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Congratulations to Travis Rowan of Maui, Hawaii who has won the September photographer of the month for September. Travis has won the PFRE video contest three times so he thought he'd try his hand at still
Here are the contestants that the jurors awarded points to this month:
Don't forget to check out the discussion in the contest Flickr group. There is a lot of good comments and critique. I've put the contestants names on all the entries in the Flickr group. Thanks for everyone's participation in the contest.
Here are Travis's comments:
Thanks very much. It’s great to be recognized. Thanks especially to Larry for creating this forum to showcase my work and learn from each other. I know it’s been incredibly helpful in improving my skills in both
photography and video.This home is absolutely amazing and is one of my favorites. This was the second opportunity I’ve had to photograph it in the past five years. Since the first time, it has been personalized by it’s current owner (Peter Lik) with many cool refinements like the entry zen garden. I’ve learned some new techniques in the past few years and this property was a great opportunity to put them to work.
For this shot, I used the “Mike Kelley” technique of light painting various parts of the image and then layering them in by hand in photoshop. I captured well over 40 frames. This image is the result of over 20 different layers all with some piece of it lit by a single handheld speedlight. I tried to mimic the direction of any expected light sources (sky, sconces and possible interior lights) but also wasn’t afraid to let it be less natural and more graphic like on the vertical stone spires. It’s not practical to shoot all properties in this way as it’s time-consuming both during the shoot and in post, but this one really inspired me to do something extra special.
Equipment: Nikon D800 + 24-70mm at 24mm.
Pocketwizards
Camranger
iPad mini
Lumopro 180 speedlight
Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.
Great work Travis - So balanced and pleasing. It just look very natural to the eye. No real hot spots and nothing is too dark. Just a yummy, I want to be there moment.
Travis,
Terrific work!! Congratulations on winning this month!! You are lucky I didn't submit!! 😉 Kidding aside, your work is excellent and I am sure your clients are very happy!
Much Aloha!
Ethan
A masterful one-point comp (and so easy to look at!) Very well done, Travis ... congratulations!
Well I tried to make it 3 in a row, but I knew as soon as I saw this one I was losing my streak. I said it in the flickr post that this was an awesome and compelling image everything was done just right. Congrats!
Well done indeed, Travis.
Yes, they seem to know their RE/architectural photography stuff down there in Hawaii...
Nice work Travis! Becoming quite the crossover guy. Congratulations on the win this month and on getting to shoot Peter Lik's house. What a neat experience that must have been. I would be curious to see what is hanging on his walls. Are we going to get to see a video from this home as well?
Great job!
That's a beauty Travis, congrats!
Wonderful job Travis! It was no doubt in my mind that you had the win this month. Very clean image.
Excellent work, Travis. I'm just waiting for an inspirational property to photograph like in your image.
Congrats, Travis!!
Congratulations Travis, stunning image!! Do you need an assistant out there in Hawaii? Haha. Im sure It would be easy to convince my wife to move.
Thanks everybody your comments and votes. It's much appreciated. Aloha