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Benchmark Picture Contest 2006 - Part 3


Black Dog Trackers

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If you haven't seen them already, check out the pictures in the previous benchmark picture contest topics:

2004, 2005 Part 1, 2005 Part 2, 2006 Part 1, 2006 Part 2

 

Once again here's the picture 'contest' 'rules'.

==========================================

 

Contest rules:

 

1. No intersection stations (the station IS the tower, building, etc.) Why? Well they all look pretty good, but they're not really all that 'benchmarky'.

 

2. The disk has to be at least vaguely visible in the picture. No - 'view from', 'the area', etc. with no PID marker in it. Why? It's gotta be a Benchmark picture!

 

3. It has to be a PID in the database, or at least one of its reference marks or its azimuth mark (in case they don't have their own PID).

 

4. Waymarked benchmark disk - any country.

 

5. No closeup of just the disk. (Comeon, it's just a disk - where's the nice scenery?)

 

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Even though this topic is called 2006 part 3, feel free to put in your favorite 'contest picture' (either yours or someone else's) from any previous time.

 

What's the prize in this contest? The prize is that your picture will be seen here with all the other excellent benchmark pictures! (Put your own in if you like, of course.)

 

So, here's a few that caught my eye recently in the Benchmark Gallery.

 

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N 27 by NorthWes

 

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CHINIDERE CAIRN by grantcampbell

 

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R5E T6N T5N S31 S32 56 55 by AZcachemeister

 

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ROADSIDE by JDubPooch

 

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RAY RESET by chubby forest monkey

 

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D 23 by chadleo10

 

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VERMILION LSC 1976 by shorbird

 

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DEVIL CADH 1959 by PassingWind

 

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L 339 by New Directions

 

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ROBINSON MOUNTAIN 1870 by Zhanna

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10's the limit for pics in a post, so here's the rest I had marked.....

 

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SPRINGVILLE by CallawayMT

 

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N 439 1950 Oregon State Highway Dept. by TheBeanTeam

 

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U.S. BUREAU OF PUBLIC ROADS PST 707+45 by GEO*Trailblazer 1

 

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COX by 2oldfarts (the rockhounders)

 

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U 243 by square nail

 

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K404 by 2oldfarts (the rockhounders)

 

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TT 14 D=STONY MAN by Zhanna

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TheBeanTeam, that is an excellent benchmark picture! It's a great example of photographic composition using the rule of thirds and the use of diagonals, as you undoubtedly know.

 

To everyone -

 

Since I'm writing here, I'll take the opportunity to say that as I go through the benchmark gallery from time to time (I do miss some whole doses of the 50 pages, unfortunately), sometimes a picture is really excellent except that the horizon is very slanted, somtimes as much as 30 degrees. I have passed by some otherwise really excellent pictures because of that. :( So, one thing to keep in mind when shooting any 'distant' picture whether or not it is intended to be an 'artsy' benchmark picture, is to try to make sure the horizon is level. While taking a picture, the ultimate background seems like such a small and unimportant detail, but when the picture is printed or fills your computer screen, it looks quite alarming and can even be irritating to look at. When it happens, and it has happened to me a number of times, you do have the opportunity to correct it by using a digital photography program (one that came with your digital camera should work) to first rotate your picture the number of degrees required to straighten it out, and then crop it. TheBeanTeam's picture is nice and level and this is especially important when a body of water is in the picture!

 

From time to time, I like to point out that some of the more extreme benchmark pictures really can't replace the 'distant' picture that's useful to help locate a benchmark, so please don't forget that more official type picture for your log.

 

For not only benchmark photography, but for any photography, composition can make a nicer picture. I searched for a site about composition, and the first one I found is exellent, and there are many more out there. The one I found covers several different composition aspects, with examples of each, and takes only 5 minutes to go through - it's definitely worth your while.

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TheBeanTeam, that is an excellent benchmark picture! It's a great example of photographic composition using the rule of thirds and the use of diagonals, as you undoubtedly know.

 

 

Thanks for the nice comments. Yes and no on knowing the rule you mentioned. The photo that I like the most in this group of pictures so far uses this technique perfectly. I think U 243 by square nail just up the page is a beautiful photo. I took a photography course in college that no doubt taught me these rules and I have been using them unconsciously for years now. I enjoyed the read on the site that you linked to. It brought up several other techniques I use but had forgotten the terms for(or didn't know in the first place). There were several other ideas/rules that I found very helpful as well and will try to remember them as well.

Thanks again.

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