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Week
Seven Winner |
Usually I meet photographers in the flesh after I have seen their work. This was true with Dan Barham as well when after a few phone calls and emails we ended up at the same table in the media room at Sea Otter. Dan is a transplanted Brit who spent a year in Edmonton before completing his trip west and landing in North Vancouver. Go to danbarham.com to have a look at some of his shots. Thanks Dan for battling through illness to get me these results.
Unfortunately once again this week our winner is going to have to be disqualified. Maybe it's a language issue because the disqualified shooters have been from Italy and now Mexico. If you haven't yet seen the rules they are here. In this case the key would be that if you work full time as a photographer you aren't eligible to enter. To quote directly from the rules it states: This is not a pro contest. If you have sold more than four campaigns to print publications you are not considered an amateur in the eyes of Money Shot.
Our sponsor for this month is Mace Gear and below you'll see the spoils for this week's winner; an Ametex jersey and Evac gloves.
Don't forget that all of this is leading up to our grand prize package including accommodation, lift tickets, priority press passes and bike rentals at Crankworx 07 in Whistler.
Treats from Mace: An Ametex Jersey and a pair of Evac Gloves
Below is the photo that Dan chose as the winner. Unfortunately when I went to rodrigocruz.com the evidence was fairly compelling. I'm not saying this oversight was deliberate though. We haven't done a good enough job to make the rules available this year and several shooters have missed them.
So Rodrigo - nice work on being chosen as the strongest photo of the week. The competition was tough. So you get the satisfaction of winning but no prizes - and you won't be moving on to the next round. Sorry about that. Unless you can convince me that there are two Rodrigo Cruzes taking photos of mountain biking I'm afraid you'll have to forfeit the spoils. Here's what Dan had to say all the same.
Toño, Pepe and Alonso shot
by Rodrigo Cruz |
The disqualified victor. Riders ~ Toño, Pepe and Alonso. Photo
~ Rodrigo Cruz Click image
to see original file.
Even before this image had finished loading
in my browser, those eyes had burned a hole in my retinas like frickin'
lazer beams. It's a fantastic image, the expression on the guy's face
really draws you in and makes you empathize with the work he's gotta
put back in getting the bike in working order. The exposure looks bang
on, and the nice use of shallow depth-of-field pops the subject nicely
from the background. Negative points for a bit too much wasted headroom
at the top of the frame, and that nasty fake "film" border,
but not enough to drag it any lower. Nice work. |
Second place. Thomas Vanderham's Mechanic.
Photo ~ Doug McMillan. Click image
to view original.
| The old adage "f/8 and be there"
has always held true, and this is a great example of why. Technically,
the shot's not that hot, it's a little soft all over and framing could
be better, but I still absolutely love the way it turned out. The
great range of expressions on the guys' faces coupled with the blurred
mess of rebounding bike and falling rider work to produce an image
that's engaging and hilarious - just the kind of thing that mags want
to print. When shooting sports it's easy to focus too closely on the
peak action or the 'classic' lifestyle shots, ignoring all the little
things that happen at other times - it's this type of image that proves
why it's important to keep shooting right the way through - and also
that a shot doesn't have to be technically perfect to be valuable.
|
Third place gets bumped to
second. Rider ~ Matt Sakowsky. Photo ~ Rob Kwakernak.
Click image
see original.
SO close it hurts - perfect scenery, great
composition and a lovely winding trail, the kind of shot that makes
me want to pick up a bike right now and pedal off into the mountains.
The lack of dynamic light, however, kills the shot dead in my opinion,
which is a real shame, 'cos if this was shot with some lovely golden
power-hour light it'd be guaranteed money in the bank. Damien, I'd
get back out there, set up camp and refuse to budge till you get it,
it'd be well worth it. |
Honourable Mention 1. Riders ~ Vincent Lavaud et Léa Photo ~ Damian Rosso Click image to see larger, uncropped version.
| Lovely framing, timing's great, but
the harsh light is just a little too distracting and those dust
spots are inexcusable. Dust is one of things that happens despite
the best intentions, but you need to either fix it there and then
(always pack a bulb blower) or at the very least fix it in post-processing
before sending it out. Leaving it on there just looks lazy. Kudos
on not destroying the mood by lighting the rider up with cheesy
remote flash though, as seems to be the trend currently. Natural
light for the win. |
Honourable Mention 1. Rider ~ Ian nelson. Photo ~ Chris Talbot Click image to see original.
Week eight is under full power by now. Click here to see the entries. This week's winner will receive an Ametex Jersey and a pair of Evac Gloves from Mace.
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