Photos of the outside world. DarkSky: Capture the Dark Photo Contest, announcement, has last year’s winners. DarkSky: Capture the Dark Photo Contest 2026, contest page. Deadline 30 June.
I am undecided on their conditions, seems broad “perpetual right to use” but it is “non-exclusive … for promotional, educational, and advocacy purposes.” I know what is ideal, but I have no idea what is industry standard. I will probable submit if I get anything interesting. YMMV. DarkSky: Capture the Dark Photo Contest 2026, 6.Rights and ownership.
Disclosure. I have donated to DarkSky International in the past. They make the case that responsible lighting helps everyone.
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Process Notes I
Top photo is a repost. [Shadows On Wood]
A reader (waves hi!) says they couldn’t parse this one. If you look closely, you can see thin black lines running from the top of the photo to the bottom. That’s the floorboards of the porch. The bottom photo shows the railing and chairs on the porch.
Why do the shadows run in two directions? How do they a form slanted grid? I have no idea. I assume it’s from the slats of the railing and the slat of the chairs. Your guess is as good as mine. When I took the photo, I did not stop to analyze the angles. It was more on the order of Pretty! Click. Moving on.
Process Notes II
Top photo is a repost. [Shadows On Wood]
When I planned the previous post, I had two options. One. Post the two shadow pics by themselves. Let them stand alone as art. Two. Post the wider photos that showed the source of the shadows by way of explanation. Then, I could not find the mise-en-scene photo of the spindles, shown here. Had I not taken one? I had the first shadow photo, so a shadow series was certainly an inkling. Did I not want a record of where the photo was taken? That did not sound like me. Whatever the reason, I had only one setting photo. Decision made.
Looking for something else, I saw the missing photo on my phone, which I ought to have checked earlier. During the download to my desktop, the photo had wandered off to hide in another folder. With a question & the second photo, decide to redo the post. Since this is a daily blog, I will seize on slightest excuse to spin out a post.
Decisions, Decisions
Without explanation?
With explanation?
Why not both?
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 