AWAKE Di gi t alExcel l ence December2020 Vol .7
Even whatatf i rstgl ance l ooks l i ke a si mpl e enough phot o ofa bi rd ...I tcapt ures our at t ent i on because oft he ki nd ofbi rd i ti s (“Where di d he f i nd THAT ki nd ofbi rd?! ”)and I t ’ s hard nott o appreci at e a greatphot o. And t he perf ect i on wi t h whi ch i twas phot ographed t hi s magazi ne i sf i l l ed wi t h greatphot os. (“How l ong di d he have t o si tt here wai t i ng f or Probabl y ourbestedi t i on yet . ButI ’ ve f ound t he bi rd t o do THAT?! ”). Then Igett ot hi nki ng t hatIcan i ncrease my appreci at i on even f urt her aboutt he l ong zoom l ens and t ri pod Iwoul d t hrough a si mpl et ri ck: have had t ol ug outt here wi t h me,t he consi derat i ons ofshut t erspeed and Ipause l ong enough on each phot ot o ask, composi t i on. A “si mpl e” bi rd phot o no l onger “Whatwoul di thave t aken f orME t o creat e f eel s so si mpl e. t hi s?” Wel l ! Thatput st hi ngs i n perspect i ve,doesn’ t i t ?
I t ’ st hatway wi t h so many oft he phot os here. And of t en as notwhati mpresses me mosti s j ustt he creat i ve i nsi ghtt he phot ographerwoul d have needed t o even see t he POSSI BI LI TY of somet hi ng t hi s capt i vat i ng ...i n what9 outof 10 ot herphot ographers woul dn’ thave even gi ven a second l ook.
Suddenl yt he st unni ng modelphot ot akes on a whol e ot herdi mensi on. Fi rstI ’ d need t o hi re a model ,and t hi nk aboutwardrobe and makeup, and setup al lt hatl i ght i ng. And even t hen i t woul d be an hourofshoot i ng atl eastj ustt o come away wi t h somet hi ng t hi s good. Af t ert hat The combi nat i on ofal lt hi s — seei ng what woul d come al lt he sort i ng,al lt he edi t i ng. I t ot hers so rarel y eversee,and put t i ng i nt he woul dt ake some realwork. work ot hers woul d rarel y everputi n— i s what makes me so proud ofourAWAKE OrIl ook atsome l ovel yl andscape capt ured i n phot ographers. t he morni ng l i ght...Wel l ,f i rstI ’ d need t o t ravel ,I ’ d need t of i nd t hi s pl ace and work out So as you f l i pt hrough t he pages ahead,I t he bestl ocat i on t o posi t i on mysel ff ort he shot . encourage you t o pause here and t here and Then I ’ d need t o wake up realearl y and drag l i ngeroveryourf avori t es ... Admi re t he mysel fand al lmy gearoutt here i nt he col dt o phot os,butadmi re t oo whati tt ook t o creat e be i nj ustt he ri ghtspotatj ustt he ri ghti nst ant , t hem. Li ke me,you mi ghtcome t o appreci at e as t he sun comes up overt he t rees,al lwhi l e t hei rwonders al lt he more. worki ng outt he bestpossi bl e exposure,t he ri ghtl ens and f i l t ers t o empl oy. ~ Sebast i an
Mari et j i e du Toi t
Paul o Crus
Rosa Perry
Ni na I rvi n
Berni ce Fargus
SherriReed
Li nda Cel i s
Bob Egan
Ni na I rvi n
Renee Phoeni x
Di ane East ham
Mari et j i e du Toi t
Jul i e Cowdy
Penny de Jong
Vi kiMurray
Ri c Mat kowski
Chuck Rut enberg
Mart ha Weaver
Li nda Cel i s
Carol yn Jenson
Shel l ey Benj ami n
Ni na I rvi n
Dean Hohn
Mari eOt er o-Featured Photographer My l ove af f ai rwi t h Phot ography real l y began because ofmy i nt eresti n Phot oshop and t he creat i on ofDi gi t alArt . Ibegan my expl orat i ons wi t h Phot oshop back i n 2001 wi t h versi on 6. 0 -i fyou can rememberback t hatf ar-and att hatt i me was most l y usi ng st ock i magery garnered f rom t he i nt ernett o creat e my di gi t alart work. I nt hose days,i mage copyri ght s were l ess wel ldef i ned and Iof t en had di f f i cul t y wi t hi mage at t ri but i on when havi ng pi eces publ i shed,so I deci ded t hatIwoul dl earn a bi tmore about phot ography i n ordert oi ncorporat e more of my own i mages i n my creat i ve process. Ist art ed t aki ng pi ct ures ofanyt hi ng and everyt hi ng t o add t o my st ash ofpersonal st ock and al ong t he way became j ustas obsessed wi t ht he Phot ography as t he Phot oshop. Bef ore l ong,my phot ography ski l l s and conf i dence wi t ht he camera grew,Ibegan shoot i ng model s bot hl ocal l y and overseas and at t endi ng event st hati ncreased my exposure t o di verse st yl es and genres ofphot ography. Iwon my f i rstgol d medalf orPhot ography i n an i nt ernat i onalexhi bi t i on i n 2012 and have si nce gone on t o wi n many more awards bot h nat i onal l y and i nt ernat i onal l y.
I n 2013 Iwas appoi nt ed as an i nst ruct orf or t he Phot ographi c Soci et y ofAmeri ca,a post t hatIhel d unt i lrecent l y. Overt he years I have t aughtmany Phot oshop and phot ography workshops and under“normal ” ci rcumst ances, Ihostworkshops atmy st udi oi n Connect i cut as wel las ati nt erst at e and overseas venues. Ipart i cul arl y enj oy t he creat i ve process ofa St udi o shootand t ake a l otoft i me and pl easure i n creat i ng cost umes and headpi eces t o hel p bri ng my concept st ol i f e. Iam happy t o say t hatmy passi on f or phot ography has onl y grown st rongerovert he years. Ishoota di verse range ofsubj ect mat t erbutt end t of ocus on Fi ne ArtNudes, Creat i ve Port rai t ure and Landscape Phot ography. You can see more ofMari e’ s work at : www. mari eot ero. com
Li nda Cel i s
Cl aude Trew
Chri st i na Brunt on
Kei t h Hawl ey
Deni se McDermot t
Di ana Haroni s
Paul o Crus
Suzanne Fi t zpat ri ck
Chri st i ne TurnerCol es
Vi v Buckl ey
Ni na I rvi n
Maureen Maxwel l Prest on Moochneck
Mi chel l e Mondragon
Mi chel l e Mondragon
Mart ha Bauder
Bob Egan
Vi kiMurray
Ni na I rvi n
Mart ha Bauder
Deni se McDermot t
Thomas Lat ham
SheriEmerson
Ni na I rvi n
Hel ga Bl anke
Karen Waal wyk
Mari et j i e du Toi t
Deborah Tucker
Jean Hut t er
Nancy Bri zendi ne
Yvonne Hol man
Ni na I rvi n
Jul i e Cowdy
Corri ne Davi s
SherriReed
Chuck Rut enberg
Bob Egan
Deni se McDermot t
Dov Fuchs
Dee Adams
Al an St ephenson
Bea Rosenl eaf
I nna Mal ost ovker
Shel l ey Benj ami n
I an McGregor
Karen Waal wyk
Ni na I rvi n
Di ana Haroni s
Gai lEdwards
Jul i e Powel l
Mari et j i e du Toi t
Ni col e Wi l de
Dean Hohn
Berni ce Fargus
Jul i e Cowdy
I ngri d Pomeroy
Di ana Haroni s
Maureen Maxwel l
Cl aude Trew
Di ana Haroni s
Denni s Ri ckard
I an McGregor
Karen Waal wyk
Mart ha Bauder
Bob Egan
Dov Fuchs
SherriReed
Cori nne Davi s
Thomas Lat ham
Shel l ey Benj ami n
Mari e Ot ero
Jean Hut t er
Al an Bl and
Ni na I rvi n
Kri st i nn Orn
Vi v Buckl ey Dov Fuchs Don Neuf el d
Pam Robi nson Creswel l
Cori nne Davi s
Bob Egan
Nancy Bri zendi ne
Di ana Haroni s
Mari e Ot ero
Chri s Brunt on
Mari e Ot ero
Mari e Ot ero
Macď † Pď † ject -Bob Wild
Thi s can be t ri cky. Fi rst ,Iwant ed t o be shoot i ng atbet ween f /8 and f /16,whi ch Bei ng st uck i ndoors wi t h ourcameras mi ght makes al loft hi sa l i t t l e easi er. Though even f eelconf i ni ng,buti tact ual l y gi ves us t he t hen,af t ert ryi ng aut o-f ocus Ideci ded t o opport uni t yt o experi mentwi t h ot her swi t ch t o manual ,and f rom t here f ound i t di sci pl i nes. I n my case,Ideci ded t o hel pf ult o move t he obj ecti t sel fcaref ul l y expl ore macro phot ography. And Ibegan by f orward and back unt i lt he dropl etwas t ack seei ng whatIcoul d achi eve when capt uri ng sharp. Then Imoved t he f l owerunt i li twas wat erdropl et s wi t hf l owers ref l ect ed wi t hi n i deal l y encompassed wi t hi nt he dropl et . t hem. (Rememberwhen Iment i oned pat i ence?) Then i twas al laboutdoubl e-checki ng t he Fi rstIgott oget hersome accessori es:a f ocus across t he i mage and hol di ng very st i l l devi ce t o hel p hol dt hi ngs f orme (a "Thi rd when pressi ng t he shut t er(Iuse ei t hert he Hand, "as wel las some Si l l y Put t y), camera' s bui l t -i nt i merora cabl e rel ease t o t weezers,sci ssors,a syri nge,a wat er avoi d any camera shake). mi st er,t estt ubes,veget abl e gl yceri ne . . . (HotTi p:Expectt he set -up t ot ake l onger The resul t s mi ghtbe very smal l ,butt hey' re t han t he shoot .Thi si s goi ng t ot ake a l otof hugel y sat i sf yi ng! pat i ence! ) And f orequi pment ,Iopt ed f ora 90mm macro l ens and ext ensi on t ubes,as wel las a si mpl el i ghtst and and i mpact cl amp t o hol d a pen l i ght . It hen creat ed a 50-50 sol ut i on ofwat er and gl yceri ne and pl aced smal ldrops on bl ades ofgrass,eucal ypt us l eaves,pet al s off l owers,each hel di n pl ace by my "Thi rd Hand"and l i twi t ht he pen l i ght . It hen set up my camera on a t ri pod,f ramed t he shot , and conf ront ed t he chal l enge off ocus ...
Fl ower s Chri s Wucherer
Wi t h so much negat i vi t yi nt he worl dt oday I ’ ve begun t of ocus my phot ography on i nt ent i onal Beaut y and Joy. Forme,f l owers encompass t hi s t heme l i ke no ot hersubj ect . Season af t erseason t hey bl oom. Season af t erseason t hey qui et l y bri ng beaut y and j oy i nt ot he worl d aski ng not hi ng i n ret urn. Fl owers are wonderf ulmodel sf or i nt ent i onall i vi ng i n beaut y and j oy. Ican’ tcont rolwhatot hers choose t o do and say butIcan cont rolmy camera. Ican cont rolhow Iuse my camera,whatt of ocus on and pl ay wi t h. Beaut y and j oy now gui de my phot ographi c process. Thi sf ocus has i nf used my phot ography wi t h a renewed sense ofcreat i vi t y.
TheBankVol e -Davi d A Tayl or,LRPS
Back i nt he summerSebast i an made a commenti nt he AWAKE Phot ography group aboutal ways havi ng yourcamera ready and Imade a commenti n response t o hi s st at ement ,t hatt hi s was i ndeed somet hi ng t hatIdo,and t hese i mages are partofa seri es ofa wi l dl i f e proj ectt hatI have undert aken. Icapt ured al loft hese i mages i n my back garden. Ti me and agai nI ' ve satt here f or hours wat chi ng whatt hi sl i t t l e bank vol e gotup t o,and Ievent ual l y st art ed put t i ng outbi t s off ood f orhi m. Ist art ed outwi t h some nut s,butaf t ersome research f ound t hey pref erf rui t ,whi ch made sense,so I putan appl e outf orhi m and sure enough, he l oved i t . If ound t he whol et hi ng somehow bot h rel axi ng and f asci nat i ng. As t he mont hs wenton,It ri ed di f f erent f oods unt i lOct ober,when Iwas i na supermarketwi t h my wi f e and saw t he bi g pumpki ns,so Ideci ded t hatwas t he next vent ure,Iboughta smal lone and cuta hol ei ni tand sure enough my vol tl oved i t !And so di d I-because Ihad my camera ready and Igotsome wonderf ulphot os as a resul t ! Davi dl i ves i n Norf ol ki nt he UK. ht t ps: //www. perf ect pi ct uresuk. com/
Sti ll Li fe Phot raphy -Ron Mayhew
TheDut ch Mast erPai nt er soft he sevent eent h cent ur yar eamong my f avor i t es.Especi al l yt hest i l ll i f e pai nt er s.Thei rcomposi t i onsand t he wayt hey“ pai ntt hel i ght ”capt i vat eme. Wi t ht heDut ch Mast er sasi nspi r at i on, mybackgr ound i n scul pt ur e,and my passi on f orphot ogr aphy,expl or at i on oft heSt i l lLi f ePhot ogr aph i sa wel comedi r ect i on i n my cr eat i vej our ney. Onet hatIam eagert o expl or e. ng i n cont r oloft heent i r e Bei pr ocess,begi nni ng wi t ht he concept i on,cr eat i on and t hel i ght i ng of ot hemaki ng t het abl eau,t oft hephot ogr aph,and t he nalpost pr ocessi ng t oget herf eedsmy cr eat i vespi r i t . If eelt hej our neyhas j ustbegun.
Hummi ngBi rds -Li nda Hal l
Ruby-Throat ed hummi ngbi rds nestf requent l yi n Cent ralTexas. Af t erl ayi ng t hei reggs,t hey i ncubat et hem f or15 t o 18 days. The mai nt enance man atLonghorn RV Resortpropert y,where Il i ve, unexpect edl y came upon a hummi ngbi rd nesti n a Mesqui t et ree. The t i mi ng was i ncredi bl yf ort unat e because Ibegan at t empt i ng t o phot ograph t he nestdai l y,and t he very nextday,t he f i rstchi ck was hat ched. Iknew t hen t hatIwoul d be abl et o phot ograph t he hummi ngbi rds f orj usta f ew shortweeks. Iused my Canon 80D/Canon 70-200 f /2. 8L I S USM l ens on a t ri pod wi t h a shut t erremot et ri ggert o one si de oft he nest ,about 15 f eetaway. Ial so used my Sony a6000/Sony 18-200 f /3. 5-6. 3 OSS LE E-mountf rom t he car,whi ch was parked about30 f eet away. Fornestoverhead shot s Iused my Samsung Gal axy Not e 8. Icapt ured t he mom f eedi ng t he chi cks 5 t i mes i nt he 20 days Ispentphot ographi ng t hem,and di d not gett he f i rsti mage ofherdoi ng so unt i lDay 9! Isetup as soon as i tst art ed get t i ng l i ghti nt he earl y morni ng,around 6: 30 am. Iusual l y spentabout2 hours each morni ng capt uri ng i mages. Mostoft he i mages were capt ured bet ween f /2. 8 and f /6. 3 wi t h speeds general l yf rom 1/500 t o 1/1000 ofa second. The mostsurpri si ng t hi ng aboutt he chi cks was how qui ckl yt hey grew f rom j el l ybean si ze t of ul l -si ze hummi ngbi rds. The ot hersurpri si ng t hi ng was t hatt hey di d notseem t o mi nd me bei ng around t he nest . The mom hummi ngbi rd di df l y around t he t ri pod/camera setup a coupl e oft i mes t he f i rstf ew days,but af t ert hatshe seemed t o notbe bot hered by i tatal l . The f i rstchi ck t of l edge di d so on Day 18. Icapt ured t hatf rom t he back (wi t ht he camera on t ri pod) and f rom t he f ront(wi t h my Sony,f rom t he carwi ndow),and t hen was f ort unat et o be abl et o capt ure a bunch ofi mages oft he chi ck on a hi gh l i mb oft he t ree,f l appi ng i t s wi ngs and preeni ng i t sf eat hers. The f ol l owi ng day,Day 19,Igotsome i mages oft he l one l i t t l e hummi ngbi rd i nt he nest ,butwhi l e Iwas f ussi ng wi t h equi pment ,i tsurpri sed me and f l edged t he nestwi t houtme bei ng abl et o capt ure a si ngl e i mage ofi t . The nestmi nd you i s onl y2 Ÿ i nches by 1 ½ i nches. I ti s hard t oi magi ne 2 l i t t l e bi rds i n t hatt i ny space.Il earned a greatdealabouthummi ngbi rds,researchi ng t hem whi l e Idi dt he proj ect , such as t he f actt hathummi ngbi rds cannotwal k,and t hatt hey go f rom 0 mph t o 60 mph i nt he space of 3f eet !
CONTRI BUTI NG PHOTOGRAPHERS 0 8 6S H E R R I R E E D , C O R I N N ED A V I S 0 0 2L E T T E RF R O MS E B A S T I A N 0 3 5K E I T HH A WL E Y 0 6 OC O R R I N ED A V I S 0 8 7T H O M A SL A T H A M 0 0 3M A R I E T J I ED UT O I T 0 3 6D E N I S EM c D E R M O T T 0 6 1S H E R R I R E E D 0 8 8B O BE G A N , S H E L L E YB E N J A M I N 0 0 4P A U L OC R U S 0 3 7D I A N AH A R O N I S 0 6 2C H U C KR U T E N B E R G 0 8 9J E A NH U T T E R , M A R I EO T E R O 0 0 5R O S AP E R R Y 0 3 8D O NN E U F E L D B O BE G A N 0 9 0A N N AB L A N D 0 0 6N I N AI R V I N P A U L OC R U S 0 6 3D E N I S EM c D E R M O T T 0 9 1N I N AI R V I N 0 0 7B E R N I C EF A R G U S 0 3 9S U Z A N N EF I T Z P A T R I C K 0 6 4D O VF U C H S 0 9 2K R I S T I N EO R N 0 0 8S H E R R I R E E D 0 4 0C H R I S T I N ET U R N E RC O L E S 0 6 5D E EA D A M S 0 9 3D O VF U C H S , D O NN E U F E L D , 0 0 9L I N D AC E L I S 0 4 1 J U L I EC O WE L 0 6 6A L A NS T E P H E N S O N J U L I EC O WE L 0 1 0B O BE G A N 0 4 2N I N AI R V I N 0 6 7B E AR O S E N L E A F 0 9 4P A MR O B I N S O NC R E S WE L L 0 1N I N AI R V I N 0 4 3P R E S T O NM O O C H N E C K 0 6 8I N N AM A L O S T O V K E R C O R I N N ED A V I S 0 1 2R E N E EP H O E N I X M A U R E E NM A X WE L L 0 6 9S H E L L E YB E N J A M I N 0 9 5B O BE G A N 0 1 3D I N A EE A S T H A M 0 4 4M I C H E L L EM O N D R A G O N 0 7 0I A NM c G R E G O R 0 9 6N A N C YB R I D E N D I N E M A R I E T J I ED UT O I T 0 4 5M I C H E L L EM O N D R A G O N 0 7 1K A R E NW A A L WY K 0 9 7D I A N AH A R O N I S 0 1 4J U L I EC O WD Y 0 4 6M A R T H AB A U D E R N I N AI R V I N 0 9 8C H R I SB R U N T O N , M A R I EO T E R O P E N N YD EJ O N G 0 4 7B O BE G A N 0 7 2D I A N AH A R O N I S 0 9 9B O BE G A N 0 1 5V I K I M U R R A Y 0 4 8V I K I M U R R A Y 0 7 3G A I LE D W A R D S 1 0 0M A R I EO T E R O 0 1 6R I CM A T K O WS K I 0 4 9N I N AI R V I N 0 7 4J U L I EP O WE L L 1 0 1M A R I E O T E R O C H U C KR U T E N B E R G 0 5 0D E N I S EM c D E R M O T T 0 7 5M A R I T J I ED UT O I T S P E C I A LP R O J E C T S 0 1 7M A R T H AWE A V E R M A R T H AB A U D E R 0 7 6D E A NH O H N 1 0 2M A C R O-B O BWI L D 0 1 8L I N D AC E L I S 0 5 1T H O M A SL A T H A M N I C O L EWI L D E 1 0 4F L O WE R S-C H R I SWU C H E R E R 0 1 9C A R O L Y NJ E N S O N 0 5 2S H E R I E M E R S O N 0 7 7B E R N I C EF A R G U S 0 6T H EB A N KV O L E-D A V I DT A Y L O R 0 2 0S H E L L E YB E N J A M I N N I N AI R V I N 0 7 8I N G R I DP O M E R O Y , J U L I EC O WD Y 1 1 0 8C Y A N O T Y P E S-V I VB U C K L E Y N I N AI R V I N 0 5 3H E L G AB L A N K E 0 7 9D A N AH A R O N I S 1 1 1 S T I L LL I F E-R O NM A H E W 0 2 1D E A NH O H N 0 5 4K A R E NW A A L WY K 0 8 0M A U R E E NM A X WE L L 5H U M M I N G B I R D S-L I N D AH A L L 0 2 2F E A T U R E DP H O T O G R A P H E R 0 5 5M A R I E T J I ED UT O I T 0 8 1D I A N AH A R O N I S , C L A U D ET R E W 1 1 8C O N T R I B U T I N GP H O T O G R A P H E R S -0 3 1 M A R I EO T E R O 0 5 6D E B O R A HT U C K E R , J E A NH U T T E R 0 8 2D E N N I SR I C K A R D , I A NM c G R E G O R1 1 9P H O T O G R A P H E RWE B S I T E S 0 3 2L I N D AC E L I S 0 5 7N A N C YB R I Z E N D I N E , Y V O N N EH O L M A N0 8 3K A R E NW A A L WY K O V E RM A R I EO T E R O 0 3 3C L A U D ET R E W 0 5 8N I N AI R V I N 0 8 4M A R T H AB A U D E R , B O BE G A N C I N R OI M A G EI A NM c G R E G O R 0 3 4C H R I S T I N AB R U N T O N 0 5 9J U L I EC O WD Y 0 8 5D O VF U C H S AwakePhotographyMagazi neVol7December 2020
PHOTOGRAPHERS’W EBSI TES
Mar i eOt er o -ModelCr edi t s I vor yFl ame J enJ ones Emma Fi neAr tModelAgencyRome Eveyeni a Munazza ZoeCel es t e Fai t hObae ZoiMor gan Ayl a Ros e Ana Anous hAnou oppys eed Dancer P
AwakePhotographyMagazi ne-Layout&Desi gnbyMari eOteroi nCollaborati onwi thSebasti anMi chaelsandMyri amKri el
“Inthemi dstofchaos, therei salsoopportuni ty.� -SunTzu
AwakePhotographyMagazi neVol7.December2020