What Image Have You Captured Where You Felt Like You Had Just Won The Lottery!?!

"Scenic Overlook"
by Debra Vanderlaan
The eight women in the photo are Mennonites, standing on the wall at Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at the border of Tennessee and North Carolina. This image was Featured in the 7th Annual Photography Contest in the Smithsonian Magazine and won the Americana category. There were close to 60,000 entries in the contest, so we are honored to have captured the top spot.

The women in the scene had just arrived at Newfound Gap on a rainy July morning in a touring bus at the same time our little hiking group arrived to start our overnight trek up to Mt. LeConte. As we readied our packs to start our hike, we noticed the women climbing up onto the scenic overlook wall. Realizing in an instant that this was a wonderful photo opportunity, Debra pulled her point and shoot waterproof camera out of her pocket, quickly turned it on, and got off just two shots before the women began stepping back down off of the wall. We carried the camera with the image along the rocky trail up the Appalachian Trail and then onto the Boulevard Trail in the mist and fog and then in a pouring rain. That night at Mt. LeConte, the rain subsided and our group descended the Alum Bluff Cave trail the next morning. Seeing the image on the computer the next day showed a wonderful composition and it was submitted to the Smithsonian Magazine contest a few weeks later.

With the image taking the top spot in Americana, several folks wrote comments on-line, so we were able to learn that the women are from Indiana and had been on a Smoky Mountain tour that week and that they were pleased that their image had won the contest!

Wonderful image Debra and Dave, love it!

Just wanted to clarify (before posting an image): Is this an "official" image thread where we are allowed to post pictures?

I think the criteria is just that you add a description with your image and don't just dump images into a thread. Like I wrote above, please include the location and short story behind the image.
Thanks! Debra

I loved this scene before I had the camera raised and pointed.

My husband and I were driving through the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia on a frigid February day. There was barely any snow on the ground..but as we approached this farm, the snow began to fall and the winds picked up. As the winds increased, the tails of the horses began to blow with the wind, in unison.

I love the starkness of the day, the peacefulness of the horses as they continued to eat the hay and the movement of the horse tails and the snowflakes.

"I think the criteria is just that you add a description with your image and don't just dump images into a thread. "

The criteria is that you get permission from Abbie first.

Yes, you need Abbie's permission first:

Image Threads. We are not currently accepting anyone else opening image threads apart from the already agreed ones. This rule is looked at constantly

I was out with my 3-year old son in the zoo, watching the tigers. The tigers sort of have a small cave in their residence. One of them had probably just been taking a nap there, walked out of the cave and looked straight into my lens. I processed the image, made everything that was visible around the tiger even darker until I had just a tiger on a black background left.

Maybe not the most spectacular image, but I had just started photography and image processing, so I was (and still am) very proud of the result!

P.S. This image is on Limited Time Promotion this week. Promotion Page (expires 07/21/201705:00 PM).

Here's hoping Abbie approves

Bill Tomsa

http://billtomsa.blogspot.com/

It needs Abbie's approval and she's got a day off....so be patient.

Such well behaved forum members. Abbie would be so proud of you guys!

Well - I grew up on a farm - and I love cows - most of ours had horns - very few were polled. So in my travels around Florida and the area I'm always looking for a good horned cow. This one just posed so perfectly and the setting was perfect. Where was I - on some country back road because there was a bridge that was out and we had to find a work around to get back to where we were going - not even sure which county we were in because the creek was the county line - but perhaps we were in Union County, Florida - but it might have been Columbia.

Roy...behave! ;)

My understanding is posting a link does not violate the "no image thread" rule.

Marlene -" It needs Abbie's approval and she's got a day off."

Abbie gets days off?/!!! Whaaaaa...?????? :-)

Bill Tomsa

I took this one last fall in Boston's Public Garden just after sunrise. Probably the best photo I've taken so far.

Well, I have quite a few I feel like that about, especially of some herons I captured in the everglades, But this one really stands out for me,... I got this right after I got my sony, I took the photograph in the zoo and had to sneak around to the rear of the exhibit to a a section that was totally off limits, I knew I had to do this if I ever wanted to get a good photograph of this tiger, I took a series of maybe 15 or 20 shots but here is one that is my personal favorite:I have this as my home screen on my iPhone

Spotted this while driving through New Mexico. Convinced my wife we had to pull off the highway, and she waited while I walked back to the place (95 degrees) and got a photo. To me, this is GOLD.

Bill,
haven't you yet noticed that some people take the biggest risks here on our Sunday?

Well, since Abbie is off and I happen to briefly be here I will approve it.

r e m o v e d

I find lots of cool things while exploring the back roads and back streets of rural towns, when I came across this old wood barn plastered with old commercial signs I kind of felt like I hit the jackpot. At first I thought being backlit would be a problem but with some post processing it worked out to good effect.

People: The OP writes:

(Please just one per day, only one image in each discussion field... thanks!)

A shepherd and his trusty sheep-herding dog watch his flock on this magical day in France.

This is a 35mm slide I took in 1954 while in the army signal corps in Fromont, France.

It was always my most popular slide, and the sad part about this picture is that it was the only one taken of the shepherd, who died a few days later.

I would never have known that he passed away, except that some farmers showed up at the microwave station and told me that his wife had no pictures of him and could she please have a copy, so naturally I had a print made for her.

I think it is wonderful that he may live on forever in this and other pieces of my artwork.

Definitely this one:



It took 3-4 years before I ever saw a single bighorn ram in the national parks or anywhere in the wild. I think it was my last day in Teton last November I wandered over to the National Elk Refuge and saw a bunch of bighorn rams not too far from the road.

I stood around for a couple hours watching them kick each other in the groom and occasionally butt heads.

I usually zoom way in to try to get a closeup of any animal behavior but this time I seceded to zoom out and get a different view.

About 15 minutes before the sun set, they appeared to line up in teams, two of them reared up, smashed horns as the others watched and the crash echoed off the surrounding Teton Mountain Range for a few seconds.

I have always liked this photograph. One reason is because I set it up and it came out just as I had planned. I don't generally work that way.

The image was taken at Diamond Valley Lake, California. The clouds that day were extremely expressive.

The title speaks for itself.

A few years ago I drove the 3 1/2 hours up the California coast to photograph the famous flower fields of Lompoc. It was incredible...but, long before I started doing art work with my photography. So, this year I researched the best bloom time and took the drive. When I finally got there, I found out that most of the flower fields have been turned into food fields, as the farmers make more money with produce than they do with flowers. In fact, I didn't find any flower fields, at all, in the valley! Remembering there was a small mission on the outskirts of town, I headed over there to see if there was anything to photograph. On my way to the mission, I spotted this red barn out of the corner of my eye...and, the gorgeous flower field out front! This is my "lottery shot" from that excursion!


I love seeing all the wonderful images and hearing the stories that go with them! Great thread, Debra and Dave!!

From time to time I meet with my friend Monika, she is a really talented BMX Flatland Artist. We always try to do some more unusual things and I had the idea to capture her in her wedding dress, doing some cool Flatland tricks. To get the perfect moment is not easy so she had to try again and again. A couple with a dog came by and started to watch us. I kindly asked if I could borrow their dog for a moment. They agreed and this is the result:



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Hiking on a hot August afternoon at Round Valley Regional Park near Brentwood CA. It was around 100F and no one else in the park. I came around a curve on the trail and definitely was not expecting to see this.

This image was my "lottery" image from this year so far.....meaning I was lucky to get it. During harvest this year I was mostly driving truck, which means I am in the field very little.....just long enough for the grain cart to come to the side of the field full...and load my truck, and then I am headed back to town.....which the round trip takes more than an hour. Many times I am in the field for only a minute or two. This particular night, we finished a field and moved, which means the trucks caught up and were empty and in the field when we started. We could have been across the road, in which case we would have been cutting the wrong direction to take advantage of the great light. I could have forgotten to charge my camera like I had the day before....etc etc. But, it all lined up, and then for about a minute the sun peeked through the clouds and gave me a chance at this shot. Lottery!

Here is what I wrote when I posted it.

"Photographs like this mean a whole lot more to me than what you see on the surface. Everyone out here in agriculture invests part of their heart and soul into what they do. Its why farming becomes a part of who you are, not just what you do for a living. In moments like this after days of hard work, God gets out his paintbrush and takes your breath away. You have a visual to go with the pride that is in your heart......and suddenly the long hours and time away from loved ones seems worth it. I get really thankful of what i get to do for a living."

That's a fantastic capture Mark,...I've never quite seen anything like that kind of snake behavior before.

Nice composition and placement too.

Definitely an image worthy of recognition,......Very well done sir.

By the way, I just browsed your FAA website,...super work throughout.

You have a obvious connection with your subjects and to the environment.

The world is a beautiful place to appreciate and give thanks during our short life long visit .

Thanks for posting that image and I wish you much success in your photography career in the future.

Marty Saccone

We went to a niece's house for Easter. Because I had never been to Kenosha, Wisconsin before, I went on Photographer's Ephemeris to scout out a location to shoot that Saturday morning. I found where the Kenosha Lighthouse was and how to get there from the map in the Ephemeris. There was a Lunar Eclipse that early morning. I got there before dawn. You could see the moon, but between the light pollution and hazy air, that was a bust. I then went to the Lighthouse to scout out my spot for the sunrise. It started out clear towards sunup and I was wondering what I might get for color. The windchill was in the single digits. One other photographer showed up and she was wearing a light jacket and lasted minutes. I had the morning and the lighthouse to myself. The sunrise was a beautiful orange and then some clouds rolled in, also. I waited for the sun to rise to the top of the lighthouse to act as the beacon as shown in this image. When I looked through the viewfinder, I thought it looked like there was a beam going up to the clouds. When I processed it, this is what I got. It turned out to be a great morning and of all the images from the morning, I think I have sold 4 so far. Although I consider this image to be the best, it has not sold. I still consider this one to be my lottery winner.

While hiking in the woods, on the Oregon coast, caught a bunch of shots of an Eagle. This is one of them.

Debra and Dave, without hesitation I selected Oh My Gawd, I See Colours. I never looked at it as I just won the lottery but a Putlizer Award Photo, its a Life Magazine, People Magazine, including National Geographic Cover.... Thus far received, 1,681 views now, oh I would be a rich man if I got a sale from all those views, hopefully one day I will be smiling on the way to the bank!!! Its an instant emotive image

My wife and I love doing a good walk in a beautiful nature park nearby our home. It's called Naturpark Schönbuch and it is just wonderful. One day in January the light was so amazing, I asked poor wifey to walk back and forth several times because I wanted to have a person in this picture:



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I took this in Boston back in the 80s I don't do a lot of street shots but I've always liked this one

I love the Keys and street photography, especially when it includes musicians, I felt really excited when I happened upon this sight on Duval Street, I would love doing more street photography but feel inhibited photographing people because of the privacy infringement, This I could not resist:

This one was especially nice as I felt the tourists in the photograph really enhanced the overall picture,,,The bicycle and the attire all fell into place. I added a simple painted effect to the photograph,

Perhaps, it was day, when I finished this big work

I'm really enjoying this thread and all the amazing moments captured! I'm still waiting for a big lottery win shot, but here's one more like a little scratch ticket winner.

There was a balloon rally taking place in a valley that I knew herds of elk graze in the winter. I was late getting there and this was one of the last balloons landing but the elk were there! Would have preferred a better composition but I had to grab what I could while they were in the same frame.

I got lucky when thousands of snow geese started flying at one time at Lower Klamath Wildlife Refuge in southern Oregon. This was taken the first week in February.

A few years ago we went to Great Smoky Mountain NP. Lots of rain the week we were there. Sort of disappointing considering we planned lots of hiking. Well the rain and overcast conditions turned out to be in my favor and I got several great shots including this one of the Cable Mill in Cades Cove. This is one of those shot where I knew when I snapped the shutter it was good. I have several more of this building but this is the only one I have for sale.
The lighting was perfect, overcast and diffused but not dark.

One of my favorites was taken at Eastern State Penitentiary, fairly recently. I had visited a few years ago so I knew what to expect. However, I stumbled across a second chair (the red chair is fairly well photographed) and midday light coming through the skylight just made this shot work so well, in my opinion. I also like to create spontaneous stories for some of my art work. This one had many possibilities...



~Richard
reevephotos.com

Wow, terrific images everyone!! We've been overseas with very limited internet at the grocery store of all places, but checking in to see what other Lottery images have been added. Keep 'em coming folks! The stories are great!
We can't wait to show off some of our own special images we captured during this trip in Finland and in France!!

I was visiting Riederalp, a lovely village in Switzerland and was indecisively staring at the mountains. How to compose the picture? How to avoid those lines from the ropes? Until a cable car entered the scenery:



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We have gladiolus blooming in our rain garden, and the morning sun was hitting the flowers just right. I love the abstract quality of this image.

Sun was just touching the horizon.

We were on our way very early in the morning on a calm and cool autumn day to hike a favorite waterfall trail. Along the way, driving past the Ocoee Whitewater center and then on past Parksville Lake, I saw the fog on the lake, a total WOW! Dave didn't want to stop but I said, LOOK AT THE LAKE!! So he grudgingly pulled over so I could get a few shots. With my tripod on the edge of the water and no wind, the reflections were perfect. When I got back into the truck, I simply said, Just wait 'til you see what I got!!
This image has won a few gallery competitions and has sold literally hundreds of prints at our art fairs and also many times in big canvases, not to mention becoming quite popular here on-line. This image is quite the Lottery Win! And we have never seen the lake and trees like this again, in the many times we have passed by on our way to hikes. The fog is hardly ever there along with the completely still morning, with the trees in autumn color and the lake flooded by the dam... a perfect moment! Enjoy!

I had been to St. Augustine five times. Each was ok but nothing like on my fifth attempt..Needless to say, I never have to go back there again!!



And it was just as spectacular in Black and white. Weird side not. I took this one standing on a large boulder/rock probably 4x4 ft ..I thought it moved when I took this shot. But there was no way the waves could actually move this thing.And figured it was just my piss poor balance. It turns out i was wrong.

Standing on a high ladder cutting palm fronds from a white bird-of-paradise plant, I felt something brush past my arm and instantly knew it was a tree frog since I had seen them there before. I climbed down and of course, had a pocket point and shoot camera in my pocket. I carefully and slowly pulled up the fallen frond and there he was, a small juvenile tree frog hiding in the curled foliage. I already had the camera set on macro focus, so I leaned in very slowly and captured this shot of the frog, just before he leapt into the brush. I titled this one Surfing the Wave for obvious reasons! It was featured as an Editor's Weekly Pick in the annual Smithsonian Magazine contest and has always been one of my favorite shots. I truly feel like I won the lottery on this one!!

These creatures are only this bright when first 'born' and then they turn a dark plain colour. He stared at me. I stared at him. We stared at each other. I went closer to him and he went up on almost his hind legs reaching towards me. I decided NOT to touch him

When I looked away and looked back, he was gone.

An image of an old abandoned church near Langford Estates on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

You could say I have an affinity for old abandoned structures. Thinking back on it now, I feel rather stupid, taking the chances I did, going through these decrepit places when they could have collapsed at any time or had wild animals taking refuge there. Many of these dilapidated structures ceased to exist shortly after I visited them to explore and take pictures.

At the time, my parents lived near this area. There was only one way in and one way out and you had to pass by this old abandoned church on every visit to my parent's house.

Next to this church, near Langford Bay Estates, were some modest headstones in a small neglected, cemetery. Not long after this image was taken, while traveling to my parent's home, I noticed the old structure had vanished.

Exploring the Church...
As I started walking across the floor of the old church, camera in hand, a window on the right side suddenly flew up of its own accord. Don't ask me why I didn't high-tail it out of there pronto, but I'm convinced the vibrations I caused while walking triggered the window. When I looked on either side of the window, hanging inside the walls were ropes with counter-weights which at one time would have helped one to more easily raise the window up. Although an unexpected surprise, the experience proved to be a very interesting excursion into this old abandonment.

The original picture was taken with a Konica SLR film camera many years ago during the colder months. I breathed on the lens, aimed, and waited until just enough evaporation before snapping the shutter to obtain the foggy effect.

On an unrelated (I think) but also strange and unusual occurrence, I left my parent's home and was on my way back out to travel to my own home near Baltimore. It was warm weather and I had the windows of the car rolled down since it had no air conditioning. The Eastern Shore of Maryland is pretty much all country, made up of flat farmland. Traveling to and from my parent's residence consisted of roads between fields for much of the trip.

As I was traveling, and incidentally near the area of the old abandoned church, suddenly something from outside shot through the passenger side window. It hit the headrest and in the next instant there were green feathers floating about in my car. When I checked the back seat I found a small dead green bird!

Two things were very odd about this event...
One, the actual occurrence of a bird flying into an open window of the car while I was speeding down the back road.
Two, I had never seen a green bird on the Eastern Shore of MD my whole life growing up there!

For whatever reason, it seemed appropriate to call this event, an OMEN.

Love At First Sight.......An older dog walks up to a younger girl and gives her a kiss on her nose. Forever in your heart!