Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

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PHOTO CAPTION: Awarded Honorable Mention Winter Stream by DOD EMP KATHLEEN COLLIER - Division 2 Other Eligible Patron

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Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

By Tim Hipps
FMWRC Public Affairs

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Brenda Walker strolled upon “one of those right places at the right time” alongside East Fork Indian Creek River when she photographed “Morning Serenity” on Fort Campbell, Ky…

Retired Col. Richard Pugh shot three photographs of “Point Lobos,” just south of Monterey, Calif., and combined them into one image by working 15 minutes with Photoshop…

Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra won a footrace with his wife to the bottom of a stairwell at Heidelberg Castle in Germany just before he looked up and photographed “9”…

…all three were winners in the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest sponsored by the Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command.

There were 3,691 entries from around the world – 1,348 in Division I for active duty military personnel and 2,343 in Division II for other eligible MWR patrons. After Army garrisons selected their best entries, 664 Division I and 1,031 Division II photographs were forwarded for Department of the Army judging.

“There were many really excellent photos, which made the judges’ decisions a difficult task,” said Linda Ezernieks, who monitors the annual contest at Army MWR Headquarters in Alexandria. “Originality, creativity and technical quality were the main criteria in making final selections.”

Winners in each category – animals, digital darkroom, design elements, military life, monochrome, nature & landscapes, people, and still life – were posted on a website where Army Knowledge Online account-holders voted for their favorite photo in each division.

Walker’s “Morning Serenity” took first place in the nature and landscapes category and was voted the most popular photograph in Division II.

The subject of the photo is a fisherman wading and casting in the middle of East Fork Indian Creek River while the sun shines through the lush, green trees and casts a rainbow-like appearance off the steam hovering above the stream.

“It’s back on Fort Campbell,” Walker said. “I take my dog running back there early morning. It was really hot and the steam was rising and the rays were going through the trees. It was absolutely beautiful back there.

“I take my camera everywhere I go now.”

Walker left her business card on the windshield of a truck parked nearby and later learned the fisherman was Sgt. Randy Shorter of Fort Campbell.

About five years ago, Walker took some of her photographs to the MWR Custom Framing Shop at Fort Campbell, where she found out about the Army Photography Contest. She has produced prize-winning photos for the past three contests.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to get exposure, plus cash prizes,” said Walker, 48, a military family member. “I enjoy looking at everybody else’s work. It inspires me and motivates me to get out and get more interesting, different shots.”

What does Walker enjoy most about photography?

“Just being able to capture what I see through my eyes, my heart and my head,” she said. “A lot of it comes out through your emotion. It’s another form of art.”

Pugh, of Clarksville, Tenn., took first place in the Division II digital darkroom category with “The Owl,” second in design elements with “Blue Mosque,” and third in nature and landscapes with “Point Lobos.”

Pugh shot the high-tech looking photo of “The Owl” at Land Between The Lakes, a national recreation area located south of Paducah, Ky., and embellished it in Photoshop, as he did with “Blue Mosque,” a shot of the roof of a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

“I like this contest,” said Pugh, 65, who photographed winning entries in each of the past three years after serving 30 years in the Army. “It gives people a chance to show off something they did, which is great.”

Piedro, 31, an Army recruiter in Douglasville, Ga., is a former combat photographer. His “9” earned first-place honors in the Division I design elements category. He took third place in digital darkroom with a self-portrait called “Beast within Me” that would make a dandy Halloween poster.

“I got the idea when I was in the gym working out with my partner and a couple people came up to us and said: ‘You guys are lifting like beasts.’ The idea just popped into my head, so I got home, took the shot, and just started editing,” Piedro said. “That’s where that photo came from.”

The subject of the photo looks like a cross between a werewolf, a vampire and an Avatar, complete with fangs, dagger-like fingernails and alien ears – seemingly howling at the moon that looms behind a naked tree.

“The fangs, the ears, the eyes and the hands are all Photoshopped,” Piedro said. “And the stomach that’s concaved a little bit, that was done in Photoshop. For the background, I took certain parts of images from other photos, adjusted them, and made everything into one image.”

So what’s real?

“The body, and the face,” Piedro replied. “That’s it.

“If you look closely, the eyes are actually black and the pupils are red, so that’s been Photoshopped.”

Piedro, however, does not think of himself as a Photoshop expert.

“I actually don’t do too much Photoshop,” he said. “I try to keep my images as pure as possible. But every now and then, I get my creative side and I do a little bit of Photoshop – just trial and error, playing around.”

Piedro won two categories and received an honorable mention in the 2007 Army Photography Contest but missed the competition the past two years.

“I think it’s a great, great program,” he said. “It’s a great way to get the creative process of people that do see the world and travel the world by being in the military, and not even just as Soldiers, but supporting staff, civilians, wives.

“It’s a great way to get recognition for something that we love to do.”

As is often the case with photography, Piedro did not know exactly what he shot that day in the stairwell to the gardens at Heidelberg Castle – until he downloaded the photo.

“When I got home and I looked at, I was like: ‘That’s 9, yeah.’ And that’s where the title came from.”

Piedro cherishes photography’s uncanny ability of giving him the opportunity of “freezing a moment in time that only I can see and sharing that with others.”

Several other military photographers earned multiple places in the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest.

Holly Swegle of Fort Hood, Texas, took first place in Division II monochrome for “Dress Shop,” second in animals for “Painted Birds” and third in people for “American Woman.”

Lt. Col. Mark Bonica of Fort Sam Houston, Texas, took second in Division I still life with “Reflections in Soap,” third in monochrome with “… and We All Fall Down” and received an honorable mention in military life with “Free Gift When You Join Today.”

Staff Sgt. Brandon Quarterman of Fort Bliss, Texas, won the Division I popular vote contest for “Reaching Perfection,” which topped the still life category.

SIDEBAR:

Here are the results of the top three finishers in each category with photographer’s rank, name, installation and photo title:

2010 Army Digital Photo Contest
Division I

Animals – 1. Pfc. Amber Smith, Yongsan, Korea, What’s for Dinner; 2. Staff Sgt. Wilberto Sierra, Fort Bliss, Texas, Dragonfly; 3. Staff Sgt. Robert Curtis, Vicenza, Italy, Tough Love.

Digital darkroom – 1. Spc. Thomas Mort, Fort Knox, Ky., Over the Top; 2. Sgt. Shawn Cassatt, Yongsan, Korea, On the Range; 3. Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, Fort McPherson, Ga., Beast within Me.

Design elements – 1. Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, Fort McPherson, Ga., 9; 2. 2nd Lt. Thomas Malejko, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Arch Elements; 3. Lt. Col. David Tygart, Stuttgart, Germany, Sunset Under Glass.

Mililtary life – 1. Sgt. Darlene Martinez, Fort Drum, N.Y., The Sacrifices We Make; 2. Staff Sgt. Joey Suggs, Fort Meade, Md., Dental Care; 3. Sgt. Shawn Cassatt, Yongsan, Korea, Remember Me.

Monochrome – 1. Sgt. 1st Class Lance Widner, Mannheim, Germany, Great Grandmother; 2. Col. John Powers, Camp Zama, Japan, Calm Morning at Mount Fuji; 3. Lt. Col. Mark Bonica, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, … and We All Fall Down.

Nature & landscapes – 1. 1st Lt. Christopher Snell, (unknown location), Sunset Swim; 2. Spc. Juan-Pablo Marin, Fort Benning, Ga., Moon Set; 3. Spc. Jenny Lu, Hohenfels, Germany, Hong Kong at Night.

People – 1. Capt. David Callender, (unknown location), Anna’s Dream; 2. Lt. Col. David Tygart, Stuttgart, Germany, Eval Fairy; 3. Col. Joseph Mancy, Stuttgart, Germany, Eyes that Speak.

Still life – 1. Staff Sgt. Brandon Quarterman, Fort Bliss, Texas, Reaching Perfection; 2. Lt. Col. Mark Bonica, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Reflections in Soap; 3. Warrant Officer Larry Olson, Wiesbaden, Germany, Sunflower in Contrast.

Division II

Animals – 1. Susan Doran, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., Defiance; 2. Holley Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, Painted Birds; 3. Eric Armstrong, Camp Zama, Japan, Man O’ War.

Digital darkroom – 1. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., The Owl; 2. Stephen Cullum, Stuttgart, Germany, Volksfest FDR; 3. Gary Cashman, Yongsan, Korea, BMX Composite.

Design elements – 1. Robert LaPolice, Selfridge, Mich., Just Riveting; 2. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., Blue Mosque; 3. James Holbrook, Stuttgart, Germany, What do I call this.

Military life – 1. Nell Williams, Fort Stewart, Ga., My Dad, My Hero; 2. Rebecca Colburn, Fort Carson, Colo., The Test Drive; 3. Ann Marie Detavernier, Baumholder, Germany, The Love Letter.

Monochrome – 1. Holly Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, Dress Shop; 2. Barbara Underwood, Fort Lee, Va., Light and Shadows; 3. Jeffrey Kline, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Texas Snow.

Nature & landscapes – 1. Brenda Walker, Fort Campbell, Ky., Morning Serenity; 2. Mylan Dawson, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Ash Clouds over Holland; 3. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., Point Lobos.

People – 1. Sherry Keene Hobbs, Garmisch, Germany, Belly Dancer; 2. Eugenia Whittenburg, Fort Shafter, Hawaii, Happy Beach Feet; 3. Holly Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, American Woman.

Still life – 1. Mylan Dawson, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Green Tomato; 2. Michael Slone, Fort Meade, Md., Morning Coffee; 3. Frank Leon, Fort Knox, Ky., The faucet chronicles.

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ks 110321

12 semifinalists selected for Operation Rising Star singing contest 091028

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PHOTO CAPTION: Army Family member and veteran Joyce Dodson of Bamberg, Germany, sings Shania Twain's "You're Still The One" after winning the 2008 Operation Rising Star military singing contest at Wallace Theater on Fort Belvoir, Va. (Photo by Tim Hipps, FMWRC Public Affairs)

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12 semifinalists selected for Operation Rising Star singing contest 091028

By Tim Hipps
FMWRC Public Affairs

FORT BELVOIR, Va. – Twelve members of the U.S. military Family have been selected to compete in the final week of competition in the Operation Rising Star singing contest, scheduled for Nov. 14, 16, 18 and 20 at 8 p.m. in the Wallace Theater.

Twelve judges selected the semifinalists after viewing the videotapes of local winners from 35 installations and duty stations worldwide. The Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command-backed contest, based on the premises of FOX television’s “American Idol,” will be broadcast by the Pentagon Channel Nov. 15, 17, 19 and 21 at 8 p.m. in the United States, Korea and Europe, and 10 p.m. in the Middle East.

Audience members and Internet viewers can cast votes online at www.OpRisingStar.com for 2 hours after each broadcast.

The semifinalists invited to attend the live elimination rounds are:
Thea Agnew, a military spouse at Fort Campbell, Ky., advanced with “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and “Just a Dream.”

“Music has healed the pains, comforted the sorrows, given hope in despair, put the ‘p’ in party and made me dance,” said Agnew, a fan of Martina McBride and 2005 American Idol winner Carrie Underwood.

Staff Sgt. Tyrone Basnight of Kaiserslautern, Germany, said music “helps me stay positive and upbeat when life gets stressful.”

Staff Sgt. Michael Gordon of Camp Humphreys, South Korea, who sang “Color,” said he feels like he’s on top of the world when on stage.

“All my problems or stresses go away when the first note comes out of my mouth,” said Gordon, who derives inspiration from country artist Randy Travis.

Pfc. Andrea Griffith of Fort Eustis, Va., sang “The Way We Were” on her qualifying video, said “music, along with God, has always been the center of my life.”

A1C Jamie Jarmon of Andrews Air Force Base, Md., is another Clarkson fan who said “music is something I loved to do with my dad. Singing always puts me in a great mood.” She sang “Stay” and “Simple Man” on her video entry.

Staff Sgt. Chad Kneller of Fort Bragg, N.C., says he began singing at age 2. He advanced with “My Savior” and “Truth.”

Sgt. 1st Class Denise Patterson of Fort Bliss, Texas, a gospel singer who prefers Fantasia, wowed the judges with her rendition of “Under the Boardwalk.” She said music “has helped me sing my way through several obstacles and triumphs.”

1st Lt. Sarah Payeur of Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo, said “there isn’t a single moment or time in my life that’s not connected to some song.” She appropriately advanced with “Life is a Cabaret.”

Lisa Pratt, an Army wife at Fort Carson, Colo., advanced with “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” and says music defines her.

“I study it. I practice it. I live it,” Pratt said.
Sam Tang, a military spouse at Fort Irwin, Calif., who claims inaugural American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson as her favorite, used music to deal with teenage hardships. She qualified for the Operation Rising Star semifinals with “Chain Chain Chain” and “Run To You.”

Capt. Donald Williamson, a chaplain at the U.S. Army Garrison in Bamberg, Germany, sang “You Raise Me Up,” and said “music has brought joy to my life and those around me – from singing in church to performing in musicals to singing and leading songs in a field chapel in Forward Operating Base Afghanistan.”

Spc. Erin Sataloff of Wiesbaden, Germany, sang “At Last,” and calls music her sanctuary.

Sataloff, though selected as a semi-finalist by the panel of judges, will not compete in the live elimination performances because of a mission-related conflict. An alternate will be selected by the panel of judges.

“We’re disappointed Erin won’t be able to join us,” said Tim Higdon, Army Entertainment Division program manager for the competition.

“She’s a solid performer and would have been a great addition to the live shows,” he continued, “but these are Soldier programs, and mission comes first. We certainly hope to see her compete again next year.”

Following a week of rehearsals, vocal coaching and choreography training, the dozen semifinalists will be reduced to six on Nov. 14 at Wallace Theater, where they will be accompanied by the U.S. Army Band on a stage built by members of Army Entertainment Division. That show will be broadcast Nov. 15 on the Pentagon Channel.

The six finalists will be announced during the Nov. 16 live show at Wallace, which will be broadcast Nov. 17. On Nov. 18, three competitors will be eliminated (that show will be broadcast Nov. 19) and the winner will be revealed live at Wallace on Nov. 20. The finale will be broadcast on the Pentagon Channel Nov. 21.

The public is invited to join the studio audience at Fort Belvoir. General-admission seating is free, and reserved VIP seating is available. Visit www.oprisingstar.com for show times, voting policies, and details about VIP tickets.

The contest is sponsored by the General Motors Military Discount program. VIP tickets for the Nov. 18 finals will be available Nov. 10-12 at the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro display on Fort Myer, Va.; Nov. 14 and 16 and Nov. 16-18 at Fort Meade, Md.

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ks 110107

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

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PHOTO CAPTION: Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, an Army recruiter in Douglasville, Ga., won the Division I design elements category of the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest with "9" a photo he shot after winning a footrace with his wife to the bottom of a stairwell at Heidelberg Castle in Germany. Piedra did not realize what he had until he downloaded the photo. "When I got home and I looked at it, I was like: 'That's 9, yeah.' And that's where the title came from." (Photo by Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra)

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest

By Tim Hipps
FMWRC Public Affairs

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Brenda Walker strolled upon “one of those right places at the right time” alongside East Fork Indian Creek River when she photographed “Morning Serenity” on Fort Campbell, Ky…

Retired Col. Richard Pugh shot three photographs of “Point Lobos,” just south of Monterey, Calif., and combined them into one image by working 15 minutes with Photoshop…

Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra won a footrace with his wife to the bottom of a stairwell at Heidelberg Castle in Germany just before he looked up and photographed “9”…

…all three were winners in the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest sponsored by the Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command.

There were 3,691 entries from around the world – 1,348 in Division I for active duty military personnel and 2,343 in Division II for other eligible MWR patrons. After Army garrisons selected their best entries, 664 Division I and 1,031 Division II photographs were forwarded for Department of the Army judging.

“There were many really excellent photos, which made the judges’ decisions a difficult task,” said Linda Ezernieks, who monitors the annual contest at Army MWR Headquarters in Alexandria. “Originality, creativity and technical quality were the main criteria in making final selections.”

Winners in each category – animals, digital darkroom, design elements, military life, monochrome, nature & landscapes, people, and still life – were posted on a website where Army Knowledge Online account-holders voted for their favorite photo in each division.

Walker’s “Morning Serenity” took first place in the nature and landscapes category and was voted the most popular photograph in Division II.

The subject of the photo is a fisherman wading and casting in the middle of East Fork Indian Creek River while the sun shines through the lush, green trees and casts a rainbow-like appearance off the steam hovering above the stream.

“It’s back on Fort Campbell,” Walker said. “I take my dog running back there early morning. It was really hot and the steam was rising and the rays were going through the trees. It was absolutely beautiful back there.

“I take my camera everywhere I go now.”

Walker left her business card on the windshield of a truck parked nearby and later learned the fisherman was Sgt. Randy Shorter of Fort Campbell.

About five years ago, Walker took some of her photographs to the MWR Custom Framing Shop at Fort Campbell, where she found out about the Army Photography Contest. She has produced prize-winning photos for the past three contests.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to get exposure, plus cash prizes,” said Walker, 48, a military family member. “I enjoy looking at everybody else’s work. It inspires me and motivates me to get out and get more interesting, different shots.”

What does Walker enjoy most about photography?

“Just being able to capture what I see through my eyes, my heart and my head,” she said. “A lot of it comes out through your emotion. It’s another form of art.”

Pugh, of Clarksville, Tenn., took first place in the Division II digital darkroom category with “The Owl,” second in design elements with “Blue Mosque,” and third in nature and landscapes with “Point Lobos.”

Pugh shot the high-tech looking photo of “The Owl” at Land Between The Lakes, a national recreation area located south of Paducah, Ky., and embellished it in Photoshop, as he did with “Blue Mosque,” a shot of the roof of a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

“I like this contest,” said Pugh, 65, who photographed winning entries in each of the past three years after serving 30 years in the Army. “It gives people a chance to show off something they did, which is great.”

Piedro, 31, an Army recruiter in Douglasville, Ga., is a former combat photographer. His “9” earned first-place honors in the Division I design elements category. He took third place in digital darkroom with a self-portrait called “Beast within Me” that would make a dandy Halloween poster.

“I got the idea when I was in the gym working out with my partner and a couple people came up to us and said: ‘You guys are lifting like beasts.’ The idea just popped into my head, so I got home, took the shot, and just started editing,” Piedro said. “That’s where that photo came from.”

The subject of the photo looks like a cross between a werewolf, a vampire and an Avatar, complete with fangs, dagger-like fingernails and alien ears – seemingly howling at the moon that looms behind a naked tree.

“The fangs, the ears, the eyes and the hands are all Photoshopped,” Piedro said. “And the stomach that’s concaved a little bit, that was done in Photoshop. For the background, I took certain parts of images from other photos, adjusted them, and made everything into one image.”

So what’s real?

“The body, and the face,” Piedro replied. “That’s it.

“If you look closely, the eyes are actually black and the pupils are red, so that’s been Photoshopped.”

Piedro, however, does not think of himself as a Photoshop expert.

“I actually don’t do too much Photoshop,” he said. “I try to keep my images as pure as possible. But every now and then, I get my creative side and I do a little bit of Photoshop – just trial and error, playing around.”

Piedro won two categories and received an honorable mention in the 2007 Army Photography Contest but missed the competition the past two years.

“I think it’s a great, great program,” he said. “It’s a great way to get the creative process of people that do see the world and travel the world by being in the military, and not even just as Soldiers, but supporting staff, civilians, wives.

“It’s a great way to get recognition for something that we love to do.”

As is often the case with photography, Piedro did not know exactly what he shot that day in the stairwell to the gardens at Heidelberg Castle – until he downloaded the photo.

“When I got home and I looked at, I was like: ‘That’s 9, yeah.’ And that’s where the title came from.”

Piedro cherishes photography’s uncanny ability of giving him the opportunity of “freezing a moment in time that only I can see and sharing that with others.”

Several other military photographers earned multiple places in the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest.

Holly Swegle of Fort Hood, Texas, took first place in Division II monochrome for “Dress Shop,” second in animals for “Painted Birds” and third in people for “American Woman.”

Lt. Col. Mark Bonica of Fort Sam Houston, Texas, took second in Division I still life with “Reflections in Soap,” third in monochrome with “… and We All Fall Down” and received an honorable mention in military life with “Free Gift When You Join Today.”

Staff Sgt. Brandon Quarterman of Fort Bliss, Texas, won the Division I popular vote contest for “Reaching Perfection,” which topped the still life category.


SIDEBAR:

Here are the results of the top three finishers in each category with photographer’s rank, name, installation and photo title:

2010 Army Digital Photo Contest
Division I

Animals – 1. Pfc. Amber Smith, Yongsan, Korea, What’s for Dinner; 2. Staff Sgt. Wilberto Sierra, Fort Bliss, Texas, Dragonfly; 3. Staff Sgt. Robert Curtis, Vicenza, Italy, Tough Love.

Digital darkroom – 1. Spc. Thomas Mort, Fort Knox, Ky., Over the Top; 2. Sgt. Shawn Cassatt, Yongsan, Korea, On the Range; 3. Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, Fort McPherson, Ga., Beast within Me.

Design elements – 1. Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, Fort McPherson, Ga., 9; 2. 2nd Lt. Thomas Malejko, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Arch Elements; 3. Lt. Col. David Tygart, Stuttgart, Germany, Sunset Under Glass.

Mililtary life – 1. Sgt. Darlene Martinez, Fort Drum, N.Y., The Sacrifices We Make; 2. Staff Sgt. Joey Suggs, Fort Meade, Md., Dental Care; 3. Sgt. Shawn Cassatt, Yongsan, Korea, Remember Me.

Monochrome – 1. Sgt. 1st Class Lance Widner, Mannheim, Germany, Great Grandmother; 2. Col. John Powers, Camp Zama, Japan, Calm Morning at Mount Fuji; 3. Lt. Col. Mark Bonica, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, … and We All Fall Down.

Nature & landscapes – 1. 1st Lt. Christopher Snell, (unknown location), Sunset Swim; 2. Spc. Juan-Pablo Marin, Fort Benning, Ga., Moon Set; 3. Spc. Jenny Lu, Hohenfels, Germany, Hong Kong at Night.

People – 1. Capt. David Callender, (unknown location), Anna’s Dream; 2. Lt. Col. David Tygart, Stuttgart, Germany, Eval Fairy; 3. Col. Joseph Mancy, Stuttgart, Germany, Eyes that Speak.

Still life – 1. Staff Sgt. Brandon Quarterman, Fort Bliss, Texas, Reaching Perfection; 2. Lt. Col. Mark Bonica, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Reflections in Soap; 3. Warrant Officer Larry Olson, Wiesbaden, Germany, Sunflower in Contrast.

Division II

Animals – 1. Susan Doran, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., Defiance; 2. Holley Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, Painted Birds; 3. Eric Armstrong, Camp Zama, Japan, Man O’ War.

Digital darkroom – 1. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., The Owl; 2. Stephen Cullum, Stuttgart, Germany, Volksfest FDR; 3. Gary Cashman, Yongsan, Korea, BMX Composite.

Design elements – 1. Robert LaPolice, Selfridge, Mich., Just Riveting; 2. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., Blue Mosque; 3. James Holbrook, Stuttgart, Germany, What do I call this.

Military life – 1. Nell Williams, Fort Stewart, Ga., My Dad, My Hero; 2. Rebecca Colburn, Fort Carson, Colo., The Test Drive; 3. Ann Marie Detavernier, Baumholder, Germany, The Love Letter.

Monochrome – 1. Holly Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, Dress Shop; 2. Barbara Underwood, Fort Lee, Va., Light and Shadows; 3. Jeffrey Kline, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Texas Snow.

Nature & landscapes – 1. Brenda Walker, Fort Campbell, Ky., Morning Serenity; 2. Mylan Dawson, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Ash Clouds over Holland; 3. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., Point Lobos.

People – 1. Sherry Keene Hobbs, Garmisch, Germany, Belly Dancer; 2. Eugenia Whittenburg, Fort Shafter, Hawaii, Happy Beach Feet; 3. Holly Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, American Woman.

Still life – 1. Mylan Dawson, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Green Tomato; 2. Michael Slone, Fort Meade, Md., Morning Coffee; 3. Frank Leon, Fort Knox, Ky., The faucet chronicles.

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ks 110310

Colors of Life Photocontest 2009 http://slurl.com/secondlife/WDT%20Planet/47/115/54

Image by Alice Mastroianni
Colors of Life for Pangea ONLUS in SECOND LIFE
slurl.com/secondlife/WDT Planet/47/115/54

The Gallery Art & Design is a space dedicated to art with a singular proposal that deliberately inserts itself into avant-garde trends. After operating in Mexico City and Milan, The Gallery opens its doors in Richmond. In this new effervescent environment of intense cultural activity, The Gallery, closely tied to the conceptual movement, operates as a gathering point for young talented American and international artists. The Gallery is appreciated by a demanding public for the excellent quality and contemporaneousness of its artists. Focused on the content as well as the high quality of the artwork, The Gallery responds to the aesthetic concerns of a dynamic city by giving a voice and a space to the problems and uncertainties of the different trends that arise in the world of contemporary art.

Colors of Life enters now SECOND LIFE thanks to WDT PLANET

Colors of Life opens its first virtual gallery at WDT PLANET with an exhibition of a selection of the best pictures from the previous two editions of the photo contest.
Photographs on display will be available for purchase in SECOND LIFE with LINDEN DOLLARS and funds collected will be entirely devolved to PANGEA ONLUS ( www.pangeaonlus.org/index.php ), a not for profit Italian organization that works since 2002 to assure valuable and decent conditions of living to women in needs and to improve their own economic and social environment with different instruments such as: education, instruction on human rights, professional training, health education and micro credit to offer them tools and opportunities for concrete recovery.

But it's not ended yet!

Colors of Life International Photo Contest opens its doors to all the Second Life's artists. Even virtual photography, in Second Life world, will be eligible to participate to the photo contest, like a real photograph!
The new edition of the photo contest, is diverted, starting from the success of the two previous editions, on two different kind of scenarios: the European one, with its apex in the Milan exhibition and the the USA one.
Call for entries, March 1st 2009 - May15th 2009. The work of the participants selected by The Gallery will be submitted to a jury of leading international gallery owners, academics and artists in the field for the selection of the Competition winner and the first and second runners-up and two honorable mentions in the Competition.
Funds collected from the sale of the 50 finalists photographs (except for the part due to the arist and possible additional expenses in the evenience those will not be covered by sponsors) will be devolved to Pangea to support Project Jamila
( www.pangeaonlus.org/main.php?liv1=progetti&liv2=in_co... ).
The collection of the 50 finalists pictures could be used after explicit request by whoever will make a request, to be exhibited in art fairs and private collections or private or institutional cultural associations of the high and undisputed artistic value aiming to support and promote philantropy and not for profit organizations.
First, second, third price and two honorable mentions will be chosen and selected by the official jury and one of the two honorable mentions will be explicitely chosen from the submissions coming from Second Life if the total number of those will be equal or greater than 50 at least.

THEME

"Emotions, Dreams and Thoughts of Humanity"
REGISTRATION

For subscription, entry fee, rules and conditions and all other valuable informations reguarding the photo contest please check colorsoflife.org/photocontest

NOTE: Please remember to specify in the enrty form when submitting your pictures that the photographs have been made in Second Life.


INFORMATION

in Second Life
Yortz Conacher
Alice Mastroianni

mail: photocontest09@colorsoflife.org
info@colorsoflife.org

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

Image by familymwr
PHOTO CAPTION: Brenda Walker took first place in the Division II nature and landscapes category of the 2010 U.S. Army Digital Photography Contest with "Morning Serenity," a photo of a fisherman wading and casting in the middle of East Fork Indian Creek River on a steamy morning at Fort Campbell, Ky. Walker's photo also was voted most popular in her division of the contest on Army Knowledge Online. (Photo by Brenda Walker)

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest

By Tim Hipps
FMWRC Public Affairs

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Brenda Walker strolled upon “one of those right places at the right time” alongside East Fork Indian Creek River when she photographed “Morning Serenity” on Fort Campbell, Ky…

Retired Col. Richard Pugh shot three photographs of “Point Lobos,” just south of Monterey, Calif., and combined them into one image by working 15 minutes with Photoshop…

Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra won a footrace with his wife to the bottom of a stairwell at Heidelberg Castle in Germany just before he looked up and photographed “9”…

…all three were winners in the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest sponsored by the Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command.

There were 3,691 entries from around the world – 1,348 in Division I for active duty military personnel and 2,343 in Division II for other eligible MWR patrons. After Army garrisons selected their best entries, 664 Division I and 1,031 Division II photographs were forwarded for Department of the Army judging.

“There were many really excellent photos, which made the judges’ decisions a difficult task,” said Linda Ezernieks, who monitors the annual contest at Army MWR Headquarters in Alexandria. “Originality, creativity and technical quality were the main criteria in making final selections.”

Winners in each category – animals, digital darkroom, design elements, military life, monochrome, nature & landscapes, people, and still life – were posted on a website where Army Knowledge Online account-holders voted for their favorite photo in each division.

Walker’s “Morning Serenity” took first place in the nature and landscapes category and was voted the most popular photograph in Division II.

The subject of the photo is a fisherman wading and casting in the middle of East Fork Indian Creek River while the sun shines through the lush, green trees and casts a rainbow-like appearance off the steam hovering above the stream.

“It’s back on Fort Campbell,” Walker said. “I take my dog running back there early morning. It was really hot and the steam was rising and the rays were going through the trees. It was absolutely beautiful back there.

“I take my camera everywhere I go now.”

Walker left her business card on the windshield of a truck parked nearby and later learned the fisherman was Sgt. Randy Shorter of Fort Campbell.

About five years ago, Walker took some of her photographs to the MWR Custom Framing Shop at Fort Campbell, where she found out about the Army Photography Contest. She has produced prize-winning photos for the past three contests.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to get exposure, plus cash prizes,” said Walker, 48, a military family member. “I enjoy looking at everybody else’s work. It inspires me and motivates me to get out and get more interesting, different shots.”

What does Walker enjoy most about photography?

“Just being able to capture what I see through my eyes, my heart and my head,” she said. “A lot of it comes out through your emotion. It’s another form of art.”

Pugh, of Clarksville, Tenn., took first place in the Division II digital darkroom category with “The Owl,” second in design elements with “Blue Mosque,” and third in nature and landscapes with “Point Lobos.”

Pugh shot the high-tech looking photo of “The Owl” at Land Between The Lakes, a national recreation area located south of Paducah, Ky., and embellished it in Photoshop, as he did with “Blue Mosque,” a shot of the roof of a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

“I like this contest,” said Pugh, 65, who photographed winning entries in each of the past three years after serving 30 years in the Army. “It gives people a chance to show off something they did, which is great.”

Piedro, 31, an Army recruiter in Douglasville, Ga., is a former combat photographer. His “9” earned first-place honors in the Division I design elements category. He took third place in digital darkroom with a self-portrait called “Beast within Me” that would make a dandy Halloween poster.

“I got the idea when I was in the gym working out with my partner and a couple people came up to us and said: ‘You guys are lifting like beasts.’ The idea just popped into my head, so I got home, took the shot, and just started editing,” Piedro said. “That’s where that photo came from.”

The subject of the photo looks like a cross between a werewolf, a vampire and an Avatar, complete with fangs, dagger-like fingernails and alien ears – seemingly howling at the moon that looms behind a naked tree.

“The fangs, the ears, the eyes and the hands are all Photoshopped,” Piedro said. “And the stomach that’s concaved a little bit, that was done in Photoshop. For the background, I took certain parts of images from other photos, adjusted them, and made everything into one image.”

So what’s real?

“The body, and the face,” Piedro replied. “That’s it.

“If you look closely, the eyes are actually black and the pupils are red, so that’s been Photoshopped.”

Piedro, however, does not think of himself as a Photoshop expert.

“I actually don’t do too much Photoshop,” he said. “I try to keep my images as pure as possible. But every now and then, I get my creative side and I do a little bit of Photoshop – just trial and error, playing around.”

Piedro won two categories and received an honorable mention in the 2007 Army Photography Contest but missed the competition the past two years.

“I think it’s a great, great program,” he said. “It’s a great way to get the creative process of people that do see the world and travel the world by being in the military, and not even just as Soldiers, but supporting staff, civilians, wives.

“It’s a great way to get recognition for something that we love to do.”

As is often the case with photography, Piedro did not know exactly what he shot that day in the stairwell to the gardens at Heidelberg Castle – until he downloaded the photo.

“When I got home and I looked at, I was like: ‘That’s 9, yeah.’ And that’s where the title came from.”

Piedro cherishes photography’s uncanny ability of giving him the opportunity of “freezing a moment in time that only I can see and sharing that with others.”

Several other military photographers earned multiple places in the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest.

Holly Swegle of Fort Hood, Texas, took first place in Division II monochrome for “Dress Shop,” second in animals for “Painted Birds” and third in people for “American Woman.”

Lt. Col. Mark Bonica of Fort Sam Houston, Texas, took second in Division I still life with “Reflections in Soap,” third in monochrome with “… and We All Fall Down” and received an honorable mention in military life with “Free Gift When You Join Today.”

Staff Sgt. Brandon Quarterman of Fort Bliss, Texas, won the Division I popular vote contest for “Reaching Perfection,” which topped the still life category.


SIDEBAR:

Here are the results of the top three finishers in each category with photographer’s rank, name, installation and photo title:

2010 Army Digital Photo Contest
Division I

Animals – 1. Pfc. Amber Smith, Yongsan, Korea, What’s for Dinner; 2. Staff Sgt. Wilberto Sierra, Fort Bliss, Texas, Dragonfly; 3. Staff Sgt. Robert Curtis, Vicenza, Italy, Tough Love.

Digital darkroom – 1. Spc. Thomas Mort, Fort Knox, Ky., Over the Top; 2. Sgt. Shawn Cassatt, Yongsan, Korea, On the Range; 3. Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, Fort McPherson, Ga., Beast within Me.

Design elements – 1. Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, Fort McPherson, Ga., 9; 2. 2nd Lt. Thomas Malejko, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Arch Elements; 3. Lt. Col. David Tygart, Stuttgart, Germany, Sunset Under Glass.

Mililtary life – 1. Sgt. Darlene Martinez, Fort Drum, N.Y., The Sacrifices We Make; 2. Staff Sgt. Joey Suggs, Fort Meade, Md., Dental Care; 3. Sgt. Shawn Cassatt, Yongsan, Korea, Remember Me.

Monochrome – 1. Sgt. 1st Class Lance Widner, Mannheim, Germany, Great Grandmother; 2. Col. John Powers, Camp Zama, Japan, Calm Morning at Mount Fuji; 3. Lt. Col. Mark Bonica, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, … and We All Fall Down.

Nature & landscapes – 1. 1st Lt. Christopher Snell, (unknown location), Sunset Swim; 2. Spc. Juan-Pablo Marin, Fort Benning, Ga., Moon Set; 3. Spc. Jenny Lu, Hohenfels, Germany, Hong Kong at Night.

People – 1. Capt. David Callender, (unknown location), Anna’s Dream; 2. Lt. Col. David Tygart, Stuttgart, Germany, Eval Fairy; 3. Col. Joseph Mancy, Stuttgart, Germany, Eyes that Speak.

Still life – 1. Staff Sgt. Brandon Quarterman, Fort Bliss, Texas, Reaching Perfection; 2. Lt. Col. Mark Bonica, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Reflections in Soap; 3. Warrant Officer Larry Olson, Wiesbaden, Germany, Sunflower in Contrast.

Division II

Animals – 1. Susan Doran, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., Defiance; 2. Holley Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, Painted Birds; 3. Eric Armstrong, Camp Zama, Japan, Man O’ War.

Digital darkroom – 1. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., The Owl; 2. Stephen Cullum, Stuttgart, Germany, Volksfest FDR; 3. Gary Cashman, Yongsan, Korea, BMX Composite.

Design elements – 1. Robert LaPolice, Selfridge, Mich., Just Riveting; 2. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., Blue Mosque; 3. James Holbrook, Stuttgart, Germany, What do I call this.

Military life – 1. Nell Williams, Fort Stewart, Ga., My Dad, My Hero; 2. Rebecca Colburn, Fort Carson, Colo., The Test Drive; 3. Ann Marie Detavernier, Baumholder, Germany, The Love Letter.

Monochrome – 1. Holly Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, Dress Shop; 2. Barbara Underwood, Fort Lee, Va., Light and Shadows; 3. Jeffrey Kline, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Texas Snow.

Nature & landscapes – 1. Brenda Walker, Fort Campbell, Ky., Morning Serenity; 2. Mylan Dawson, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Ash Clouds over Holland; 3. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., Point Lobos.

People – 1. Sherry Keene Hobbs, Garmisch, Germany, Belly Dancer; 2. Eugenia Whittenburg, Fort Shafter, Hawaii, Happy Beach Feet; 3. Holly Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, American Woman.

Still life – 1. Mylan Dawson, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Green Tomato; 2. Michael Slone, Fort Meade, Md., Morning Coffee; 3. Frank Leon, Fort Knox, Ky., The faucet chronicles.

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