Monthly Archives: July 2009

Commentary, Ideas

More info on ‘photo contest’ issues

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Yesterday’s post about problematic “terms” in photo contests elicited some responses (including email from the promoter of the contest I mentioned) and led me to some additional relevant information on the web.

First, thank you to Peter Phun for pointing me to his article at Black Star Rising that describes an contest that actually states in its terms that a goal is to build a library of cost-free images! I guess that the organizers of that contest at least get points for honesty…

While responding to another comment on this issue I made up an imaginary scenario to illustrate why entrants might want to be cautious about contest terms that assign legal and financial liability to the contest entrant for future use of the photographs by the contest sponsors. While doing so I found a link to another piece at Blackstar Rising (whose RSS feed I have now subscribed to!) that will help readers understand some of the potential liability issues that non-professional contests are unlikely to anticipate.

By the way, the promoter of the contest I wrote about yesterday emailed to say that the article was “false.” (He also made a few, ahem, “other points” that I won’t repeat here at the moment… ;-)  I told him that if he would point out “false” material in the post I would be happy to consider revising it – but so far I have heard nothing, but the offer still stands.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Tuolumne Meadows, Evening

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Tuolumne Meadows, Evening

Tuolumne Meadows, Evening. Yosemite National Park, California. July 10, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An evening with developing lenticular clouds above Mounts Dana and Gibbs, Lembert Dome, and Tuolumne Meadows – Yosemite National Park, California.

A friend or two who know about my “musical life” may appreciate the use of the term crescendo to describe the sequence of five photographs that begins with this one. I don’t want to give the story away in advance here, so you’ll need to check back over the next few days to see where this leads.

This photograph was made along the bank of the Tuolumne River not far from where the John Muir Trail crosses a bridge to the old Parson’s Lodge. When I made this photograph the sun was just about to drop behind the low ridges behind me at the west end of the Meadows, so here the forest and river are picking up the very last direct sun of the day.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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News, Photographers, Shows

If you are in Yosemite on Thursday…

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… Drop by the Ansel Adams Gallery at 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. – for the First Light Reception. From the announcement at the Gallery web site:

Come enjoy the photography of Charles Cramer, Karl Kroeber, Scot Miller, Mike Osborne, and Keith S. Walklet at the opening reception for the exhibit celebrating their book, First Light.

Ansel Adams Gallery, 9031 Village Dr., Yosemite National Park, CA 95389
For more information call (209) 372-4413.

I had a chance to look at a proof of the book a week ago and it is full of lots of wonderful photographs, along with Sierra Nevada stories from all five photographers.

Commentary, Ideas, Technique

Learning – and re-learning – photography lessons

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How many of us have had one or both of the following experiences?

  1. You plan to photograph something that requires some prior preparation – perhaps a very early arrival. You are virtually certain that you’ll have a great photographic opportunity. The clock goes off and you think, “Maybe I can wait just a few more minutes. I’ll still make it.” Or perhaps it is time to drop what you’re doing and head on out to photograph that late evening scene – but you’d rather just sit in camp a bit longer. And, be honest now, in some cases you just decide it would be easier to stay where you are. And the result? You – OK, I –  miss a great photographic opportunity. (First rule – you have to be there!)
  2. It doesn’t look like anything special is going to happen. You are not feeling terribly inspired, but somehow you manage to load up your gear and head out into the field. When you get there nothing seems all that special, but still you move ahead. Suddenly, and without warning, something wonderful does happen – and perhaps you even gloat a little bit afterward because you were the only one who dragged him/herself out there to photograph it. (Hey, that’s the “first rule” all over again!)

I sort of relearned that lesson again this past week while I was in the Tuolumne Meadows area of Yosemite National Park. This time I decided to take it a bit easy and instead of backpacking simply get a camp site at the large campground at Tuolumne Meadows. Perhaps the fact that I could sleep in and that I didn’t have to work hard caused me to, well, catch up on some sleep on the first couple of days. I was starting to fall into that trap when I finally decided that I needed to get “out there” even if I was oh so comfortable sitting around camp .

And on Thursday night I wasn’t quite certain what I would shoot, so I more or less figured, “Might as well shoot in Tuolumne Meadows.” When I got there I saw the beginnings of some amazing cloud formations – and I switched gears from “lazy photographer mode” and became “organized and productive photographer” for the next couple of hours. And I think I was rewarded for my efforts. The next five or so daily photographs posted here will tell the tale. Or so I hope… :-)

Like they say… first rule : Be there!