Salon Acceptances September 2016

Welcome back to the new season of Minnesota Nature Photography Club meetings. Here are the Salon acceptances for September – Congratulations to you all – your images will be moved forward for judging in the end of year competition. The year end images will be showcased and the competition results will be announced at the May meeting.

 

Deanne Probst	Salt Lake City departure	8
Eric Gustafson	Success	8
Larry Duke	Dragonfly	9
Karl Fiegenschuh	Aurora Borealis Boulder Lake	9
Dave Klein	Ruddy Duck Reflection	8
Carole Mannheim	Laughing Thrush	8
Dee Hunnisett-Dritz	Green	10
John Pennoyer	Oak Savanna Star Trails	10
Dave Perez	Yellow Sulphur on Knapweed	10
Alan Schulz	Snipe in Blowing Grass	10
Don Specht	Eastern Bluebird Feeding Nestling	10
Scott Landseidel	Bald Eagle Talons	8
Gene Lange	Loon with Chick	9
Paul Kammen	Grand Prismatic Fogbow	10
Deanne Probst	Elk Bugler in park	9
Terry Kochaver	Rock Patterns	8
Mariann Cyr	Iceberg Blue	10
Karl Fiegenschuh	Foggy Morn Mount Rainier	9
Carole Mannheim	Buckeye	9
Jean McDonough	Two prairie dogs nose to nose	8
John Pennoyer	Loon Stretch	9
Dave Perez	Spoonbill andEegret	8
Alan Schulz	Elephant Seals Fighting Over Female	10
Don Specht	Atlantic Puffin Landing	10
Scott Landseidel	Dripping Wet Buck	10
Gene Lange	Western Grebe Family	9

Story Behind the 10s – Snowy Owl On The Prowl

 

From the Photographer : Scott Landseidel
This image was captured on a very cold February morning in 2014, the year of the great Snowy Owl erruption.  I had spent the previous 3 weekends, along with a few other photographers, watching two Snowy Owls at this location.  The story goes that a farmer near there would clean the varmints out of his barn and leave them in the fields, much to the owl’s delight.  This morning I was lucky to catch this owl as he surveyed the area in search of a snack.  The light reflecting off the bottom of the wings cast a highlight in the snow as he approached.  The high speed at which the owls were flying made it difficult to keep them in focus but a few of my images were spot on.

That was the last good winter we’ve had.  Fifteen to twenty degrees below with a brisk wind. The good old days.

Technical data:  Nikon D600, 70-200mm  with a 2x  at 280mm, ISO 250, 1/1600, F-11, using a monopod.

Story Behind the 10s – Breeding Grounds

 

From the Photographer : Eric Gustafson

I grew up in Northwestern Minnesota in a small town called Mentor.  I moved to the Twin Cities in 1986. On October 12th 2004 the Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge  was established with 37,756 acres.  My father told me I should go and see the prairie chickens at a lek (dancing/breeding ground) from a blind. I took his advice and started to look into reserving a blind.  The very first time I went I was hooked. It started with the goosebumps as the prairie chickens started to arrive in the dark. I have returned several years in a row. Sometimes the birds would be close other times, not.  I have enjoyed it every single time.

This year I got to my blind at 5am just as the prairie chickens started to arrive. I knew it was going to be good. Some of the birds were walking right next to the blind and I was able to shoot pictures with my cell phone. I shot over 2000 photos and kept trying to capture them quarreling.  I found it very difficult to get sharp images as the birds explode into the air from the ground. I was using a single focus point and focused on one prairie chicken . This image was my favorite of the trip.

Technical Data:  Canon 7D Mark II, Tamron 150-600 mm, f/11 @ 200 mm, @ 1/1250, ISO 1600

Story Behind the 10s – Loon Droplet

From the Photographer Ian Campbell

My family was out on a pontoon ride over 4th of July last year in Northern Minnesota. We spotted a loon as we cruised along the shore. After we turned off the motor to watch, it approached the boat. When it got closer it dunked its head for an underwater view. I captured this shot right after it pulled up and as the water drained off its head. I had hoped to capture a nice closeup portrait of the loon and got the bonus of the frozen water droplet.

Technical Details: Canon 50D, Canon 100-400mm, ISO 500, f/7.1, 1/800 sec., Handheld

Story Behind the 10s – Red Crowned Crane

From the Photographer Karl Fiegenschuh

Red Crowned Crane.

This Red-crowned Crane was found at the Akan Crane Center in Hokkaido, Japan. The Crane Center is a research facility dedicated to the study of Red-crowned Cranes. Cranes tend to gather here in the winter (in this case in February) for a daily feeding. On this day about 150 cranes descended on the Center and spent time preening and doing their spectacular mating dance. I was able to make this image of a crane near the viewing platform with my hand held camera while keeping an eye open for flight and dance opportunities for my tripod-mounted camera and long lens.

An interesting side note is that on this particular day a regional newspaper was at the Crane Center to do a story about all the foreigners with their heavy tripods and huge lenses who had come to photograph the cranes. The photos in the article showed photographers jammed shoulder to shoulder and featured more 500+mm lenses than it did cranes!

Technical data: Canon 1D Mark III camera. Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS lens at 135mm (35mm equivalent: 175mm). 1/1000 sec. at f/8. ISO 400. Hand held and cropped to square format

Story Behind the 10s – Polar Bear Cub Close Up

 

From the Photographer Don Tredinnick

The Polar Cub Close-up image was taken in October of 2014 at a location north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska. I was on a polar bear and northern lights photography tour run by two Alaskan photographers, Patrick Endres and Hugh Rose.

On October 17, we flew from Prudhoe Bay to Kaktovik AK, a small town of about 250 people. Polar bears are drawn to the town when there is open water due to a large pile of whale bones piled at the far end of the airport. On the 18^th, we went out on a small boat into the partially frozen bay. The owner of the boat repeatedly rammed the ice with his boat breaking a path out to where we could observe the bears. Once in position, he made a larger circle of an opening to leave a little bit of a buffer.

Since polar bears are rather curious, it wasn’t long before they started to come in for a closer look. To give an idea of how close we were, the following photo was taken by Jillian Wilson a member of our group that was not on the boat. (There were 8 people in our group, and only 5 could be out on the boat at any point in time.)

 

The bears managed to get close enough that they were inside the minimum focus range of our long lenses.

Technical Data:  Nikon D7100; Nikon 200-400 f/4 lens. The camera settings were ISO 640, f/4, 1/400, at 200mm.

 

Story Behind the 10s – Cliffhanger

 

From the Photographer John Anderson

This image was captured in the South Dakota Badlands a few days after Thanksgiving, which generally corresponds with the annual Big Horned Sheep rut.   Typically most of the activity occurs in the Pinnacles area of the park, but sometimes you can see action nearer the east entrance, in the vicinity of the Ranger station, as shown in this photograph.

We were fortunate to witness the pandemonium that can ensue when a ewe goes into heat, setting off the rams.This can be even more dramatic when dominance has not been clearly established among the male sheep. Two individuals of equal size and strength can really put on a show. The ewe attempted to find refuge on the steep cliff face. The pursuing rams followed, stopping intermittently to challenge and battle each other. It is astounding how well Big Horned Sheep can keep their footing in steep terrain, especially when most of the geography is made up of soft clay which crumbles underfoot.

The lighting conditions were challenging. It was early afternoon with harsh sunlight.We got lucky that the action took place on the north side of the bluff in full shade.

Technical Data: The image was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 100-400 mm lens at f / 5.6 (actual focal length 400mm), ISO 1600.

You can view more images from this photographer by visiting his website  http://jarthuranderson.com

Year End Awards 2015 – 2016

 

Image of the Year 2016

 

Night Lights – Michael Thompson

 

 

 

Wildlife Image of the Year 2016

 

Great Gray Owl – environmental – John Pennoyer

 

Category Winners

Botany

 

1st Place

Ram’s Head – Mariann Cyr

 

2nd Place

Maple Seeds close up – Mariann Cyr

 

Honorable Mentions

Milkweed – Bill McMichael

Black Eyed Susan Bud – Don Specht

White Water Lily Pair with Hovering Bee – Dee Hunnisett-Dritz

Showys and Horsetail Ferns – John Pennoyer

Yellow Lady’s Slipper – John Anderson

Pasque Flower Duo – Mariann Cyr

General

 

1st Place

 

Sunset at Half Dome – Paul Kammen

 

 

 

 2nd Place

 

Icy Sunrise – Karl Fiegenschuh

 

 

Honorable Mentions

Alaska Air – Ron Lagerquist

Schwabacher’s Landing – Don Tredinnick

Icy Glow – Kathy Bishop

Cranes at Sunrise – Deanne Probst

Key West Sunset – Celeste Rouse

To the Moon Alice – Celeste Rouse

Rialto Beach Sunset – Karl Fiegenschuh

Colors – John LaMere

Oak Savannah Aurora Borealis – John Pennoyer

Wild Icelandic Surf – Nancy Cox

Rippling Color – Kathy Bishop

Zoology

 

1st Place

Rosy Spoonbill – Dave Perez

 

2nd Place

Mother and Cub – Paul Kammen

 

Honorable Mentions

Riding with Mom – Phillip Bush

Land Iguana Cactus Lunch – Mariann Cyr

Red Crowne Crane – Karl Fiegenschuh

Elk Bugle -Rick Graves

Elephant Seal Pup on Back – Alan Schulz

Velvet Just Rubbed Off – Alan Schulz

Eye to Eye – Don Specht

Elegant Egret – Don Specht

Surf’n Loon – Scott Landseidel

Whitetail Skirmish – Scott Landseidel

Go Bison – Scott Landseidel

Hunting Eagle – Paul Kammen

Milkweed Royalty – Michael Thompson

Bath Time – Mike Holtz

Prairie Chicken Flight  Alan Schulz

Great Blue Heron with Nesting Material – Don Specht

Cheetah Feeding – Mariann Cyr

Spirit Buffalo – John Anderson

Congratulations are extended to all

Salon Acceptances April 2016

Here are the Salon acceptances for April – Congratulations to you all – your images will be moved forward for judging in the end of year competition. The year end images will be showcased and the competition results will be announced at the May meeting.

 

John Anderson	Mother Owl	9
Kathy Bishop	Out of the Mist	10
Mike Sweet	Otters In Ice	9
Ian Campbell	Nawadaha Flow	9
Deanne Probst	Melting at Sunset	8
Eric Gustafson	Breeding Grounds	10
Dave Hoyt	Necking Herons	8
Kristin Hoyt	Red, White, & Black	8
Celeste Rouse	Love	9
Michael Thompson	Reflection	10
Phillip Bush	Edisto Egret	8
Mariann Cyr	Magnificent Frigatebird Lunch	9
Larry Duke	LD3_1501 – Version 2.	9
John Dykstra	Milkweed	10
Rick Graves	Elk Bugle	8
John LaMere	LittleSerpent	9
Carole Mannheim	Night Harem	10
Jean McDonough	Bison by Old Faithful	10
Dee Hunnisett-Dritz	White Tail Baby	8
Carol Jacobson	Pasque Flowers Lined Up	8
Linda Hoss	Splash Landing	9
John Pennoyer	Hollow Rock in B & W	9
Alan Schulz	Kelp Goose Gosling	10
Don Specht	Elegant Egret	9
Roger Williams	Brown Pelican Portrait	10
Nancy Cox	Vesturhorn Iceland	10
Scott Landseidel	Snowy Owl On The Prowl	10
Gene Lange	Painted Bunting	9
John Anderson	Cliff Hanger	10
Paul Kammen	Eastern Screech Owl	8
Mike Sweet	Cardinals Gift	9
Eric Gustafson	Majestic Buck	8
Celeste Rouse	Always Guarding	9
Michael Thompson	Wood Duck Portrait	10
Phillip Bush	Pick Me	10
Larry Duke	LD3_1503	9
John Dykstra	Cormorant	10
Rick Graves	Snowy Geese	9
Paul Hoppe	Canyon Tree	9
Ron Lagerquist	Anemone	10
John LaMere	Sticky Landing	9
Dee Hunnisett-Dritz	Great Smoky Mountain Blues	8
Linda Hoss	Geese	9
John Pennoyer	Yellow Lady’s slippers	8
Alan Schulz	Gentoo and Waves	10
Don Specht	Mogul Hunter	10
Roger Williams	Fishing	9
Nancy Cox	Wild Icelandic Surf	9
Kathy Bishop	Into the Sunset	9
Scott Landseidel	Prairie Chicken at Sunrise	9
John Anderson	Stretch	9
Mariann Cyr	Cheetah Feeding	8
Carole Mannheim	Puma	8
Alan Schulz	Water Highlights	9
Mariann Cyr	Pasque Flower Duo	9
Nancy Cox	Lofoton Fjord	9

 

 

Story Behind the 10s – Rialto Beach Sunset

From the Photographer Karl Fiegenschuh

Rialto Beach Sunset.

I captured this image along Rialto Beach in Olympic National Park around 9:30 pm on a June day. We were waiting for the sun and the moon to set so we could photograph the Milky Way. It had been a long day, and we still had two and a half more hours to wait until the sky got dark enough. So it was a good thing that we had an interesting sunset to occupy our time while waiting. I wandered around looking for interesting compositions that aligned sea stacks with the waves and the reflection of the sky in the water. Perhaps the biggest challenge was finding compositions without people in them. In this particular case I liked the vertical composition, but I have others which are equally nice in a landscape format.

Technical Data: Sony NEX-6 camera. Sony/Zeiss 16-70mm lens at 26mm (35mm equivalent: 39mm). 1/30 sec. at f/8. ISO 200. Gitzo tripod, Kirk Ballhead and 2 second self timer.