Picture This

Red!: Our Favorite Reader Photos from the Picture This Assignment

Staff | Feb 3, 2015

Tongue & Watermelon
For this luscious image, photographer Dan Barba says he simply used “a beautiful model and a beautiful watermelon” to create a very mouthwatering effect. He shot it with a Sinar 4x5 view camera with Fuji film and a 210mm Fujinon lens. The image was then digitized and finished in Photoshop.
© Dan Barba

Our Picture This! assignment this month really made everyone see Red. We were looking for images where the predominant color is red, or where a red accent makes a powerful statement within the frame. Perhaps the boldest color, red always catches the eye and many images entered for the assignment were just that: bold and eye-catching. We were also looking for images where other colors complemented and enhanced the presence of red within the frame. On the next few pages check out the photos we thought screamed Red the loudest.

Life Underground
Balázs Töro captured this row of red seats at a subway station in Budapest, Hungary, using a Nikon D40 with an AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens shot at 18mm, 1/5 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200.
© Balázs Töro

Little Stony Point Sunset
Gregory Martin shot this red velvet cake-like sunset using an Ebony RWS 4x5 large format camera loaded with Fuji Velvia 50 film at 72mm, f/22, 1/2 sec.
© Gregory Martin

Sweetgum
This image of a sweetgum leaf was captured on a light table by Otto L. Danby II using a Canon EOS Rebel XS DSLR mounted on an Oben tripod. Danby shot the image in Raw with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II lens at 41mm, f/11, 1/10 sec, ISO 200.
© Otto L. Danby II

Sally Lightfoot Crab, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
“One of the myriad Sally Lightfoot Crabs that live among the rocks along the often turbulent, windy shore just above the limit of the sea spray,” photographer Tom Carroll says about this image. “The crabs feed on algae and, like many other saltwater crabs, sometimes consume plant matter and dead animals. They are a quick-moving and extremely agile saltwater crab.” Carroll used a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens at 105mm. The image was captured at ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/200 sec, in spot metering mode, hand held.
© Tom Carroll

Fire Ax
“I was shooting on the Riverwalk in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when I saw an antique fire truck in the park,” Nathan W. Dean says. “I shot it from many angles, including this close-up of the ax mounted on its side.” He used a Nikon D700 with a Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 lens at 135mm. Dean adds that some minor adjustments to the photo were done in post-processing using Adobe Lightroom.
© Nathan W. Dean

Red
Wendy Dozier chose not to leave any comments about her fantastic photo of a pair of candy-coated red lips. We think it more than speaks for itself.
© Wendy Dozier

'59 Caddy
“The 1959 Cadillac bullet taillights and fins epitomize America’s love affair with the automobile. A red Caddy is hard to ignore,” photographer Jock Goodman says. “I shot this a few years ago with my first DSLR, a Nikon D70, at f/27 for maximum depth of field, but ended up compositing in a better sky to celebrate the American Red, White, and Blue. It’s backlit to get the red lenses to glow.”
© Jock Goodman

The Longest Hit
“This seat in the right field stands of Fenway Park in Boston indicates the place where Ted Williams hit a home run and it was the longest fair ball in the park’s history,” photographer Tim Laur says. “The red seat stands out in a field of green seats.” Laur shot it with a Nikon P7000 at f/5, 1/2000 sec with +0.3 step, ISO 800, and the lens at 22mm.
© Ted Williams

Red Apple
Tom Vogt photographed this cracked glass apple on a glass platform using a Nikon D700 and a Tamron 90mm macro lens at f/32 and ISO 200 during a 10-second exposure. He sidelit the apple and used a reflector to create a striking look.
© Tom Vogt

Flamingo Portrait
Lorenzo Cassina captured this close-up shot of a flamingo displaying its beauty at Flamingo Gardens in Davie, Florida. Cassina used a Nikon D80 and a Sigma 70-300mm lens at f/5.3, 1/250 sec, ISO 250.
© Lorenzo Cassina

Picture This! – Our Next Assignment
Winter Wonder
For our next assignment, we want you to think outside the box about winter photography. Sure, photos of snowmen and sledding are nice, but we’d like to see images from you that capture the true splendor of winter’s power and beauty. Give us images that make us feel the cold and long for the fireplace; show us shots of winter that wrap the earth in a white blanket; give us trees bending in the wind, ice forming at impossible angles, and flurries whiting out the sky. Give us winter with a sense of wonder.

SnowBound
I shot this image after a huge snowstorm in New York City a few years ago. I was working from my home office when I could hear the snowplow coming from down the street, making a loud scraping noise. I grabbed the nearest camera, in this case a Samsung NX100, and photographed the plow from my window just as it was passing by. I then ran the image through the NX100’s Miniature filter, which creates a Tilt-Shift lens effect, making the cars and snowplow look like toys while defocusing the surrounding area. It was shot at 30mm, f/5.6, 1/200 sec, ISO 100.
© Dan Havlik

How To Submit Online
1. Go to www.shutterbug.com and register. Scroll down the page and on the right side you will see a box for entering your username and your password. If you have already registered and/or submitted images for the Galleries you can skip this step. Respond to the activation e-mail. Registration is free. You will use your username and password whenever you visit or, with some systems, it will automatically load for you when you visit www.shutterbug.com.

2. Check the assignment and closing dates in the magazine. When the magazine is printed we will create an appropriate gallery for your images. The limit is two images per assignment.

3. Select and prepare your images. We only accept files at a maximum 2MB size, JPEG format. Save the JPEG at a quality level of 10 or higher. Note that file size in your image folder directory will determine upload size, not the “opened” file size, as JPEG compresses at 1:4 at higher quality ratings. If your images do not load it probably means you have exceeded the file size or have not used JPEG format.

4. Click on the Galleries tab on the homepage. In the Category section use the drop-down menu to select the Picture This! assignment. Note that images are simultaneously loaded into the assignment category as well as your own personal gallery. When the Picture This! assignment deadline date has lapsed the assignment gallery will be removed, but your images will still reside in your own gallery.

5. In the Description box add title, camera, lens, exposure information, and your full name. Also add any other comments or anecdotes you think relevant. We reserve the right to edit comments as needed.

6. Click the Save button at the bottom of the page. This uploads the image.

7. You retain copyright on the image.

8. We will choose the images after close of the due date.

9. Please feel free to comment on images submitted by other readers.

Please Note: If the photograph includes a minor or a recognizable individual or group you are guaranteeing that you have a signed model release form, and especially a parental or guardian release form for minors. You should keep a copy of that release in your files. Scan that release and keep it handy. If an image is chosen for publication, failure to provide a form when requested will eliminate the image from consideration. You can find release forms at http://asmp.org/tutorials/model-release-minor-child.html and other resources on the Internet. By uploading images you attest that the model release form is valid, that any depiction of a person is with their consent, that you have a model release form available on request, and that all images you submit have been made by you.

Scorecard
Deadline For Submission: January 1, 2015
Images will appear in our April 2015 issue.

Our Next Topic: Low-Light Noir
Deadline: February 1, 2015
Publication Date: May, 2015

Please Note: By submitting you agree to give us the right to show the image(s) on the web and for publication. You give us publication rights in the magazine and on the website(s) of Source Interlink Media.

Want to see images selected for past picture this! Assignments? Go to www.shutterbug.com and click on picture this! In the “more articles…” box on the homepage.

If you have any questions or problems e-mail us at editorial@shutterbug.com with Picture This! in the subject line.