Are you ready? Drumroll, please. We are showcasing the Your Best Shot of 2017 contest finalists. All of the finalists dazzled us with their photography and post-production skills. The photographers have been kind enough to reveal their secrets to their respected pictures. Some required very little post, others extensive. However, the one thing they all have in common is that they are amazing at their craft and we are so proud to introduce them to our community. Each will receive an exclusive Printique photo book showcasing their beautiful images and be invited to be Printique Ambassadors. Now, let’s have a peek at how these images came to be.
Update 06/12/2018: Grand Prize Winner is Somraj Sah
In the Indian religious and philosophical traditions, all knowledge is traced back to the Gods, Rishis, and Sadhus. Sadhus have unique characteristics and one of them is being alone they have to be detached from all their closed one to find moksha. And in their journey, this sadhu has found this monkey whom she calls Ganga. She is his friend, daughter everything, she is a spark of joy in his tough journey towards moksha. This sadhu treats this monkey ( GANGA) as his own daughter and takes care of her need more than he does for himself. They are each other support, strength and a medium to avoid their loneliness on a journey to obtain moksha.
( Camera- Canon Eos5d mark III , Lens-Canon 24-105mm f4 IS USM lens. Focal Length -55mm,Shutter Speed -1/250 sec, Aperture – f/4, Iso 2000.)
I’ve been shooting for over 20 years, but mostly as a hobby. I have a huge obsession with the ocean, whether it be surfing or shooting photos, being in (or around) the ocean really fulfills my spirit. This photo was taken at Butterfly Beach in Montecito, CA., one of my favorite places to shoot sunrises in Santa Barbara. One of the keys to getting this photo is that I have become a bit obsessed with weather forecasting. It takes a lucky combination of good winds, good swell direction, good tide, partial clouds and proper sunrise position to pull it off, and this was shot on one of those mornings where everything really came together. In hindsight, I’m really happy I didn’t choose to sleep in that morning! (Camera: Canon 7d MkII, Tokina 10-17, and an SPL Waterhousing)
I photographed this image at sunset in downtown St.Lous, during sunset and pink was beginning to engulf the sky. I had the model stand of the top of the stairs for a few different shots but I had her boyfriend who was also the voice activate lighting assistant Take the light to the left and hold it up a little to get light going through the pillars on the bottom and have soft lighting feathering across her. It came out so awesome , even I was excited for the outcome and could not wait to get home to edit this image.
(Camera: Nikon d4s, Nikon 24-70 2.8Xplor 600 Westcott rapid box Xxl And a r2 trigger)
I was a professional ballerina for 17 years with the Pacific Northwest Ballet Company and now specialize in family and dance photography in Seattle, Washington. This photograph was taken during a live show of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s production of Swan Lake. To get this shot, I used my Nikon D750 that I bought from Adorama. I use a Nikon 70-200 lens to photograph the ballet dancers. This was a live show of Swan Lake so Pacific Northwest Ballet arranged for me to be in my own box seat in the balcony and I always shoot handheld. My ISO was 400, shot at 155 mm, f 2.8, 1/25 second shutter to get the motion blur of the moving dancers.
(Camera Nikon D750, 70-200, iso 400 1/25)
Mike Boruta / OuraybyFlight – “Downshift Daydream”
The Million Dollar Highway is a breathtaking stretch of road winding through Southwestern Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. Built for rugged people seeking fortunes in gold and silver, the 23-mile stretch between Ouray and Silverton also passes through 70 named avalanche paths. This aerial vertical panorama gives a unique perspective on a set of perfectly constructed switchbacks descending toward one of the deadliest avalanche chutes in the United States, the infamous “Riverside Slide.” I had previously captured this during the Fall color season and I was excited to shoot a snowy Winter version of the same composition. But the right conditions never presented themselves until Springtime, when a late May storm frosted the dry landscape with fresh snow. The snow quickly melted into the asphalt, giving the road a jet-black appearance. Red Mountain Creek (to the left of the road) would normally be hidden under ice during a Winter version of this scene, but here its mineral-laced yellowish orange waters are visible as they take the more direct path down the mountain.
This is a 29-image panorama captured with a DJI Phantom 3pro. I fell into aerial photography from my work as a cartographer. The ability to position a camera in the sky and create a birdseye panoramic “map” opens up so many opportunities to see our world from different perspectives and I feel honored to be able to share these views with the rest of us on the ground.”
This photo was taken at sunset in Inle Lake, Myanmar. Fisherman in Inle lake are especially talented and coordinated. They balance with one leg on the stern of a canoe-like boat, they row with their other leg, and they use their arms to throw nets and spearfish. These fishermen must have eyes like eagles, because they could see through the surface of the water, despite not wearing polarized glasses.
To give the photo context, I photographed through one of the fisherman’s nets. The beautiful sunset backlit the fisherman, providing a lovely silhouette to the subject. This single frame was edited in Lightroom CC.
(Camera: Sony A7RII Lens: Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 Camera Settings: ISO 250, 18mm, f/18, 1/125s)
This was taken in one of the Aeta Community in Pampanga last March (2017), The Aeta, are indigenous to the island of Luzon in the Philippines.
The beauty that surrounds us inspires me to take photos. It is everywhere. We are looking at it. All we have to do is explore it and be aware of its existence.
There are hundreds of thousands of images. But each is a standout. Although I won several awards, but like all others, I’m only good on my last shoot. The next should be different. Whenever I get to capture that story, my image then becomes close to the viewers’ heart. I want my images to be seen like movie scenes where a viewer could be affected in various ways. As a photographer, I do not confine myself in one particular genre of photography. I want my creativity to encompass all types of photography, and that is why I always study the different genres. In this way, I avoid being a complacent and a one-dimensional artist.
The world is one big studio. Everything happens. Each has his/her/ own story to tell. Even simple things we don’t usually notice. The photography can tell us more than what we see in passing. It gives us details and time to reflect on our life. Photography mirrors life. For me arts do not imitate life. It is life!
The beauty that surrounds us inspires me to take photos. It is everywhere. We are looking at it. All we have to do is explore it and be aware of its existence,”
Hello, my name is Josiah Kopp and I’m a 20 year-old creative from Beulah, North Dakota. I consider myself an astro-photographer, taking photos of celestial bodies and objects, but I also have a fondness for ships, sailboats and seascapes.I discovered my love for photography at age sixteen when I began venturing outdoors to cope with anxiety.My goal in photography is to capture dream-like moments frozen in time; where I feel like I’m in a trance of absolute peace.My photo “Sailing Dreams”, won the 14th annual North Dakota Governor Photo Contest in 2017.I love the night skies and the Milky Way. While driving around Lake Sakakawea State Park I came upon the boat harbor. I went down to the docks in the dead of night, looking for that perfect composition, and the rest is history.There is a deep connection to the image, a reminder of my roots and my earliest years as an artist, drawing and painting seascapes. The photo, in a sense, captures everything I love about art.I am currently a junior at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN studying graphic design and business.You can often find me lost under a sea of stars, Listening to Lord Huron and the static roar of the ancient cosmos. ( Nikon D610 Rokinon 14mm f2.8 ISO 1600 @ 30” )
Jemma Lee
I am a photography hobbyist that particularly enjoys taking landscape photos while venturing the outdoors. I was able to capture this photo during an overnight session at the ‘Valley of Fire’ state park located in Nevada. The first step in creating the star trails was to separate the layer of the sky from the foreground of the image. I was able to isolate the primary layer of the sky to avoid altering the foreground of the original image. After isolating the layer of the sky, I was able to copy, rotate and record the changes of each rotation I made. Finally, with the help of the Startrails application, I applied approximately 100 isolated layers of the sky that I created to the foreground of the original image. The tent was simply illuminated by a flashlight I placed in there.
(Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II, ISO 1600, 10 mm, f4.0, 60.0 sec)
My background education is engineering but I discovered my full-time passion of photography 14 years ago. Since then, I’ve covered several hundred weddings and many more family portraits. I am now changing gears and shifting my focus over to landscape art photography and commercial work.
This winning image is our Milky Way galaxy bending over the Grand Teton mountain range taken the night of the total eclipse last August. The vantage spot is just below Table Mountain on the west side of the park and the width of the image is around 180 degrees, NE to SW approx. It was a pretty involved hike up some 4000 feet and about 6 miles in from the trailhead across valleys, over streams and up pretty fun switchbacks. My backpack included dual D750 bodies, a 14-24mm f/2.8 nikon lens, a 50mm Sigma Art 1.4 and a heavy Gigapan/tripod combo. Along with tent, bag, food, water and clothes, the scale read just under 60lbs. The eclipse shot was taken with the 14-24mm but the winning image used the 50mm Sigma. Total images in this stitch were 120.
(Camera: Nikon D750, 50 mm, ISO 3200, f 2.0, 8 seconds)
Lisa Holloway is an internationally published, award winning fine art portrait photographer residing in rural Northwestern Arizona with her husband and 11 children. A Canon girl since day one, Lisa is completely self taught and works exclusively with natural light. She has been in business serving clients in the Las Vegas metro area since 2008. When Lisa is not pursuing her photography interests, she loves the outdoors, road tips, cooking, thunderstorms, and spending time with her family. (Camara: Canon EOS 5d Mark IV, 200 mm, ISO 500, f2.0, 1/400 sec)
John Maher
I’m a scuba instructor and underwater photographer from La Jolla, CA. I’ve always been fascinated by the ocean, and recently had the opportunity to cage dive with great white sharks at Guadalupe Island, Mexico. This female approached slowly from the deep and gracefully introduced herself to the divers. This shark, in particular, was one of the largest seen last year at Guadalupe. The photographs I took are being used in a shark identification research project, and marine life conservation presentations across the USA. Guadalupe Island is one of the most fantastic places to observe great white sharks. Located 200 miles off the coast of Baja, Guadalupe has clear water, and an abundance of large elephant seals, which is the adult great white shark’s favorite food source. In the underwater kingdom, there are few things more incredible than locking eyes with a mature great white shark.
(Camera: Canon EOS 5d Mark IV,15 mm Fisheye, ISO 400, F6.3, 1/200 sec)
This project combines portrait and reportage photography with a textual history and contemporary perspective of the communities known as Denotified and Nomadic Tribes – around 200 communities who can be found across India. In 1871, the British colonial government enacted the “Criminal Tribes Act” to control supposedly ‘criminal’ communities. Despite the Act’s repeal in 1952 – five years after India gained her independence – these communities continue to have their livelihoods and dignity stripped away. Today they are like ghosts in their own country. Most live on the fringes of society in temporary encampments and extreme poverty. Without permanent housing, they lack official identity and cannot access vital social services or even cast their votes. Education becomes a luxury when children are needed to earn money for the family. Caught in cycles of intergenerational prostitution, a lack of education and a fear of authority, these once proud communities are amongst India’s most dispossessed.
The younger generations are often unaware of the root of these circumstances. But a group of activists are currently fighting for awareness and their long-awaited freedom from this criminal legacy. This is a collaborative project between myself (David Goldman) as photographer and Sarah Gandee, a doctoral student at the University of Leeds (UK) whose work over the past four years has explored the history of the Criminal Tribes Act (Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 24mm, ISO 200, f4.0, 1.40/sec)
Thank you to everyone! We are honored and humbled to have such a creative community supporting us. We hope to see you next year for Your Best Shot of 2018!
(Special Note: Photographers are required to submit raw files and information to confirm their entry. Printique has not received this information from one of the photographers prior to this posting. We have thereby added an alternate (runner-up) which has supplied all of their information. In the case the photographer does not supply his/her information for verification they will be disqualified.)
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