All 3 of the following Weekly Google+ Theme Recognition Winners have won a complimentary large print of their winning pictures from our sponsor, Vivyx Printing!

Also, as weekly winners, they are each in the running for the monthly Grand Prize of a $100 print credit with Vivyx Printing. Last month’s Grand Prize winner was Joe DiFlorio. The next monthly Grand Prize winner will be announced at our June 13, 2013 PAC meeting – our featured speaker will be Melissa Jill!

::Google+ Weekly Photography Theme Recognition – “Children at Play”::

From last week’s Google+ PAC Photography Community weekly “Children at Play” photography theme challenge, the
judges have chosen to highlight Garrick Morgenweck’s photo of his cute little daughter trying out a skateboard!

Congratulations, Garrick!

Why the judges love this picture:
“Just super cute and I love the focus on the eye. She just looks so happy. And her little being between cars gives
perspective.”

“Great, expression, the eye is in focus and the rest gently blurs out. This is all about her super fun expression
and pure joy on this girl’s face.”

“Kids at play, great shot of pure joy!”

“Great capture of a mischievous expression. I also appreciate the fact that she is between two parked cars. This
adds to the story told in the image. Great composition and the focus on her eye draws you right in.”

When asked about the story behind this picture, Garrick told us:
“I was outside watching my three girls play int he front yard. I had my camera with me as I had been practicing capturing candid shots. My youngest (in the photo) was riding the skateboard, so I decided to get some shots since it looked cute. After a few shots I decided to try a different perspective so I got on my stomach, and watched her push herself down the driveway at me. I actually had to dodge her a couple of times because she wouldn’t stop!”

Garrick, a semi-professional photographer who lives in Fort Rucker, Alabama, made this picture using his Nikon
D600.
His settings are as follows:
ISO 200
Shutter Speed 1/800s
Focal length 50mm
Aperture f/4

When asked about his background in photography, Garrick said:

“I have been involved in photography since I was a kid, but I stopped serious pursuit for a long time due to the costs of development, etc. I started back seriously only about two years ago when I was stationed in Afghanistan. I was flying over some of the mountains as a MEDIVAC Flight medic in the Southern regions of the country and I decided to capture some of the things I saw daily that other people, even other soldiers, never got to see. So I started taking aerial landscapes and “daily life” shots on an old compact. After a bit of time, I noticed that compact had some permanent dust behind the lens and I convinced the wife to let me upgrade to a Canon G12. I finished the tour, and even published a small book of landscapes, with that camera. It wasn’t until I got back to Alaska that I was able to upgrade to the Nikon D7000. I spent an inordinate amount of time obsessed with seeing as much of wild Alaska as I could before the Army forced us to leave. Earlier this year, I upgraded to the D600, and with a definite lack of Alaska style wildlife and vistas, decided to focus a bit more on people with street and candid shots as well as other types of local small scale landscapes.”

Garrick is an active poster in our Google+ Community, as well as in our Facebook Group. His web presence can be found at:  http://www.mweck.com and of course on Google+.

Congratulations, Garrick, on the G+ Weekly Photography Theme Recognition!

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::Google+ Weekly Photography Theme Recognition – “PRO – Travel Destinations”::

For last week’s Google+ PAC Photography Community theme, “PRO – Travel Destinations” our judges have chosen to highlight Jennifer “Jenne” Bauer-Leffler’s beautiful picture that she made at Glade Creek Grist Mill within Babcock State Park in Nicholas County, West Virginia!

Congratulations, Jenne!

Why the judges love this picture:
“I like the composition and depth of field!”

“I would hang this one on my wall! It just has a nice feel to it!”

“This one makes me want to be at this location. The composition, focus, depth of field and cropping are well
done.”

“I would love to visit here – beautiful shot!”

Jenne, a semi-professional photographer behind the lens at Impressions by Jenne Lynne Photography, lives in Phoenix, but recently moved to Arizona from West Virginia.  She used her Nikon D7000 to make this picture.

Her settings are:
ISO 400
Shutter Speed 1/60
Focal Length 55mm
Aperture f/18

When asked about the story behind this picture, Jenne told us:
“Glade Creek Grist Mill … (is) an iconic image of West Virginia tourism.  The Mill is the gateway to mountainous vistas, hiking trails, and camping cabins. I really enjoy spending hours wiling away the time, hiking the trails and watching white tailed deer and many colorful birds. It truly is ‘Almost Heaven.'”

Regarding her background in photography, Jenne said:
“I have been fascinated with cameras since I used to pretend my View Master (toy) was a 35mm as a child. I earned my first camera (a Kodak 100) back in 1984, at the age of ten by reading 120 books in a fourth grade reading contest. I began shooting rolls and rolls of film while traveling the Mountain State:  old homes, old buildings, and mountainous vistas. My new Arizona home provides me vast photo opportunities I could never have back East. But, East Coast or West Coast, the mountains and these old buildings are my favorite things to shoot (though people pictures pay the bills while working my way through grad school at ASU).”
Jenne is active in our Google+ Community, as well as in our Facebook Group. She’s also attended some of our local
PAC Meet-up Events! Thanks so much for being a part of the PAC and for sharing your pictures with us, Jenne!

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::Google+ Weekly Photography Theme Recognition – “Reflection Symmetry”::

For last week’s Google+ PAC Photography Community theme, “Reflection Symmetry” our judges selected Archie Tucker’s stunning photo of the Mesa LDS Temple at night, decorated with Christmas lights!

Congratulations, Archie!

Why the judges love this picture:
“Stunning all around. The whites in the building are not blown out, the image shows great symmetry and the variety of colors really give this image impact.?”

“There is so much to appreciate in this image. Converging lines, color, light, shadows and it has captured the theme superbly (Reflection Symmetry). Wonderful image.?”

“Love this! Perfect reflection and will make an outstanding print!”

Archie is a semi-professional photographer, at A O Tucker Fine Art Photography. who lives in Goodyear, Arizona. He made this picture with his Sony A77.

His settings for this picture are as follows:
ISO 200
Shutter Speed 2.5 Sec
Focal Length 12 mm
Aperture f/14

When asked about his photography background Archie said, “Became interested after purchasing a Sony A55 in September of 2011, since then have been doing a lot of reading and practicing. So far enjoy landscapes, architecture, animals, and macro photography.”

Archie is active in our G+ Community. We appreciate your participation, Archie, and look forward to more of your photos! Congratulations, again!

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Please comment on this post to show our three PAC Weekly Photography 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, get inspired to go out and shoot!

To be considered for this PAC challenge, simply check the calendar 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 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, and will receive
a large print of their winning photos, compliments of our sponsors, Vivyx Printing!
To learn more about our Amazing Photo community check out our website here: www.PhotoAdvClub.com (Open to all States and Countries!)

~ Sarah Hales
on behalf of the PAC Community Leaders