About Photomatter Blog

Photomatter Blog is an extension of Photomatter.com's Photography web site featuring photos by James Markus. The blog will focus on photography, business practices, equipment, new photographic creations, important photographic news/information, recent work, and my occasional posts.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

FM Weekly Assignment Win - Theme Electricity

Had a win in Fred Miranda's weekly assignment (#597) - after a long dry spell. The topic was electricity - the top five finishers can be found HERE.

Titled: "The Human Touch"

Fred Miranda's web site (Linked HERE) is one of the most aesthetically pleasing photo sites on the web. There are resources for photographic information, and encouragement in the forums and other areas of the site. Over the years I have participated in both the weekly and monthly assignments to motivate me to continue to hone my skills. I believe participating in these assignments can help anyone; and gets you out shooting photos and thinking about ways to convey it visually. Try it!

The image is available in my conceptual gallery for prints, products, and commercial publishing HERE.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Children Photo Contest "Award of Excellence"

I just received notice that another photo of mine received I Shot It's Mark of Excellence award. However, it is not the whole story. I was imaging some photos from a family event in which Sam went from happy to not so happy in a short period of time. I liked both images, and entered them in the contest.

I Shot It Judge Lisa Alessandra Kutzelnig's comments about the awarded photo.

ohhh, these eyes and the expression on his face! In German you would call him a "Lausbub" (a little rascal). A good portrait should transfer emotions and reflect the character and thats what is does! I like his cheeky facial expression and also the way you cropped it.

 Apparently happy wins, but I still like the second image as well!


Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Style Photo Contest Win @ Photo.net

This photo co-won (tied for first) in Photo.net's Style Photo Contest out of 131 entries. 
However, there is more to the story. This dress was made by my mother in the 1940's. It is an emerald green silk with a yellow silk liner. The hat and gloves are also from my mother, and date from the same period. The necklace and earrings are genuine emeralds. The contest info on Photo.net's site is located HERE.