Archive for the Monthly Photo Contest Category

Winner of the Canadian Rockies Photo Contest

Posted in Monthly Photo Contest with tags , , , , , , , , , on October 11, 2011 by Darwin

I asked five photographer friends, Mark and Leslie Degner, Alan Ernst (from Aurum Lodge), Royce Howland, and Roy Ramsay (from Outdoor Photography Canada Magazine) to judge the Canadian Rockies Photo Contest. Each photographer is intimately familiar with the Rockies and I wanted their opinions on the images. Of course anytime you judge art, you are going to get vastly different opinions and this was certianly the case where four different images were chosen as the ‘best’ by the five judges (only one image was chosen as best by two different judges – the winning image below). Nine images ended up placing in the top three spots. Of the images selected by multiple judges, the following images garnered the most votes:

Third Place:

Congratulations to Ian McGillvrey for his fine abstract image of Rampart Ponds in Banff National Park – see this link:

Second Place:

Two images tied for second place; Karen O’Grady for her wonderful image of Elbow Falls in Kananaskis Country – see this link.

And an infrared image made of Vermilion Lakes by Michael Jamessee this link

First Place:

And the big prize winner for a two night stay at Aurum Lodge and a portfolio critique by yours truly is Nigel Roberts, for his wonderful abstract of a forest burn in Kootenay National Park – see this link. Congratulations Nigel!

The Canadian Rockies Photo Contest Weekly Winners

Posted in Monthly Photo Contest with tags , , , , , on October 6, 2011 by Darwin

Head on over to the How to Photograph the Canadian Rockies Blog to see this week’s winners (I chose three this week because I had a hard time deciding which image I liked best).

The grand prize winner will be announced next week. Here are the finalists:

Week 1: Jeff Lewis

Week 2: Michael James

Week 3: Rick Andrews

Week 4:  Dawn Traverse

Week 5: Pete Jones

Week 6: Karen O’ Grady

Week 7: Scott Dimond

Week 8: Pete Jones

Week 9: Scott Dimond

Week 10: Hiroaki Kobayashi

Week 11: Nigel Roberts

Week12: Hiroaki Kobayashi, Lina Langlois and Ian McGillvrey

Which image do you like best and why? I’ll pass the finalists onto the judges to let them decide. Stay tuned?

This Week’s Photo Contest Winner and Fabulous Film Fridays

Posted in Fabulous Film Fridays, Monthly Photo Contest with tags , , , , , , , on September 23, 2011 by Darwin

Congratulations to Hiroaki Kobayashi for his win this week over at the How to Photograph the Canadian Rockies Photo Contest. Enter soon the deadline is coming up soon (September 30th)!

And if you missed this week’s Fabulous Film Fridays, Samantha is hosting the post this week, be sure to check it out.

Another Weekly Win and More Mine Tour Results

Posted in Monthly Photo Contest, Workshops and Seminars with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 17, 2011 by Darwin

First congratulations to Scott Dimond for another weekly win in the How to Photograph the Canadian Rockies Photo Contest, to see his winning photo of the week, click on this link.

The Canadian Rockies contest closes by the end of September so be sure to enter for a two night stay at the Aurum Lodge and a two night stay at eco-award winning Aurum Lodge, located 45 kilometres west of Nordegg, Alberta, Canada in the heart of the Bighorn Wildlands and situated overlooking Abraham Lake. The prize includes accommodations for one or two persons in a superior corner room and includes one evening meal, two breakfasts and taxes (value $400 CAD). The winner also receives a 20-image personalized portfolio critique by me (Darwin Wiggett) presented as an interactive PDF (value $200 CAD).

And below our Royce Howland’s six favorite photos form the Nordegg Mine Tour and the walk on the Athabasca Glacier.

©Royce Howland

©Royce Howland

©Royce Howland

©Royce Howland

©Royce Howland

©Royce Howland

Last Chance in 2011 for Intensive Photo Learning

Posted in Art of Photography, Artistic Development, Instruction, Monthly Photo Contest, Techniques, Workshops and Seminars with tags , , , , , , , , , , on September 15, 2011 by Darwin

Whew! Autumn is just getting started and Samantha and I are very busy with tours and workshops.  Fall is always a prime time to be out either photographing on a tour or learning the art of photography in a workshop, and this year we’re seeing a lot of keen shooters out there! In fact, almost all of our joint workshops are sold out at this juncture! Luckily, though, we still have some space in the PhotoCram Workshop held in Edson, Alberta Sept. 30 – Oct. 2, so if you are looking to invest in your photography, this is a great opportunity (and last chance!) to catch some fall colour while also honing your craft. Edson is not too far from world-famous Jasper National Park so you may want to extend your learning with a little side-trip to catch the start of the elk rut in Jasper.

©Darwin Wiggett

What is PhotoCram, you may be thinking.  Well, Sam and I have developed a special, intensive learning experience that strikes the balance between improving your technical skills (and we mean REALLY understanding creative use of aperture, shutter speed, histograms etc.) and artistic development.  (You can see the topics we are covering listed below).

Class sessions are reinforced with practice during field sessions, and student assignments ensure that concepts are understood on a working level so that your learning stays with you after the weekend is over.  We have designed this event so that both beginners and advanced shooters will gain significant benefit. The folks in the Edson Camera Club have done an excellent job in keeping the costs for this workshop low so that price is less of a barrier.  The workshop costs $300 for Edson Photography Club members and non-members are welcome at only $350.  These prices are a steal for such a concentrated burst of learning (just compare to other workshops — including our own!) so thanks Edson Camera Club for bringing this opportunity to photographers.

To sweeten the deal, we are giving away as a door prize a custom 16×20 canvas print ($350 value). Also we are drawing a name from registered participants for a 1/2 hour, 20-image private portfolio critique with Samantha and me ($200 value). Anyone registered in the Edson PhotoCram I event will have their name entered in the draw.

Creative Camera Controls Made Easy

Are you mystified by f-stops and shutter speed? Want to know how to pick the right aperture and shutter speed every time? We will reveal the three simple rules that will take the guesswork out of the technical aspects of photography. Think of it as ‘new math’ without the hard numbers. Once camera controls are mastered you will have the tools needed to master artistic expression.

The Camera and the Creative Eye

The most essential skill you can master as a photographer has little to do with camera controls and everything to do with conceiving a photograph before you snap it. We will guide you on the path to mastering the ability to ‘see’ the potential of an image in the jumbled, visual world around you.

Personal Style and Creative Vision

Are you afraid of your photographs being lost in the vast array of images out there? Does  photography feel stale to you? We will speak on the evolution of personal style in photography. What is personal style and where does it come from? Learn to shoot from your soul and let your inner artist flex its muscles. See how two photographers shooting the exact same subject at the same time will produce very different results when each photographer is shooting from the heart for personal expression.

How to Make Money with Your Photography

The industry of photography has undergone a sea change in the last decade. Learn the essential tips and techniques used by the pros to help sell and market your photos. You can make extra money selling your photos but being an artist is not enough, learn the business skills needed to get your photos seen and purchased by the world.

For more information about the Edson PhotoCram event contact edsonphotoclub@gmail.com. We are looking forward to see you there!

©Darwin Wiggett

This Week’s Photo Contest Winner and More

Posted in Monthly Photo Contest with tags , , , , on September 1, 2011 by Darwin

Check out this week’s stunner over at the How to Photograph The Canadian Rockies blog! To enter the contest and win great prizes click here.

Also head over to Sam’s Blog for a story of how some weekend campers made a game out of chopping aspen trees just for fun and how one of Sam’s favorite trees on the shore of Lake Abraham is now a felled unused specimen.

This article and the comments may be of interest to social media types –

http://blog.exposedplanet.com/why-sharing-photos-on-facebook-is-bad-for-you/

This Week’s Photo Contest Winner and More

Posted in Articles about Photography, eBooks, Instruction, Monthly Photo Contest, Photography Gear, Techniques with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 25, 2011 by Darwin

Go over to the How to Photograph the Canadian Rockies blog to see this week’s winner of the How to Photograph the Canadian Rockies Photo Contest. Be sure to enter before the the end of September to get that fabulous prize from Aurum Lodge!

Samantha and I are consolidating a number of our endevours into one landing place on the web. Watch for that coming soon! In the meantime we are doing some housecleaning and that means that some of our products and services will no longer be offered or will change significantly in the future. One of these products are our online courses over at Nature Photographers. Samantha is doing one more session of her acclaimed Learning to Speak the Language of Visual Expression six-week on-line course. I just reread her PDF lessons and I really think she has one of the best courses I have seen on creative and personal expression. If you are struggling with getting your voice to translate into photos, then this might just be the course for you.

And if you haven’t seen any of our instructional eBooks over at Visual Wilderness be sure to check them out. We are closing the shop at the end of August and this is your last chance to grab any of the titles that might be of interest. There are some free eBooks you can get like Good Photo in Bad Light, The l’il eBook of Trees, Trophy Hunting vs Immersion and Winter Musings. Grab ’em before they are gone!

And of course you can get any of our popular titles like Essential Filters for Digital Nature Photography, Aperture: 3 Simple Rules, or The Basics of Light Painting. Grab them at 15% discount by using the code THANKS on checkout.

©Darwin Wiggett

This Week’s Photo Contest Winner

Posted in Monthly Photo Contest with tags , , , , , , , , , on August 18, 2011 by Darwin

Go over the The How To Photograph the Canadian Rockies website to see this week,s winner of the Canadian Rockies Photo Contest! Be sure to enter your photos in the Canadian Rockies Flickr Group to be eligible for the prizes.

This Weeks Photo Contest Winner and more

Posted in Monthly Photo Contest, Workshops and Seminars with tags , , , , , , , , on August 11, 2011 by Darwin

This week’s winner of the the How to Photograph the Canadian Rockies Photo Contest is Dawn Traverse with an excellent abstract image of canoes at Moraine Lake – click on this link to check it out!. Thanks to Samantha Chrysanthou who was this week’s guest judge and who picked Dawn’s photos out of hundreds of excellent entries.

Speaking of the Canadian Rockies; check out the great slide show that Stephane Hachey posted from the Winter Magic Tour that he did with me this past winter. Great job Stephane!

And finally if anyone is interested in either of the following tours coming up this year, we have had one cancellation in the Fall in the Canadian Rockies 2011 tour and one cancellation in the Nordegg Mine and Columbia Icefields Photo Tour 2011. These tours are photography-intensive small group size tours to secret spots and hot stops in the Rockies. To learn more about either of these tours see this link or contact Alan at the Aurum Lodge to register (info@aurumlodge.com).

©Darwin Wiggett

How to Photograph the Canadian Rockies Photo Contest – Week 3 Results

Posted in Monthly Photo Contest with tags , , , , , , , , on August 4, 2011 by Darwin

Check out the winner for this week over at the How to Photograph the Canadian Rockies blog – awesome shot!

To enter your own Canadian Rockies Photo for a prize package stay at the Aurum Lodge just click here.

©Darwin Wiggett - Aurum Lodge deck