“great shot—mysterious, engaging..”

Written by Ruth Bilowus Butler on April 26th, 2009

I received this e-mail about my b & w photo contest entry, “Congratulations! You’re “Sunrise December” image won first place in our Black and White Photo Contest! It’s a great shot—mysterious, engaging, and technically excellent. Thank you for submitting it. It would be my pleasure to send you a prize copy of Creative Digital Monochrome Effects by Joe Farace; just respond to this email with your shipping address. Additionally, we’d be thrilled to feature your winning image in our next newsletter.
Frank Gallaugher
Photography Books Lark Books”
Although my friends say with a smile, “Don’t you ever enter contests with BIG CASH prizes?” I see this as a great marketing opportunity. My image is posted on Lark Books website and I have a chance to be featured in their next newsletter which is e-mailed to thousands of subscribers. In a way it’s like cash because it replaces hiring a temporary publicist and gives me a greater online presence.

I provided Frank with some details including a video about creating this image. And I am posting most of it here Below is the before image: with some of the steps in between. I’m a bit of a minimalist when it comes to lenses and equipment. I think of a creative way out (or in) if possible. It has worked so far–last year I won the Georgia O’Keeffe Ansel Adams b & w photo contest with an image shot with an hp photosmart 318 — a hand me down camera. I believe that creativity is what one does with the materials and equipment on hand and the inspiration that takes place between the image and what’s inside us. There is always someone who is going to have a bigger lens than mine and can travel to foreign lands. But we each see in a unique way.
The image below was taken (kind of hate to take the mystery away here), at my neighbors driveway. But on that morning, from my window, I saw the sun spill across my front yard and over the snowfall from the night before. The sun was in that perfect position at the end of Charlotte’s driveway and behind a cottonwood tree but it could be anywhere. It brought an enchanting morning mist with it. I just created a video of some of the steps outlined below:

http://www.blogger.com/img/videoplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvp.video.google.com%2Fvideodownload%3Fversion%3D0%26secureurl%3DqAAAAHfApvOOOB_WlESfHfM9b03Lg74JDEswMuAUBjFrzZV6d63RESn5WJp7sdqYLYaKSF1y-VyZ_YFvqXI407xw1hbRhjrzTvB3w4gIzj4YBhmgstqlPknlCp3g3gGJr6MwhiN6GssjYibKkJHZuInrxcog7TEFspX3sOnmnN_w1BwbPj-iuxFIw9l2JxDoCdVqGdZwi-eHJ020NrqhTXu-UhHGAlFqoaq9f0538WY4BIaM%26sigh%3DhWNcmv-xeRD50mMdeCzThtDN78A%26begin%3D0%26len%3D86400000%26docid%3D0&nogvlm=1&thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dblogger%26contentid%3D74c4fc82c6367ccd%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw320%26sigh%3DRuVbvzOHwy12didPRFRr_EhJDUo&messagesUrl=video.google.com%2FFlashUiStrings.xlb%3Fframe%3Dflashstrings%26hl%3Den

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Tags: b w photography, black and white photography, contests

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“great shot—mysterious, engaging..”