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Wildflower photo contest winners
The photos we found ourselves judging in the wildflower contest were so exquisitely good, that almost all of them deserve a prize. We have just two prizes, though, however amazing they may be.
As a result, we created some special categories to recognize a few images.
This photo by thutie won our San Francisco hearts and the award for "best flower photo with a moral." The photographer explains that it was the only tulip with a touch of red and calls the image "Being Different."
This one, by user wks4food, earned the "best wildflower in an unlikely place" award:
This exquisite piece of craftsmanship from rhorn2 owned the category of "wildflower not in the wild." Words fail me.
This one, from electrathecat, beat out some tough competition for the title of "best image of a flower with an animal nearby." What a magical shot of a hummingbird:
Now we have some very deserving runners-up. The fourth runner up comes from lcclark1, whose clever framing makes the viewer feel like he or she is sneaking up on the flower:
The third runner-up from lookin4 made us want to go to Figueroa Mountain, stat, and roll down this amazing hill. The image really captures the excitement of wildflowers in bloom and is technically flawless:
The second runner-up, by orgazmo, offered proof, however, that you don't need to go somewhere special or find an exotic specimen to get a gorgeous photo of a flower. The light shining through this plain Jane is irresistible:
The first runner-up came from Angelwolf. Wow! The perfectly symmetrical framing emphasizes the pattern of the flower in a wonderful case of art imitating life:
We are awarding second prize to this picture by jaalvare, which brings the photographer's own sensibility to the flower without competing with its beauty — no easy task. We also liked the almost mystical quality of the rolling Marin hills in the background.
And finally (drum roll, please), we're awarding first prize to this stunner by wudwrkr, which not only features three different kinds of wildflowers, but also pulls off an ambitious panorama with technical perfection and soul. It was — like many other real beauties — taken at the Carrizo Plain National Monument, which just made its way onto my to-do list.
Thanks to everyone who participated for the beautiful, beautiful photos. Seriously, you're all winners.
Prize-winners will be contacted — if you don't hear from us, get in touch because we may have the wrong email address.
| April 27 2010 at 06:11 AM
Last day to submit wildflower photos!
Today is the last day to enter SFGreen's wildflower photo contest. It's a beautiful day, so get out there and take some pictures! Submit by midnight to be considered for our fantastic prizes:
• a $75 gift certificate from Plant It Earth
• two tickets (value $42) for the Railtown 1897 State Historic Park's wildflower train ride
Check out the full contest rules and submit your photos!
| April 16 2010 at 11:43 AM
Flowers can't get a break, but they take a pretty picture
That last week's cherry blossom festival in Japantown was rained out is the least of the flowers' trouble, according to the U.K. Telegraph. In Japan, where the blossoms are revered and celebrated with gusto, they bloomed a full week earlier than average. (Because the the cherry blossom festival is an important tradition, accurate records have been kept of the blossoms' appearance for some 600 years.)
Nobuyuki Asada, a member of the Japan Cherry Blossom Association, warned that many trees were "not blossoming as well as they used to" due to the effects of global warming. And, he said, "With the change in temperatures and a more erratic rainy season, I am not sure that we will still have cherry trees in 50 or 100 years." Now that would be a shame, because you don't have to be Japanese to recognize how lovely cherry blossoms are.
A new study conducted in New York suggests that, domestically, too, we may have fewer and fewer opportunities to stop and smell the flowers. Some 50 species native to the metropolitan area have already of disappeared; the study identified the main threat as competition from invasive species.
Our California wildflowers are also in jeopardy. Many thrive in coastal fog, and recent summers have seen almost a third less fog than they did at the beginning of the last century. Here, too, invasive species — Sahara mustard, for one — are giving the gentle beauties the squeeze.
What can you do? The real work is in adopting best practices for invasive flora and pushing for reductions in carbon emissions. But, in the short term, why not take pictures of the beautiful flowers now in bloom? It's an inspiration to act, a record for posterity, and a chance to win fantastic prizes in our wildflower photo contest!
Submit photos by this Friday, April 16, for the chance to win a $75 gift certificate to Plant It Earth or two tickets for the Railtown 1897 State Historic Park's wildflower train ride. (Full contest rules here.)
| April 14 2010 at 06:39 AM
Announcing wildflower photo contest
Spring has sprung, and wildflowers across the state are in full bloom. We want to see your photos!
Submit them by April 16 for the chance to win some amazing prizes. First prize is a $75 gift certificate to Plant It Earth and second prize, in name only, is a pair of tickets for the Railtown 1897 State Historic Park wildflower train ride on April 24 or May 1. (See full contest rules.)
Guest judge Katherine Edwards of Pelican Studio in Point Reyes will help SFGate staff choose the winners.
Lee Prince / Shutterstock
Richard Fitzer / Shutterstock
| April 05 2010 at 10:34 AM
Winners of wildlife photo contest
Wow.
The photos we got for this contest were mind-blowingly, earth-shatteringly good. It sounds like a cliche to say we've had an impossible time choosing a winner and that every one of the photos mentioned in this post—and many, many others in the gallery—deserves a prize. But it's absolutely true. (Check out all of the submissions here.)
Sadly, we've only got two great prizes to give out: a $100 gift certificate to Sports Basement and a $75 art enlargement from Photoworks.
So first some shout outs are in order. This photo by kwallitner wins for best action shot:
These two photos, by copyboy1 and cosmic_ray respectively, tie for cutest: The animals are displayed while engaged in typical behaviors that just happen to be adorable.
This photo by fkhm wins for greatest risk to the photographer:
Yes, as my friend a zookeeper says, polar bears are absolutely adorable...but they'll rip your [expletive] head off. Not to mention the obviously inclement weather.
Now for some runners up.
Third runner up: Our guest judge, wildlife photographer JP Li, flagged the "colors and background" of this gorgeous underwater shot of a sea turtle by seespotrun. You can almost hear the silence of the ocean.
Second runner up: Li directed us to the exquisite "composition and lighting" in this slam-dunk photo of a leopard by Rob_D:
First runner up: Shark! This is an amazing shot that captures a terrifyingly huge animal in action without sacrificing composition or focus. The reflection on the ocean is incredible.
As I said, all of the photos above deserve a prize. But we've only got two. Li, Living Producer Kristina Malsberger and I were all blown away by these shots.
Second prize goes to rpfisk, whose composition echoes content, perfectly balancing, said Li, "background, sky and elephants." The personality of these elephants is palpable, and their adaptation to their environment highlighted.
First prize goes to mikevanallen, who found beauty close to home in this lovely shot of an elk at Point Reyes. This shot captures the beauty of the animal in its habitat. Wildlife is so beautiful that sometimes just getting it on flim makes for a great photo, but mikevanallen used the photographer's skills to add something to the landscape.
Winners will be contacted about prizes. Thanks to Sports Basement, Photoworks, JP Li, and every single one of you who submitted! Look for landscape, wildflower and bird photo contests in the future.
| December 14 2009 at 12:05 PM
Last weekend to submit your wildlife photos
SFGreen's wildlife photo contest closes on Tuesday, December 8. The submissions are fantastic, but of course we'd love to see a few more: yours!
First prize is $100 gift certificate from Sports Basement, and second prize is a 20 x 30 image of your photo from Photoworks: either would make a great gift.
Here are some suggestions for where to find critters nearby. Submit your photos here.
| December 04 2009 at 09:13 AM
Where to find the wild things
Whether warm and fuzzy or grizzled and ferocious, wild animals make a great photograph! Don't forget to share the pictures in your treasure trove for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate from Sports Basement or a 20 x 30 giclee/hahnemule photo rag paper print from Photoworks.
And if you don't have photos yet, there's plenty of photogenic wildlife nearby:
- elephant seals at Año Nuevo State Reserve
- elks at Tomales Bay
- sea lions at Pier 39
- parrots on Telegraph Hill
- birds and maybe even whales at the Farrallon Islands
- and, of course, there's always the zoo!
Read our guest judge JP Li's tips and get out there!
When you have your masterpiece, submit it here. The deadline is December 8. (Don't forget to check out the complete contest rules.)
An elephant seal catches some shut-eye at Año Nuevo State Reserve
| November 30 2009 at 10:39 AM
Announcing wildlife photo contest
Can you take a picture like this:
Kristian Sekulic / Shutterstock
Or this?
William Tims / Shutterstock
Even if you can't, you can certainly try. Taking pictures is a great way to experience nature and share its beauty with others. And there's no greater challenge for a photographer, amateur or professional, than capturing the beauty of a wild creature on film. So here's your chance to (sort of) live your childhood dream of becoming a Natural Geographic photographer: Participate in SFGreen's wildlife photography contest!
Submit your photos here—preferably with a quick sentence about where you took them and how—by December 8! (See complete contest rules.)
There's prizes! First prize will be a $100 gift certificate from Sports Basement; second prize will be a 20 x 30 giclee/hahnemule photo rag paper print of your photograph from Photoworks.
JP Li
Winners will be selected by yours truly, SFGreen Communities Manager Cameron Scott, and Living Producer Kristina Malsberger. However, local professional photographer JP Li has agreed to help us hone in on the best images.
Li specializes in nature photography (wee his work here) and teaches at Ex'Pression College of Digital Arts in Emeryville. He offered a few general tips to get you ready to take great pictures for our contest.
Patience. Slow down and take your time. Many times, we get so enamored by the beauty around us we feel like we have to capture everything. Take some time to look around you and get a sense of what impresses you about a place. Learn to look at how the light is playing on the environment and think about how you can be capture that moment. Often times, early morning light and afternoon light are more dramatic and can provide for much more interesting photographs. Once you've seen something that captures your interest, think about how you can best capture that thing.
Try different perspectives and views. Once you've taken what you think your shot will be, try moving around and capturing it from a different angle. You might get down low, above, or really close to a subject. We all often come back with wonderful memories of that animal or landscape we saw but we don't get that same feeling when we come home and look at our photos. Part of what a photographer does is look for interesting angles and views to frame the subject. Learn to see what your subject matter is and then try to frame your composition so that you frame just what's important. A good photographer knows what to leave out just as much he or she leaves in the frame.
Use a tripod. We've all done this: You take a bunch of photos, come home and they're all blurry. One thing that can help is getting a small tripod. It's difficult, both for professionals and beginners, to get really crisp images without using a tripod. If you don't have one, look to see if you can place your camera on a ledge or rock to help stabilize it.
Keep shooting. Take a lot of photographs! As with all crafts, practice does make perfect. The more photos you take, the more mistakes you'll make, and that's a good thing. Take the time to look at your photos and constantly be looking at ways to keep improving them. There's no better way to start getting better. Don't worry about all the fancy gear that professionals sometimes have. Get to know your camera. The more you know how your camera behaves the better you'll be able to come away with killer photos. Remember, it's not the gear; it's the photographer who makes great photos.
Have fun. Sounds simple, right? Remember you're out there taking photos because you want to capture the beautiful moments and share them with others. The more you enjoy it, the less like work it will seem be to keep improving and getting better.
Good luck out there!
Excited? Great! Check out the complete contest rules and submit your photos by December 8.
| November 23 2009 at 06:05 AM
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