Logan County Fair

What makes a great photo? Visit the amateur photographs display at the Logan County Fair

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[August 06, 2018]  Every year at the Logan County Fair many talented amateur photographers and hobbyists enter their photos of various people, places and objects.

The two classes of photos are black and white prints and color prints and there are several categories of each.

Categories of black and white prints include abstract, design, or still life; animal, architectural/historical; water, scenery, human interest, and photos of people.

Categories of color prints also include the abstract, design, or still life; animal, architectural/historical, water, scenery, human interest, people, floral, sunset, computer altered, sports, and photos that are echoes of Abraham Lincoln.

Photography Department Superintendent Stephen Klemm and his assistant Megan Haines shared what makes for a winning photo, what he looks for in a photo, what people can do to take a good photo and participate in fair photography contests, and how photography has changed over the years.

Klemm started as a hobbyist and then became a professional. He looks for photos taken by hobbyists who take photos because they love to do it.

Klemm said the impact and first impression of a photo are very important to him. The photos should follow certain guidelines or rules such as showing color contrast, harmony, pattern and the rule of thirds.

Haines said presentation and whether it looks nice is important because the presentation of a print makes it stand out. A photo will do well if it is presented on a nice mount board rather than just pasted on cardboard.

Klemm said people still interested in the art side of photos tend to do well. He said sometimes it seems the art of photography is being lost.

As for contrast with black and white photos, Haines said high contrast is blacker and whiter in a photo, while low contrast has shades of gray.

Both Klemm and Haines have suggestions for ways to get a good photo. One is to bend your knees when taking a photo. Get on eye level or on different levels. For instance, climbing a ladder or taking a photo from below can provide interesting angles. Haines said different angles can give you a completely different picture than if you are just standing straight up.

Klemm said it is also important to know the direction of the light and use the light to “paint” with.

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Watching what is in the background is another important consideration. Klemm said you do not want a telephone pole or a tree “growing” out of somebody’s head.

Haines said knowing how to use the camera correctly helps. Many people do not open their user manual that can tell them so many special features to use.

Klemm and Haines have seen many changes in photography over the years. For instance, Haines said it has gotten a lot easier for the public to take photos and camera phones have made photography something that is a part of everyday life. She said you take a selfie with the Statue of Liberty in the background, you are marking your life.

Klemm said using no more chemicals or processing is a big change, and it is now easier to take a photo. Since they can be taken with phones, drones, pocket cameras, or Digital Single Len Reflex (DLSR) cameras.

Haines said the instant viewing with digital cameras is helpful for photographers since you can easily delete a photo you don’t like.

Klemm said cameras are now faster. Many can take videos, and taking a video and freezing one frame of it can make for a good photo.

What makes for a good subject?

Haines said good human-interest photos can provide something that interests everyone. Klemm said it is something that makes you stop and think. Haines gave an example from last year’s entries. One entry was of a Yahtzee game where someone had just rolled a ‘Yahtzee,’ and the game pieces and different expressions on people’s faces made it an interesting photo and showed it was a fun game night.

Haines said with abstracts, you cannot always initially tell what the photo is of. It may be an intricate pattern or close-up of something such as part of a tire, rocks, or lamp. Klemm said he likes to see something out of the ordinary when looking at abstracts.

According to Klemm there are 301 photos entered this year. Depending on the year, there are usually between 300 and 400 entries.

As entries came in, it appeared there were many great photos to choose from. You can check-out the winning entries in the expo building.


[Angela Reiners]

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