Prints That Win: Golden Arches

Under the royal Alcázar in Seville, Spain, are the Baños de Doña María de Padilla (Baths of Lady María of Padilla). This underground rainwater reserve is a popular tourist attraction, however, on the day that Bill Mills visited, the baths were entirely empty. “That was the beauty of this place …” says Mills, “that no one was there. I had the place to myself, and how often can you say that?”

It was here that he took his Sunset Print Award-winning photo Golden Arches. “You’re not allowed to use tripods in this area, but around this bath was a wall, and so I set my camera there on a two-second delay and shot a couple of different angles,” he says. His image eloquently captures the eerie tranquility of the architecture, earning him this prestigious award.

Prints That Win: In Flight With Twigs

Photographer Uldis Ilvess was on a road trip through South Carolina when he took his Sunset Print Award-winning photograph In Flight with Twigs. “We happened to drive by a small pasture with some private houses, and in between the houses was this fenced in area with a pond, and in the shrubs were these birds nesting there,” says Ilvess. The image of the bird with twigs in its mouth instantly captivated him.

Based in Des Moines, IA, Ilvess has been a photographer since the 1970s. The art form originally started out as a hobby for him before developing into a full career. He taught photography through a local art center, which he says was a mutually beneficial experience.

Prints That Win: Homestead

Veteran Michigan photographer, Kari Douma, has paid many visits to the winner’s circle at print competitions. Ever since her first competition in 2007, she has been capturing numerous show-stopping photographs that catch the judge’s eyes.

Her photograph, “Homestead,” is no exception. She won the Sunset Print Award at the PPA Northeast District in the spring, and was named the third-place winner at the National Sunset Print Awards in November. Coming across the scene captured in “Homestead” happened almost by chance.

An unseasonal spring snow in Montana inspired her to go for a ride in search of the perfect landscape. “We were driving on two track roads out in the middle of nowhere when I saw the scene and captured it,” she says. “I loved it so much that I wanted to come back at sunrise the next morning but I still liked the original one better from the day before.” After some slight editing in Photoshop, “Homestead” was primed to be a winner.

Congrats to the 2016 National Sunset Print Award Winners!

We are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2016 National Sunset Print Awards:

1st  place: Old Faithful by Christie Newell

2nd place: The Boxer by Ben Tanzer

3rd place: Homestead by Kari Douma

Our illustrious judges included jury chairman Carmen Schettino, Canon Explorer of Light Jane Conner Ziser, head of photograhy and digital imaging at Ringling College of Art and Design Thomas Carabasi and Master of Photography Scott Hime.

Top 26: The National Sunset Print Award Contenders

This week, LexJet will be hosting four prestigious judges in our Sarasota, Fla., headquarters for the third annual National Sunset Print Awards competition.

Each year, photographers and image makers compete at their local and regional print competitions where we offer Sunset Print Awards. The prints that win the Sunset award at those events have the opportunity to compete for the national award each November. Past winners have included Tammy Bevins and Kari Douma.

Prints That Win: Morning on Mormon Row

A few quiet days alone in Grand Teton National Park was highly worthwhile for Sunset Print Award winning photographer, Jaki Miller. Although she is no stranger to the beauty of Mormon Row, an early morning sunrise gave her an entirely new perspective.

“I got there about a half hour before it was even light enough to see and before anyone even got there. I just didn’t want to miss it.” She set up her Fuji X-T1 on a tripod and began to capture the simplistic beauty as the sun started to rise.

The early sunlight was breathtaking, turning the mountains shades of pink and purple. Miller, however, wanted the rustic barn to be the star. She converted the picture to black and white using the Nik Silver Efex Pro and allowed the scene’s true beauty to shine through.