Dear Reader,

Scroll down for your weekly photo dispatch with a list of last month’s photo challenge winners...

Lori Allen
Director, AWAI Travel Division

P.S. We got some amazing reflection shots last year in Paris, like this one in front of the Louvre:

We only had a small window of time to get this shot -- the fountains had just turned off and they were draining fast. It’s the secret Paris moments and hidden photo ops like this that make our photo workshops in Paris so much fun... and why I’m so excited about our next one coming up in May, here: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/phw/paris09

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April 1, 2009
The Right Way to Travel, Weekly Photo Tip
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REFLECT ON THIS -- WINNING ENTRIES
By Shelly Perry in Portland, OR

Last month’s photo challenge theme was “Reflect on This.” We received some truly stunning images, which made the judging this time around exceptionally difficult. But, we had to choose, so without further ado, here are the winners...

**First Place goes to Paul Hippauf for “The Captain”

**Second Place goes to tparks for “Grandma's Hands”

**Third Place goes to mariondye for “Refreshing Reflection”

**Honorable mention goes to wenzone for “Between the bridges”

FIRST PLACE – THE CAPTAIN

 

Here is what Linda Schettle, February’s winner, had to say about her pick of The Captain...

“Besides the fact that this is simply a beautiful image, it is tack sharp throughout with good depth of field. The rock, well placed at the intersection of the lower left third, has a little twig of a tree that draws your eye across the water to the other bank and on up the sunlit side of the mountain. The time of day was well chosen -- I'm guessing early morning, by the cool blue tones -- to highlight the left side of the mountain. Well done.”

I agree with Linda, this is a beautiful image. The lighting here is about as perfect as it gets. Very well done.

SECOND PLACE – GRANDMA’S HANDS

 

The lighting on this particular shot is absolutely brilliant -- it almost seems to be coming from inside of the subject (I am guessing it was from overhead). All the little beads are alight with sparkle and reflected light and there are...

(Continued below...)

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... other perfectly reflected highlights on the woman’s ring and the top of the cross, adding to the “reflections” theme. Nice shallow depth of field so that her shirt in the background is indistinguishable and looks soft and flowing. It’s a little bit centered overall, but the points of interest make a nice triangular shape that moves the eye around the image, which I think works well here.

THIRD PLACE – REFRESHING REFLECTION

This image, full of color, texture, and pattern, is eye-catching and interesting... but without the description, I might have been left wondering what I was looking at. Once I read it, this photo went to into my top selections for the month:

“After gardening for a couple of hours I sat down with a cold bottle of 7-UP. There on the table was a bouquet of shasta daisies. It seemed fitting that one of those flowers be reflected in the bubbles of that wonderful, cold drink.”

This type of shot can also be very useful as stock since designers often use abstract textures and patterns in ways we could never imagine.

HONORABLE MENTION – BETWEEN THE BRIDGES

 

This is a fantastic night shot of Vancouver BC. The rocks to the right and the boat to the left are perfectly placed, the reflection of the city is beautiful and the color of the sky indicates it was shot in the “blue hour” when the sun is down, but still lightening up the sky to give it that nice deep blue color.

Congratulations to all of our winners, and to all who participated in March’s challenge “Reflect on This.” We had a lot of entries, and many, many winner-worthy shots. I wish I could have picked more. Keep up the great shooting.

** Join us in Paris: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/paris09
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ENTER TO WIN!

Remember, this month's theme is "April's Fools Rush In." Submit your photos by 8:00 a.m. EST, Monday, April 27th. If you're a first-time user, you'll need to register first on the "register" link on the right side bar. Once you have a username and password, click "Enter to Win" to upload your photo. Only ONE photo per applicant per month will be considered. Multiple entries will be deleted.

[ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shelly Perry from Portland, Oregon, specializes in people photography, what she calls documentary or lifestyle portraits. She is known especially for her imaging of children. Shelly’s concern for people is reflected both in her sense of purpose and the images she produces.  Her images have been seen all over the globe on music CD covers, books, magazines, catalogues, web sites, ad campaigns and even on TV. Her work has also appeared in several local exhibits and gallery shows. To meet Shelly in person, visit: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/phw/santafe09 ]

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