This gallery is for photographs that I have submitted into competitions at the Mile High Wildlife Photography Club's monthly contests. The competitions usually include three of the categories the club uses for their contests. These categories are:
Wildlife
* Wildlife is the main subject and dominates the frame.
* Wildlife whose normal, everyday movements are not controlled by man and are free to roam.
* No domesticated, captive, or controlled animals. Evidence of the hand of man, if any, must be secondary.
Wildlife CC (Captive or Controlled)
* Wildlife under controlled conditions, including, but not limited to, zoos, game farms, captives, rehab centers, and domesticated wild animals in a natural setting.
* The animal(s) must be the primary focal point, and evidence of the hand of man or the controlled environment, if any, must be secondary.
Wildlife IIE (In Its Environment)
* Wildlife in a scenic environment where the presence of the wildlife should be minimal and small in the frame.
* Wildlife whose normal, everyday movements are not controlled by man and are free to roam.
* No domesticated, captive, or controlled animal.
* Evidence of the hand of man, if any, must be secondary.
Scenic
* Scenic, geological, botanical, and meteorological subjects.
* Plant life should be naturally occurring. No domesticated species.
* The scenic must be the primary focal point.
* Evidence of the hand of man must be minimal.
* Man-made objects or wildlife are acceptable as long as they are a very minor compositional element and not a main focal point of the image. They should not distract from, or enhance, the scenic elements of the picture.
* Images may be color, black-and-white, or toned (e.g., sepia). Stitched panoramas and/or HDR processing is acceptable.
Open
* Any nature image that does not fit into the other categories can be entered in this category.
* There are no post processing restrictions for the Open category. Creativity and artistic manipulation are encouraged.
* A description of what was done to the image must accompany the entry.
* All components of composite images must be the original artwork of the photographer.
* Images must meet the subject matter of the above categories.
Wildlife
* Wildlife is the main subject and dominates the frame.
* Wildlife whose normal, everyday movements are not controlled by man and are free to roam.
* No domesticated, captive, or controlled animals. Evidence of the hand of man, if any, must be secondary.
Wildlife CC (Captive or Controlled)
* Wildlife under controlled conditions, including, but not limited to, zoos, game farms, captives, rehab centers, and domesticated wild animals in a natural setting.
* The animal(s) must be the primary focal point, and evidence of the hand of man or the controlled environment, if any, must be secondary.
Wildlife IIE (In Its Environment)
* Wildlife in a scenic environment where the presence of the wildlife should be minimal and small in the frame.
* Wildlife whose normal, everyday movements are not controlled by man and are free to roam.
* No domesticated, captive, or controlled animal.
* Evidence of the hand of man, if any, must be secondary.
Scenic
* Scenic, geological, botanical, and meteorological subjects.
* Plant life should be naturally occurring. No domesticated species.
* The scenic must be the primary focal point.
* Evidence of the hand of man must be minimal.
* Man-made objects or wildlife are acceptable as long as they are a very minor compositional element and not a main focal point of the image. They should not distract from, or enhance, the scenic elements of the picture.
* Images may be color, black-and-white, or toned (e.g., sepia). Stitched panoramas and/or HDR processing is acceptable.
Open
* Any nature image that does not fit into the other categories can be entered in this category.
* There are no post processing restrictions for the Open category. Creativity and artistic manipulation are encouraged.
* A description of what was done to the image must accompany the entry.
* All components of composite images must be the original artwork of the photographer.
* Images must meet the subject matter of the above categories.
1st Place. February 2013 - Wildlife Captured or Controlled. "Sophie in the Snow." Judged by John Fielder. This is a picture of Sophie the Great Horned Owl taken on a wintery day in November 2012. There was still a bit of fall color remaining on the trees which can be seen in the background bokeh. Sophie is a rescued bird as one of her wings is damaged and she can't fly, but she serves a greater purpose as her adopters use her beauty and kind demeanor to educate people about raptors and other subjects. And who doesn't fall in love with those amazing eyes! A special thanks goes to Rob Palmer for hosting the raptor shoot where I met this amazing owl and to Al Perry for teaching me about re-touching photos in Lightroom.
1st Place. February 2013 - Wildlife Captured or Controlled. "Sophie in the Snow." Judged by John Fielder. This is a picture of Sophie the Great Horned Owl taken on a wintery day in November 2012. There was still a bit of fall color remaining on the trees which can be seen in the background bokeh. Sophie is a rescued bird as one of her wings is damaged and she can't fly, but she serves a greater purpose as her adopters use her beauty and kind demeanor to educate people about raptors and other subjects. And who doesn't fall in love with those amazing eyes! A special thanks goes to Rob Palmer for hosting the raptor shoot where I met this amazing owl and to Al Perry for teaching me about re-touching photos in Lightroom.