file size in your image folder directory will determine upload size, not the “opened” file size, as JPEG compresses at 1:4 at higher quality ratings. If your images do not load it probably means you have exceeded the file size or have not used JPEG format.

4. Click on the Galleries tab on the homepage. In the Category section use the drop-down menu to select the Picture This! assignment. Note that images are simultaneously loaded into the assignment category as well as your own personal gallery. When the Picture This! assignment deadline date has lapsed the assignment gallery will be removed, but your images will still reside in your own gallery.

5. In the Description box add title, camera, lens, exposure information, and your full name. Also add any other comments or anecdotes you think relevant. We reserve the right to edit comments as needed.

6. Click the Save button at the bottom of the page. This uploads the image.

7. You retain copyright on the image.

8. We will choose the images after close of the due date.

9. Please feel free to comment on images submitted by other readers.

Please Note: If the photograph includes a minor or a recognizable individual or group you are guaranteeing that you have a signed model release form, and especially a parental or guardian release form for minors. You should keep a copy of that release in your files. Scan that release and keep it handy. If an image is chosen for publication, failure to provide a form when requested will eliminate the image from consideration. You can find release forms at http://asmp.org/tutorials/model-release-minor-child.html and other resources on the Internet. By uploading images you attest that the model release form is valid, that any depiction of a person is with their consent, that you have a model release form available on request, and that all images you submit have been made by you.

Scorecard
Deadline For Submission: October 15, 2014
Images will appear in our January 2015 issue

Our Next Topic: Shallow DOF
Deadline For Submission: November 15, 2014
Images will appear in our February 2015 issue

Please Note: By submitting you agree to give us the right to show the image(s) on the web and for publication. You give us publication rights in the magazine and on the website(s) of Source Interlink Media.

Want to see images selected for past picture this! Assignments? Go to www.shutterbug.com and click on picture this! In the “more articles…” box on the homepage.

If you have any questions or problems e-mail us at editorial@shutterbug.com with Picture This! in the subject line.

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