Cool Photo Contest images

A few nice photo contest images I found:

GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest (Example Entry)

Image by Dunechaser
The Brothers Brick is pleased to announce the "GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest".

Announcement post

Contest rules with details on prizes and categories

Group pool for entries

(Building by Erik Varszegi and scene designed by Keith Malone.)

Int' Photography Contest: Photo and caption by Cesare Naldi

Image by ahunziker
Nazroo, a mahout (elephant driver), poses for a portrait while taking his elephant, Rajan, out for a swim in front of Radha Nagar Beach in Havelock, Andaman Islands. Rajan is one of the few elephants in Havelock that can swim, so when he is not dragging timber in the forest he is used as a tourist attraction. The relationship between the mahout and his elephant usually lasts for their entire lives, creating an extremely strong tie between the animal and the human being. (Photo and caption by Cesare Naldi)

All pictures: ngm.nationalgeographic.com/photo-contest/photo-contest

**Used on my blog andinspired.com

Army Photography Contest - 2004 - FMWRC - Arts and Crafts - Shadow Friends

A few nice photo contest images I found:

Army Photography Contest - 2004 - FMWRC - Arts and Crafts - Shadow Friends

Image by familymwr
Photo by Brittney Rankin

To learn more about the annual U.S. Army Photography Competition, visit us online at www.armymwr.com

U.S. Army Arts and Crafts History

After World War I the reductions to the Army left the United States with a small force. The War Department faced monumental challenges in preparing for World War II. One of those challenges was soldier morale. Recreational activities for off duty time would be important. The arts and crafts program informally evolved to augment the needs of the War Department.

On January 9, 1941, the Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, appointed Frederick H. Osborn, a prominent U.S. businessman and philanthropist, Chairman of the War Department Committee on Education, Recreation and Community Service.

In 1940 and 1941, the United States involvement in World War II was more of sympathy and anticipation than of action. However, many different types of institutions were looking for ways to help the war effort. The Museum of Modern Art in New York was one of these institutions. In April, 1941, the Museum announced a poster competition, “Posters for National Defense.” The directors stated “The Museum feels that in a time of national emergency the artists of a country are as important an asset as men skilled in other fields, and that the nation’s first-rate talent should be utilized by the government for its official design work... Discussions have been held with officials of the Army and the Treasury who have expressed remarkable enthusiasm...”

In May 1941, the Museum exhibited “Britain at War”, a show selected by Sir Kenneth Clark, director of the National Gallery in London. The “Prize-Winning Defense Posters” were exhibited in July through September concurrently with “Britain at War.” The enormous overnight growth of the military force meant mobilization type construction at every camp. Construction was fast; facilities were not fancy; rather drab and depressing.

In 1941, the Fort Custer Army Illustrators, while on strenuous war games maneuvers in Tennessee, documented the exercise The Bulletin of the Museum of Modern Art, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Feb. 1942), described their work. “Results were astonishingly good; they showed serious devotion ...to the purpose of depicting the Army scene with unvarnished realism and a remarkable ability to capture this scene from the soldier’s viewpoint. Civilian amateur and professional artists had been transformed into soldier-artists. Reality and straightforward documentation had supplanted (replaced) the old romantic glorification and false dramatization of war and the slick suavity (charm) of commercial drawing.”

“In August of last year, Fort Custer Army Illustrators held an exhibition, the first of its kind in the new Army, at the Camp Service Club. Soldiers who saw the exhibition, many of whom had never been inside an art gallery, enjoyed it thoroughly. Civilian visitors, too, came and admired. The work of the group showed them a new aspect of the Army; there were many phases of Army life they had never seen or heard of before. Newspapers made much of it and, most important, the Army approved. Army officials saw that it was not only authentic material, but that here was a source of enlivenment (vitalization) to the Army and a vivid medium for conveying the Army’s purposes and processes to civilians and soldiers.”

Brigadier General Frederick H. Osborn and War Department leaders were concerned because few soldiers were using the off duty recreation areas that were available. Army commanders recognized that efficiency is directly correlated with morale, and that morale is largely determined from the manner in which an individual spends his own free time. Army morale enhancement through positive off duty recreation programs is critical in combat staging areas.

To encourage soldier use of programs, the facilities drab and uninviting environment had to be improved. A program utilizing talented artists and craftsmen to decorate day rooms, mess halls, recreation halls and other places of general assembly was established by the Facilities Section of Special Services. The purpose was to provide an environment that would reflect the military tradition, accomplishments and the high standard of army life. The fact that this work was to be done by the men themselves had the added benefit of contributing to the esprit de corps (teamwork, or group spirit) of the unit.

The plan was first tested in October of 1941, at Camp Davis, North Carolina. A studio workshop was set up and a group of soldier artists were placed on special duty to design and decorate the facilities. Additionally, evening recreation art classes were scheduled three times a week. A second test was established at Fort Belvoir, Virginia a month later. The success of these programs lead to more installations requesting the program.

After Pearl Harbor was bombed, the Museum of Modern Art appointed Mr. James Soby, to the position of Director of the Armed Service Program on January 15, 1942. The subsequent program became a combination of occupational therapy, exhibitions and morale-sustaining activities.

Through the efforts of Mr. Soby, the museum program included; a display of Fort Custer Army Illustrators work from February through April 5, 1942. The museum also included the work of soldier-photographers in this exhibit. On May 6, 1942, Mr. Soby opened an art sale of works donated by museum members. The sale was to raise funds for the Soldier Art Program of Special Services Division. The bulk of these proceeds were to be used to provide facilities and materials for soldier artists in Army camps throughout the country.

Members of the Museum had responded with paintings, sculptures, watercolors, gouaches, drawings, etchings and lithographs. Hundreds of works were received, including oils by Winslow Homer, Orozco, John Kane, Speicher, Eilshemius, de Chirico; watercolors by Burchfield and Dufy; drawings by Augustus John, Forain and Berman, and prints by Cezanne, Lautrec, Matisse and Bellows. The War Department plan using soldier-artists to decorate and improve buildings and grounds worked. Many artists who had been drafted into the Army volunteered to paint murals in waiting rooms and clubs, to decorate dayrooms, and to landscape grounds. For each artist at work there were a thousand troops who watched. These bystanders clamored to participate, and classes in drawing, painting, sculpture and photography were offered. Larger working space and more instructors were required to meet the growing demand. Civilian art instructors and local communities helped to meet this cultural need, by providing volunteer instruction and facilities.

Some proceeds from the Modern Museum of Art sale were used to print 25,000 booklets called “Interior Design and Soldier Art.” The booklet showed examples of soldier-artist murals that decorated places of general assembly. It was a guide to organizing, planning and executing the soldier-artist program. The balance of the art sale proceeds were used to purchase the initial arts and crafts furnishings for 350 Army installations in the USA.

In November, 1942, General Somervell directed that a group of artists be selected and dispatched to active theaters to paint war scenes with the stipulation that soldier artists would not paint in lieu of military duties.

Aileen Osborn Webb, sister of Brigadier General Frederick H. Osborn, launched the American Crafts Council in 1943. She was an early champion of the Army program.

While soldiers were participating in fixed facilities in the USA, many troops were being shipped overseas to Europe and the Pacific (1942-1945). They had long periods of idleness and waiting in staging areas. At that time the wounded were lying in hospitals, both on land and in ships at sea. The War Department and Red Cross responded by purchasing kits of arts and crafts tools and supplies to distribute to “these restless personnel.” A variety of small “Handicraft Kits” were distributed free of charge. Leathercraft, celluloid etching, knotting and braiding, metal tooling, drawing and clay modeling are examples of the types of kits sent.

In January, 1944, the Interior Design Soldier Artist program was more appropriately named the “Arts and Crafts Section” of Special Services. The mission was “to fulfill the natural human desire to create, provide opportunities for self-expression, serve old skills and develop new ones, and assist the entire recreation program through construction work, publicity, and decoration.”

The National Army Art Contest was planned for the late fall of 1944. In June of 1945, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., for the first time in its history opened its facilities for the exhibition of the soldier art and photography submitted to this contest. The “Infantry Journal, Inc.” printed a small paperback booklet containing 215 photographs of pictures exhibited in the National Gallery of Art.

In August of 1944, the Museum of Modern Art, Armed Forces Program, organized an art center for veterans. Abby Rockefeller, in particular, had a strong interest in this project. Soldiers were invited to sketch, paint, or model under the guidance of skilled artists and craftsmen. Victor d’Amico, who was in charge of the Museum’s Education Department, was quoted in Russell Lynes book, Good Old Modern: An Intimate Portrait of the Museum of Modern Art. “I asked one fellow why he had taken up art and he said, Well, I just came back from destroying everything. I made up my mind that if I ever got out of the Army and out of the war I was never going to destroy another thing in my life, and I decided that art was the thing that I would do.” Another man said to d’Amico, “Art is like a good night’s sleep. You come away refreshed and at peace.”

In late October, 1944, an Arts and Crafts Branch of Special Services Division, Headquarters, European Theater of Operations was established. A versatile program of handcrafts flourished among the Army occupation troops.

The increased interest in crafts, rather than fine arts, at this time lead to a new name for the program: The “Handicrafts Branch.”

In 1945, the War Department published a new manual, “Soldier Handicrafts”, to help implement this new emphasis. The manual contained instructions for setting up crafts facilities, selecting as well as improvising tools and equipment, and basic information on a variety of arts and crafts.

As the Army moved from a combat to a peacetime role, the majority of crafts shops in the United States were equipped with woodworking power machinery for construction of furnishings and objects for personal living. Based on this new trend, in 1946 the program was again renamed, this time as “Manual Arts.”

At the same time, overseas programs were now employing local artists and craftsmen to operate the crafts facilities and instruct in a variety of arts and crafts. These highly skilled, indigenous instructors helped to stimulate the soldiers’ interest in the respective native cultures and artifacts. Thousands of troops overseas were encouraged to record their experiences on film. These photographs provided an invaluable means of communication between troops and their families back home.

When the war ended, the Navy had a firm of architects and draftsmen on contract to design ships. Since there was no longer a need for more ships, they were given a new assignment: To develop a series of instructional guides for arts and crafts. These were called “Hobby Manuals.” The Army was impressed with the quality of the Navy manuals and had them reprinted and adopted for use by Army troops. By 1948, the arts and crafts practiced throughout the Army were so varied and diverse that the program was renamed “Hobby Shops.” The first “Interservice Photography Contest” was held in 1948. Each service is eligible to send two years of their winning entries forward for the bi-annual interservice contest. In 1949, the first All Army Crafts Contest was also held. Once again, it was clear that the program title, “Hobby Shops” was misleading and overlapped into other forms of recreation.

In January, 1951, the program was designated as “The Army Crafts Program.” The program was recognized as an essential Army recreation activity along with sports, libraries, service clubs, soldier shows and soldier music. In the official statement of mission, professional leadership was emphasized to insure a balanced, progressive schedule of arts and crafts would be conducted in well-equipped, attractive facilities on all Army installations.

The program was now defined in terms of a “Basic Seven Program” which included: drawing and painting; ceramics and sculpture; metal work; leathercrafts; model building; photography and woodworking. These programs were to be conducted regularly in facilities known as the “multiple-type crafts shop.” For functional reasons, these facilities were divided into three separate technical areas for woodworking, photography and the arts and crafts.

During the Korean Conflict, the Army Crafts program utilized the personnel and shops in Japan to train soldiers to instruct crafts in Korea.

The mid-1950s saw more soldiers with cars and the need to repair their vehicles was recognized at Fort Carson, Colorado, by the craft director. Soldiers familiar with crafts shops knew that they had tools and so automotive crafts were established. By 1958, the Engineers published an Official Design Guide on Crafts Shops and Auto Crafts Shops. In 1959, the first All Army Art Contest was held. Once more, the Army Crafts Program responded to the needs of soldiers.

In the 1960’s, the war in Vietnam was a new challenge for the Army Crafts Program. The program had three levels of support; fixed facilities, mobile trailers designed as portable photo labs, and once again a “Kit Program.” The kit program originated at Headquarters, Department of Army, and it proved to be very popular with soldiers.

Tom Turner, today a well-known studio potter, was a soldier at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina in the 1960s. In the December 1990 / January 1991 “American Crafts” magazine, Turner, who had been a graduate student in art school when he was drafted, said the program was “a godsend.”

The Army Artist Program was re-initiated in cooperation with the Office of Military History to document the war in Vietnam. Soldier-artists were identified and teams were formed to draw and paint the events of this combat. Exhibitions of these soldier-artist works were produced and toured throughout the USA.

In 1970, the original name of the program, “Arts and Crafts”, was restored. In 1971, the “Arts and Crafts/Skills Development Program” was established for budget presentations and construction projects.

After the Vietnam demobilization, a new emphasis was placed on service to families and children of soldiers. To meet this new challenge in an environment of funding constraints the arts and crafts program began charging fees for classes. More part-time personnel were used to teach formal classes. Additionally, a need for more technical-vocational skills training for military personnel was met by close coordination with Army Education Programs. Army arts and crafts directors worked with soldiers during “Project Transition” to develop soldier skills for new careers in the public sector.

The main challenge in the 1980s and 90s was, and is, to become “self-sustaining.” Directors have been forced to find more ways to generate increased revenue to help defray the loss of appropriated funds and to cover the non-appropriated funds expenses of the program. Programs have added and increased emphasis on services such as, picture framing, gallery sales, engraving and trophy sales, etc... New programs such as multi-media computer graphics appeal to customers of the 1990’s.

The Gulf War presented the Army with some familiar challenges such as personnel off duty time in staging areas. Department of Army volunteer civilian recreation specialists were sent to Saudi Arabia in January, 1991, to organize recreation programs. Arts and crafts supplies were sent to the theater. An Army Humor Cartoon Contest was conducted for the soldiers in the Gulf, and arts and crafts programs were set up to meet soldier interests.

The increased operations tempo of the ‘90’s Army has once again placed emphasis on meeting the “recreation needs of deployed soldiers.” Arts and crafts activities and a variety of programs are assets commanders must have to meet the deployment challenges of these very different scenarios.

The Army arts and crafts program, no matter what it has been titled, has made some unique contributions for the military and our society in general. Army arts and crafts does not fit the narrow definition of drawing and painting or making ceramics, but the much larger sense of arts and crafts. It is painting and drawing. It also encompasses:

* all forms of design. (fabric, clothes, household appliances, dishes, vases, houses, automobiles, landscapes, computers, copy machines, desks, industrial machines, weapon systems, air crafts, roads, etc...)
* applied technology (photography, graphics, woodworking, sculpture, metal smithing, weaving and textiles, sewing, advertising, enameling, stained glass, pottery, charts, graphs, visual aides and even formats for correspondence...)
* a way of making learning fun, practical and meaningful (through the process of designing and making an object the creator must decide which materials and techniques to use, thereby engaging in creative problem solving and discovery) skills taught have military applications.
* a way to acquire quality items and save money by doing-it-yourself (making furniture, gifts, repairing things ...).
* a way to pursue college credit, through on post classes.
* a universal and non-verbal language (a picture is worth a thousand words).
* food for the human psyche, an element of morale that allows for individual expression (freedom).
* the celebration of human spirit and excellence (our highest form of public recognition is through a dedicated monument).
* physical and mental therapy (motor skill development, stress reduction, etc...).
* an activity that promotes self-reliance and self-esteem.
* the record of mankind, and in this case, of the Army.

What would the world be like today if this generally unknown program had not existed? To quantitatively state the overall impact of this program on the world is impossible. Millions of soldier citizens have been directly and indirectly exposed to arts and crafts because this program existed. One activity, photography can provide a clue to its impact. Soldiers encouraged to take pictures, beginning with WW II, have shared those images with family and friends. Classes in “How to Use a Camera” to “How to Develop Film and Print Pictures” were instrumental in soldiers seeing the results of using quality equipment. A good camera and lens could make a big difference in the quality of the print. They bought the top of the line equipment. When they were discharged from the Army or home on leave this new equipment was showed to the family and friends. Without this encouragement and exposure to photography many would not have recorded their personal experiences or known the difference quality equipment could make. Families and friends would not have had the opportunity to “see” the environment their soldier was living in without these photos. Germany, Italy, Korea, Japan, Panama, etc... were far away places that most had not visited.

As the twenty first century approaches, the predictions for an arts renaissance by Megatrends 2000 seem realistic based on the Army Arts and Crafts Program practical experience. In the April ‘95 issue of “American Demographics” magazine, an article titled “Generation X” fully supports that this is indeed the case today. Television and computers have greatly contributed to “Generation X” being more interested in the visual arts and crafts.

Army Photography Contest - 2004 - FMWRC - Arts and Crafts - Down Time

Image by familymwr
Photo by Pfc. Scott Stewart

To learn more about the annual U.S. Army Photography Competition, visit us online at www.armymwr.com

U.S. Army Arts and Crafts History

After World War I the reductions to the Army left the United States with a small force. The War Department faced monumental challenges in preparing for World War II. One of those challenges was soldier morale. Recreational activities for off duty time would be important. The arts and crafts program informally evolved to augment the needs of the War Department.

On January 9, 1941, the Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, appointed Frederick H. Osborn, a prominent U.S. businessman and philanthropist, Chairman of the War Department Committee on Education, Recreation and Community Service.

In 1940 and 1941, the United States involvement in World War II was more of sympathy and anticipation than of action. However, many different types of institutions were looking for ways to help the war effort. The Museum of Modern Art in New York was one of these institutions. In April, 1941, the Museum announced a poster competition, “Posters for National Defense.” The directors stated “The Museum feels that in a time of national emergency the artists of a country are as important an asset as men skilled in other fields, and that the nation’s first-rate talent should be utilized by the government for its official design work... Discussions have been held with officials of the Army and the Treasury who have expressed remarkable enthusiasm...”

In May 1941, the Museum exhibited “Britain at War”, a show selected by Sir Kenneth Clark, director of the National Gallery in London. The “Prize-Winning Defense Posters” were exhibited in July through September concurrently with “Britain at War.” The enormous overnight growth of the military force meant mobilization type construction at every camp. Construction was fast; facilities were not fancy; rather drab and depressing.

In 1941, the Fort Custer Army Illustrators, while on strenuous war games maneuvers in Tennessee, documented the exercise The Bulletin of the Museum of Modern Art, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Feb. 1942), described their work. “Results were astonishingly good; they showed serious devotion ...to the purpose of depicting the Army scene with unvarnished realism and a remarkable ability to capture this scene from the soldier’s viewpoint. Civilian amateur and professional artists had been transformed into soldier-artists. Reality and straightforward documentation had supplanted (replaced) the old romantic glorification and false dramatization of war and the slick suavity (charm) of commercial drawing.”

“In August of last year, Fort Custer Army Illustrators held an exhibition, the first of its kind in the new Army, at the Camp Service Club. Soldiers who saw the exhibition, many of whom had never been inside an art gallery, enjoyed it thoroughly. Civilian visitors, too, came and admired. The work of the group showed them a new aspect of the Army; there were many phases of Army life they had never seen or heard of before. Newspapers made much of it and, most important, the Army approved. Army officials saw that it was not only authentic material, but that here was a source of enlivenment (vitalization) to the Army and a vivid medium for conveying the Army’s purposes and processes to civilians and soldiers.”

Brigadier General Frederick H. Osborn and War Department leaders were concerned because few soldiers were using the off duty recreation areas that were available. Army commanders recognized that efficiency is directly correlated with morale, and that morale is largely determined from the manner in which an individual spends his own free time. Army morale enhancement through positive off duty recreation programs is critical in combat staging areas.

To encourage soldier use of programs, the facilities drab and uninviting environment had to be improved. A program utilizing talented artists and craftsmen to decorate day rooms, mess halls, recreation halls and other places of general assembly was established by the Facilities Section of Special Services. The purpose was to provide an environment that would reflect the military tradition, accomplishments and the high standard of army life. The fact that this work was to be done by the men themselves had the added benefit of contributing to the esprit de corps (teamwork, or group spirit) of the unit.

The plan was first tested in October of 1941, at Camp Davis, North Carolina. A studio workshop was set up and a group of soldier artists were placed on special duty to design and decorate the facilities. Additionally, evening recreation art classes were scheduled three times a week. A second test was established at Fort Belvoir, Virginia a month later. The success of these programs lead to more installations requesting the program.

After Pearl Harbor was bombed, the Museum of Modern Art appointed Mr. James Soby, to the position of Director of the Armed Service Program on January 15, 1942. The subsequent program became a combination of occupational therapy, exhibitions and morale-sustaining activities.

Through the efforts of Mr. Soby, the museum program included; a display of Fort Custer Army Illustrators work from February through April 5, 1942. The museum also included the work of soldier-photographers in this exhibit. On May 6, 1942, Mr. Soby opened an art sale of works donated by museum members. The sale was to raise funds for the Soldier Art Program of Special Services Division. The bulk of these proceeds were to be used to provide facilities and materials for soldier artists in Army camps throughout the country.

Members of the Museum had responded with paintings, sculptures, watercolors, gouaches, drawings, etchings and lithographs. Hundreds of works were received, including oils by Winslow Homer, Orozco, John Kane, Speicher, Eilshemius, de Chirico; watercolors by Burchfield and Dufy; drawings by Augustus John, Forain and Berman, and prints by Cezanne, Lautrec, Matisse and Bellows. The War Department plan using soldier-artists to decorate and improve buildings and grounds worked. Many artists who had been drafted into the Army volunteered to paint murals in waiting rooms and clubs, to decorate dayrooms, and to landscape grounds. For each artist at work there were a thousand troops who watched. These bystanders clamored to participate, and classes in drawing, painting, sculpture and photography were offered. Larger working space and more instructors were required to meet the growing demand. Civilian art instructors and local communities helped to meet this cultural need, by providing volunteer instruction and facilities.

Some proceeds from the Modern Museum of Art sale were used to print 25,000 booklets called “Interior Design and Soldier Art.” The booklet showed examples of soldier-artist murals that decorated places of general assembly. It was a guide to organizing, planning and executing the soldier-artist program. The balance of the art sale proceeds were used to purchase the initial arts and crafts furnishings for 350 Army installations in the USA.

In November, 1942, General Somervell directed that a group of artists be selected and dispatched to active theaters to paint war scenes with the stipulation that soldier artists would not paint in lieu of military duties.

Aileen Osborn Webb, sister of Brigadier General Frederick H. Osborn, launched the American Crafts Council in 1943. She was an early champion of the Army program.

While soldiers were participating in fixed facilities in the USA, many troops were being shipped overseas to Europe and the Pacific (1942-1945). They had long periods of idleness and waiting in staging areas. At that time the wounded were lying in hospitals, both on land and in ships at sea. The War Department and Red Cross responded by purchasing kits of arts and crafts tools and supplies to distribute to “these restless personnel.” A variety of small “Handicraft Kits” were distributed free of charge. Leathercraft, celluloid etching, knotting and braiding, metal tooling, drawing and clay modeling are examples of the types of kits sent.

In January, 1944, the Interior Design Soldier Artist program was more appropriately named the “Arts and Crafts Section” of Special Services. The mission was “to fulfill the natural human desire to create, provide opportunities for self-expression, serve old skills and develop new ones, and assist the entire recreation program through construction work, publicity, and decoration.”

The National Army Art Contest was planned for the late fall of 1944. In June of 1945, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., for the first time in its history opened its facilities for the exhibition of the soldier art and photography submitted to this contest. The “Infantry Journal, Inc.” printed a small paperback booklet containing 215 photographs of pictures exhibited in the National Gallery of Art.

In August of 1944, the Museum of Modern Art, Armed Forces Program, organized an art center for veterans. Abby Rockefeller, in particular, had a strong interest in this project. Soldiers were invited to sketch, paint, or model under the guidance of skilled artists and craftsmen. Victor d’Amico, who was in charge of the Museum’s Education Department, was quoted in Russell Lynes book, Good Old Modern: An Intimate Portrait of the Museum of Modern Art. “I asked one fellow why he had taken up art and he said, Well, I just came back from destroying everything. I made up my mind that if I ever got out of the Army and out of the war I was never going to destroy another thing in my life, and I decided that art was the thing that I would do.” Another man said to d’Amico, “Art is like a good night’s sleep. You come away refreshed and at peace.”

In late October, 1944, an Arts and Crafts Branch of Special Services Division, Headquarters, European Theater of Operations was established. A versatile program of handcrafts flourished among the Army occupation troops.

The increased interest in crafts, rather than fine arts, at this time lead to a new name for the program: The “Handicrafts Branch.”

In 1945, the War Department published a new manual, “Soldier Handicrafts”, to help implement this new emphasis. The manual contained instructions for setting up crafts facilities, selecting as well as improvising tools and equipment, and basic information on a variety of arts and crafts.

As the Army moved from a combat to a peacetime role, the majority of crafts shops in the United States were equipped with woodworking power machinery for construction of furnishings and objects for personal living. Based on this new trend, in 1946 the program was again renamed, this time as “Manual Arts.”

At the same time, overseas programs were now employing local artists and craftsmen to operate the crafts facilities and instruct in a variety of arts and crafts. These highly skilled, indigenous instructors helped to stimulate the soldiers’ interest in the respective native cultures and artifacts. Thousands of troops overseas were encouraged to record their experiences on film. These photographs provided an invaluable means of communication between troops and their families back home.

When the war ended, the Navy had a firm of architects and draftsmen on contract to design ships. Since there was no longer a need for more ships, they were given a new assignment: To develop a series of instructional guides for arts and crafts. These were called “Hobby Manuals.” The Army was impressed with the quality of the Navy manuals and had them reprinted and adopted for use by Army troops. By 1948, the arts and crafts practiced throughout the Army were so varied and diverse that the program was renamed “Hobby Shops.” The first “Interservice Photography Contest” was held in 1948. Each service is eligible to send two years of their winning entries forward for the bi-annual interservice contest. In 1949, the first All Army Crafts Contest was also held. Once again, it was clear that the program title, “Hobby Shops” was misleading and overlapped into other forms of recreation.

In January, 1951, the program was designated as “The Army Crafts Program.” The program was recognized as an essential Army recreation activity along with sports, libraries, service clubs, soldier shows and soldier music. In the official statement of mission, professional leadership was emphasized to insure a balanced, progressive schedule of arts and crafts would be conducted in well-equipped, attractive facilities on all Army installations.

The program was now defined in terms of a “Basic Seven Program” which included: drawing and painting; ceramics and sculpture; metal work; leathercrafts; model building; photography and woodworking. These programs were to be conducted regularly in facilities known as the “multiple-type crafts shop.” For functional reasons, these facilities were divided into three separate technical areas for woodworking, photography and the arts and crafts.

During the Korean Conflict, the Army Crafts program utilized the personnel and shops in Japan to train soldiers to instruct crafts in Korea.

The mid-1950s saw more soldiers with cars and the need to repair their vehicles was recognized at Fort Carson, Colorado, by the craft director. Soldiers familiar with crafts shops knew that they had tools and so automotive crafts were established. By 1958, the Engineers published an Official Design Guide on Crafts Shops and Auto Crafts Shops. In 1959, the first All Army Art Contest was held. Once more, the Army Crafts Program responded to the needs of soldiers.

In the 1960’s, the war in Vietnam was a new challenge for the Army Crafts Program. The program had three levels of support; fixed facilities, mobile trailers designed as portable photo labs, and once again a “Kit Program.” The kit program originated at Headquarters, Department of Army, and it proved to be very popular with soldiers.

Tom Turner, today a well-known studio potter, was a soldier at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina in the 1960s. In the December 1990 / January 1991 “American Crafts” magazine, Turner, who had been a graduate student in art school when he was drafted, said the program was “a godsend.”

The Army Artist Program was re-initiated in cooperation with the Office of Military History to document the war in Vietnam. Soldier-artists were identified and teams were formed to draw and paint the events of this combat. Exhibitions of these soldier-artist works were produced and toured throughout the USA.

In 1970, the original name of the program, “Arts and Crafts”, was restored. In 1971, the “Arts and Crafts/Skills Development Program” was established for budget presentations and construction projects.

After the Vietnam demobilization, a new emphasis was placed on service to families and children of soldiers. To meet this new challenge in an environment of funding constraints the arts and crafts program began charging fees for classes. More part-time personnel were used to teach formal classes. Additionally, a need for more technical-vocational skills training for military personnel was met by close coordination with Army Education Programs. Army arts and crafts directors worked with soldiers during “Project Transition” to develop soldier skills for new careers in the public sector.

The main challenge in the 1980s and 90s was, and is, to become “self-sustaining.” Directors have been forced to find more ways to generate increased revenue to help defray the loss of appropriated funds and to cover the non-appropriated funds expenses of the program. Programs have added and increased emphasis on services such as, picture framing, gallery sales, engraving and trophy sales, etc... New programs such as multi-media computer graphics appeal to customers of the 1990’s.

The Gulf War presented the Army with some familiar challenges such as personnel off duty time in staging areas. Department of Army volunteer civilian recreation specialists were sent to Saudi Arabia in January, 1991, to organize recreation programs. Arts and crafts supplies were sent to the theater. An Army Humor Cartoon Contest was conducted for the soldiers in the Gulf, and arts and crafts programs were set up to meet soldier interests.

The increased operations tempo of the ‘90’s Army has once again placed emphasis on meeting the “recreation needs of deployed soldiers.” Arts and crafts activities and a variety of programs are assets commanders must have to meet the deployment challenges of these very different scenarios.

The Army arts and crafts program, no matter what it has been titled, has made some unique contributions for the military and our society in general. Army arts and crafts does not fit the narrow definition of drawing and painting or making ceramics, but the much larger sense of arts and crafts. It is painting and drawing. It also encompasses:

* all forms of design. (fabric, clothes, household appliances, dishes, vases, houses, automobiles, landscapes, computers, copy machines, desks, industrial machines, weapon systems, air crafts, roads, etc...)
* applied technology (photography, graphics, woodworking, sculpture, metal smithing, weaving and textiles, sewing, advertising, enameling, stained glass, pottery, charts, graphs, visual aides and even formats for correspondence...)
* a way of making learning fun, practical and meaningful (through the process of designing and making an object the creator must decide which materials and techniques to use, thereby engaging in creative problem solving and discovery) skills taught have military applications.
* a way to acquire quality items and save money by doing-it-yourself (making furniture, gifts, repairing things ...).
* a way to pursue college credit, through on post classes.
* a universal and non-verbal language (a picture is worth a thousand words).
* food for the human psyche, an element of morale that allows for individual expression (freedom).
* the celebration of human spirit and excellence (our highest form of public recognition is through a dedicated monument).
* physical and mental therapy (motor skill development, stress reduction, etc...).
* an activity that promotes self-reliance and self-esteem.
* the record of mankind, and in this case, of the Army.

What would the world be like today if this generally unknown program had not existed? To quantitatively state the overall impact of this program on the world is impossible. Millions of soldier citizens have been directly and indirectly exposed to arts and crafts because this program existed. One activity, photography can provide a clue to its impact. Soldiers encouraged to take pictures, beginning with WW II, have shared those images with family and friends. Classes in “How to Use a Camera” to “How to Develop Film and Print Pictures” were instrumental in soldiers seeing the results of using quality equipment. A good camera and lens could make a big difference in the quality of the print. They bought the top of the line equipment. When they were discharged from the Army or home on leave this new equipment was showed to the family and friends. Without this encouragement and exposure to photography many would not have recorded their personal experiences or known the difference quality equipment could make. Families and friends would not have had the opportunity to “see” the environment their soldier was living in without these photos. Germany, Italy, Korea, Japan, Panama, etc... were far away places that most had not visited.

As the twenty first century approaches, the predictions for an arts renaissance by Megatrends 2000 seem realistic based on the Army Arts and Crafts Program practical experience. In the April ‘95 issue of “American Demographics” magazine, an article titled “Generation X” fully supports that this is indeed the case today. Television and computers have greatly contributed to “Generation X” being more interested in the visual arts and crafts.

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

A few nice photo editing online images I found:

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

Image by familymwr
PHOTO CAPTION: Awarded 2nd Place Dragonfly by SSG WILBERTO SIERRA - Division 1 Active Duty Military

www.Facebook.com/FamilyMWR

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

By Tim Hipps
FMWRC Public Affairs

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Brenda Walker strolled upon “one of those right places at the right time” alongside East Fork Indian Creek River when she photographed “Morning Serenity” on Fort Campbell, Ky…

Retired Col. Richard Pugh shot three photographs of “Point Lobos,” just south of Monterey, Calif., and combined them into one image by working 15 minutes with Photoshop…

Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra won a footrace with his wife to the bottom of a stairwell at Heidelberg Castle in Germany just before he looked up and photographed “9”…

…all three were winners in the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest sponsored by the Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command.

There were 3,691 entries from around the world – 1,348 in Division I for active duty military personnel and 2,343 in Division II for other eligible MWR patrons. After Army garrisons selected their best entries, 664 Division I and 1,031 Division II photographs were forwarded for Department of the Army judging.

“There were many really excellent photos, which made the judges’ decisions a difficult task,” said Linda Ezernieks, who monitors the annual contest at Army MWR Headquarters in Alexandria. “Originality, creativity and technical quality were the main criteria in making final selections.”

Winners in each category – animals, digital darkroom, design elements, military life, monochrome, nature & landscapes, people, and still life – were posted on a website where Army Knowledge Online account-holders voted for their favorite photo in each division.

Walker’s “Morning Serenity” took first place in the nature and landscapes category and was voted the most popular photograph in Division II.

The subject of the photo is a fisherman wading and casting in the middle of East Fork Indian Creek River while the sun shines through the lush, green trees and casts a rainbow-like appearance off the steam hovering above the stream.

“It’s back on Fort Campbell,” Walker said. “I take my dog running back there early morning. It was really hot and the steam was rising and the rays were going through the trees. It was absolutely beautiful back there.

“I take my camera everywhere I go now.”

Walker left her business card on the windshield of a truck parked nearby and later learned the fisherman was Sgt. Randy Shorter of Fort Campbell.

About five years ago, Walker took some of her photographs to the MWR Custom Framing Shop at Fort Campbell, where she found out about the Army Photography Contest. She has produced prize-winning photos for the past three contests.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to get exposure, plus cash prizes,” said Walker, 48, a military family member. “I enjoy looking at everybody else’s work. It inspires me and motivates me to get out and get more interesting, different shots.”

What does Walker enjoy most about photography?

“Just being able to capture what I see through my eyes, my heart and my head,” she said. “A lot of it comes out through your emotion. It’s another form of art.”

Pugh, of Clarksville, Tenn., took first place in the Division II digital darkroom category with “The Owl,” second in design elements with “Blue Mosque,” and third in nature and landscapes with “Point Lobos.”

Pugh shot the high-tech looking photo of “The Owl” at Land Between The Lakes, a national recreation area located south of Paducah, Ky., and embellished it in Photoshop, as he did with “Blue Mosque,” a shot of the roof of a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

“I like this contest,” said Pugh, 65, who photographed winning entries in each of the past three years after serving 30 years in the Army. “It gives people a chance to show off something they did, which is great.”

Piedro, 31, an Army recruiter in Douglasville, Ga., is a former combat photographer. His “9” earned first-place honors in the Division I design elements category. He took third place in digital darkroom with a self-portrait called “Beast within Me” that would make a dandy Halloween poster.

“I got the idea when I was in the gym working out with my partner and a couple people came up to us and said: ‘You guys are lifting like beasts.’ The idea just popped into my head, so I got home, took the shot, and just started editing,” Piedro said. “That’s where that photo came from.”

The subject of the photo looks like a cross between a werewolf, a vampire and an Avatar, complete with fangs, dagger-like fingernails and alien ears – seemingly howling at the moon that looms behind a naked tree.

“The fangs, the ears, the eyes and the hands are all Photoshopped,” Piedro said. “And the stomach that’s concaved a little bit, that was done in Photoshop. For the background, I took certain parts of images from other photos, adjusted them, and made everything into one image.”

So what’s real?

“The body, and the face,” Piedro replied. “That’s it.

“If you look closely, the eyes are actually black and the pupils are red, so that’s been Photoshopped.”

Piedro, however, does not think of himself as a Photoshop expert.

“I actually don’t do too much Photoshop,” he said. “I try to keep my images as pure as possible. But every now and then, I get my creative side and I do a little bit of Photoshop – just trial and error, playing around.”

Piedro won two categories and received an honorable mention in the 2007 Army Photography Contest but missed the competition the past two years.

“I think it’s a great, great program,” he said. “It’s a great way to get the creative process of people that do see the world and travel the world by being in the military, and not even just as Soldiers, but supporting staff, civilians, wives.

“It’s a great way to get recognition for something that we love to do.”

As is often the case with photography, Piedro did not know exactly what he shot that day in the stairwell to the gardens at Heidelberg Castle – until he downloaded the photo.

“When I got home and I looked at, I was like: ‘That’s 9, yeah.’ And that’s where the title came from.”

Piedro cherishes photography’s uncanny ability of giving him the opportunity of “freezing a moment in time that only I can see and sharing that with others.”

Several other military photographers earned multiple places in the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest.

Holly Swegle of Fort Hood, Texas, took first place in Division II monochrome for “Dress Shop,” second in animals for “Painted Birds” and third in people for “American Woman.”

Lt. Col. Mark Bonica of Fort Sam Houston, Texas, took second in Division I still life with “Reflections in Soap,” third in monochrome with “… and We All Fall Down” and received an honorable mention in military life with “Free Gift When You Join Today.”

Staff Sgt. Brandon Quarterman of Fort Bliss, Texas, won the Division I popular vote contest for “Reaching Perfection,” which topped the still life category.


SIDEBAR:

Here are the results of the top three finishers in each category with photographer’s rank, name, installation and photo title:

2010 Army Digital Photo Contest
Division I

Animals – 1. Pfc. Amber Smith, Yongsan, Korea, What’s for Dinner; 2. Staff Sgt. Wilberto Sierra, Fort Bliss, Texas, Dragonfly; 3. Staff Sgt. Robert Curtis, Vicenza, Italy, Tough Love.

Digital darkroom – 1. Spc. Thomas Mort, Fort Knox, Ky., Over the Top; 2. Sgt. Shawn Cassatt, Yongsan, Korea, On the Range; 3. Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, Fort McPherson, Ga., Beast within Me.

Design elements – 1. Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, Fort McPherson, Ga., 9; 2. 2nd Lt. Thomas Malejko, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Arch Elements; 3. Lt. Col. David Tygart, Stuttgart, Germany, Sunset Under Glass.

Mililtary life – 1. Sgt. Darlene Martinez, Fort Drum, N.Y., The Sacrifices We Make; 2. Staff Sgt. Joey Suggs, Fort Meade, Md., Dental Care; 3. Sgt. Shawn Cassatt, Yongsan, Korea, Remember Me.

Monochrome – 1. Sgt. 1st Class Lance Widner, Mannheim, Germany, Great Grandmother; 2. Col. John Powers, Camp Zama, Japan, Calm Morning at Mount Fuji; 3. Lt. Col. Mark Bonica, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, … and We All Fall Down.

Nature & landscapes – 1. 1st Lt. Christopher Snell, (unknown location), Sunset Swim; 2. Spc. Juan-Pablo Marin, Fort Benning, Ga., Moon Set; 3. Spc. Jenny Lu, Hohenfels, Germany, Hong Kong at Night.

People – 1. Capt. David Callender, (unknown location), Anna’s Dream; 2. Lt. Col. David Tygart, Stuttgart, Germany, Eval Fairy; 3. Col. Joseph Mancy, Stuttgart, Germany, Eyes that Speak.

Still life – 1. Staff Sgt. Brandon Quarterman, Fort Bliss, Texas, Reaching Perfection; 2. Lt. Col. Mark Bonica, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Reflections in Soap; 3. Warrant Officer Larry Olson, Wiesbaden, Germany, Sunflower in Contrast.

Division II

Animals – 1. Susan Doran, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., Defiance; 2. Holley Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, Painted Birds; 3. Eric Armstrong, Camp Zama, Japan, Man O’ War.

Digital darkroom – 1. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., The Owl; 2. Stephen Cullum, Stuttgart, Germany, Volksfest FDR; 3. Gary Cashman, Yongsan, Korea, BMX Composite.

Design elements – 1. Robert LaPolice, Selfridge, Mich., Just Riveting; 2. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., Blue Mosque; 3. James Holbrook, Stuttgart, Germany, What do I call this.

Military life – 1. Nell Williams, Fort Stewart, Ga., My Dad, My Hero; 2. Rebecca Colburn, Fort Carson, Colo., The Test Drive; 3. Ann Marie Detavernier, Baumholder, Germany, The Love Letter.

Monochrome – 1. Holly Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, Dress Shop; 2. Barbara Underwood, Fort Lee, Va., Light and Shadows; 3. Jeffrey Kline, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Texas Snow.

Nature & landscapes – 1. Brenda Walker, Fort Campbell, Ky., Morning Serenity; 2. Mylan Dawson, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Ash Clouds over Holland; 3. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., Point Lobos.

People – 1. Sherry Keene Hobbs, Garmisch, Germany, Belly Dancer; 2. Eugenia Whittenburg, Fort Shafter, Hawaii, Happy Beach Feet; 3. Holly Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, American Woman.

Still life – 1. Mylan Dawson, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Green Tomato; 2. Michael Slone, Fort Meade, Md., Morning Coffee; 3. Frank Leon, Fort Knox, Ky., The faucet chronicles.

Connect with us:
www.Facebook.com/FamilyMWR
www.Twitter.com/FamilyMWR
www.YouTube.com/FamilyMWR

ks 110321

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

Image by familymwr
PHOTO CAPTION: Awarded Honorable Mention Victory by SFC OMAR DELGADO - Division 1 Active Duty Military

www.Facebook.com/FamilyMWR

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

By Tim Hipps
FMWRC Public Affairs

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Brenda Walker strolled upon “one of those right places at the right time” alongside East Fork Indian Creek River when she photographed “Morning Serenity” on Fort Campbell, Ky…

Retired Col. Richard Pugh shot three photographs of “Point Lobos,” just south of Monterey, Calif., and combined them into one image by working 15 minutes with Photoshop…

Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra won a footrace with his wife to the bottom of a stairwell at Heidelberg Castle in Germany just before he looked up and photographed “9”…

…all three were winners in the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest sponsored by the Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command.

There were 3,691 entries from around the world – 1,348 in Division I for active duty military personnel and 2,343 in Division II for other eligible MWR patrons. After Army garrisons selected their best entries, 664 Division I and 1,031 Division II photographs were forwarded for Department of the Army judging.

“There were many really excellent photos, which made the judges’ decisions a difficult task,” said Linda Ezernieks, who monitors the annual contest at Army MWR Headquarters in Alexandria. “Originality, creativity and technical quality were the main criteria in making final selections.”

Winners in each category – animals, digital darkroom, design elements, military life, monochrome, nature & landscapes, people, and still life – were posted on a website where Army Knowledge Online account-holders voted for their favorite photo in each division.

Walker’s “Morning Serenity” took first place in the nature and landscapes category and was voted the most popular photograph in Division II.

The subject of the photo is a fisherman wading and casting in the middle of East Fork Indian Creek River while the sun shines through the lush, green trees and casts a rainbow-like appearance off the steam hovering above the stream.

“It’s back on Fort Campbell,” Walker said. “I take my dog running back there early morning. It was really hot and the steam was rising and the rays were going through the trees. It was absolutely beautiful back there.

“I take my camera everywhere I go now.”

Walker left her business card on the windshield of a truck parked nearby and later learned the fisherman was Sgt. Randy Shorter of Fort Campbell.

About five years ago, Walker took some of her photographs to the MWR Custom Framing Shop at Fort Campbell, where she found out about the Army Photography Contest. She has produced prize-winning photos for the past three contests.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to get exposure, plus cash prizes,” said Walker, 48, a military family member. “I enjoy looking at everybody else’s work. It inspires me and motivates me to get out and get more interesting, different shots.”

What does Walker enjoy most about photography?

“Just being able to capture what I see through my eyes, my heart and my head,” she said. “A lot of it comes out through your emotion. It’s another form of art.”

Pugh, of Clarksville, Tenn., took first place in the Division II digital darkroom category with “The Owl,” second in design elements with “Blue Mosque,” and third in nature and landscapes with “Point Lobos.”

Pugh shot the high-tech looking photo of “The Owl” at Land Between The Lakes, a national recreation area located south of Paducah, Ky., and embellished it in Photoshop, as he did with “Blue Mosque,” a shot of the roof of a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

“I like this contest,” said Pugh, 65, who photographed winning entries in each of the past three years after serving 30 years in the Army. “It gives people a chance to show off something they did, which is great.”

Piedro, 31, an Army recruiter in Douglasville, Ga., is a former combat photographer. His “9” earned first-place honors in the Division I design elements category. He took third place in digital darkroom with a self-portrait called “Beast within Me” that would make a dandy Halloween poster.

“I got the idea when I was in the gym working out with my partner and a couple people came up to us and said: ‘You guys are lifting like beasts.’ The idea just popped into my head, so I got home, took the shot, and just started editing,” Piedro said. “That’s where that photo came from.”

The subject of the photo looks like a cross between a werewolf, a vampire and an Avatar, complete with fangs, dagger-like fingernails and alien ears – seemingly howling at the moon that looms behind a naked tree.

“The fangs, the ears, the eyes and the hands are all Photoshopped,” Piedro said. “And the stomach that’s concaved a little bit, that was done in Photoshop. For the background, I took certain parts of images from other photos, adjusted them, and made everything into one image.”

So what’s real?

“The body, and the face,” Piedro replied. “That’s it.

“If you look closely, the eyes are actually black and the pupils are red, so that’s been Photoshopped.”

Piedro, however, does not think of himself as a Photoshop expert.

“I actually don’t do too much Photoshop,” he said. “I try to keep my images as pure as possible. But every now and then, I get my creative side and I do a little bit of Photoshop – just trial and error, playing around.”

Piedro won two categories and received an honorable mention in the 2007 Army Photography Contest but missed the competition the past two years.

“I think it’s a great, great program,” he said. “It’s a great way to get the creative process of people that do see the world and travel the world by being in the military, and not even just as Soldiers, but supporting staff, civilians, wives.

“It’s a great way to get recognition for something that we love to do.”

As is often the case with photography, Piedro did not know exactly what he shot that day in the stairwell to the gardens at Heidelberg Castle – until he downloaded the photo.

“When I got home and I looked at, I was like: ‘That’s 9, yeah.’ And that’s where the title came from.”

Piedro cherishes photography’s uncanny ability of giving him the opportunity of “freezing a moment in time that only I can see and sharing that with others.”

Several other military photographers earned multiple places in the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest.

Holly Swegle of Fort Hood, Texas, took first place in Division II monochrome for “Dress Shop,” second in animals for “Painted Birds” and third in people for “American Woman.”

Lt. Col. Mark Bonica of Fort Sam Houston, Texas, took second in Division I still life with “Reflections in Soap,” third in monochrome with “… and We All Fall Down” and received an honorable mention in military life with “Free Gift When You Join Today.”

Staff Sgt. Brandon Quarterman of Fort Bliss, Texas, won the Division I popular vote contest for “Reaching Perfection,” which topped the still life category.


SIDEBAR:

Here are the results of the top three finishers in each category with photographer’s rank, name, installation and photo title:

2010 Army Digital Photo Contest
Division I

Animals – 1. Pfc. Amber Smith, Yongsan, Korea, What’s for Dinner; 2. Staff Sgt. Wilberto Sierra, Fort Bliss, Texas, Dragonfly; 3. Staff Sgt. Robert Curtis, Vicenza, Italy, Tough Love.

Digital darkroom – 1. Spc. Thomas Mort, Fort Knox, Ky., Over the Top; 2. Sgt. Shawn Cassatt, Yongsan, Korea, On the Range; 3. Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, Fort McPherson, Ga., Beast within Me.

Design elements – 1. Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, Fort McPherson, Ga., 9; 2. 2nd Lt. Thomas Malejko, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Arch Elements; 3. Lt. Col. David Tygart, Stuttgart, Germany, Sunset Under Glass.

Mililtary life – 1. Sgt. Darlene Martinez, Fort Drum, N.Y., The Sacrifices We Make; 2. Staff Sgt. Joey Suggs, Fort Meade, Md., Dental Care; 3. Sgt. Shawn Cassatt, Yongsan, Korea, Remember Me.

Monochrome – 1. Sgt. 1st Class Lance Widner, Mannheim, Germany, Great Grandmother; 2. Col. John Powers, Camp Zama, Japan, Calm Morning at Mount Fuji; 3. Lt. Col. Mark Bonica, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, … and We All Fall Down.

Nature & landscapes – 1. 1st Lt. Christopher Snell, (unknown location), Sunset Swim; 2. Spc. Juan-Pablo Marin, Fort Benning, Ga., Moon Set; 3. Spc. Jenny Lu, Hohenfels, Germany, Hong Kong at Night.

People – 1. Capt. David Callender, (unknown location), Anna’s Dream; 2. Lt. Col. David Tygart, Stuttgart, Germany, Eval Fairy; 3. Col. Joseph Mancy, Stuttgart, Germany, Eyes that Speak.

Still life – 1. Staff Sgt. Brandon Quarterman, Fort Bliss, Texas, Reaching Perfection; 2. Lt. Col. Mark Bonica, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Reflections in Soap; 3. Warrant Officer Larry Olson, Wiesbaden, Germany, Sunflower in Contrast.

Division II

Animals – 1. Susan Doran, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., Defiance; 2. Holley Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, Painted Birds; 3. Eric Armstrong, Camp Zama, Japan, Man O’ War.

Digital darkroom – 1. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., The Owl; 2. Stephen Cullum, Stuttgart, Germany, Volksfest FDR; 3. Gary Cashman, Yongsan, Korea, BMX Composite.

Design elements – 1. Robert LaPolice, Selfridge, Mich., Just Riveting; 2. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., Blue Mosque; 3. James Holbrook, Stuttgart, Germany, What do I call this.

Military life – 1. Nell Williams, Fort Stewart, Ga., My Dad, My Hero; 2. Rebecca Colburn, Fort Carson, Colo., The Test Drive; 3. Ann Marie Detavernier, Baumholder, Germany, The Love Letter.

Monochrome – 1. Holly Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, Dress Shop; 2. Barbara Underwood, Fort Lee, Va., Light and Shadows; 3. Jeffrey Kline, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Texas Snow.

Nature & landscapes – 1. Brenda Walker, Fort Campbell, Ky., Morning Serenity; 2. Mylan Dawson, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Ash Clouds over Holland; 3. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., Point Lobos.

People – 1. Sherry Keene Hobbs, Garmisch, Germany, Belly Dancer; 2. Eugenia Whittenburg, Fort Shafter, Hawaii, Happy Beach Feet; 3. Holly Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, American Woman.

Still life – 1. Mylan Dawson, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Green Tomato; 2. Michael Slone, Fort Meade, Md., Morning Coffee; 3. Frank Leon, Fort Knox, Ky., The faucet chronicles.

Connect with us:
www.Facebook.com/FamilyMWR
www.Twitter.com/FamilyMWR
www.YouTube.com/FamilyMWR

ks 110321

"Smile" [Day 1/7]

Image by Bekah Stargazing
Hello once again, 7 Days! I'm excited to have the project start up again. When am I ever not excited for it? Hah.

I very rarely put full-body pictures of myself online. I'm very self-conscious about what people might say about my weight, and I try to spare myself the misery by just not showing myself from head-to-toe anywhere that I don't have to (like, the Internet).

I AM trying to lose weight at the moment, as I'm back up to almost my heaviest weight ever, from a few years ago. I'm going for walks every day, eating healthier foods, etc. Charlie's been helping motivate me and help me keep on track, since he knows I personally don't like being this heavy, and it's starting to affect my health.

We walk about a mile each day--that's around 1.61 km for those of you not in the USA--and we're working on increasing that number to even bigger, so I can be healthier.

Anyway. We were on our walk today and I spotted this little bit of graffiti on the concrete blocky thing on side of the path (it separates the esplanade rec. path from the river), as you can see here. I thought it'd be a cool word to pose with. So I set up the camera on the bench across the path, tested out a few shots with Charlie as the stand-in for me so I could try to get the focus right, and the exposure right-ish.

I say "right-ish" since I ended up editing this with Photoshop to mess with the levels and correct for the slant (I didn't have a tripod with me, so I had to set the camera up resting on top of my camera bag, which was on top of the bench, which gave the photo a big ol' slant before I edited it--THANK YOU DEAR LORD, FOR THE PHOTOSHOP RULER TOOL).

It was a pretty nice day, except for Charlie's phone breaking after it fell out of his pocket while he was climbing a tree (technology really sucks for us most of the time). It was actually warmer today (ON THE FIRST DAY OF AUTUMN, NO LESS!) than it was yesterday (the last day of summer) and the week prior. I really like the cool weather, though. I am TOTALLY over summer right now.

We're heading out for a free/donation concert downtown now, soooo I gotta hurry this up. Hehe.

Cool Photo Contest images

Check out these photo contest images:

2010 Team Power Smart photo contest runner up

Image by BC Hydro
“Cloth diapers make my life green.” Photo by Mike Caputo of Kamloops, B.C.

2010 Team Power Smart photo contest runner up.

More on the “My favourite green thing” contest.

HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CONTEST

Check out these photo contest images:

HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CONTEST

Image by Free Flower
Halloween pumpkin contest in bloor west village draws a wonderful little crowd of costume kids from the neighbourhood.
They have been doing this conetest for years and everyone must vote for their favorite pumpkin before getting a treat.
The skull on top was a favorite!
Also the black raven was a favorite.

When i grow up!

Image by rubyblossom.
For Photoshop Contest #250~
www.flickr.com/groups/photoshopcontest/discuss/7215762344...

Foal Snip~ my own~
www.flickr.com/photos/rubyblossom/4361452739/

Little boy~ redvisualq~
www.sxc.hu/photo/1027468

Frame~ Suzee Que~
www.flickr.com/photos/suzee_que/

Texture~ Skeletal Mess~
www.flickr.com/photos/skeletalmess/3668428864/in/set-7215...

#186~365 Photo Manipulations Project~
www.flickr.com/groups/365pmp/pool/

Sweet 16

Image by Shavar Ross
16 past winners from our weekly photo contest at our 200 Views Group. Be sure to join our group and enter the contest today!

Note: Photo must have a least 200 views to enter. See other contest and group rules at:
www.flickr.com/groups/200views

Week: 1. Phantom, 2. Professor Taggart IV, 3. Oasis, 4. YEAH Baby !, 5. about to be popped..., 6. You are beautiful the way you are, 7. reflecting on life, 8. Fall leaves 2, 9. On my way..., 10. Simplicity, 11. Big hug, 12. behind the LOVE, 13. Friedhof, 14. Staircase, 15. Landing Sequence, 16. Innocence


Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

A few nice photo editing online images I found:

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

Image by familymwr
PHOTO CAPTION: Awarded 1st Place What's for Dinner by PFC AMBER SMITH - Division 1 Active Duty Military

www.Facebook.com/FamilyMWR

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

By Tim Hipps
FMWRC Public Affairs

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Brenda Walker strolled upon “one of those right places at the right time” alongside East Fork Indian Creek River when she photographed “Morning Serenity” on Fort Campbell, Ky…

Retired Col. Richard Pugh shot three photographs of “Point Lobos,” just south of Monterey, Calif., and combined them into one image by working 15 minutes with Photoshop…

Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra won a footrace with his wife to the bottom of a stairwell at Heidelberg Castle in Germany just before he looked up and photographed “9”…

…all three were winners in the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest sponsored by the Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command.

There were 3,691 entries from around the world – 1,348 in Division I for active duty military personnel and 2,343 in Division II for other eligible MWR patrons. After Army garrisons selected their best entries, 664 Division I and 1,031 Division II photographs were forwarded for Department of the Army judging.

“There were many really excellent photos, which made the judges’ decisions a difficult task,” said Linda Ezernieks, who monitors the annual contest at Army MWR Headquarters in Alexandria. “Originality, creativity and technical quality were the main criteria in making final selections.”

Winners in each category – animals, digital darkroom, design elements, military life, monochrome, nature & landscapes, people, and still life – were posted on a website where Army Knowledge Online account-holders voted for their favorite photo in each division.

Walker’s “Morning Serenity” took first place in the nature and landscapes category and was voted the most popular photograph in Division II.

The subject of the photo is a fisherman wading and casting in the middle of East Fork Indian Creek River while the sun shines through the lush, green trees and casts a rainbow-like appearance off the steam hovering above the stream.

“It’s back on Fort Campbell,” Walker said. “I take my dog running back there early morning. It was really hot and the steam was rising and the rays were going through the trees. It was absolutely beautiful back there.

“I take my camera everywhere I go now.”

Walker left her business card on the windshield of a truck parked nearby and later learned the fisherman was Sgt. Randy Shorter of Fort Campbell.

About five years ago, Walker took some of her photographs to the MWR Custom Framing Shop at Fort Campbell, where she found out about the Army Photography Contest. She has produced prize-winning photos for the past three contests.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to get exposure, plus cash prizes,” said Walker, 48, a military family member. “I enjoy looking at everybody else’s work. It inspires me and motivates me to get out and get more interesting, different shots.”

What does Walker enjoy most about photography?

“Just being able to capture what I see through my eyes, my heart and my head,” she said. “A lot of it comes out through your emotion. It’s another form of art.”

Pugh, of Clarksville, Tenn., took first place in the Division II digital darkroom category with “The Owl,” second in design elements with “Blue Mosque,” and third in nature and landscapes with “Point Lobos.”

Pugh shot the high-tech looking photo of “The Owl” at Land Between The Lakes, a national recreation area located south of Paducah, Ky., and embellished it in Photoshop, as he did with “Blue Mosque,” a shot of the roof of a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

“I like this contest,” said Pugh, 65, who photographed winning entries in each of the past three years after serving 30 years in the Army. “It gives people a chance to show off something they did, which is great.”

Piedro, 31, an Army recruiter in Douglasville, Ga., is a former combat photographer. His “9” earned first-place honors in the Division I design elements category. He took third place in digital darkroom with a self-portrait called “Beast within Me” that would make a dandy Halloween poster.

“I got the idea when I was in the gym working out with my partner and a couple people came up to us and said: ‘You guys are lifting like beasts.’ The idea just popped into my head, so I got home, took the shot, and just started editing,” Piedro said. “That’s where that photo came from.”

The subject of the photo looks like a cross between a werewolf, a vampire and an Avatar, complete with fangs, dagger-like fingernails and alien ears – seemingly howling at the moon that looms behind a naked tree.

“The fangs, the ears, the eyes and the hands are all Photoshopped,” Piedro said. “And the stomach that’s concaved a little bit, that was done in Photoshop. For the background, I took certain parts of images from other photos, adjusted them, and made everything into one image.”

So what’s real?

“The body, and the face,” Piedro replied. “That’s it.

“If you look closely, the eyes are actually black and the pupils are red, so that’s been Photoshopped.”

Piedro, however, does not think of himself as a Photoshop expert.

“I actually don’t do too much Photoshop,” he said. “I try to keep my images as pure as possible. But every now and then, I get my creative side and I do a little bit of Photoshop – just trial and error, playing around.”

Piedro won two categories and received an honorable mention in the 2007 Army Photography Contest but missed the competition the past two years.

“I think it’s a great, great program,” he said. “It’s a great way to get the creative process of people that do see the world and travel the world by being in the military, and not even just as Soldiers, but supporting staff, civilians, wives.

“It’s a great way to get recognition for something that we love to do.”

As is often the case with photography, Piedro did not know exactly what he shot that day in the stairwell to the gardens at Heidelberg Castle – until he downloaded the photo.

“When I got home and I looked at, I was like: ‘That’s 9, yeah.’ And that’s where the title came from.”

Piedro cherishes photography’s uncanny ability of giving him the opportunity of “freezing a moment in time that only I can see and sharing that with others.”

Several other military photographers earned multiple places in the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest.

Holly Swegle of Fort Hood, Texas, took first place in Division II monochrome for “Dress Shop,” second in animals for “Painted Birds” and third in people for “American Woman.”

Lt. Col. Mark Bonica of Fort Sam Houston, Texas, took second in Division I still life with “Reflections in Soap,” third in monochrome with “… and We All Fall Down” and received an honorable mention in military life with “Free Gift When You Join Today.”

Staff Sgt. Brandon Quarterman of Fort Bliss, Texas, won the Division I popular vote contest for “Reaching Perfection,” which topped the still life category.


SIDEBAR:

Here are the results of the top three finishers in each category with photographer’s rank, name, installation and photo title:

2010 Army Digital Photo Contest
Division I

Animals – 1. Pfc. Amber Smith, Yongsan, Korea, What’s for Dinner; 2. Staff Sgt. Wilberto Sierra, Fort Bliss, Texas, Dragonfly; 3. Staff Sgt. Robert Curtis, Vicenza, Italy, Tough Love.

Digital darkroom – 1. Spc. Thomas Mort, Fort Knox, Ky., Over the Top; 2. Sgt. Shawn Cassatt, Yongsan, Korea, On the Range; 3. Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, Fort McPherson, Ga., Beast within Me.

Design elements – 1. Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, Fort McPherson, Ga., 9; 2. 2nd Lt. Thomas Malejko, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Arch Elements; 3. Lt. Col. David Tygart, Stuttgart, Germany, Sunset Under Glass.

Mililtary life – 1. Sgt. Darlene Martinez, Fort Drum, N.Y., The Sacrifices We Make; 2. Staff Sgt. Joey Suggs, Fort Meade, Md., Dental Care; 3. Sgt. Shawn Cassatt, Yongsan, Korea, Remember Me.

Monochrome – 1. Sgt. 1st Class Lance Widner, Mannheim, Germany, Great Grandmother; 2. Col. John Powers, Camp Zama, Japan, Calm Morning at Mount Fuji; 3. Lt. Col. Mark Bonica, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, … and We All Fall Down.

Nature & landscapes – 1. 1st Lt. Christopher Snell, (unknown location), Sunset Swim; 2. Spc. Juan-Pablo Marin, Fort Benning, Ga., Moon Set; 3. Spc. Jenny Lu, Hohenfels, Germany, Hong Kong at Night.

People – 1. Capt. David Callender, (unknown location), Anna’s Dream; 2. Lt. Col. David Tygart, Stuttgart, Germany, Eval Fairy; 3. Col. Joseph Mancy, Stuttgart, Germany, Eyes that Speak.

Still life – 1. Staff Sgt. Brandon Quarterman, Fort Bliss, Texas, Reaching Perfection; 2. Lt. Col. Mark Bonica, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Reflections in Soap; 3. Warrant Officer Larry Olson, Wiesbaden, Germany, Sunflower in Contrast.

Division II

Animals – 1. Susan Doran, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., Defiance; 2. Holley Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, Painted Birds; 3. Eric Armstrong, Camp Zama, Japan, Man O’ War.

Digital darkroom – 1. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., The Owl; 2. Stephen Cullum, Stuttgart, Germany, Volksfest FDR; 3. Gary Cashman, Yongsan, Korea, BMX Composite.

Design elements – 1. Robert LaPolice, Selfridge, Mich., Just Riveting; 2. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., Blue Mosque; 3. James Holbrook, Stuttgart, Germany, What do I call this.

Military life – 1. Nell Williams, Fort Stewart, Ga., My Dad, My Hero; 2. Rebecca Colburn, Fort Carson, Colo., The Test Drive; 3. Ann Marie Detavernier, Baumholder, Germany, The Love Letter.

Monochrome – 1. Holly Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, Dress Shop; 2. Barbara Underwood, Fort Lee, Va., Light and Shadows; 3. Jeffrey Kline, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Texas Snow.

Nature & landscapes – 1. Brenda Walker, Fort Campbell, Ky., Morning Serenity; 2. Mylan Dawson, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Ash Clouds over Holland; 3. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., Point Lobos.

People – 1. Sherry Keene Hobbs, Garmisch, Germany, Belly Dancer; 2. Eugenia Whittenburg, Fort Shafter, Hawaii, Happy Beach Feet; 3. Holly Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, American Woman.

Still life – 1. Mylan Dawson, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Green Tomato; 2. Michael Slone, Fort Meade, Md., Morning Coffee; 3. Frank Leon, Fort Knox, Ky., The faucet chronicles.

Connect with us:
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www.Twitter.com/FamilyMWR
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ks 110321

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

Image by familymwr
PHOTO CAPTION: Awarded 3rd Place Man O' War by DOD EMP ERIC ARMSTRONG - Division 2 Other Eligible Patron

www.Facebook.com/FamilyMWR

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

By Tim Hipps
FMWRC Public Affairs

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Brenda Walker strolled upon “one of those right places at the right time” alongside East Fork Indian Creek River when she photographed “Morning Serenity” on Fort Campbell, Ky…

Retired Col. Richard Pugh shot three photographs of “Point Lobos,” just south of Monterey, Calif., and combined them into one image by working 15 minutes with Photoshop…

Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra won a footrace with his wife to the bottom of a stairwell at Heidelberg Castle in Germany just before he looked up and photographed “9”…

…all three were winners in the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest sponsored by the Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command.

There were 3,691 entries from around the world – 1,348 in Division I for active duty military personnel and 2,343 in Division II for other eligible MWR patrons. After Army garrisons selected their best entries, 664 Division I and 1,031 Division II photographs were forwarded for Department of the Army judging.

“There were many really excellent photos, which made the judges’ decisions a difficult task,” said Linda Ezernieks, who monitors the annual contest at Army MWR Headquarters in Alexandria. “Originality, creativity and technical quality were the main criteria in making final selections.”

Winners in each category – animals, digital darkroom, design elements, military life, monochrome, nature & landscapes, people, and still life – were posted on a website where Army Knowledge Online account-holders voted for their favorite photo in each division.

Walker’s “Morning Serenity” took first place in the nature and landscapes category and was voted the most popular photograph in Division II.

The subject of the photo is a fisherman wading and casting in the middle of East Fork Indian Creek River while the sun shines through the lush, green trees and casts a rainbow-like appearance off the steam hovering above the stream.

“It’s back on Fort Campbell,” Walker said. “I take my dog running back there early morning. It was really hot and the steam was rising and the rays were going through the trees. It was absolutely beautiful back there.

“I take my camera everywhere I go now.”

Walker left her business card on the windshield of a truck parked nearby and later learned the fisherman was Sgt. Randy Shorter of Fort Campbell.

About five years ago, Walker took some of her photographs to the MWR Custom Framing Shop at Fort Campbell, where she found out about the Army Photography Contest. She has produced prize-winning photos for the past three contests.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to get exposure, plus cash prizes,” said Walker, 48, a military family member. “I enjoy looking at everybody else’s work. It inspires me and motivates me to get out and get more interesting, different shots.”

What does Walker enjoy most about photography?

“Just being able to capture what I see through my eyes, my heart and my head,” she said. “A lot of it comes out through your emotion. It’s another form of art.”

Pugh, of Clarksville, Tenn., took first place in the Division II digital darkroom category with “The Owl,” second in design elements with “Blue Mosque,” and third in nature and landscapes with “Point Lobos.”

Pugh shot the high-tech looking photo of “The Owl” at Land Between The Lakes, a national recreation area located south of Paducah, Ky., and embellished it in Photoshop, as he did with “Blue Mosque,” a shot of the roof of a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

“I like this contest,” said Pugh, 65, who photographed winning entries in each of the past three years after serving 30 years in the Army. “It gives people a chance to show off something they did, which is great.”

Piedro, 31, an Army recruiter in Douglasville, Ga., is a former combat photographer. His “9” earned first-place honors in the Division I design elements category. He took third place in digital darkroom with a self-portrait called “Beast within Me” that would make a dandy Halloween poster.

“I got the idea when I was in the gym working out with my partner and a couple people came up to us and said: ‘You guys are lifting like beasts.’ The idea just popped into my head, so I got home, took the shot, and just started editing,” Piedro said. “That’s where that photo came from.”

The subject of the photo looks like a cross between a werewolf, a vampire and an Avatar, complete with fangs, dagger-like fingernails and alien ears – seemingly howling at the moon that looms behind a naked tree.

“The fangs, the ears, the eyes and the hands are all Photoshopped,” Piedro said. “And the stomach that’s concaved a little bit, that was done in Photoshop. For the background, I took certain parts of images from other photos, adjusted them, and made everything into one image.”

So what’s real?

“The body, and the face,” Piedro replied. “That’s it.

“If you look closely, the eyes are actually black and the pupils are red, so that’s been Photoshopped.”

Piedro, however, does not think of himself as a Photoshop expert.

“I actually don’t do too much Photoshop,” he said. “I try to keep my images as pure as possible. But every now and then, I get my creative side and I do a little bit of Photoshop – just trial and error, playing around.”

Piedro won two categories and received an honorable mention in the 2007 Army Photography Contest but missed the competition the past two years.

“I think it’s a great, great program,” he said. “It’s a great way to get the creative process of people that do see the world and travel the world by being in the military, and not even just as Soldiers, but supporting staff, civilians, wives.

“It’s a great way to get recognition for something that we love to do.”

As is often the case with photography, Piedro did not know exactly what he shot that day in the stairwell to the gardens at Heidelberg Castle – until he downloaded the photo.

“When I got home and I looked at, I was like: ‘That’s 9, yeah.’ And that’s where the title came from.”

Piedro cherishes photography’s uncanny ability of giving him the opportunity of “freezing a moment in time that only I can see and sharing that with others.”

Several other military photographers earned multiple places in the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest.

Holly Swegle of Fort Hood, Texas, took first place in Division II monochrome for “Dress Shop,” second in animals for “Painted Birds” and third in people for “American Woman.”

Lt. Col. Mark Bonica of Fort Sam Houston, Texas, took second in Division I still life with “Reflections in Soap,” third in monochrome with “… and We All Fall Down” and received an honorable mention in military life with “Free Gift When You Join Today.”

Staff Sgt. Brandon Quarterman of Fort Bliss, Texas, won the Division I popular vote contest for “Reaching Perfection,” which topped the still life category.

SIDEBAR:

Here are the results of the top three finishers in each category with photographer’s rank, name, installation and photo title:

2010 Army Digital Photo Contest
Division I

Animals – 1. Pfc. Amber Smith, Yongsan, Korea, What’s for Dinner; 2. Staff Sgt. Wilberto Sierra, Fort Bliss, Texas, Dragonfly; 3. Staff Sgt. Robert Curtis, Vicenza, Italy, Tough Love.

Digital darkroom – 1. Spc. Thomas Mort, Fort Knox, Ky., Over the Top; 2. Sgt. Shawn Cassatt, Yongsan, Korea, On the Range; 3. Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, Fort McPherson, Ga., Beast within Me.

Design elements – 1. Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, Fort McPherson, Ga., 9; 2. 2nd Lt. Thomas Malejko, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Arch Elements; 3. Lt. Col. David Tygart, Stuttgart, Germany, Sunset Under Glass.

Mililtary life – 1. Sgt. Darlene Martinez, Fort Drum, N.Y., The Sacrifices We Make; 2. Staff Sgt. Joey Suggs, Fort Meade, Md., Dental Care; 3. Sgt. Shawn Cassatt, Yongsan, Korea, Remember Me.

Monochrome – 1. Sgt. 1st Class Lance Widner, Mannheim, Germany, Great Grandmother; 2. Col. John Powers, Camp Zama, Japan, Calm Morning at Mount Fuji; 3. Lt. Col. Mark Bonica, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, … and We All Fall Down.

Nature & landscapes – 1. 1st Lt. Christopher Snell, (unknown location), Sunset Swim; 2. Spc. Juan-Pablo Marin, Fort Benning, Ga., Moon Set; 3. Spc. Jenny Lu, Hohenfels, Germany, Hong Kong at Night.

People – 1. Capt. David Callender, (unknown location), Anna’s Dream; 2. Lt. Col. David Tygart, Stuttgart, Germany, Eval Fairy; 3. Col. Joseph Mancy, Stuttgart, Germany, Eyes that Speak.

Still life – 1. Staff Sgt. Brandon Quarterman, Fort Bliss, Texas, Reaching Perfection; 2. Lt. Col. Mark Bonica, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Reflections in Soap; 3. Warrant Officer Larry Olson, Wiesbaden, Germany, Sunflower in Contrast.

Division II

Animals – 1. Susan Doran, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., Defiance; 2. Holley Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, Painted Birds; 3. Eric Armstrong, Camp Zama, Japan, Man O’ War.

Digital darkroom – 1. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., The Owl; 2. Stephen Cullum, Stuttgart, Germany, Volksfest FDR; 3. Gary Cashman, Yongsan, Korea, BMX Composite.

Design elements – 1. Robert LaPolice, Selfridge, Mich., Just Riveting; 2. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., Blue Mosque; 3. James Holbrook, Stuttgart, Germany, What do I call this.

Military life – 1. Nell Williams, Fort Stewart, Ga., My Dad, My Hero; 2. Rebecca Colburn, Fort Carson, Colo., The Test Drive; 3. Ann Marie Detavernier, Baumholder, Germany, The Love Letter.

Monochrome – 1. Holly Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, Dress Shop; 2. Barbara Underwood, Fort Lee, Va., Light and Shadows; 3. Jeffrey Kline, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Texas Snow.

Nature & landscapes – 1. Brenda Walker, Fort Campbell, Ky., Morning Serenity; 2. Mylan Dawson, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Ash Clouds over Holland; 3. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., Point Lobos.

People – 1. Sherry Keene Hobbs, Garmisch, Germany, Belly Dancer; 2. Eugenia Whittenburg, Fort Shafter, Hawaii, Happy Beach Feet; 3. Holly Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, American Woman.

Still life – 1. Mylan Dawson, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Green Tomato; 2. Michael Slone, Fort Meade, Md., Morning Coffee; 3. Frank Leon, Fort Knox, Ky., The faucet chronicles.

Connect with us:
www.Facebook.com/FamilyMWR
www.Twitter.com/FamilyMWR
www.YouTube.com/FamilyMWR

ks 110321

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

Image by familymwr
PHOTO CAPTION: Awarded Honorable Mention Garden Angel by MIL FM ELIZABETH DEJESUS CINTRON - Division 2 Other Eligible Patron

www.Facebook.com/FamilyMWR

Photographers expand horizons in 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest 110311

By Tim Hipps
FMWRC Public Affairs

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Brenda Walker strolled upon “one of those right places at the right time” alongside East Fork Indian Creek River when she photographed “Morning Serenity” on Fort Campbell, Ky…

Retired Col. Richard Pugh shot three photographs of “Point Lobos,” just south of Monterey, Calif., and combined them into one image by working 15 minutes with Photoshop…

Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra won a footrace with his wife to the bottom of a stairwell at Heidelberg Castle in Germany just before he looked up and photographed “9”…

…all three were winners in the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest sponsored by the Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command.

There were 3,691 entries from around the world – 1,348 in Division I for active duty military personnel and 2,343 in Division II for other eligible MWR patrons. After Army garrisons selected their best entries, 664 Division I and 1,031 Division II photographs were forwarded for Department of the Army judging.

“There were many really excellent photos, which made the judges’ decisions a difficult task,” said Linda Ezernieks, who monitors the annual contest at Army MWR Headquarters in Alexandria. “Originality, creativity and technical quality were the main criteria in making final selections.”

Winners in each category – animals, digital darkroom, design elements, military life, monochrome, nature & landscapes, people, and still life – were posted on a website where Army Knowledge Online account-holders voted for their favorite photo in each division.

Walker’s “Morning Serenity” took first place in the nature and landscapes category and was voted the most popular photograph in Division II.

The subject of the photo is a fisherman wading and casting in the middle of East Fork Indian Creek River while the sun shines through the lush, green trees and casts a rainbow-like appearance off the steam hovering above the stream.

“It’s back on Fort Campbell,” Walker said. “I take my dog running back there early morning. It was really hot and the steam was rising and the rays were going through the trees. It was absolutely beautiful back there.

“I take my camera everywhere I go now.”

Walker left her business card on the windshield of a truck parked nearby and later learned the fisherman was Sgt. Randy Shorter of Fort Campbell.

About five years ago, Walker took some of her photographs to the MWR Custom Framing Shop at Fort Campbell, where she found out about the Army Photography Contest. She has produced prize-winning photos for the past three contests.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to get exposure, plus cash prizes,” said Walker, 48, a military family member. “I enjoy looking at everybody else’s work. It inspires me and motivates me to get out and get more interesting, different shots.”

What does Walker enjoy most about photography?

“Just being able to capture what I see through my eyes, my heart and my head,” she said. “A lot of it comes out through your emotion. It’s another form of art.”

Pugh, of Clarksville, Tenn., took first place in the Division II digital darkroom category with “The Owl,” second in design elements with “Blue Mosque,” and third in nature and landscapes with “Point Lobos.”

Pugh shot the high-tech looking photo of “The Owl” at Land Between The Lakes, a national recreation area located south of Paducah, Ky., and embellished it in Photoshop, as he did with “Blue Mosque,” a shot of the roof of a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

“I like this contest,” said Pugh, 65, who photographed winning entries in each of the past three years after serving 30 years in the Army. “It gives people a chance to show off something they did, which is great.”

Piedro, 31, an Army recruiter in Douglasville, Ga., is a former combat photographer. His “9” earned first-place honors in the Division I design elements category. He took third place in digital darkroom with a self-portrait called “Beast within Me” that would make a dandy Halloween poster.

“I got the idea when I was in the gym working out with my partner and a couple people came up to us and said: ‘You guys are lifting like beasts.’ The idea just popped into my head, so I got home, took the shot, and just started editing,” Piedro said. “That’s where that photo came from.”

The subject of the photo looks like a cross between a werewolf, a vampire and an Avatar, complete with fangs, dagger-like fingernails and alien ears – seemingly howling at the moon that looms behind a naked tree.

“The fangs, the ears, the eyes and the hands are all Photoshopped,” Piedro said. “And the stomach that’s concaved a little bit, that was done in Photoshop. For the background, I took certain parts of images from other photos, adjusted them, and made everything into one image.”

So what’s real?

“The body, and the face,” Piedro replied. “That’s it.

“If you look closely, the eyes are actually black and the pupils are red, so that’s been Photoshopped.”

Piedro, however, does not think of himself as a Photoshop expert.

“I actually don’t do too much Photoshop,” he said. “I try to keep my images as pure as possible. But every now and then, I get my creative side and I do a little bit of Photoshop – just trial and error, playing around.”

Piedro won two categories and received an honorable mention in the 2007 Army Photography Contest but missed the competition the past two years.

“I think it’s a great, great program,” he said. “It’s a great way to get the creative process of people that do see the world and travel the world by being in the military, and not even just as Soldiers, but supporting staff, civilians, wives.

“It’s a great way to get recognition for something that we love to do.”

As is often the case with photography, Piedro did not know exactly what he shot that day in the stairwell to the gardens at Heidelberg Castle – until he downloaded the photo.

“When I got home and I looked at, I was like: ‘That’s 9, yeah.’ And that’s where the title came from.”

Piedro cherishes photography’s uncanny ability of giving him the opportunity of “freezing a moment in time that only I can see and sharing that with others.”

Several other military photographers earned multiple places in the 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest.

Holly Swegle of Fort Hood, Texas, took first place in Division II monochrome for “Dress Shop,” second in animals for “Painted Birds” and third in people for “American Woman.”

Lt. Col. Mark Bonica of Fort Sam Houston, Texas, took second in Division I still life with “Reflections in Soap,” third in monochrome with “… and We All Fall Down” and received an honorable mention in military life with “Free Gift When You Join Today.”

Staff Sgt. Brandon Quarterman of Fort Bliss, Texas, won the Division I popular vote contest for “Reaching Perfection,” which topped the still life category.

SIDEBAR:

Here are the results of the top three finishers in each category with photographer’s rank, name, installation and photo title:

2010 Army Digital Photo Contest
Division I

Animals – 1. Pfc. Amber Smith, Yongsan, Korea, What’s for Dinner; 2. Staff Sgt. Wilberto Sierra, Fort Bliss, Texas, Dragonfly; 3. Staff Sgt. Robert Curtis, Vicenza, Italy, Tough Love.

Digital darkroom – 1. Spc. Thomas Mort, Fort Knox, Ky., Over the Top; 2. Sgt. Shawn Cassatt, Yongsan, Korea, On the Range; 3. Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, Fort McPherson, Ga., Beast within Me.

Design elements – 1. Staff Sgt. Pablo Piedra, Fort McPherson, Ga., 9; 2. 2nd Lt. Thomas Malejko, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Arch Elements; 3. Lt. Col. David Tygart, Stuttgart, Germany, Sunset Under Glass.

Mililtary life – 1. Sgt. Darlene Martinez, Fort Drum, N.Y., The Sacrifices We Make; 2. Staff Sgt. Joey Suggs, Fort Meade, Md., Dental Care; 3. Sgt. Shawn Cassatt, Yongsan, Korea, Remember Me.

Monochrome – 1. Sgt. 1st Class Lance Widner, Mannheim, Germany, Great Grandmother; 2. Col. John Powers, Camp Zama, Japan, Calm Morning at Mount Fuji; 3. Lt. Col. Mark Bonica, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, … and We All Fall Down.

Nature & landscapes – 1. 1st Lt. Christopher Snell, (unknown location), Sunset Swim; 2. Spc. Juan-Pablo Marin, Fort Benning, Ga., Moon Set; 3. Spc. Jenny Lu, Hohenfels, Germany, Hong Kong at Night.

People – 1. Capt. David Callender, (unknown location), Anna’s Dream; 2. Lt. Col. David Tygart, Stuttgart, Germany, Eval Fairy; 3. Col. Joseph Mancy, Stuttgart, Germany, Eyes that Speak.

Still life – 1. Staff Sgt. Brandon Quarterman, Fort Bliss, Texas, Reaching Perfection; 2. Lt. Col. Mark Bonica, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Reflections in Soap; 3. Warrant Officer Larry Olson, Wiesbaden, Germany, Sunflower in Contrast.

Division II

Animals – 1. Susan Doran, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., Defiance; 2. Holley Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, Painted Birds; 3. Eric Armstrong, Camp Zama, Japan, Man O’ War.

Digital darkroom – 1. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., The Owl; 2. Stephen Cullum, Stuttgart, Germany, Volksfest FDR; 3. Gary Cashman, Yongsan, Korea, BMX Composite.

Design elements – 1. Robert LaPolice, Selfridge, Mich., Just Riveting; 2. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., Blue Mosque; 3. James Holbrook, Stuttgart, Germany, What do I call this.

Military life – 1. Nell Williams, Fort Stewart, Ga., My Dad, My Hero; 2. Rebecca Colburn, Fort Carson, Colo., The Test Drive; 3. Ann Marie Detavernier, Baumholder, Germany, The Love Letter.

Monochrome – 1. Holly Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, Dress Shop; 2. Barbara Underwood, Fort Lee, Va., Light and Shadows; 3. Jeffrey Kline, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Texas Snow.

Nature & landscapes – 1. Brenda Walker, Fort Campbell, Ky., Morning Serenity; 2. Mylan Dawson, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Ash Clouds over Holland; 3. Col. Richard Pugh, Fort Campbell, Ky., Point Lobos.

People – 1. Sherry Keene Hobbs, Garmisch, Germany, Belly Dancer; 2. Eugenia Whittenburg, Fort Shafter, Hawaii, Happy Beach Feet; 3. Holly Swegle, Fort Hood, Texas, American Woman.

Still life – 1. Mylan Dawson, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Green Tomato; 2. Michael Slone, Fort Meade, Md., Morning Coffee; 3. Frank Leon, Fort Knox, Ky., The faucet chronicles.

Connect with us:
www.Facebook.com/FamilyMWR
www.Twitter.com/FamilyMWR
www.YouTube.com/FamilyMWR

ks 110321