Chilling
Ruth Schaefer is this week's runner-up with her photo "Chilling" of a diver entering the Padonia Park pool. The moment was captured with a Canon Powershot A520. Jackson comments, "The frozen action and clean composition work well to make this photo stand out. "
Round and Round
The honorable mention for this week's Reader Sunshots series "Making Circles" goes to Ruth Schaefer for the picture titled "Round and Round." Ruthie's circles were captured in Massachusetts at the Old Sturbridge Village, one of the country's largest living history museums. Her detail shot of the belts and wheels of a historic wool carding machine is well composed with just a hint of the machine's motion.
Close Neighbors
Ruth Schaefer gets this weeks' honorable mention for her photo titled "Close Neighbors." At her daughter's suggestion, Ruth Googled "new housing developments" and found "Suburbia." "Ruth must have been channelling Robert Frank when she was searching for a place to shoot. Cropping a bit from the sides and from the bottom to just above the air-conditioning unit would help to emphazise the lines and graphic feel of the image."
A Cat Nap
Ruth Schaefer is this week's runner up with her photo of a sleeping lioness taken at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. The photo was taken with a Canon Rebel XSi and Tamron zoom lens at 100mm, f/9, 1/300sec. Director of photography Robert Hamilton comments,"There were a lot of sleeping cats images in this category so I picked the one that made me laugh. I think the photograph would actually have been stronger if the field of focus had been less, thus putting more of the emphasis on the sleeping feline."
Singing in the Rain
Honorable mention for this week's Reader SunShot series "Purple" goes to Ruth Schaefer for her picture of her neighbor carrying a umbrella with purple Irises. The picture was taken with a Canon Rebel XSi. Here is a critique by Baltimore Sun director of photography Robert Hamilton. "I like the eye catching pattern of the umbrella and the photographer had the right idea shooting the subject from behind. However, with a shallower field of focus the picture would have been less busy and the umbrella would have really jumped in the frame."
Food
Honorable mention for this week's Reader SunShot series "Food" goes to Ruth Schaefer for her picture of a little girl enjoying an ice cream cone at an event in Howard County. The picture was taken with a Canon XSi with a Tamron zoom lens. Here is a critique from Baltimore Sun director of photography Robert Hamilton. "It's hard to go wrong with cute kids and ice cream, a winning combination. My one criticism would be that with a shallower field of focus the face of the youngster would have separated more from both the foreground and background making for a cleaner image."
From Vine to Wine
This week's runner up is Ruth Schaefer for her image adding grapes on the vine to the finished product. Perna writes, "This double exposure resembles a painting of a still-life especially in softened outline of the hands and the vine, and is a wonderful story-telling illustration on wine."
Fuzzy Wuzzy
Ruth Schaefer is this weeks runner-up for her shot "Fuzzy Wuzzy" taken with a Tamron 90mm macro lens on a Canon Rebel XSi. "I came almost face-to-face with Fuzzy who was busy dining on a birch tree leaf next to my house," says Schaefer. "It was the oddest looking caterpillar I had ever seen. Luckily I had my camera with me equipped with a new macro lens I had been trying out." Jackson critiques, "This is an excellent shot of a banded tussock moth caterpillar seen on the leaf that it has been nibbling. Macro images have a very limited depth of field. The photographer did a good job keeping both the caterpillar and the leaf edge in sharp focus."
Ballerina
Patriotic
This week's runner up is Ruth Schaefer for her photo of WBFF's Traffic Jam Jimmy taken during Towson's July 4th parade this year. Her camera of choice was a Canon Rebel XSi with a 28-300mm Tamron lens. "I was lucky to catch his attention by standing up as his car passed in front of me," Schaefer writes. "The creative way he used his beard to carry out the patriotic theme made him a stand out!" Jackson critiques, " This guy has a lot of character. I would tighten the crop to eliminate most of the car and show off Jimmy's colorful beard."
Beginnings
Second place winner is Ruth Schaefer with a photograph of her "...handsome step grandson" and his beautiful bride." She used a Canon Rebel XSi with the lens at 28mm at 1/64 sec., f4.6 and ISO 800. Perna comments, "The joyful expressions radiating from the bride and groom really make the photograph come alive. The crowd in the background adds a festive air. Cropping to the woman's head in the background, and burning down the top of the post in the foreground would make this photograph even stronger."
Newly Weds
Ruth Schaefer is runner-up for her image of her grandson Matt dancing with his bride Rachel. This was taken with a Canon Rebel Xsi. Director of photo Bob Hamilton says, "The photographer captured the moment of joy in their faces."
Big and Little
Ruth Schaefer is this week's SunShots runner-up for her picture of a father holding his newborn son. This picture was taken some time ago with a Minolta film camera on Tri-X B&W film. Robert Hamilton comments, "I like the way the photographer framed the image to make the father's touch the focus of the picture. I would have taken it a step further and cropped from the right to remove any distractions."
Bridge Reflection
Ruth Schaefer is this week's Reader SunShots runner up for her interesting shot of a bridge near Howard Street. The image was taken with a Canon T5i camera. Robert Hamilton comments, "Normally I'm not big on reflection shots, but this is a very unusual photo. It has an impressionistic feel, almost like a painting."
High Jumper
Ruth Schafer's picture of a squirrel defeating the humans who put out the bird feeder is the Sunshots "Winning" runner-up. Assaf writes "Not the expected way to symbolize winning, but it is very effective for me. Also, I am a sucker for squirrels. However, that is not the only reason this placed. It is a humorous take on the war which is waged in many backyards, including mine and this time the squirrel won the battle. The composition is very effective, and the narrow depth-of-field keeps the image clean and directs the focus to the varmint. The taste of victory must have been sweet for this rascal."
Change Makers
Ruth Schaefer is this weekís runner-up with her still life of a construction site on York Road shot through an opening in a chain link fence. The photo was taken with a Canon EOS Rebel T5i at f5.6 and 1/4000 sec.† Perna comments, "Schaefer effectively uses the strong sunlight to her advantage by choosing an angle which highlights the colorful cans and other construction apparatus in the foreground while minimizing their shadows. There is still enough detail in the dark background to recognize it as a construction site, giving context to the photo."
Bonding
The runner-up is Ruth Schaefer for her image of a great grandmother and her great grandchild taken with a Canon EOS Rebel T5i and lens at 52mm, f10, 1/320 sec. and ISO 1600. Perna comments, "The tight cropping works very well in this image. The sleeping baby holding his great grandmother's finger says it all. One doesn't even need to see the grandmother's face to know she's enjoying this peaceful moment along with the baby. The image conveys tenderness, contentment and peace."
Taking Flight
Honorable mention for this week's Reader SunShot series "Taking Flight" goes to Ruth Schaefer for her picture of a seagull flying of Monhegan Island along the Maine coastline. Here is a critique from Baltimore Sun director of photography Robert Hamilton. "This is a lovely scenic. I like how the photographer composed the frame so that the white seagull popped against the dark background of the water."
Life Can Be a Grind
This week's runner up is Ruth Schaefer with a photo of a worker at Goucher College drilling holes as part of the process of moving a dormitory. Jackson comments,"This oversized power tool makes my hole saw look like a toy. I would tighten the crop for impact and to emphasize the motion."
On Stage
Ruth Schaefer is second place winner for her image of a Chinese Opera performer at the Baltimore County Public Library taken in the 'pre-digital age' using a Minolta camera. Perna says, "The bright colors, tight cropping and of course, the double sets of eyes make this an eye-catching photo." Photographing the performer with his eyes closed emphasizes the painted eyes. The unique image makes one do a double-take while searching for the normal facial symmetry.
Feeling in the Pink
Ruth Schaefer is second place winner with the photo of her hand on the sheep taken at The Sheep and Wool Festival. She used a Canon XT, Tamron lens at 22mm, f5, 1/1000 sec and ISO 1800. Algerina Perna says, "This photo is all about texture: the texture of the grass, the fingers, the mitten, and the mutton. The pink wool mitten made by Schaefer's daughter stands out against the surrounding neutral colors. Had Schaefer photographed the whole sheep, the thickness of the sheep's coat and the textural quality would have been lost."
Runner-ups