Writer, Photographer,

YAY! I’ve been hearing little bits of good news about these photo contests. I got an email from SnapAlley.com telling me that my entry had been moved onto the next level of judging. The thing is, while I know which photo it is, I can’t find in my records what the category of the contest or prizes are. It seems I didn’t even record the entry on my blog! Shame on me! Anyway, it’s this photo, which I took at The Mission Inn, Riverside:

And TODAY I received notice that I’ve won an actual prize from the ephotozine.com contest: “Cities and Scapes.” That was one of the first contests I entered, and it appears I’ve won 6th place! The write-up from the site is here, with my specific mention saying: “Final our sixth winner is Jillangill for her shot of the Los Angeles skyline and silhouetted figures. The panoramic treatment works well for this subject and the image gives a sense of freedom from the bustle of city life.”

If you scroll down a bit you can see thumnails of each winning photo. I don’t even have any idea what I’ve actually won, besides that it’s some kind of gear from ThinkTank photo. I’m so excited I don’t CARE if it’s last place. This was an international contest, and I feel good about any encouragement whatsoever at this point. Thanks, ephotozine!

It’s another exciting day in the life of Jillangill…I get to go to my cousin Alison’s wedding! She very kindly planned it just one hour from where I live, so that’s quite convenient and I appreciate it. Photos soon! That much I can always promise!

It’s wedding season, y’all! For some reason, this year has been rife with weddings for us. We’re talking 8 weddings, when we usually go to maybe 2 in a year. Luckily, I really like weddings because there’s so much to shoot! I do feel like it’s different when you’re attending a wedding and snapping a few shots, versus being THE PHOTOGRAPHER responsible for capturing anything and everything. As you can probably guess, I much prefer the former (since I really like taking candids anyway). So last week my cousin Brian married a truly lovely, sweet girl in Louisiana. Me and the camera had never been to the South before, so we thought, “Sweet! Let’s go!” It was great, especially because my sister and I both left our husbands at home and got to bunk together and have great sister chats. Plus, there are so many clouds there! And I love clouds!! Here are a few of my favorite shots from the weekend. Full set is available here.

There’s something about non-traditional shots that really appeals to me. Sometimes I think people say more with their bodies than with their faces. I love the closeness here: my cousin with my aunt and uncle.

I always like the shot where the rest of the room can be in chaos, and the bride and groom are just focused on each other. I like the idea of that–in this shot though, we have vigilant father-of-the-bride action. I think that’s hilarious!

Ah, the kiss! How can you not love this couple…they’re crazy about each other and that’s so cool. I love the emotion portrayed here, Brian really went for it. Go, Brian!

And this one! What a lucky shot with the timing of that flash! I was thrilled with this capture…just the right amount of motion, everyone’s so happy, and even the petals are in focus. That’s my brother and sister in the background, and I believe everyone was laughing in this shot because the groomsman standing next to me had just nailed Brian full in the face with two fistfulls of rose petals. Nice.

This one was taken on my flight home; we took off right at sunset and chased the sun back to California. I love that…taking off into an eternal sunset. Wasn’t I right about the clouds, here?? Amazing! I wish we saw more of those in dry-as-a-bone California!

And just so you know I haven’t been completely slacking on the contest front, I did enter two of my photos into the Living Oceans Society’s Ocean Exposures contest. Here’s what I chose:

Of course I had to choose this one…it’s one of my all-time faves!

I included this fairly recent shot, too. I don’t do a ton of ocean/beach shooting because I feel like it all starts to look the same. For me to like an ocean shot enough, it’s got to have more going on…better framing than just waves and sand and rocks. I like the colors in this one, and the framing that the branch provides.

Sidenote: part of the reason it’s taken me a week to get on board with posting and catch-up is that I finally got a new laptop! I’m thrilled, but now comes the task of moving all my files over and reorganizing everything, all while learning an updated system. Next up: my cousin Alison’s wedding on Tuesday!

I can’t believe Summer’s already over! I mostly sat around for the second half of it, and it STILL seems like it flew by. I’m trying to make the most of all my opportunities to shoot, so without further ado here are some of my favorite shots from last week’s Long Beach/Rancho Palos Verdes expedition. We shot a CSULB’s Japanese Garden, and then at Rancho Palos Verdes’ Wayfarers Chapel. Both were lovely and fun, and of course, picturesque!

From the Japanese Garden:

The View from Wayfarers Chapel:

Long Beach Port Pipes:

You can see the whole set here

Today’s contest is through an organization called The Nature Conservancy, with a prize being exposure through inclusion in their 2011 calendar. The parameters for the contest were images of wildlife and habitats. I realized I don’t do too much shooting in those categories directly, but they’re definitely some of my interests. Here are the two I chose to enter:

I entered this into another contest earlier this month, but I think it’s also good for this one. I had to re-do the wing construction because in my ongoing efforts to purge anything unnecessary from my computer so it will actually run (booooo), I somehow permanently deleted the doctored image.

This one, you probably know, has always been one of my favorites. Incidentally, this one and the image above were taken during the same trip up north to Santa Maria.

First things first: my pal and resident computer genius Matt got my Etsy mini to appear on the site (thumbnail pics to the right). Hooray!

Next up, I finally finished editing my favorite pictures from the Redlands/Riverside shooting day, and you can find the Flickr set here. My favorite images of the day are this one from the Redlands Morey Mansion:

…and this one from the Mission Inn in Riverside:

Last item of business: today’s contest! The theme of the contest is Patterns and Lines, with each entrant limited to two submissions. The winner gets some sort of Photoshop bundle…? Anyway, here’s what I chose:

What I Like About this Photo:
I took this at Huntington Gardens several months ago. It’s a grouping of cacti, which don’t normally look all that interesting to me. I cropped this close and chose BW processing because I like how that makes the image look a little more abstract. I really like the lines and textures in this image, and I think this has a very clean feel to it. As for the pattern aspect of the competition, I do see some patterns in there as well…they’re just a bit more hidden.

What I Like About this Photo:
I took this when we went to go see the new World of Color show at Disney California Adventure. The show is AMAZING, and I’m pretty sure my camera didn’t leave my face for the vast majority of it. My favorite effect with the water and color was the straight-up shots into the air. This looks other-worldly to me, and in a way reminds me of northern lights (especially if you just look at the top half). So I really like the lines and feathered color here, but I also like the bottom border of spectators. Different heights, some with a camera, and different densities of the silhouettes. My favorite people in the shot are at the bottom right…the guy with the kid on his shoulders, and he’s holding out her arms. This shot more than anything else I took that night exemplifies the feeling of wonder that Disney never fails to deliver.

Yesterday I got to go out shooting all afternoon with my good pal Ryan DeLapp! We shot at 4 different locations in Redlands/Riverside (I’ll bet you didn’t know there was anything photogenic there, right??) and I have about 600 photos to wade through and edit today. Here’s hoping my hard drive hangs on another day.

Today’s contest is through a company called Joby, which makes the Gorillapod and its accessories. The category was “Summer Candids,” and while you can enter up to three, I only chose two. Since I’m mainly a landscape photographer, I don’t typically have/keep a ton of photos around that have people in them. I always feel weird taking pictures of people I don’t know, like they’re going to run after me and yell at me or something. Is that weird? Anyway, this contest chooses 5 winners who each get $100 worth of Joby gear. These are the two images I chose:

What I Like About this Photo:
I took this while walking around Balboa Island during Memorial Day weekend. This woman was by herself, just gazing off into the sea, and I wondered what she was thinking about. This image has been processed with Photomatix (HDR), which gives her a little glow and adds texture to the water. I do like the slightly dreamy feel of the image, and I like the woman’s messy hair. I also like the colors; a lot of pastels here.

What I Like About this Photo:
I took this during a separate beach trip last year…might’ve been Exodus’ beach day at Crystal Cove last September. When I do take pictures of people, I tend to gravitate toward choosing a single subject instead of many. Maybe it’s because I’m more interested in a person’s singular behavior than their interactions with others (I’m definitely an introvert). This little girl was ADORABLE and just running from the water when the waves came in, trying not to lose her ball. Movement and reflections are always nice in an image, and my only regret with this one is that I had to crop out most of her reflection because including it would’ve meant having other things/people in the frame I didn’t want.

Here’s where you come in! These contest entries are located here and here. If you go to the pages and click on “Like,” it will help me win! Yay!