01/31/15
spring and roses

Dream Weaver Spray

Dream Weaver Spray – Queen of Show in Photography at ARS 2014 Fall National

Spray of Rose Dream Weaver

Spray of rose, ‘Dream Weaver.’ Image awarded ‘Queen’ at the ARS Fall 2014 National Convention.

‘Dream Weaver’ is a rose classified as a Climbing Floribunda. It can produce beautiful and large sprays.

This photograph of a Dream Weaver spray won Queen of Show in the Photography portion of the American Rose Society 2014 Fall Convention and Show. In roses, ‘Queen’ is the equivalent of ‘Best in Show.’

Many thanks to the judges for awarding this image. I especially appreciated that the judges in this national show used the Score Card for judging rose photographs developed when I served as the first Chairman of Photography in the Pacific Southwest District. When I began that task in the PSWD, it was clear that some system and uniformity was necessary. To see that used at the national level is very gratifying to me. Much less gratifying is overhearing judges instructions being given at local shows in the Pacific Southwest District where the instructions are one person’s opinion with no reference to the score card. But, that will change when only accredited rose judges are allowed to judge the rose photographs. Change may be slow, but it will happen.

03/8/14

Photography Seminar at ARS Convention

Photography Seminar

A Photography Seminar in two parts – a morning session and an afternoon session – has been organized by Sally Long of the San Diego Rose Society for the upcoming American Rose Society National Convention and Show. This promises to be an exciting day for rosarians interested in photography. Some of you will recall the Photography Seminar Sally Long and I, along with photographer Pat Berrett, presented in Albuquerque in 2012, and the excitement that that seminar generated. That seminar was aimed largely at teaching judges how to use the PSWD Photography Guidelines as they had been developed to that point. (For PSWD Guidelines as developed to 2010, see my article in the 2010 ARS Rose Annual, Lew Shupe, editor.)

The 2014 ARS Photography Seminar will be held on Friday, May 9. This seminar will be aimed toward exhibitors of photography. The morning session begins at 9:00 am and runs until noon, featuring two speakers. Curtis Aumiller, ARS Photography Chairman, will discuss some of the benefits of incorporating rose photography at the local, district, and national levels; some technical aspects of rose photography; and progress towards standardization of guidelines for rose photography in ARS shows. I will be the second speaker of the morning, presenting “Floral Photography 101,” an overview of some of the basics of floral photography, as well as some problem areas I have seen as a judge (arrangement photographs, for example, seem to present exhibitors with a variety of problems. We’ll discuss some of those, and ways to overcome them).

photography seminar

Roses: ‘Candy Cane,’ ‘Golden Showers,’ ‘Moondance,’ ‘Gourmet Popcorn’

The afternoon session, from 1:30 to 4:30, will begin with Bill Farmer discussing white balance, followed by Sally Long discussing macro and close-up photography. After that there will be a variety of break out sessions, from which you may choose those you would find most useful for you. I will have a hour-long session, “From Image in Your Eye to Finished Print,” covering ways to make sure your finished print matches what you photographed and what you saw on your computer screen.

Watch this page for more details as they are posted.

General information for the entire convention can be found here. Registration information can be found at that link, as well. Registration for the overall convention is discounted at least through March 10. The Photography Seminar is $20.00 for the both sessions, or $10.00 for the morning session and $10.00 for the afternoon session.

The Photography Seminar should be both fun and educational, and I hope to see some old friends and make some new ones there.

06/24/12

Rose Photography in the PSWD

One of the things that has taken my time away from this blog was my work in creating and then serving as the first Chair of the Pacific Southwest District of the ARS Rose Photography Committee, from its creation into 2012. I have been photographing roses and teaching about photographing roses. I also maintained a website, blog, and forum for rose photography in the Pacific Southwest District, which took my time away from this blog.

It has been very exciting to see the addition of Photography as a separate division in some of our rose shows. Watching its spread throughout the PSWD shows has been equally exciting. Partially in response to this work, the American Rose Society created a Rose Photography Committee in August of 2011. I am one of the initial members, and I’ll continue my work with rose photography through that committee. The website, blog, and forum for PSWD Photography are being removed, so that there is not conflict as the ARS Committee gets down to work.

The history of the work in the PSWD from 2008-2012, and the Rose Photography Guidelines produced are here:

History of Rose Photography in the PSWD, 2008-2012

PSWD Photography Guidelines as of June, 2012

rose photography: Spray of hybrid tea rose, 'Gemini'

Spray of hybrid tea rose, ‘Gemini’