Drum Roll Please: Results of the April Photography Contest are Upon Us!

[Soph0571]

My fine fellow Duers we have had a perfectly splendid April contest with many fine entries and lots of voting. We have the results for this month and the runaway winner is a new member of Democratic Underground who has the Photography Group with the beauty of his image. So without further ado the winner is:

Grumpy Old Guy with the glorious Milky Way Over Red Rock Canyon



Second place also goes to Grumpy Old Guy with Full Moon Rising Over The Snow Capped Peaks Behind Downtown L.A.




Grumpy Old Guy was on fire and gets to chose the theme for next month!

Third place spot goes to MichaelSoE for Late Night @ the Ritz



Worthy winners I am sure you will all agree



Posted in GD by permission and convention.

[Solly Mack]

1. Congrats all!

[elleng]

2. EXCELLENT!!!

[blogslug]

3. Congratulations!

They were all glorious but, golly, that red rock canyon/night sky photo, that is a special one.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

40. Thank you very much!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Congrats to the winners! Extraordinary photos, all of them! ♥

[gldstwmn]

5. Well done!

[KT2000]

6. Amazing!

Congrats to GOG MichaelSoE -

[Laura PourMeADrink]

7. VanGogh would have LOVED MichaelSoE for Late Night @ the Ritz

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

10. My first reaction was...

holy cow, that looks just like a painting.

I was really motivated to choose it but then I saw Red Rock Canyon. 😮

[Laura PourMeADrink]

22. Yes, found the painting it reminded me of - Cafe Terrace at Night

Vincent Van Gogh wrote his sister and said that the colors of night are richer than during the day.

Read one time that he was obsessed with capturing artificial light - gas lights

[ShazzieB]

46. It reminded me of this one.

Nighthawks by Edward Hopper

[Laura PourMeADrink]

55. Yes!!! Perfect. Artificial light at night. Would make a very interesting

Theme for a future contest.

[onethatcares]

8. great photography and I can assure you

you'll never see anything like that on that other site....never......ever.....forever/

Great job folks.

[bluestarone]

9. A big CONGRATS to all!

[BobTheSubgenius]

11. I do agree - worthy winners!

But even if you don't see your photo and name posted here, you still did a great job. As always, there wasn't one weak entry in the bunch.

Congratulations to the winners....and to everyone who submitted a photo to the contest!

[Soph0571]

29. There where some really mighty entries

It is always soooooo difficult to choose. But Grump with the top spot - that was outstanding by any metric

[BobTheSubgenius]

38. Completely agree on the esthetics of that. It's brilliant.

But I'd be happy whatever the final order of finish...or if there wasn't a ranking. All brilliant!

Thank you, Soph671!

[IcyPeas]

12. really cool pictures all. congrats to the winners.

[planetc]

13. The first two put us in our place in the universe, and

the third pictures us as well-dressed social animals who decorate their houses.

[Soph0571]

30. Sweeeeeeet analysis n/t

[urbanhermit]

14. Congrats Grumpy Old Guy

[Grumpy Old Guy]

41. Thank you very much!

[Grumpy Old Guy]

15. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I can't thank you all enough. I am flattered and honored. This was very exciting, and I have to confess that I was checking the vote about twenty times a day! LOL!

I am a new member, but I am embarrassed to admit that I've been lurking since the Bush 43 administration. I really did not want to commit to any more online activities, but after the events of the last five years I couldn't put it off anymore. I don't think I would have survived without DU.

Now, a quick note about the winning photograph. There are at least three or four locations in the Southwest named Red Rock Canyon. This one is about twenty miles outside of Mojave, California on Highway 14. It's a great place to shoot if you don't mind rattlesnakes and daytime temps that easily top 105 degrees Fahrenheit. I was sitting outside my RV at midnight shooting the Milky Way and "light painting" the cliffs with a strong LED flashlight. As I was doing so, a late arriving motorhome pulled into the campground. The driver backed into a campsite about fifty yards to my left. They tapped their brakes for a few moments, and the entire cliffside lit up a bright red from their brake lights. I had just enough time for one twenty five second exposure before they shut their engine off.

I want to extend my congratulations to all the other photographers. Late Night @ The Ritz reminded me of the famous Edward Hopper painting. I voted for The Diamond Ring because I've shot an eclipse, and I know what impeccable timing it took to get that image just right. Bravo!

I'll be sure to make prints available for anyone who might be interested. You will be able to find them on my website ross-kestin.pixels.com. You can also find me on Instagram at @oldguywithacamera and on Facebook where I annoy everyone with my left wing political rants.

Thanks again. I needed some cheering up.

Ross

[Beaverhausen]

16. Can I ask where you were when you took the shot of Los Angeles?

Both of these photos are just amazing.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

18. Absolutely!

Last edited Wed Apr 28, 2021, 08:39 PM - Edit history (1)

The best place to shoot the Downtown L.A. skyline is Kenneth Hahn State Recreational Area in Ladera Heights. You can access it by car off LaCienega Blvd. or from La Brea Blvd. by hiking up a trail. We are very fortunate to live about ten minutes from there. There are always photographers there following a winter snow storm in the mountains, or during a full moon. It is wonderful for both sunrise and sunset. There were about forty other photographers there the night I shot this. Unfortunately, the park closes at sunset, but the deputies cut us some slack that evening.

Here is an interesting historical note. The site is the location of the 1963 Baldwin Hills Dam Disaster, which claimed seven lives and wiped out an entire neighborhood. The big meadow at the top of the hill was the reservoir, and there is a Martin Luther King memorial now just about where the dam break was.

[Beaverhausen]

26. thanks for the info. I live in the West San Fernando Valley

so I don't get down to that area often but now I know where to go for that amazing view!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

21. Congrats on your win, my dear Grumpy Old Guy! You really NAILED IT TWICE!

And thank you also for your very kind words on my photo The Diamond Ring. It was truly a lucky shot.

We were in Madras, OR for the eclipse, and I badly wanted to get that photo. But, unbelievably, I had forgotten about it during the eclipse! It was just the sheerest luck that I caught it at all. I didn't know I'd gotten it until everything was over and I was previewing the photos in the back of my camera. I started screaming "I got it!" over and over and everyone rushed over to see! It was quite a moment.

I'm going to Texas for the the 2024 eclipse and I hope to do better.

[Soph0571]

24. You were a very close fourth Peggy

I was soooooooo rooting for you to get in the final three. Your picture was splendid!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

33. Awwww........thank you, my dear Soph!

I was thrilled to make it into the finals.

You are a sweetheart, and no mistake!

[Soph0571]

34. Don't tell anyone

But I voted for you

Your picture was stunning.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

35. Somehow, I am not surprised! I won't tell anyone, I promise. It'll be our secret! ♥

[Grumpy Old Guy]

42. Thanks Peggy!

You really did nail that shot. We never know for sure what we've captured until we look at the files. It's hard to believe that we used to have to wait until our film was processed to find out.

I didn't know there is going to be an eclipse in 2024. I'll have to put that in my calendar. I missed the last one due to some family medical issues.

[Soph0571]

25. Well Ross I have to say

Not only do I look forward to more pics from you, but left wing rants are always much appreciated also

[Grumpy Old Guy]

43. Thanks!

[edhopper]

17. I missed the final vote

but those are great choices.

[tishaLA]

19. They're so great. Congratulations to all three.

The third photo reminds me of a Hopper painting.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

20. Oops! My bad!

I almost forgot a special thanks to Soph0571 for running the contest!

[Soph0571]

23. Ah thanks love!

One of my favourite things to do, and please call me Soph. You should only call me Soph0571 if you are cross with me!

And well done. You are a very welcome addition to the Photography Group!

[mnhtnbb]

27. Congratulations to the winners!

Grumpy Old Guy gets to choose the theme for the May contest.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

44. I have a few ideas.

[Beringia]

28. Congrats

[Owl]

31. Lovely pictures! What is the Ritz? A store?

[MichaelSoE]

36. Small food stand in Oranjestad, Aruba

[Owl]

37. Nice! Thank you.

[Johnny Noshoes]

32. Congrats Grumpy

Great work

[Grumpy Old Guy]

45. Thank you very much!

[spanone]

39. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼K&R👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[ShazzieB]

47. Those were my top 3 favorites.

And boy howdy, was it hard to decide!

[JudyM]

48. This was fun, thanks for hosting, Soph!

And congrats, Grumpster!

[burrowowl]

49. Worthy winners indeed!

[SunSeeker]

50. Wow, the LA pick rocks!

[SheltieLover]

51. Congrats!!!

[electric_blue68]

52. Congrats to the winners!

and to all the photographers this round!
So many different kinds of wonderful to savor, and then
tease out one's favorites. 🙂 👍

[a kennedy]

53. Not even gonna say how beautiful and perfect for the contest the winners are.....

Just love the talent here on DU.

[HAB911]

54. Way to go Grumpy! Well deserved!

[niyad]

56. Congratulations to all.