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The Winners of SanDisk's 2007 Employee Photo Contest
By DE Staff | Wisdom and Inspiration |
May 1, 2007
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 CLICK HERE TO SEE A GALLERY OF 10 SEMI-FINALISTS' IMAGES
In a recent photo contest that SanDisk held for its employees, they received over 200 beautiful entries from their offices worldwide. Nearly 1000 fellow employees voted and several noted professional photographers helped to choose the winners. Here are the top three winners and ten semi-finalists, as well as the prizes that they were awarded. Congratulations to all from Double Exposure and Photoworkshop.com!
First Place: Offir Gonen
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© Offir Gonen |
“The title of this photo is ‘In Finite Ways,’ and it was taken in Amber, Rajasthan, India. Coming across this amazing staircase wall, and what I discovered is a giant water well, I was instantly reminded of the work of M.C. Escher. I took this photo with this inspiration. As the title suggests, it looks as though the lady has infinite ways to go to choose her paths. But all paths look the same as if they all lead, eventually, to a common end. I think it’s the path that counts.”
Prizes
• Nikon D200 Kit
• SanDisk Extreme III CompactFlash 8GB and Extreme USB 2.0 or FireWire Reader
• SanDisk Ultra II SD Plus 2GB and Ultra II SD Plus Playing Cards
• V-Mate Video Memory Card Recorder
• One-year free membership to Photoworkshop.com
Offir says that he’s been interested in photography for as long as he can remember. “I recall carrying the classic Canon AE1 for years until I could afford a modern camera to work with,” he remarks. Currently, he’s using a Canon EOS 300D. “I used an 18–55mm zoom lens that broke the moment I started my trip to India (where I shot this image). It would only operate at its widest aperture.”
He works as a Senior Manager, User Applications, in SanDisk’s Audio/Video Division. “I’m responsible for composing all elements that define the user experience in our consumer electronic products,” he explains.
Is Offir’s winning entry indicative of his style? “I’m not sure I can define my own style at this point,” he says. “I’m most interested in subjects that represent man and his environment. In that way, I think this photograph qualifies in representing my style. But I usually work with human subjects on more intimate levels, and mostly with wide-angle lens techniques.” Offir adds that he’s interested in documentary photography, “meaning that I’m documenting a story preceded by subject research on an anthropological level.”
As for photographic projects, he comments, “For the past few months, I’ve been working on a documentary on drug addicts dealing with their rehabilitation in a rehab centre. It’s a fascinating subject, and interesting to work with this kid of population with regard to aspects of communication and photography. Telling the story the way that I experience it is much harder work than I had initially expected.”
“For now, photography is a hobby, but it’s become a major part of my daily routine while I continuously strive to improve my style and technique,” Offir concludes.
Second Place: Tuan Pham
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© Tuan Pham |
“This photo was taken in Aruba last year. Every day at sunset, the sun casts its orange light rays over the ocean. And the water just calmly responds with its own million tiny reflected mirrors. The perfect moment came about when a kayaker appears where the rays break up into millions of sparkles. Artistically, the image tends to lead observers into their internal peace. For this contest, the meaning goes beyond that—it reflects a business condition whether calm or stormy. We (represented by the kayaker) strive for our goals and are determined to reach our destination.”
Prizes
• Nikon D80 Kit
• SanDisk Ultra II SDHC 4GB with White MicroMate, Ultra II SD Plus 2GB, and Ultra II SD Plus Playing Cards
• SanDisk Extreme USB 2.0 or FireWire Reader
• V-Mate Video Memory Card Recorder
• One-year free membership to Photoworkshop.com
Tuan recalls that he first loved photography as a small child, and dreamed of having a 35mm camera. “I could never afford to buy one until sometime in 1986, and then I had a Pentax K-1000 camera,” he relates. “I shot a lot of film, but briefly decided to focus on other interests. About two and a half years ago, a SanDisk colleague told me to ‘pick up a good digital SLR, and you’ll never look back.’ I did this, and have been shooting happily ever since.” He currently has a Canon EOS 30D with a few Canon lenses. “I shoot mostly with the SanDisk CF Ultra II card, but I can’t wait to get my hands on those Extreme IV cards. They are smoking fast!”
Tuan works as an engineer at SanDisk, working with silicon, transistors and creating flash memory from scratch. “People have said this is difficult, but I think photography is harder,” he says. “I certainly enjoy them both, though.”
He says that photography is a very important pastime for him. “I believe the memory cards that we at SanDisk produce have revolutionalized this field. I love to shoot pictures and never have to worry about film anymore,” Tuan says. He takes a lot of photos during his travels; “and often, my camera allows me to make friends around the world.” Is his winning photograph indicative of his style? “I’m open to a variety of things,” he responds. “There are unlimited possibilities out there, and I don’t mind exploring.” He enjoys shooting many different subjects ranging from people to nature and animals. “I love them all and want to see what the lens sees.”
Third Place: Mark Hornstra
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© Mark Hornstra |
“I shot this image in Yokohama, Japan, at the new business district called Minato Mirai. While living in Japan, this area has been our primary leisure destination on the weekends. I tried to capture the vibrancy of this location with the bright lights of the buildings—including the tallest building in Japan—as well as the huge Ferris wheel in the amusement park. This part of Yokohama attracts huge crowds day and night, due to its electric atmosphere, bay location, and lots of shopping.”
Prizes
• Canon Rebel XTi Kit
• SanDisk Extreme III CompactFlash 4GB and Extreme USB 2.0 or FireWire Reader
• SanDisk Ultra II SD Plus 2GB and Ultra II SD Plus Playing Cards
• V-Mate Video Memory Card Recorder
• One-year free membership to Photoworkshop.com
Mark started taking photographs and developing film in high school, as part of the newspaper and yearbook staff. “I shot mostly sporting events,” he says, “But I moved on to other activities after graduation, after losing access to a good darkroom.” A career and marriage followed. When Mark’s children went through their school and sports phase, he says, “I took the usual proud-parent pictures, but didn’t get seriously interested again until we moved to Japan. We were planning many trips around Asia during our three-year assignment here, so I wanted to make sure we had great photos to capture our adventure, and I purchased my first digital SLR.”
Currently, he uses a Nikon D50 and several Nikkor lenses. “My main lens is an 18–200mm Nikkor VR (vibration reduction),” he says. “For my landscape photography, I have a 12–18mm zoom. My favorite SanDisk memory card is the Ultra II SD Plus, so I don’t have to worry about taking a card reader on my vacations.” For family events and his casual photography, Mark uses a Canon IXY 700. He adds, “At home, we use a USB 2.0 SD card reader—by SanDisk, of course.”
Mark is the Managing Director of SanDisk Japan. “Basically, I’m responsible for the retail and OEM business in Japan,” he explains. “We have been here for 14 years and have very good relationships with the leading camera and video camera manufacturers. It is very enjoyable to see the team work with these great companies on new products, and ensuring that SanDisk products will work best with them.”
Mark describes his photographic style as “very much under construction!” He enjoys experimenting with aperture and shutter speeds. “I want the people to recognize the scene, but to see it in a different way. I want to capture emotion as well as the lights.” He acknowledges that the technical aspects come easily to him as he learned photography during the days of film, when everything was done manually. “I have to develop more of an eye for good images with interesting compositions, capturing unique angles or spectacular natural lighting.”
Although he doesn’t have the opportunity to travel as often as he’d like, he can easily hop on a train and visit some remote places. “We just had the cherry blossom season here, so I was running around eastern Japan looking for places to capture the beautiful trees.” Mark says that both his kids are considering digital photography classes at their high school next year, which will give them the opportunity to do some family photo vacations.
To learn more about the latest SanDisk products, visit http://www.SanDisk.com
CLICK HERE TO SEE A GALLERY OF 10 SEMI-FINALISTS' IMAGES
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Last Updated: Aug 11th, 2010 - 13:36:44
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