©Mark Garber & Jennifer Gilman “Entering the IPC is the best thing you can do to enhance your photography skills. Every year, just knowing we’re going to compete against some of the finest photographers in the world makes us push ourselves harder to create images worthy of one of the highest photography honors, being accepted into the PPA Loan Collection.” MARK GARBER, 2011 DIAMOND RECIPIENT the A look at some of the best photographs of 2010 & 2011 standard In the last year, the PPA International Photographic Competition (IPC) added digital image entry capabilities and updated the submission process. The result is a more accessible, diverse and competitive event. That’s why the accomplishments of the most recently named Diamond Photographers of the Year are more impressive than ever. These photographers scored four PPA Loan Collection images out of four entries, no small feat. Out of thousands of IPC entrants, only a few reach this level—seven in 2010, a dozen in 2011. These image makers have been recog nized in a competition specifically designed to help photographers improve their craft, measure themselves against their peers, and further their professional credentials. In these pages, we present a special feature covering both the 2010 and 2011 Diamond Photographers of the Year. This is the diamond standard. Prepare to be dazzled. JASON SKINNER Jason Skinner Photography, Las Vegas 2011 “GRACED” “I wanted to create an image suggestive of the vague feeling that lingers after a beautiful, haunting dream,” says Jason Skinner, a self-taught photographer earning his first Diamond award. Skinner lit his subject with two monolights modified by umbrellas with white V-cards just behind them. He had the dancer jump repeatedly while an assistant waved the red fabric behind her. He shot from a low angle from about 20 feet away to elongate the subject’s body without distortion. In post, Skinner neutralized the skin tones and added a hint of magenta. He reduced the contrast, sharpened the dancer’s skin, and smoothed imperfections. Last, he gently burned the edges of the fabric and the dancer’s skin with a wide brush to increase the falloff from the shallow depth of light. CAMERA: Canon EOS 50D LENS: Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 LIGHT: Two 450-watt-second monolights SOFTWARE: Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop SHUTTER SPEED: 1/250 second APERTURE: f/5.6 ISO: 100 JENNIFER GILMAN, M.PHOTOG.CR., CPP MARK GARBER, M.PHOTOG.CR. Mark Garber Photography, Dayton, Ohio 2011 “URBAN ROMANCE” (P.94) ©Mark Garber & Jennifer Gilman ©Jason Skinner In this spread from their album “Urban Romance,” husband-and-wife team Jennifer Gilman and Mark Garber wanted to add a sexy feel to the wedding story. After editing and processing the images in Lightroom, Gilman laid out the album in Photoshop in one of her custom designs. Combining contemporary design with graphic fundamentals, Gilman uses negative space and numerous panoramas to give the viewer’s eye time to pause and reflect. The approach works; Gilman and Garber have a combined total of nine Diamond awards (four for Jennifer, five for Mark), and 24 Loan Collection albums. CAMERA: Nikon D700 LENSES: Variety of Nikon lenses—Garber’s favorite is the 70-200mm f/2.8 while Gilman prefers the 50mm f/1.4 SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom 96 • www.ppmag.com JOE CAMPANELLIE, M.PHOTOG.CR., CPP Campanellie’s Portraits, Damascus, Md. 2011 “BATHED IN LIGHT” With the goal of capturing the beauty and delicacy of a great white egret in full breeding plumage, Joe Campanellie returned to this location for several days, in hopes that all the elements for the image would come together. Using a tripod with a rotating head, Campanellie made sure he could stabilize the camera, yet be ready to move if necessary. In post-production, he used Photoshop to correct the exposure and do minor cleanup, and used the Low Key Vignette action from Digital ©Joe Campanellie Doctor. “This image is special because of how the light interacts with the delicacy of the great white egret and his feathers,” says Campanellie. “As artists, our ability to see light and how it interacts with the world around us drives our creative spirit.” CAMERA: Canon EOS-1D Mark II LENS: Canon 500mm f/5.6 LIGHT: Ambient SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop OTHER GEAR: Gitzo carbon fiber tripod with a Wimberly head SHUTTER SPEED: 1/500 second APERTURE: f/5.6 ISO: 400 ©Stephanie Millner STEPHANIE MILLNER, CR.PHOTOG., CPP Stephanie Millner Photography, Rome, Italy 2010 “HEALTHCODE VIOLATION” “Necessity is the mother of invention when working with small animals,” says pet photographer Stephanie Millner. “I needed something to constrain a rat, and I had a martini glass at my disposal. The image developed from there.” Millner lit the scene with the main light modified by a soft box, a kicker with a strip light, and a hair light bounced by a reflector off the low ceiling. In Photoshop, Millner used layer masks on the background, touched up the background with Imagenomic Portraiture, and used Topaz Adjust on the glasses. CAMERA: Canon EOS 40D LENS: Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 LIGHTS: AlienBees B400 and B800 SOFTWARE: Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop and Imagenomic Portraiture SHUTTER SPEED: 1/125 second APERTURE: f/11 ISO: 100 BEN SHIRK Shirk Photography, Wilton, Iowa 2011 ELECTRONIC IMAGING “TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL” To create this image, Ben Shirk photographed the players individually, in studio, using two lights with grids shining left to right, a hair light and a 3x4 soft box placed at 90-degree angle to the players’ right. Then he began building the background. Outside, he dug up a hosta plant, and photographed the dirt. In Photoshop, he used the Clone tool and a quick mask to place the dirt beneath the floor. He extracted the players from the original images and placed them in the composition using the Magic Wand and Quick Mask tools. Finally, he added details—pipes, water, birds and an old trophy. CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D Mark II LENS: Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 LIGHT: White Lightning strip lights SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom OTHER GEAR: RadioPoppers 98 • www.ppmag.com ©Ben Shirk ©Paul Ernest the pose, he captured the image. Then he went to work in Photoshop and with onOne Software to do the composite work on the sky and add the butterflies, which came from images he’d captured at a nearby butterfly farm. PAUL ERNEST Paul Ernest Photography, Dallas 2011 “CHASING BUTTERFLIES” “Andrew Wyeth’s 1948 painting, ‘Christina’s World,’ has always been special to me,” says Paul Ernest. “I wanted to take another approach to it, giving it a stylized effect with the butterflies. I also wanted to pursue the idea of a ladder propped in mid-air. The elements just came together to create this image.” Ernest set up the model on the ladder with a brace to hold it in position. With Botticelli as the inspiration for CAMERA: Nikon D3 LENS: 24-70mm f/2.8 LIGHT: Ambient SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop and onOne Software SHUTTER SPEED: Varies by image in the composite APERTURE: f/8 ISO: 400 ©Jerry Ghionis JERRY GHIONIS, M.PHOTOG.CR. Jerry Ghionis Photography, Docklands, Victoria, Australia 2011 ALBUM With a style that’s a mix of vintage glamour and contemporary fashion, four-time Diamond award winner Jerry Ghionis shot all the images from this untitled album in a square format as an homage to Hasselblad medium-format film photography. To accomplish this effect, he masked the camera mirror in a square format in his viewfinder, and later cropped the full-frame image during raw conversion. The album showcased a single image per page with elegant simplicity. For this image, Ghionis positioned the bride’s lace to frame her eye. His only post-production work was basic color correction. CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D Mark II LENS: 70-200mm f/2.8 SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop SHUTTER SPEED: 1/100 second APERTURE: f/3.2 ISO: 500 100 • www.ppmag.com LYNDA BROWN, M.PHOTOG. Rod Brown Photography, Defiance, Ohio 2011 “ENCHANTED RETREAT” Lynda Brown noticed this little path to a hotel while visiting Venice, Italy. The glow from the lights made the scene look warm and inviting, and an irresistible place to photograph. After capturing the image with a Nikon D3 camera, Brown enhanced the warmth with Photoshop, Nik Color Efex Pro and Corel Painter, letting the warm and cool tones play off one another. CAMERA: Nikon D3 LENS: Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 LIGHT: Ambient SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop, Nik Color Efex Pro and Corel Painter OTHER GEAR: Gitzo carbon fiber tripod with Kirk ball head SHUTTER SPEED: 1/25 second APERTURE: f/13 ISO: 2000 KRIS DOMAN, M.PHOTOG., CPP KD Portraits, West Jordan, Utah 2010 “THE FORCE IS STRONG IN MY FAMILY” “I am drawn to children and their self-image in relation to their imaginary worlds,” says Kris Doman, best known for her whimsical portraiture. “Kids’ realities are so infused with fantasy that they have a hard time separating them.” The members of this client family were avid “Star Wars” fans, so Doman wanted to reflect that in the sibling portrait. Hand-holding her camera low, she shot upward to make the children appear larger than life. She processed the image in Adobe Lightroom and used Photoshop to swap two figures from another take. She adjusted the color and contrast, added the moon, and drew in the light saber blades. CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D LENS: Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 LIGHT: Ambient SOFTWARE: Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop SHUTTER SPEED: 1/400 APERTURE: f/4 ISO: 200 ©Kris Doman ©Lynda Brown ©Melinda Hughes-Berland MELINDA HUGHES-BERLAND, M.PHOTOG. Hughes Photography, Santa Rosa, Calif. 2011 “THE EDGE OF THE EARTH” To create a magical image with a sense of depth, Melinda Hughes-Berland took 12 separate images captured in different locations and assembled them in Photoshop. Her primary challenge was creating consistent light across all the different images, which ranged from pastoral scenes in California to a juvenile giraffe in a stall. Carefully and methodically she blended together several layers, then burned and dodged to make the giraffes’ heads show up better and give the appearance that the entire scene was in a “fantasy tunnel.” Hughes also softened the background while keeping the subjects perfectly clear. CAMERAS: Nikon D300 and D700 LENS: 70-120mm f/2.8 LIGHT: Ambient SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop APERATURE: Varies by image in the composite ISO: 400 102 • www.ppmag.com SIN UNG YOU 2011 “WOMAN IN RED” “Red color always strikes me as a symbol of women,” says Sin Ung You in describing his inspiration for “Woman in Red.” Working in his studio, You created an artificial window light for his main light, and then used a studio light modified by a large soft box for fill. Because the camera room of his studio is on the small side, You made the area surrounding the woman look larger by expanding it in Photoshop. CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D LENS: 24-105mm f/4 LIGHT: Hyundai studio lights SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop OTHER GEAR: A reflector for supplemental light SHUTTER SPEED: 1/60 second APERTURE: f/5.6 ISO: 200 ©Sin Ung You ©Robert O. Seat ROBERT O. SEAT, M.PHOTOG.CR., CPP Photography by Robert O. Seat, Batesville, Ark. 2010 “LIVING MY FATHER’S LEGACY” “I captured this scene of the young man leaving the barn after a long day’s work, as his father had done before him,” says Robert O. Seat, a specialist in family, child and senior portraiture for more than 34 years. The image is a composite of two photographs, a landscape photographed on an icy winter morning and a young man photographed with his horse in back of Seat’s studio. Seat processed the base image and made color adjustments, then added the subject in Photoshop. He added the clouds with texture and pattern overlays in various blending modes. Seat finished the image with an effect he created with the Antique Plate in Nik Silver Efex Pro. CAMERA: Nikon D200 LENS: Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 LIGHT: Ambient SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop, Nik Viveza and Nik Silver Efex Pro SHUTTER SPEED: 1/200 second APERTURE: f/7.1 ISO: 100 ANN NAUGHER, M.PHOTOG., CPP Hopkins Fine Portraits, Tulsa, Okla. 2011 “LILY, SOFT AND SWEET” Child and family portrait photographer Ann Naugher landed her third Diamond recognition with the help of images like “Lily, Soft and Sweet,” a portrait that demonstrates natural yet technically adept style. The mother of this 3-year-old wanted a soft and classic image, so Naugher combined the brown-and-pink dress with the antique chair for a perfect color combination. Illuminating the scene with a 4x6-foot Larson soft box, an umbrella fill light and three reflectors, she captured the image when the little girl laid down her head. Naugher retouched the portrait in Photoshop and digitally painted it with Corel Painter. CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D Mark II LENS: Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 LIGHT: Photogenic Powerlight 1250 and Larson Soft Silver Reflectosol and Photogenic Gold Reflectors SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop & Corel Painter OTHER GEAR: Wacom Intuos 3 Tablet & Pen ©Ann Naugher ©Michael Timmons MICHAEL E. TIMMONS, M.PHOTOG.CR., F-ASP Gallery 143, Vassar, Mich. 2010 “PIAZZA SAN MARCO” “I enjoy taking time to offer the viewer a unique look at an ordinary subject,” says Michael Timmons, a fine-art and interior décor photographer, who promotes his Diamond status to prospective clients. Timmons captured “Piazza San Marco” on a rainy day in Venice, Italy, with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera. In Photoshop, he used several Nik filters before converting the image to black and white with Nik Silver Efex Pro. “The young woman 106 • www.ppmag.com walking in the rain added a sense of perspective to the size of the piazza,” says Timmons. CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D Mark II LENS: Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 LIGHT: Ambient SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop, Lucis Pro, Topaz Adjust and Nik Color Efex Pro and Nik Silver Efex Pro OTHER GEAR: Tripod, cable release and a rain cover SHUTTER SPEED: 1/20 second APERTURE: f/22 ISO: 100 ©Richard Sturdevant RICHARD STURDEVANT, M.PHOTOG.CR. Sturdevant Studio, Garland, Texas 2011 ELECTRONIC IMAGING “DEADMAN’S HAND” (ABOVE) “I saw this saloon, and my mind conjured this image immediately, bringing to life the original title ‘Aces and Eights, Deadman’s Hand,’” says Richard Sturdevant. He shot the image at ISO 6400 in the available light, while a floodlight bounced off the saloon wall. “It is Americana,” he says. “Everyone loves the Old West and the characters it represents. The style is art mixed with Western legend.” CAMERA: Canon DSLR LENS: Canon 85mm f/1.2 LIGHT: Profoto flood light SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop SHUTTER SPEED: 1/80 second APERTURE: f/6.3 ISO: 6400 2011 “THE WINNING MOMENT” (RIGHT) In this sports action shot of a high school senior, Richard Sturdevant showcases his love of sports. After compositing two images, he painted it artistically in Corel Painter 11. This style resonates with Sturdevant’s clientele, and he’s booking com missions for similar images. “This is an example of how the expected can become the unexpected,” says Sturdevant. “Sell a sports action shot and they will buy the photo. Turn it into a work of art and they will invest in a family heirloom.” CAMERA: Nikon DSLR LENS: 300mm f/2.8 LIGHT: Profoto SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop SHUTTER SPEED: 1/1,250 second APERTURE: f/2.8 ISO: 6400 108 • www.ppmag.com ©Richard Sturdevant ©Jon Allyn JON ALLYN, M.PHOTOG., M.ARTIST, CR., CEI Jon Allyn Photography, Milwaukee, Wis. 2010 “ALWAYS THE ROMANTIC” A sport, portrait and commercial photographer, Jon Allyn combines an eye for poignant moments with dry-brush painting techniques to create works of art. In “Always the Romantic,” the capture was fairly straightforward, then Allyn added punch in post-production. He did minimal cropping to eliminate distractions, added tulips, and changed the tone of the subject’s RICHARD CARPENTER, M.PHOTOG.CR., CPP Judson Rick Photography, Cheyenne, Wyo. 2011 “COWBOY DOWN” Richard Carpenter has spent the last five years photographing rodeos in Wyoming. “Cowboy Down” is part of a series illustrating the innate danger of the sport. Shooting with the fastest shutter speed at f/2.8, Carpenter com posed the rodeo images by the rule of thirds. “Then I decided what elements could be added for impact,” he says. Here, he applied layer effects to enhance the Western look. The final image was printed on watercolor paper. CAMERA: Nikon D300 LENS: Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 LIGHT: Ambient SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop SHUTTER SPEED: 1/1,000 second APERTURE: f/2.8 ©Richard Carpenter 110 • www.ppmag.com clothing for contrast. He enhanced the lighting on the subject’s face to create depth. “It is truly rewarding to do something meaningful that will be treasured for generations,” he says. CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D Mark II LENS: Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 LIGHT: Ambient SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop SHUTTER SPEED: 1/400 second APERTURE: f/9 ISO: 400 WILLIAM BRANSON III, ©William Branson M.PHOTOG.CR. William Branson III, Durham, N.C. 2010 “SUGAR AND SPICE” “I search for ways to set myself apart and make my portraits exceptional,” says William Branson III, a portrait artist whose signature style incorporates digital painting. “I establish a means of communication with my clients that results in an artful collaboration.” For “Sugar and Spice,” after Branson did the camera studies, he and the client selected elements from each to combine into the perfect portrait. The portrait was enhanced using Corel Painter and finished off in Adobe Photoshop with Nik Color Efex Pro 3 and other plug-ins. CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D Mark II LENS: Canon 70–200mm f/2.8 LIGHT: White Lightning Ultra1200 SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter and Nik Color Efex Pro 3 and plug-ins OTHER GEAR: PocketWizard remote triggers SHUTTER SPEED: 1/125 second APERTURE: f/7.1 ISO: 100 DARRELL A. MOLL, M.PHOTOG.CR., CPP, API Moll Photography, Norwalk, Ohio 2010 “THE OLD MILL” Because of a scheduling conflict, Darrell Moll arrived at this scene around noon, not early in the morning as he would have liked, but when the clouds rolled in, the lighting was perfect, and the area grew still. He set up for a long exposure to render the water smooth, as well as to add depth and keep the focus sharp throughout. In post-production, he used the Photoshop Transform tool to straighten the lines of the building, and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 to enhance the building. ©Darrell A. Moll 112 • www.ppmag.com CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D Mark II LENS: Canon 24-105mm f/4 LIGHT: Ambient SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop and Camera Raw, Nik Color Efex Pro 3 and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 OTHER GEAR: Gitzo carbon fiber tripod with a Gitzo leveling head, Kirk BH-1 ball head, bubble level, Singh-Ray Color Combo Polarizer and Singh-Ray Galen Rowell Graduated Neutral Density Filter, Canon cable release and Hoodman HoodLoupe SHUTTER SPEED: 1.3 seconds APERTURE: f/14 ISO: 50