A photographic worst case scenario for me: no planning, no DSLR, and only my laptop for editing. This might look like a lot of work, but it was hardly any effort at all. A couple of the kids were burying each other in the sand, so we thought it would be fun to get all the cousins together. We buried half of them and took some pictures with my little P&S, then the others put their heads in between (on top of the sand) and my 'challenge sense' started tingling.
I wanted the sand to be flat around their heads, so we dug another shallow pit next to the first one, with a ridge in the middle so they could all recline with their heads elevated. Since the photo was going to be cropped anyway, we only buried them halfway with their legs sticking out. The goofy expressions were the result of me begging the kids to open their eyes wider. I stood straddling the group and held the camera out over their heads, and the sunset light was just lucky timing. The whole setup and shoot took maybe 15 minutes. A few basic adjustments in Photoshop and done. It was a toss-in entry, and I actually forgot that I had entered until it came up after rollover. I didn't even read the challenge description until after voting had started!
My daughter won't let me trade her in for a less-recognizable model. ;-)
Processing: crop and straighten, Levels, USM, Vibrance +15, slight warming Photo Filter, and +2 on the highlight side of Shadow/Highlight.
Statistics
Place: 1 out of 141 Avg (all users): 7.0659 Avg (commenters): 7.6087 Avg (participants): 6.9074 Avg (non-participants): 7.1328 Views since voting: 11404 Views during voting: 415 Votes: 182 Comments: 61 Favorites: 12 (view)
Ohmygosh! What a great photo -- and a priceless memory that will be treasured so, so long after the challenge is forgotten. . . . but wait. . .you already forgot the challenge. . .way to rub-it-in to us mere mortals who, when even the dim glimmer of the possibility of a ribbon keeps us up nights pressing update until the final moment. Mega congratulations on this deserving award winner!
Just a "toss-in-photo"? Makes me hate you even more... ;-)
Congratulations on very well deserved first place finish. A thoroughly enjoyable image, and one I could imagine seeing on the wall in several types of beach/surf related businesses.
Are there no limits to what you will do to win a ribbon?! Severed heads of poor innocent children....disgusting, absolutely disgusting. Shannon...you are a very sick man.
This shot caught my eye while I was browsing(didn't vote) all the pics. It's a really feel good shot, and I'm glad to see so many other happy family, beach and vacation shots posted. A pretty cool one at that. Mine was also a toss in. Love when that happens, and how rare LOL.
My choice for one of the top three. Fun, creative, good lighting, natural and not a studio shot (which I really enjoy seeing). Best of luck in the challenge.
This is a neat shot. The kids look like they are having fun too! I can just imagine the time it took to get them set up just right. Nice job on meeting the challenge and showing a sense of humor too.
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