Rangefinder Magazine Annual Photography Contest 2017
I’m always looking at different photography competitions to enter. It’s fun to see if anything I’ve created is loved by someone other than me. I’m very picky about the companies, magazines, or galleries I submit to. Some are just out to make a buck. Those I avoid.
Rangefinder Magazine is hands down my favorite place to check out upcoming competitions and to view photographs others have submitted to their various contests. They host many different photography contests a year ranging from babies to weddings, to dramatic lighting, or fine art. The magazine has been around for more than 60 years and is distributed worldwide. With its prestigious reputation, winning an award and being showcased with them is an honor!
This year I decided to enter Rangefinder’s Annual Photography Contest. This contest showcases the best photography from the past year. I entered a piece that I worked hours and hours on. And, I won!
How I Got the Shot
It was a multi step process that started with taking a vacation with my family and chasing a child around a salty desert.
The photoshoot came together very organically. My family loves to go mining. We took a trip out to Jet, Oklahoma to mine for salt crystals at the Great Salt Plains. When we arrived at the mine, I knew I had to photograph something here. The mine was actually a flat oasis of white sand and salt. It was so flat that the wind ripped across the plain at about 20mph. When my daughter jumped out of the truck with her pink and orange blanket, the wind grabbed it and inspiration hit. Photo shoot time!
I easily convinced my daughter to run around in every direction holding on to her blanket like a giant cape. I snapped about 100 images before she got bored. No lighting effects other than the direction of the sun were used.
Once home and the images were downloaded and edited, I started picking apart pieces of each photo and pasting them to one giant image board in Photoshop. It took me hours and hours to correctly place all the blanket parts. I created and took away many different shadows and blanket seams. My daughter was originally wearing floral leggings and a gold and blue Wonder Woman shirt. Needless to say, it didn’t work with the shot very well. I created a dress for her to wear instead. Afterward, she asked me about ‘that pretty blue dress’, confused because she didn’t own any dress like that.
A few of the shots used
Advice
Always take a camera everywhere you go. You never know when something amazing will land in your field of vision.
Also, take a vacation. Totally worth it!
