The Eighth Salon of Photographs
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The Eighth Salon of Photographs W•th notificationof deadlineswell in advance,a recordnumber of participantsreponded for th•s year'ssalon, almost all of themfor the colordivision. In thiscategory, no lessthan 360 entrieswere received,making for an exceedinglydifficult selection. Conversely, black-and-white print entries again declinedsharply, indicatingan apparenttrend away from the purelyartistic medium of black-and-whitephotography, in favor of the varied gloriesof fullcolor. It may be that thiswill be the lastyear in whichwe willaward prizes in that category. The scarcityof entries makes this part of the salon somewhat less than representative. The editorshave oftenbeen askedexactly how winners are chosen.The routineis simpleand obvious.Each participantis given a code numberas his or her submissionis received;all trans- parenciesor printsare identifiedonly by that number,whose participant's name is unknownto the Judges.The transparenciesare all placedin carouselracks at random,and runthrough repeatedly by the panel,none of whomhave seenthe entriesprior to the viewing.Each time around more and more slidesand printsare eliminated,until there remainbut 20-30 finalists,when the goinggets exceedinglydifficult, as the final winnersare chosen. The "blindness"of our selectionmay resultin what may seem to be regionalor localbias; we were startledto discoverthat two of ourfinalists were goodfriends of oursfrom Freeport, Long Island, and that two other entrantswon in bothcolor and black-and-whitecategories. But, happily,the other w•nners were scattered around the continentfrom Newfoundlandto Alaska, Texas to Florida,with •nland areas and both sexes well represented. The Grand Prize winner,that simplylovely Cape May Warbler in crab apple blossoms,is the second cover this year by Adrian Dignan (GrasshopperSparrow, January 1978); the horizontal compositiondoes not reallyshow to full advantagewhen croppedfor our verticalcover. For that reason we are presentingit twice:the secondtime in full frame. Photographswinning Honorable Mention are notpublished in anyorder of rank:all are deemed equal in merit. Once again, to all competitors- winners and non-winnersalike, we congratulateyou for an ever-increasingstandard of quality,and thank you for your continuedinterest. -- The Editors About the Winners Color FIRST PRIZE winnerAdrian Dignan,of Freeport,Long Island, is a recentlyretired stock broker who has been photographingbirds, wild flowers, insects, and all naturefor the pasttwelve years. Most of his photographyhas been in the New Yorkarea, but he hastraveled to the Far North,Wyoming, Utah,and elsewherewith his cameras. He has presentedslide shows at mostof the localbird clubs Of the breeding-plumagedCape May Warbler Dignansays "1was just luckyenough to be inthe right place at the righttime with a very cooperativebird." The time was May 10, 1978 and the place Brookville,Long Island. The camera was a Nikon equippedwith a 400mm Novoflexlens on a gunstock,using KR-64 film. The exposurewas at f/8 at 1/250th second. SECOND PRIZE winner is none other than Richard A. Rowlett, well known to our readers for h•s fine photosof pelagicbirds (Bay of Fundyarticles, March and May, 1978).The factthat the seagoing Rich Rowlettoccasionally aims hiscamera at landbirdsmay comeas a surprise,but the handsome Common Redpoll portraitproves it. Rowlettalso admits he likesto photographflowers, marine mammals,herps, and "the forces of nature."The winningentry was photographedat Laurel, Maryland,from a blindat a kitchenwindow (hole in a pieceof cardboard).The birdwas on the Volume32, Number 5 947 w•ndowsillfeeder. The camera was an OlympusOM2, with a VivitarSeries 1 70-210 macrozoom set at about 210, plusa Vivitar2X converter.Two flash unitswere set outsidein the cornersof the w•ndow,at about 16 and 24 inchesfrom the focal point.Film was KR-135, and the shotat f/11. THIRD PRIZE this year is won by Jim Rathert,of Columbia,Missouri, for his ratherdreamy soft-focusportrait of a singing Henslow'sSparrow. Jim is a wildliferesearch technician for the M•ssouriDepartment of Conservation,and has been photographingbirds for aboutten years. He hastraveled to Texas, California,and Delmarvain hisquest for birdphotographs. The sparrowwas photographedat WhetstoneCreek W.M.A, Missouri,using a CanonF-l, with400mm Novoflex lens Of thisprint, Rathert says "1 stalked to within20 feetof the singing sparrow. On myapproach the b•rd droppedfrom its perch into the grass. It was silentfor ten minutes,then resumedsinging from concealment.I closedto within12 feet, sat downin thedense grass and waited.Finally, convinced that I had departed, he returnedto his perch."Exposure of Ektachrome200 was at f/11 at 1/500th second. 1 HONORABLE MENTION for the beautifullymirrored Roseate Spoonbill photographed by Jose Alvarez-Diaz,of Miami,Florida. This winner was irresistible, even though the panel subconsciously handicaps picturesof those photogeniclong-legged waders. Diaz, a former Secretaryof the Treasuryin Cuba, has been photographingbirds "for pleasure" in Cuba and Floridafor 38 years (290 species),and has won several awards.He lostall his photographsincluding many of rarities, when he left Cuba in 1960. The spoonbillwas taken at Sanibel Island,with a NikonF2, and a Nikkor Reflex 100mm lens. The film was VPS Kodak, exposureat f/11 at 1/250th second. 2 HONORABLEMENTION goesto MarcellaM. Bishop,of Polson,Montana, for her handsomely composed,scenic photograph of two Double-crestedCormorants. Mrs. Bishop, mother of five,calls herselfa dedicatedamateur; the photowas partof her researchproject at a cormorantcolony at N•nepipeNat'l WildlifeRefuge in westernMontana. The camerawas a PentaxSpotmatic, lens and exposuredata not recorded.The film was EK-200, and a UV haze filterwas used. 3 HONORABLEMENTION goes to the perfectly posed White-winged Crossbill, bY Cornelius "Neff" Ward, of Freeport,Long Island. Neil, who is betterknown as abird painter,has been photographing b•rdsfor the lastfive years, mostly at nearbylocations. A protegeof winner Dignan, Ward caught h•s crossbillat Gilgo Beach, New York, usinga Nikoncamera, Novoflex400mm lens, KR-64 film, and availablelight. The exposurewas at f/8 at 1/250th second."The only problem," Ward reports, "was a cold bottom, sittingin two feet of snow!" 4 HONORABLEMENTION goes to Earl Thireyof Cincinnati,Ohio, for the eye-leveldrumming Ruffed Grouse.Thirey, who is a naturalistat the CaliforniaWoods Nature Preservein Cincinnati, turns his camera to all nature.The grousewas shotfrom a blind11-12 feet fromthe drumminglog "Spent a cool night in a small blind.Bird approachedthe log beforedawn, drummedthere for 25 m•nutes. The lenswas prefocusedan{J I saw the birdonly during the flash."Camera: Minolta 33mm Lens: Bushnell90-230 zoom, Film: KR-64. Exposureat f/8 at 1/90th second. 5 HONORABLEMENTION goesto J. RussellHoverman, of Houston,Texas, for hisstriking Rufous Hummingbird.Hoverman, a physicianby training, celebrated the winningof hisM.D. degree in June, 1978, with a six weeks' photographyholiday, with this as one result.The photographwas taken at San Juan Narl Forest, Colorado, from a car, near a feeder set up by Hoverman."By day 2 th•s hummer was defendingit against all others,often returningto this perch."Camera: Nikkormat, 105mm lens with extenders,KR 64 film. Electronicflash with an 8-foot bulb-typeshutter release Exposuref/8 at 1/125th second. 6 HONORABLEMENTION goesto RobertH. Armstrong,of Juneau,for his handsome,detailed photographof a Surfbirdon nest.Armstrong, a fisheriesbiologist with the AlaskaDepartment of Fish 948 American Birds, September 1978 and Game, recentlywon the Grand Pdze in the 1978 S.E. Alaska Photocontest. He has writtenand illustrateda bookon the birdsof Alaskasoon to be published.The Surfbirdwas on a mountainrange at 1800 feet near Mount McKinleyNat'l Park. "1spent two days lookingfor it. I was surprisedhow hard it was to spotthe bird,even after I markedthe nest."The camerawas a Leicaflexwith 400mm Telyt lens. Shot at f/5.6 at 1/125th second at 12 feet. 7. HONORABLE MENTION is awarded to W.A. Monterecchi, of St. Johns, Newfoundland,for th,s rather amusing array of alcids,taken at Funk Island,Nfld. ProfessorMonterecchi, on the facultyof Memorial University,is most interestedin photographingseabirds and the ocean. He is currently immersed in a long-termstudy of behavioralecology of the Gannet. The alcid line-up (I. to r., Common Murre, Razorbill, Corn. Puffin), was shot with a Nikon F2, a 300ram lens, with a UV filter. the film was K-25. Exposure was at f/8 at 1/250th second. 8. HONORABLEMENTION goes to the extremecloseup of the AmericanBittern shot by Phyllis Greenberg,of Greenwich,Connecticut. Phyllis has traveled to Afdca,Antarctica, the Galapagos and other exotic areas of her search for wildlife and sports photographs.The bitternwas shot in EvergladesNat'l Park, with a Nikkormatcamera, 500mm lens, with KR-64 film. F stop is not recorded, but the shutterspeed was 1/250th second.The camerawas mountedon a tripodon the Anhinga Trail; the bird was free. GRAND PRIZE, Full Frame SECOND PRIZE, Color THIRD PRIZE, Color 950 AmericanBirds, September 1978 •X• • •,,.• ,, , HONORABLE MENTIONS 7 956 American Birds, September 1978 BLACK-AND-WHITE Althoughfew in number,the submissionsin the black-and-whitedivision were of suchhigh quality that a full representationis shown. Perhaps not surprisingly,two of the winners of the color competitionhave black-and-whiteprints published herewith: class will tell. Thisyear, however,the judgeshave declinedto makespecific