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Congratulations to Gary Kasl from Carlsbad, CA; November 2018 Photographer of the Month! The theme this month was "open" photographers could submit any real estate photo they choose. This is Gary's third POTM win, he also won March 2017 and November 2017. Thank you to everyone who participated and to the jurors who took time out of their busy schedules to contribute their votes and thoughtful commentary.
Please feel free to view and comment on any of this month's entries here.
Here is what Gary had to say about the win:
Thanks to the judges and to everyone for all the great feedback!
I knew the second I saw the image on my iPad that it was going to be special. I had been waiting for a staircase like this for years and when I finally had it in front of me was kind of stumped. I wasn’t sure how I wanted to capture the scene. I usually use lots of supplemental lighting for these kinds of properties but I ended up going with a single flash pop at the bottom of the stairs to pull the eye through and blended that with a proper ambient exposure. With some color tweaks and my final contrast and sharpening, that was it. Overall, it was pretty simple and probably the easiest of the set but it was my favorite by far.
This is also my favorite theme of the year so I’m super stoked to have won for the second time in a row!
Thanks to PFRE for holding this contest and being such an awesome place for me to come together. I really enjoy this community!
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Way to go Gary...stellar capture and a well-deserved win! Congrats!
Gary, congratulations on such a unique image, great composition, lighting etc!! So fun to have an image that just comes together!!
Ethan
Congratulations Gary! A stunning image and another well-deserved win.
Congratulations, Gary! You nailed this shot - it's perfect.
Congrats, Gary! Such a killer shot.
Congratulations, Gary! Well done!
Wow.
Killer shot, Gary! Congrats. Definitely my favorite shot this month.
Many congrats Gary! I think it was Tony who said in his critique that as a thumbnail this stands out as being the strongest image, and I agree.
Nice one Gary - clear winner for me too. Brandon / Larry - could there be a 'staircase' month in the stills comp perhaps? They seem to produce such good images and this isn't the first time a staircase has won this November 'Open' category. Not sure which category you'd remove... Foyer perhaps? or combine twilight and daytime exterior months? Just a thought. Hamish
@Hamish - I like your idea of changing/expanding the Foyer contest to Staircase month since Foyers usually have staircases.
CONGRATULATIONS GARY! Well done and well deserved!
Thanks, everyone! I love this category, it really leaves it open for some creative shots that don't normally fit anywhere else. Hamish, I totally agree with you on making some changes, I actually have a list of different categories I'd be interested in seeing.
Well done. Great image
Great shot, Gary — congrats on another win!