The
guidelines for this assignment were simply to compose an image that conveys the concept of HEAT. In addition, I challenged Marilyn (and others) to try to capture the "heat waves" or atmospheric distortion that often happens with extremely hot ground surface temperatures.
Alan's image titled
What more do I have to do? definitely conveyed the concept of heat. The long panting tongue, pleading eyes, and almost empty bowl cradled in the dog's paws, and the way it was stretched out on the rocks all helped the viewer empathize with this dog that was obviously feeling the heat. Nicely done Alan.
What more do I have to do?Photographed by Alan Albrecht (Ribot)
I enjoyed Alan's follow-on image titled
Won’t find me panting by an empty bowl!. This image looked like it was a bit soft, perhaps caused by motion blur from using a long focal length lens with a slower shutter speed.
Won’t find me panting by an empty bowl!Photographed by Alan Albrecht (Ribot)
Julie's two images taken
After the Fire were also effective at conveying the concept of heat. I thought the first image (
After the Fire) was the most effective one. The smoke added to the perception of heat, and the twisted metal added an interesting design element to the image.
After the FirePhotographed by Julie Schroeder (WriteHeart)
Smoldering RuinsPhotographed by Julie Schroeder (WriteHeart)
Shee's
Sand Dunes images were both wonderful images, captured and processed in a way that really accentuated the perception of heat. I commented in the Gallery that normally I might think the saturated colors in
Sand Dunes 1 were a bit over-the-top, but that in this case I thought the saturated colors and rich tones really made this image "sing." It's a bit too rich to represent "reality", but is very effective at creating a hyper-real perception of an imaginary place where it is really, really hot. Even though they are small in the frame, the two individuals in the scene add a tremendous amount to our interpretation, with the stooped posture of the first individual giving the impression that they are struggling up the slope, and the somewhat hesitant stride of the person behind conveying that they too are struggling with the idea of continuing on. As Dave mentioned, "the sweep of the lines and forms work in such an elegant way. It really does all come together and 'sing'." The composition, exposure and rendering of
Sand Dunes 1 all contribute to a very powerful artistic interpretation of this environment, and the results deserve recognition as
Editor's Choice for Artistic Merit.
sand dunes1Photographed by Sheila Anchetta (burzilai)
Editor's Choice for Artistic Merit shared the super-saturated intensity of
Sand Dunes 1, with the additional element of strong sunlight glaring into the frame. Normally I would avoid sunlight striking the front of the lens (it causes too much flare and image degradation) but in this case it contributes to the sense of intense heat and glare one would experience climbing this steep (and hot) dune while facing into the sun. The technique is very effective in this situation, and reminds me that sometimes I should bend the rules and shoot into the sun in order to achieve an effect that accentuates a certain "feeling" and contributes to the success of the image.
sand dunes 2Photographed by Sheila Anchetta (burzilai)
Rick's image of
Keeping cool in the heat was very well done, with great composition and timing. Shooting this scene in overcast light (or evening shade?) certainly helped alleviated what would have been a very high contrast and challenging scene if shot in direct sunlight. I might have tried this image in vertical format in order to accentuate the height of the jump.
Keeping cool in the heatPhotographed by Rick Pepin (TrvlRick)
Rick's image of the
Evaporatinvg Pond captivated me with the rich colors and ominous weather. Rick mentioned the tracks around the dried up edge of the pond, and I imagine that a composition where he got much closer (and lower) and shot with a super wide-angle lens might have been very effective at conveying the loss of water and effect it was having on the wildlife.
Evaporatinvg PondPhotographed by Rick Pepin (TrvlRick)
Lorin's images of
coals and
Flame were both very effective, with perhaps the glowing red coals of the first image being the most effective. I also wonder if using a slightly wider aperture would have helped to soften the somewhat distracting background. Softening the background just a bit would have reduced the contrast and shifted more of the emphasis to the primary subject of the burning wood.
coalsPhotographed by Lorin Schroeder (Wildshutter)
FlamePhotographed by Lorin Schroeder (TrvlRick)
Rick did a great job with his
July 4th Fireworks image, filling the frame with nice warm colors.
July 4th FireworksPhotographed by Rick Pepin (TrvlRick)
Julie's
Starfire Flower image is a striking simple and elegant composition, with a strong design and interesting "stars" of bright light (that I assume were caused by using a small aperture). (Anybody want to bet that the lens Julie was shooting with has a 6-blade aperture?
) I love this composition Julie. Nicely done.
Starfire FlowerPhotographed by Julie Schroeder (WriteHeart)
Chris'
Hot as the sun? image was interesting primarily because of interesting optical effects caused by the super-bright high contrast light. That's the first time I've seen lens flare caused by fireworks, and the prism-like effect was very interesting. What do you think caused the prism effect Chris? Did you have a filter on the lens?
Hot as the sun?Photographed by Chris Franklin
I loved the devious expression in Chris' image titled
Don't play with fire kid!. I've seen that expression before...
Don't play with fire kid!Photographed by Chris Franklin
It's interesting comparing Chris' image titled
More Fireworks with some of the other fireworks images. Somehow this composition isn't as "simple and elegant" as some of the others, and therefore doesn't work quite as well for me. Perhaps there's just a bit too much disjointed action in this one to strike a chord with me.
Of all Chris' fireworks images, I like
More Fireworks 3 the best.
More Fireworks 3 has compositional elements that seem to fit together better into a pleasing design, along with complementary colors. I might have cropped this image a bit tighter, but overall I like the very dynamic design, with movement and colors that fit together well to convey an overall impression of a spiraling explosion of color.
More FireworksPhotographed by Chris Franklin
More Fireworks 2Photographed by Chris Franklin
More Fireworks 3Photographed by Chris Franklin
More Fireworks 4Photographed by Chris Franklin
Shee's fireworks images were both pleasing compositions, with FW2 being the more successful of the two, with saturated color (and no areas that were too bright) and well balanced, complimentary visual elements.
FW1
Photographed by Sheila Anchetta (burzilai)
FW2
Photographed by Sheila Anchetta (burzilai)
Dave's
Fiery Searcher Beetle was a wonderful capture with great clarity and color. Thanks for a fascinating peek into the world of this insect Dave. (And I'm impressed that you were able to capture the image using mirror lockup and a cable release. I suspect that your persistence and diligence paid paid off by contributing to the wonderful detail and clarity in this image.) NIcely done!
Fiery Searcher BeetlePhotographed by Dave Leiker
I loved the expressions in Michele's
Hungry? image, and am very appreciative that she continues to inspire us by
creating her images. I think most of us fall into the rut of capturing images that we manage to find, but it takes a special creative mind to be able to "create" images from a preconceived notion. I'm not sure how she managed to create the effect, but the steam or smoke in the oven (and the red glow of the heat elements) really contributes to the perception of heat. What makes the image most special though are those wonderful expressions. I hope the kids enjoyed the apple strudel. Thank you Michele for being such an inspiration. I think this creative effort deserves another
Editor's Choice for Artistic Merit.
Hungry?Editor's Choice for Artistic MeritPhotographed by Michele Bollhalder
I suspect that Dave's
Hot Summer Morning image can best be appreciated when viewed as a large print on the wall. Dave mentioned that he created this image by stitching together seven exposures, and I can imagine how impressive the lush prairie and wonderful cloud formations look when viewed as a wide panoramic scene. It's tough to do with a panoramic image, but Dave did a wonderful job creating the perception of depth in this image, with the "near, middle and far" layers and leading the viewer through the low valley, to the small pond and then the light on the horizon. VERY well done!
Hot Summer MorningPhotographed by Dave Leiker
Rebecca provided a slightly different view with her series of fireworks images. Taking the images earlier in the evening when there was still some ambient light created the interesting silhouette effect in her
Nightshow at the ranch image, providing a bit more atmosphere and an interesting juxtaposition of the "hot" fireworks against the cool blue background. I do like seeing the interesting context of these fireworks displays.
Nightshow at the ranchPhotographed by Rebecca
sparklePhotographed by Rebecca
snap crackle popPhotographed by Rebecca
Marilyn's image of
Vehicular heat distortions was the one I most wanted to reward for this assignment, since she managed to effectively capture those elusive "heat distortions" that we see all the time but have difficulty capturing in images. Marilyn was astute to use a telephoto lens to capture this effect, since the more "atmosphere" you can put between you and your subject, the more visible the effect will be. I sense that Marilyn was a little unsure about whether or not this was a good image; however, I think she was very successful at capturing the heat distortions. I'm most impressed with the "reflection" of the headlights in the heat mirage under the car. Awesome capture Marilyn, I think you did a great job capturing the heat waves. This effect is very difficult to capture, and I think Marilyn's efforts deserve recognition as
Editor's Choice for Technical Merit. Thanks for accepting the challenge Marilyn! Other folks obviously appreciated this image as well, since it was voted
People's Choice.
Vehicular heat distortionsPeople's Choice and
Editor's Choice for Technical MeritPhotographed by Marilyn McKinney
SUV wheels take the heatPhotographed by Marilyn McKinney
Marilyn did a great job capturing the intensity of the thunderstorm in her
Desert Thunderstorm image, with the inclusion of the truck providing a great sense of scale.
Desert ThunderstormPhotographed by Marilyn McKinney
Rick also did a great job capturing the "sizzle" in his
Grilled bacon image. As Michele said in her comments, "The bubbling of the fat and the char lines tell me not to touch. Yum."
Grilled baconPhotographed by Rick Pepin (TrvlRick)
Thank you again to everyone that participated in this assignment. I'm inspired by your creativity, and by your perseverance.
Keith
