Explore the Elements
My submission for the Thomas Cook photo-blogging competition
Today’s blog post is a little different than my normal “I went here and shot a bunch of interesting stuff” kind of post. Today my blog post is actually an entry in a photo competition being hosted by Thomas Cook (the British global travel company).
I have never done anything like this before, but I was nominated by my friend Elia Locardi, and since he’s one of the best photographers in the world (and a judge in the contest), I figured I had better join in on the fun. :-)
In fact, there are 4 judges for this contest, and I admire the work they all do - really a great collection of talented folks there. (wow, talking about some major sucking up - sorry!)
Anyways, the contest is called Explore The Elements, and as the name implies, the contest revolves around the 4 elements of Earth, Water, Fire and Air.
Off the top of my head, I thought “No problem, I have loads of images for that stuff”, and I planned to bust out this blog post a while back, when I was first nominated. But in reality, when I am putting together something like this, I found out quickly that it’s very easy to get extremely picky about my images (and admittedly, I have been extremely busy). And then I found out - quite to my surprise - that I didn't have as many images as I thought I had that really captured the essence of any particular element. So, it took me a while...but here it is, finally!
And sure, I post stuff here every week - and I think it’s good stuff...that’s why I post it - but when I know I am in a competition with many other extremely talented folks out there...well, I guess I give my work an extra layer of scrutiny (or 10).
And truthfully, I could spend an eternity trying to select that one image that perfectly captures the essence of any particular element. But the contest has a deadline, so I don’t have an eternity to get it together!
So here we go with my 4 images of the 4 elements. I hope you enjoy the post today - and the images - and if you happen to know the judges, go ahead and give them a thumbs-up on my work, would ya? :-)
Earth - represents the hard, solid objects of the earth
A view over Tent Rocks in New Mexico - observing the hoodoos and the distant mesa
Water - represents the fluid, flowing, formless things in the world
A wave comes to shore during a stunning sunset in La Jolla, CA
Fire - represents the energetic, forcing, moving things in the world
A hot air balloon takes flight in Austin, TX
Air - represents things that grow, expand and enjoy freedom of movement
The cloudy sky explodes with color over Town Lake in Austin
And no contest entry is complete without also nominating 5 other photographers and/or bloggers to join in the fun, so here are my 5 nominations - all friends of mine and all talented photographers in their own right:
- Len Saltiel - http://lensaltiel.com/blog
- Andy Atmtx - http://blog.atmtxphoto.com/
- Jimi Jones - http://www.jimijonesvisuals.com/
- Rob Hanson - https://robhanson.wordpress.com/
- Pete Talke - https://places2explore.wordpress.com/
And for all the info you need to learn about this contest, the prizes, the judges, etc - just click thru the link below. Join in the fun yourself, while you’re at it!
http://www.thomascook.com/blog/holiday-competitions-deals/explore-the-elements/
