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 80

JUDGES: Manolo Doreste 86 | Dwayne Tucker  74

Nikon D 850

Exposure Time: 1/500
F-number: 7.1
Focal Length: 120
Photographic Sensitivity (ISO): 100
Lens Model: 24.0-120.0 mm f/4.0
White Balance: Auto white balance
This photograph was taken in Mikonos, Greece.
(April 2022)

 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 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.