:: Google+ Community  — Weekly “April Showers” Photography Theme Recognition::

Simplicity: Tom Speropulos, last week’s PAC weekly Google+  theme winner is featured for once more for “April Showers.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His image is a great example of simplicity, contrast, and detail.  Without taking away the ability for one to draw one’s own conclusions or interpretations of Tom’s image, please allow this:  It shows how we as photographers see the world around us. The image is rich in color covering a fantastic portion of the “Red-Orange color hue” range. His photo also is full of texture and fine converging lines. The slippers in the right lower third of the image tell a story of someone possibly in a rush, note the position of the slippers, right foot at the left and left at the right.

Tom has reported his settings as:

F-Stop: f/8 @ 1/125

Shot with the Nikon F100

Fuji Chrome Film

Why not post a comment to Tom and (+1) his image. If you haven’t already, connect with Tom via his blog, and or his SMUG MUG site.  Why not add him to your G+ circle if you haven’t already!

 

::Facebook PAC Group — Creative “Textures” Photography Theme Recognition::

Our judges selected Sandy Klewicki’s beautiful black & white picture of a stairway.  Congratulations, Sandy!

 

The lines of the staircase and the combination of contrasting textures, makes for a very eye-catching picture.  The black & white processing really highlights the textures and lines!  Beautiful composition!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sandy made this picture at the Scottsdale Civic Center, just last week.  She reports, “It’s the spiral staircase across from the little museum that used to be a schoolhouse. I took it with my wide angle at 18mm, ISO 200 at f4.5 and processed it in Lightroom and Silver EFEX.”  Sandy shoots with a Nikon D90.

Sandy tells us that her dad was a photographer, so she grew up around a darkroom.  However, she didn’t do much with photography until 6 years ago.  She says she’s a “reborn photographer.” J   After getting back into photography, she took a class in Adobe Photoshop Elements, and joined a couple of local photography clubs (including PAC).  About 4 years ago, she volunteered to take photos for the Phoenix HFA (a support group for families with autistic children) and she gives them credit for “keeping me around through the first year of blurry grainy photos to continue to help promote their activities.” Sandy is now the professional photographer behind the lens at Klewicki Photo!

Sandy lives in Scottsdale, Arizona and is one of our very active PAC Organizers!  She leads and attends PAC events, and is also the Scribe for our Smug meetings.   She is also an active poster & commenter on our PAC FB Group.  Congratulations, Sandy, on your PAC recognition!  We love your photos and appreciate all of your comments, participation and your leadership!

 

::Facebook PAC Group — Technical “Panorama” Theme Recognition ::

For last week’s Facebook Group Technical Theme, “Panorama” our judges have chosen to highlight Dan Holmes’ breathtaking picture, “Morning at Farmer’s Pond” which he made in Owens Valley, California.  Congratulations, Dan!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The panorama format expertly highlights the beauty of the snow-covered mountains and encourages the viewer’s eye to move across the picture from the fading night sky to the glowing pink sunrise!  Love the reflection of the stunning sky in the quiet pond!

Dan reports that he shot this with a Canon 5DMII, with a Sigma 17-35 f2.8. It is a stitch of 7 vertical exposures, 35mm, 4 seconds at f/22. The pond is a winter reservoir near Bishop which can provide some wonderful reflections and was a favorite of Galen Rowell.

Dan is a freelance pro based in Ventura California.  You can visit his website, here.  He has been in business for 11 years, shooting since he was 11. He told us, “I still remember that “first time” – photographing a big wave crashing on a rock, somewhere on the California Coast.”  He photographs fine art, landscape and nature, events, portraits, lead photo workshops / tours, and teach.  He has picked up some nice awards including Landscape Photographer of the Year 2013 for the Professional Photographers of California (PPC).

Dan says, “For me, it isn’t really so much about the photograph – it is more about being out, discovering something new, being amazed by a “light event” and being able to tell it’s story.”

Dan’s an active member of our PAC Group on FB , and we sure appreciate his participation!   Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos with us, Dan!

 

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Please comment on this post to show our three PAC Weekly Theme Recognition winners some love!

Also, don’t forget to take some time to check out the other awesome themed photos, on Google+ and on Facebook, and get inspired to go out and shoot!

To be considered for this PAC challenge, simply check the calendar  http://tinyurl.com/8j42x3h for the weekly photo assignments.

·Photos submitted for the Google+ Community Weekly Theme must be shot during the assignment week—no archived photos.   Hash tag #PACWeekly.

·Photos submitted for the Facebook Group 3-day Themes may be archived, or shot during the run of the theme.

·Post your BEST three shots each week based on the current theme.

·Any details you can add to your post, such as:  camera used, settings, caption, and/or a brief story of your subject, will also be considered a plus!

The winning photographers will have their photos published here on the PAC blog for all to enjoy!

To learn more about our Amazing Photo community check out our website here: https://captureschool.net/ (Open to all States and Countries!)

~ Sarah Hales & Sol Powell

on behalf of the PAC Community Leaders