Seek The Peak

 

In a little over one months time I’ll again be hiking in support of the Mount Washington Observatory(MWOBS). Seek The Peak is an annual Hike-A-Thon fundraiser for the non-profit weather research facility located atop the tallest peak in the northeast, and home to the “Worlds Worst Weather.” The highest surface wind speed recorded by man, at 231 mph, was recorded here in 1934. No wonder the old summit building is chained to the ground!

As I did last year I’m seeking your support for this world-class research facility. And, to make it worth your while, I’m again raffling off two signed prints as a reward for your support. For each $10 (U.S.) tax-deductible donation made through my personal fundraising page  your name will be entered into a drawing for a signed 16″x24″ print of any of the photos found on my website.

That’s right, you as the winner gets to choose your prize!

But there’s more. For the person making the largest donation*(see the not so fine print below), you will automatically receive a signed 20″x30″ canvas gallery wrap of the image of your choice. Simple, make a big donation, take home a big print, no taking chances your name whether or not will be drawn.

*The not so fine print. The signed print is available to anyone worldwide. Sadly the signed canvas for the largest donation can only be shipped to the U.S. and Canada.

 

Please consider making your donation today.

Thank you, and see you at the summit!

Here’s a slide show of images made during last years hike.

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The Rock Pile.

Mount Washington, New Hampshire.

“The Rock Pile.”

“Home of the worlds worst weather.”

“World record wind.”

Those of you who’ve followed along with me for any length of time know I have an affinity for New Hampshire’s Mount Washington. For those new to these pages I’ve included some of my favorite memories of its perilous beauty and extreme weather. Favorite images including Mount Washington, and many captured on its slopes, showing both the natural beauty, and extreme weather.

The tallest peak in the northeast, affectionately known as “The Rock Pile,” Mount Washington is also known as “Home of the worlds worst weather.” The highest surface wind speed ever recorded by man, at 231 mph(372 kph), was recorded on its summit in 1934.

Mount Washington looms large above the landscape in northern New Hampshire.

The Mount Washington Observatory is a privately funded, non-profit organization dedicated to weather research and education.

Again this year I’ll be participating in Seek The Peak, one of the Observatory’s premier fundraising events. Like last year, I’ll again be raffling off 2 prints as part of my fundraising efforts. Unlike last year, where I chose the photo, this years winner will get to choose their winning print from among the many I have offered at www.jeffsinon.com.

The first of the two prints in the raffle is a signed 16″ x 24″ print. For each $10 (U.S.) pledge made HERE, your name is entered into the drawing. Winner will be chosen at random from all entries received.

The 20″ x 30″ canvas gallery wrap will go to the person who makes the largest single pledge. Nothing random about it, make the largest donation and the canvas is yours! (Please read the fine print!)*

Fine Print *  ~ The 16″ x 24″ print raffle is open to anyone world-wide. Sadly the canvas is only available to U.S. and Canada residents.

100% of all proceeds go to the Observatory. None of your donations are used to fund the print or the canvas. Those costs are covered completely by me.

The drawing for the print will be held during the week following the July 19, 2014 event and the winners will be notified via the email used when they make their donation. Winners will also be posted here on my blog as well as on my Fan Page.

Please consider making your donation by clicking HERE today!

Thank You!

I hope you enjoy the images I’ve included below, several of them captured during last years Seek The Peak event.

Seek The Peak 2013.

On the way up! Seek The Peak 2013

Capture The Color

Capturing The Color

Again this year the great folks over at Capture the Colour are sponsoring their “Capture the Colour” photo contest. 

And again this year I’m throwing my hat, er my images, into the ring.

Not remotely as well-traveled as many of my blogging friends, my travel is usually confined to the wild and scenic places of New Hampshire.

Enjoy the Color!

Red

Autumn Road.

Though red is not the dominant color in this image, I chose it for the brilliant reds found in the foliage. Red is the reason, along with the yellows, oranges and golds, that so many flock to the region every fall. 

Autumn in New Hampshire is certainly worth traveling to. 

Yellow

Rose Petals On The Sidewalk. Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Blue

North Church Steeple. Photographed during the “blue hour.”

Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Green

Overlooking Tuckerman Ravine from the Boott Spur Trail. The summit of Mt. Washington in the distance. Captured on my inaugural hike to the summit of the tallest peak in the eastern U.S. and “Home to the worlds worst weather.”

White Mountains, New Hampshire.

White

Winter Wonderland. 

From the summit of Mt. Avalon, over-looking the valley below, Mt. Washington and the Presidential Range receiving the last rays of the setting sun in the distance.

White Mountains, New Hampshire.

From the mountains to the sea,

We have it all here. Without question, New Hampshire is worth a visit.

I’d like to invite the following bloggers, all of their photographs and travels I greatly admire, to take part, and with luck, win!

Tina

Zhang Wenjie

Julie

Paula

Lucy

All of the above create excellent imagery, and most travel way more than I will ever be able to. (Big bonus, only one of them is likely to kill me for including her :-D) I encourage you all to stop by their blogs and pay them a visit.

Photo Contest Rules – Read The Fine Print!

I’ve got the winning image, I just know it!

THE perfect photo!

So, there’s this photo contest, you’re so excited because  you have the absolute perfect image for it. There is absolutely no way any of the other entries could be as good as yours. You are going to win this!  It’s a lock, in the bag, piece of cake!

So, blindly you go about filling out the online entry form, selecting the prize-winning file, and as  you’re finishing, you see the link to the “OFFICIAL RULES.”

You hesitate, but only for a moment, then say to yourself, “Blah, rules, who cares about some silly rules, I just want to win!”

And so you click “Submit.”

 What have you done?

Honestly, if you are lucky, you’ll never realize what you may have just done.  You may never come to realize what you have just given away in your haste at a chance to win what, $100, $200, maybe even $500? Oh yes, don’t forget the ever popular possibility of “Photo Credit” somewhere in the magazine. ( you all know my thoughts on that particular scam used to acquire photos for free).

Ignorance after all, is bliss. Or so they say.

The price, a dream. 

Online photo contests, quite often sponsored by otherwise reputable companies, are paying for your photos with a dream. The dream of a relatively small amount of money or prizes, and recognition via your name and photo in print. Because quite often, buried deep within the mind-numbing minutia of the “Official Rules,” rules that almost no one reads because of the indecipherable legalese in which they are often written, is something like this:

“All photos submitted to ******Magazine.com’s Web site become the property of ****** Publishing Inc. ******Magazine.com may reproduce, distribute, publish, display, edit, modify, create derivative works from and otherwise use the material for any purpose, in any form, and on any media”

These are part of the rules for an actual photo contest accepting submissions right now, sponsored by a very well-known, well-respected, regional magazine. But wait, it gets better. By entering the contest, you give them the rights to do whatever they so please with not one, not two, but up to FIVE of your photos if you choose to submit the maximum number of entries allowed.

And it gets even better still.

In this, as in many, many other photo contests, the rules to which I’ve started reading very closely, you don’t just give them the rights to your photos only if you win, you give them the rights to  “reproduce, distribute, publish, display, edit, modify, create derivative works from and otherwise use the material for any purpose, in any form, and on any media” for ALL of your entries, forever and ever, just by entering. Win or lose, five years down the road you may see your precious photo in the magazine in some form or another, maybe with “photo credit,” maybe not.  Certainly without payment.

Yes, there is a bright side. Sort of.

Even though you’ve given the contest organizers the rights to use your photo until the end of time, you do still retain copyright and the ability to sell prints of your entered photos. The “sort of?” You may as well forget about licensing, you just flushed the licensing value right down the drain.

Water Water Everywhere.

One of my favorite things to photograph…

…Is water, moving water in particular. And one key to getting the look I’m after in any moving water image is a long exposure. It’s that long exposure that gives the water that silky smooth, etherial look that many, myself included, find so appealing. To achieve that soft, silky look a long exposure is required. The most important step to take during these long exposures is to have the camera securely mounted on a sturdy tripod. Having the camera on a sturdy support during exposure makes sure the surrounding scenery is rendered sharp while the shutter is open for an extended period. Something virtually impossible to achieve while hand-holding the camera.

All of which brings me to the point of this post. Really Right Stuff, manufacture of machined aluminum art, that happens to do double duty as camera support equipment, is holding their 2013 Photo Contest. The theme of this contest is, as you may have guessed, WATER. 

Below are the two images that will be submitted as my entries, both of which have graced the pages of my blog before. I have also included camera, lens, and exposure info, along with the Really Right Stuff equipment used. Click on either image to see it large!

“No Swimming.”

Rocky Gorge, Swift River, White Mountains, NH.

Canon EOS 7D, Tamron 17-50 f2.8, ISO 100, f16 for 1.3 seconds.

RRS B7D-L Camera L Plate.

RRS BH-40 LR II Ball Head.

“Forest Stream.”

Tucker Brook, Milford, NH

Canon EOS 40D, Canon EF 17-40 f4L, ISO 100, f16 for 6 seconds.

RRS B40DL Camera L Plate

RRS BH-40 LR II Ball Head.

In case you’re wondering, I’m not asking for your votes, I simply hope those who’ve seen these before enjoy seeing them again, and those that haven’t, enjoy them for the first time. Also, I have absolutely no affiliation with Really Right Stuff, I just think they make some of the best camera support equipment on the market. They are true works of art and worth every penny!

The contest is open to Really Right Stuff customers, more information can be found HERE.

Subscriber Favorites And A Winner!

The Top 9?

Who in the world does a top 9? Well as it turns out, you do.

Back on December 13th I challenged the subscribers to my blog to Tell Me Your Favorite Image From 2012, and one lucky person was going to win an 8″ x 12,” signed print of their favorite. The rules were simple, post a link in the comments section to your favorite Jeff Sinon Photography image that appeared on the blog during 2012. Once the votes were tallied, one lucky winner would be chosen at random.

I have to admit, with 660 followers at last count, I was hoping for a bit more participation, however, I’m not complaining. That there were only 9 votes cast by only 6 people* made less work for me, and the odds of winning went up considerably for those who did take part. That’s a win-win in my book 🙂

So here they are, the 9 images chosen as favorites from the images shared during 2012.

 

And The Winner Is…

Jessica from This One Time At Band Camp…, and the image she chose as her favorite,

Wavy Green

 

Jessica, contact me with your mailing address at your earliest convenience, and an 8″ x 12″ print of “Wavy Green” will be on it’s way!

 

*For anyone wondering, though a few people voted for more than one image, their names were only placed in the drawing once. Based on the number of individual voters, the odds of winning were 1 in 6.

Thank you all so much, I look forward to another year of making photographs for you all to enjoy!

Tell Me Your Favorite Image From 2012…

…And You Could Win It!

It’s almost that time of year again, time to recap 2012 with my 12, give or take, favorite images made over the past year. This year I plan to do something a little different as well. Not only am I going to be sharing my “Top 12 Of 2012,”  but with your help I would also like to share the top 12 “Fan Favorite” Jeff Sinon Photography images.

Now here is where the “And You Could Win It” part comes in. As incentive to get you to take part, one lucky person, drawn at random from those who cast a vote, starting today, 12/13/12 and ending 1/5/13,  will receive a signed 8″x12″ print of their favorite image, FREE.

Since not all the images I’ve made this year end up on my blog, you are not restricted to only photos I’ve shared here. You may also visit the Jeff Sinon Photography Fan Page, where my most recent photos are often shared first (“Liking” my page, though appreciated, is not required to view photos), or my website, www.jeffsinon.com.

Rules, Gotta Have The Rules. Please read carefully.

1) Any image from any post on the Jeff Sinon Photography blog, written between January 1 and December 31, 2012, is eligible.

Important: Since I almost always share more than one image per blog post, please click on the image you are voting for first, then copy that link to put in your comment. Thank you!

2) Any image shared from my fan page must have come from a post dated between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2012.

3) Any image shared from my website must have been taken between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2012. (Shooting date can be obtained by clicking on an image, then clicking on “Photo Information.” Hint: photos appear on my website most recently taken first.

4) All votes/links must be entered in the comments section of this post no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (GMT -5 Hours) Jan. 5th, 2013.

5) The top 12 “Fan Favorite” images along with the lucky winner will be posted no later than 11:59 p.m. on January 12, 2013. The winner will also be posted on my Fan Page. Good reason to become a fan on facebook, or subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss the announcement. 😉 At least for the duration of the contest. (You may unfollow/unlike at any time).

6) The winner will have 30 days to contact me with shipping information. Which will only be used to mail their print and then promptly discarded. You’ll never have to worry about unsolicited mail from Jeff Sinon Photography.

Thank you! 

I look forward to seeing how your Top 12 compares to mine. Happy voting!

And The Winner Is…

The New England Photography Guild’s Free Print Give-Away Contest.

Each month at the New England Photography Guild we randomly select one lucky person to receive a free matted 5″ x 7″ print, donated by the artist of the month. For the month of August, that artist was yours truly 🙂

And the lucky winner is:

Elaine Somers of Rockport Massachusetts.

Here is the image Elaine chose as her prize,

Congratulations Elaine!

Capture The Colour

A New Twist on The Photo Challenge. 

I love a challenge, and the chance to win free stuff!

The folks over at TravelSupermarket.com have come up with a Capture the Colour photo challenge. The object is to post five travel photos showing the colors blue, green, yellow, white, and red. Well I don’t travel much outside the New England area, and even that is pretty much restricted to New Hampshire and Maine. I was given the heads-up about this challenge by The Retiring Sort, and figured “what have I got to lose?” The prizes are pretty good too, and if all I have to do to enter is share a few photos, I’m in.

Blue.

If you’re planning a visit to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and a drive up Mt. Washington is on your itinerary, why not make it a sunrise drive. The auto road to the summit is opened several times over the summer for people to be able to witness sunrise from the summit of the “Home of the worlds worst weather.”

Green.

The White Mountains of New Hampshire are full of waterfalls in all shapes and sizes. The one above, Silver Cascades, is located just off Rt. 302 in Crawford Notch State Park. The mist that hung in the air the morning I made this photo added a dream-like quality to the image.

Yellow.

For the motor sports fans, here in New Hampshire we have New England Dragway, where “Hell Camino” was photographed. Personally, I enjoy the pit area, over the actual racing, for all the rolling works of art on display. We also have  Lee USA Speedway, Star Speedway, and for the NASCAR fans there’s New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Whether it’s a quarter-mile at a time, or lap after lap, there’s plenty of go-fast fun for the whole family.

White.

One of my favorite destinations in the White Mountain National Forest, Pondicherry National Wildlife Refuge offers spectacular views of the Presidential Range.  An easy 2+ mile hike along an old railroad bed brings you to this wonderful area.

Red.

Nothing can compare to the vibrant reds, along with the yellows and oranges, of Autumn in New Hampshire. People come from the world over the see the explosion of color blanketing the mountains during the peak of the Fall foliage season.

Here are the 5 people I’m inviting to give it a shot.

Photos From The Loony Bin

Muse & Sparrow Photography

When This Becomes There

krikitarts

NBush Photography

Planning Your Shot With The iPhone.

My latest article for the New England Photography Guild (NEPG), and a reminder on how you can win a free print from one of the very talented photographers of the NEPG.

Click for article > Plan Your Shot With These iPhone Apps.

And now for the good stuff!

Free print of a beautiful New England scene? Who wouldn’t like that?

How would you like a matted, 5″ x 7″ print of a beautiful New England scene, for free? Just a few clicks of your mouse is all it takes to be entered in our monthly drawing. Each month, one lucky winner, drawn at random, will receive a matted 5″ x 7″* print from that months featured photographer. This months featured photographer is Jane Ogilvie, and as luck would have it, September’s featured photographer is ME!

All you need to do to get your name in the drawing is subscribe to the NEPG blog.

No purchase necessary, contest rules can be found here.

* Restrictions apply, see rules for details.