Announcing the 2012 Kahshe Photo Contest

by George Lindsay and Clare Henderson, Organizers

See all of this year's 141 excellent  Photos in the

2012 Photo Contest Album!

with all winners noted and judges' comments added.

The album is a subpage of the 2012 Kahshe Photo Contest. (See the listings on the left side of this page. Note that there are three pages of photos.) Click on each photo to view it larger.  Winners were announced and prizes  awarded at noon at

The Kahshe Craft Show.

The photo contest has evolved. We have changed the name in an effort to encourage more participation in the contest. We have changed the categories to expand the scope of what the subject of the photos can be, and therefore capture a greater variety of Kahshe experiences.

We want to highlight the rule which allows submission of photos from the end of one contest period (July 16, 2011) until the 2012 contest deadline (July 27, 2012). This allows someone who comes to Kahshe only in August to submit photos taken in that summer for the contest that ends the next August.

Above: Two 2011 winners plus judges and George Lindsay. 

Categories

Kahshe Nature / Landscape – intended to capture the natural beauty of Kahshe throughout the year.

Life on Kahshe – intended to capture all of the family, friends, events and activities associated with being on Kahshe.

Kids being Kids – intended to capture the fun, excitement, joy of kids enjoying Kahshe.

12 and Under – intended to provide an opportunity for young people to use their imagination and capture special moments on Kahshe.

Rules

The contest period runs from the end of the last contest (noon July 16, 2011), until the 2012 contest deadline. Please submit photos from August / September / October etc.

Each entrant can submit up to 3 photos. (one in each category, all in one category or any combination)

Check the 2011 photos and winners at http://www.kahshelake.ca

The fine print

Photos must be received prior to the deadline established by the committee and communicated on the website and KLRA newsletter.

All judges’ decisions are final.

--------------------------------------------------------Tips------------------------------------------------------------

Take better pictures!

1. The Kodak web site has 10 tips for better digital photographs.  You can check it out by clicking on this link.

2. Kahshe Contest Tips:

Cropping often improves the composition of a picture after it is taken.  This is easy to do using the photo software that shows you your pictures.  Such improvements can be made before submitting your photos to the contest.

For example, in this photograph the picture has been cropped to eliminate material that is extraneous to the subject.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Background: A plain background shows off the subject you are photographing. When you look through the camera viewfinder, force yourself to study the area surrounding your subject. Make sure no poles grow from the head of your favorite niece and that no cars seem to dangle from her ears.

 

For example, in this photo titled Worm Boy by Cory Wilson in 2010, the setting by the lake, the worm, the relationship between the young boy and his grandmother and the expression on their faces all make it an exceptional shot. However, the background is distracting and confuses the eye reducing the artistic value of what is a great picture. It cries out for a plain background.

 

 

 

Composition

Move it from the middle: the Rule of Thirds plus

This photograph won the 2011 contest for over 12 partly because of the appropriateness of the subject matter but also because of the composition.

One of the most common mistakes of amateur photographers is placing the subject directly in the middle of the frame. This makes a picture more static and less interesting. That's why one of the most popular guidelines in both photography and painting is the Rule of Thirds.

Imagine a tic-tac-toe board over your viewfinder and position the subject along one of the lines or at one of the intersections. If your subject fills most of the frame, position a focal point at one of the intersections. In this case, the boy’s expressive face is at the left upper focal point.

Vertical Lines: Trees and telephone poles and, in ths case, the fishing boy are aligned along the left vertical line about 1/3 from the left of the picture.

Horizon Lines: With landscapes, keep the horizon along the lower third to give a feeling of spaciousness. Position the horizon along the upper third to give a feeling of nearness or intimacy. In this case, the tree line is about 1/3 of the way down the photograph.

The Illusion of Depth: photographs can be given the illusion of depth by using lines which recede into the distance, in this case the line of the dock, and by having a sharp focus on an object in the foreground while the background is slightly blurred.

Leaving lots of space in front of the boy’s face allows for the imagined action to take place.

Don’t forget that the composition of nearly every photograph can be improved by careful cropping, keeping in mind the rule of thirds and other compositional factors.

Get Close

In much of nature photography, pictures of flowers and insects for example, it is important to get very close to the subject by zooming in or by using the close-up focussing mode that most digital cameras have.

Use a simple background

Find a position that provides a plain, non-distracting background. Sometimes it is possible to place a black or pleasingly coloured cardboard behind a flower. Make sure the object is in focus, but the background may be a satisfactory blur because it is outside the field of focus.

Shoot at different angles

Vary the level of your viewpoint. Shoot down to create attractive pinwheel patterns of daisies; kneel to the level of other flowers, such as tulips and daffodils.

In the illustration, seven year old Jack managed to get close to the dragonfly on the rope with a nicely contrasting background. The 2011 judges gave this photo second place in the under 12 category.


Picasa link

2012 KLRA Photo Contest

Kahshe Lake Ratepayers' Association (1994) Inc. (KLRA)
PO Box 1318, Gravenhurst, ON, Canada, P1P 1V5
Information: info@kahshelake.ca      Site Comments: webmaster@kahshelake.ca

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