GROUP A - SCORE 87

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 87 | Dwayne Tucker 87

This photograph was taken in Santorini, Greece.
(April 2022)

Nikon D850

Exposure Time: 1/4000 

F-number: 9

Focal Length: 120

 (ISO): 640

Lens Model: 24.0-120.0 mm f/4.0

GROUP A - SCORE 81.5

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 86 | Dwayne Tucker  77

 Taken with Nikon D3400. 1/100 sec at f/5.0 ISO 400; 35mm. Natural light on kitchen table. Edited in Lightroom.

 GROUP A - SCORE 87

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 89 | Dwayne Tucker  85

Taken with IPhone 13Pro. Natural light. Edited in Lightroom.

GROUP A - SCORE 76.5

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 77 | Dwayne Tucker  76

GROUP A - SCORE 88

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 88 | Dwayne Tucker 88

I found a bunch of small flowers while cleaning my messy front yard. After a quick online search, they seem to resemble the Spanish Needle, a wildflower commonly found in Florida and other parts of North America. It features small, white petals and a central cluster of yellow stamens. The Spanish Needle is often seen growing in fields and along roadsides and is popular with pollinators like bees and butterflies.
I thought naming it 'Graceful Simplicity' would capture the elegance of the flower's delicate form and minimalist beauty.

Camera: Fujifilm X-H2S
Lens: Lensbaby Velvet 85mm
Shutter: 1/30s
ISO: 800
Aperture: Probably f/4 or F/5.6

Edited and processed with On1 PhotoRaw 2024.5

GROUP A - SCORE 77

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 79 | Dwayne Tucker  75

GROUP A - SCORE 84

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 80 | Dwayne Tucker  88

 This was shot on a bluff over looking the Pacific Ocean in California. This wild weed caught my attention. I thought it was pretty with the intricate design of the leaves. I liked the overcast sky as a background for this image. I did post processing in Lightroom Classic, and I did some minor spot removal in Photo Shop. The settings were: f 9.0, 1/640 and ISO of 200.

GROUP A - SCORE 88.5

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 89 | Dwayne Tucker  88

This is the inside of a spiral staircase looking up. The location was at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville TN. I was intrigued by the vertical rods that were supporting the staircase. I had to hold my camera between the vertical rods to get my camera in the proper position to capture the symmetry of this image. I thought this image fit the Minimalistic them because of the simple geometric elements.

GROUP A - SCORE 87

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 85 | Dwayne Tucker  89

Under UV light, the world can look completely different.

I photographed this lily in the darkness using only UV lights, with a 15-second long exposure. After multiple attempts and experimenting with different settings and compositions, I finally settled on this one. This process is known as UV-Induced Visible Fluorescence Photography. It differs from Reflected UV photography, as it does not require any modifications to the camera or lens.

The title 'Fluorescent Elegance in the Darkness' captures both the grace of the lily and the striking contrast of light against the dark."

Camera: Fujifilm X-H2S
Lens: Lensbaby Velvet 56mm
Shutter: 15 seconds
ISO: 1600
Aperture: Around F/5.6

Edited and processed with On1 PhotoRaw 2024.5 with minor adjustments on the center brightness with Nik Efex Pro.

GROUP A - SCORE 76

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 76 | Dwayne Tucker  76

 This is the top of a Chihuly glass sculpture in the Seattle Center, Seattle, WA, The sky was white so I added some color to the background and framed it.

GROUP B - SCORE 77

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 77 | Dwayne Tucker  77

GROUP B - SCORE 80

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 76 | Dwayne Tucker  84

GROUP A - SCORE 92

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 98 | Dwayne Tucker  86

GROUP A - SCORE 81.5

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 79 | Dwayne Tucker  84

GROUP A - SCORE 88

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 88 | Dwayne Tucker  88 

This was a solitary plant that broke thru the sand dunes at the Great Sand Dunes in Utah. It was a cool early morning so that the shadow was quite long. Shot with a Canon PowerShot G15.

GROUP A - SCORE 89.5

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 84 | Dwayne Tucker  95

GROUP A - SCORE 92.5

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 93 | Dwayne Tucker  92

280mm, f/5, 1/1600s, ISO 8000
Hand Held
Available Sunlight

GROUP A - SCORE 86

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 87 | Dwayne Tucker  85

GROUP B - SCORE 89

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 90 | Dwayne Tucker  88

 This woodpecker woke me up one gloomy, cloudy morning earlier this year. If you are a bird photographer, you get to learn the different bird calls from the birds around the house. On this morning, I awoke to a call that was different from the usual neighborhood birds. I looked out from my balcony and there were a pair of woodpeckers frolicking around. I ran for my camera, set it up quickly and was back in time to take a couple of shots. Not shown on this photo: Mrs. Woodpecker--she would not sign the release.

Shot on Nikon D7500
f/5.6
1/320 sec
ISO 400
300mm

GROUP A - SCORE 96.5

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 95 | Dwayne Tucker  98

GROUP A - SCORE 81

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 85 | Dwayne Tucker  77

GROUP B - SCORE 94

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 96 | Dwayne Tucker  92

 Wakodahatchee - Nikon D7100, f4.8 ISO 500 1/80 sec

GROUP B - SCORE 80

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 85 | Dwayne Tucker 75

I took this photo last December during a visit to the Caribbean island of Anguilla. I was having dinner at a restaurant on top of a cliff with a view to the bay below. After the sun set, this catamaran turned on its night lights and was the only thing showing in the darkness. I set my camera on a mini tripod on a ledge and used a remote shutter to capture the image.

Shot on Nikon D7500
f/2.8
1/5 sec
ISO 400
50mm

GROUP A - SCORE 89

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 95 | Dwayne Tucker  83

40mm, f/4.5, 1/100s, ISO 3200
Hand Held
Available Sunlight

GROUP B - SCORE 83.5

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 84 | Dwayne Tucker  83

GROUP A - SCORE 92

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 97 | Dwayne Tucker  87

1/200 sec ISO 200 F10 at 700mm ( Canon 100-500 RF lens with 1.4x extender) hand held from bed of my Ram 1500

GROUP B - SCORE 82

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 87 | Dwayne Tucker  77

GROUP A - SCORE 93

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 89 | Dwayne Tucker  97

GROUP B - SCORE 85.5

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 86 | Dwayne Tucker  85

GROUP A - SCORE 77.5

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 80 | Dwayne Tucker  77

 1/800 sec at f/8, ISO 200 50mm ( Canon RF 50mm lens 1.8 STM - common nickname "nifty fifty" for its light weight and cheap price) Shot walking the beach in the morning, hand held

GROUP B - SCORE 78

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 82 | Dwayne Tucker  74

 A lone tree in the Everglades.