Good day to you!

I hope that your 2025 is off to a productive start. Mine has certainly hit the ground running, as has Lester Lefkowitz’s, I believe. He and I spent a large chunk of Sunday judging what was easily the most difficult macro competition so far. There were 100 entries, which seemed a little low for a two-month long, wild card contest, but the quality of the entries was so consistently high that both Lester and I had to break the judging into several sessions, with the results video only recorded on Monday the 6th of January. The hardest part of the process for both of us was eliminating photographs that would have been serious contenders in any macro photography competition. But having said that, we were in no doubt which entries were most deserving of recognition.

We did not agree on everything the first time around, but after discussing each image and going through the entries one at a time together, we soon  came to a final order that both of us thought was fair. What I found most rewarding in watching Lester work was seeing how he was able to draw on his vast experience in macro photography to understand the challenges that each photograph posed for the photographer. Because of this understanding he was able to assign scores that reflected the degree of difficulty and skill level of the individual photographer, and to do so quickly and accurately.

So, many congratulations to our winners - you overcame some extraordinary competition to get to the top of this stack and you deserve every “Oooh” and “Aaah” you will be hearing from your judges and fellow contestants! I have waited to release this post so that the results video could be posted first, but if you want to watch the video to find out who won, you should do that before reading the end of this article, as the winners are listed below.

Which brings me to the livestreams for this week. I want to spend both sessions talking about the competition, while it is fresh on my mind. On Tuesday, January 7th, at 8PM Central Time, I am going to do something a little unusual - I am going to show the the dozen or so images that were picked as finalists by Lester or I, but that ended up  being edged out during the final reckoning. I think this is such a powerful learning opportunity that I would be doing you a disservice by not doing so. This will be done gently and respectfully and will focus as much on why these images made it to the top of the heap, as why they were eventually passed over during the final assessment. I think that this may be the most valuable content to come out of this whole experience. The link to this livestream is here - https://youtube.com/live/Zg8Vd_1EqW4?feature=share

On Thursday, January 9 at 2PM in Macro Talk Too, I am going to talk about how to win a photography competition. Much of what I discuss will be true for any competition, but I will also focus in on how you may be able to increase your chances of winning a macro photography competition, and will give some tips on how to get the most out of this macro photography contest. The link to that livestream can be found here - https://youtube.com/live/_e6-5PpM6cg?feature=share

Thank you to all the contestants for taking the time to produce and share your amazing work. Without you there would be no competition and all these learning opportunities would be lost. It takes courage to put your work put there for all to see - it is not easy and you have my most sincere respect for rising to the challenge. Bravo!

The Competition Results Video featuring Lester Lefkowitz is now available on YouTube and you can find it by following this link - https://youtu.be/VcG5zxaVrK8

The competition for January is already in full swing, and the theme is “Macro Mechanisms” Use your imaginations and have fun - this is always a fun topic to judge!

Also posted today was the recording of AfterStack 13 - “Understanding the Type Tool”, a conversation that we had at the end of December but may well be worth a watch of you missed the roundtable live. It can be found by following this link - https://youtu.be/POMukEYt_iQ

This Saturday is AfterStack 14, and this one will be led by Bud Perrott without any interruptions from me, as I will be photographing horses at an Amish stud farm in Rural Illinois. The topic has yet to be finalized, but I am sure it will be a valuable experience for anyone looking to up their post-processing game. I will announce the  topic during the livestreams this week. To join the discussion on Saturday, January 11, 2025, just follow this link in this invitation -

Allan Walls is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: AfterStack with Bud Perrott - Episode 14

Time: Jan 11, 2025 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6916802815?pwd=TS9tZi9ZL1NXeVUvOUF4eTg5YjdlZz09&omn=86008627314

Meeting ID: 691 680 2815

Passcode: 678122

As if that was not enough for one week, I am also going to interviewing Zamir from AK Diffusers, as part of my review of the AK Diffuser that I was sent back in December. I have been using this interesting device for several weeks and have plenty of questions for Zamir. I hope to have to review and my conversation with the inventor ready to post later this week - so keep your eyes open or that one!

WARNING - SPOILER

Below are listed the names of the November/December 2024 Competition Winners. If you do not want to see the results before you watch the results video with Lester and I, read no further!

This is a message to the winners of the Wild Card competition from 2024, whose names are listed below. If you are among the winners, please pay close attention to the following instructions for selecting and choosing your prize. Depending on where you placed in the competition, you may be able to select your prize. Please follow the steps listed here to select and claim your reward -

1) Locate your name in the WINNER’S LIST below and make note of the NUMBER following your name. This represents the number of alternative prizes you must select from the PRIZE LIST.

2) The PRIZE LIST provides a description and explanation of each of the available prizes, each of which has been assigned a letter code (bold).

3) Please select, in order of preference, the number of prizes indicated by the number after your name.

4) Go to the Allan Walls Photography web app (www.walls-app.com) and click on the messaging tab. Start a new message, addressed to me, and enter “WINNER” in the subject field. In the message body, provide the following - your full name, mailing address, preferred email address, and telephone number. Then enter the number that followed your name in the WINNER’S LIST and list that number of prize codes - ranked in descending order of preference. When you are done, hit send.

5) Please complete these steps without delay, but definitely before the close of business on Friday January 10th (5PM).

6) Any prizes not claimed by Friday at 5PM will be forfeited and returned to the prize pool for re-allocation. Any prizes remaining after all winner preferences have been honored will be placed in a “prize pool” for subsequent competitions.

7) If you are a winner but elect not to receive a prize, please also send me a message through the Walls-app messaging service, stating that you do not wish to receive a prize so that it can be released and used to fulfill the preferences of other winners.

WINNERS LIST

Be sure to list the number of prizes shown after your name and in the order of your preference - you will receive the prize you have ranked highest unless it has already been selected by the winners above you on the list.

Place 1 - MERRICK BAILEY - 1 (as the overall winner, you may choose any prize!)

Place 2 - CLAUS GILOI - 2

Place 3 - ROBERT STOROST - 3

Place 4 - SOMEONE WITH A SONY - 4

Place 5 - JULIE BOTTS - 5

Place 6 - PAUL BULLOCK - 6

Place 7 - ALAN LYLE - 7

Place 8 - HAROLD HALL - 0 (no selection required)

PRIZE LIST (DONOR)

A - VOLUMES I & II of the MANUAL OF CLOSE-UP & MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY by LESTER LEFKOWITZ, signed by the author (LESTER LEFKOWITZ)

B - VOLUME I OR VOLUME II of the MANUAL OF CLOSE-UP & MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY by LESTER LEFKOWITZ, signed by the author (LESTER LEFKOWITZ)

C - DATACOLOR SPYDERX STUDIO Complete Color Management System (Anonymous)

D - 5 DAY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY GETAWAY to MOUNT JUDEA, ARKANSAS (2-bedroom, fully equipped guest house with access to 40+ acres of private, unspoiled parkland, adjacent to 80 acres of Forest Service property) (MR & MRS GEORGE SIMPKINS)

E - MOVE-SHOOT-MOVE Z_STYLE TRIPOD HEAD (PAUL MASCHAK)

F - THREE HOURS of PRIVATE MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY INSTRUCTION - one-on-one, remote or in-person, winner selects topic(s) (ALLAN WALLS PHOTOGRAPHY)

G - WALLS ILLUMINATED CROSS POLARIZING CRYSTAL PHOTOGRAPHY PLATFORM (Newly redesigned Mk II version) with power supply and sample specimen ready to photograph. (Allan Walls Photography)

H - WALLS BIREFRINGENT CHEMICAL SELECTION - 10 vials of my favorite crystal forming chemicals in a specially designed  rack for easy access and secure storage - each vial contains more than enough material for dozens of viewing slides. (Alan Walls Photography)

Once again, my thanks to Lester Lefkowitz for his experience and expertise - I cannot imagine a more congenial or entertaining co-host for such an event. And my heartiest congratulations to the contestants for their astonishing work. It doesn’t get much better than this!

Hope to see you at an event this week!

Allan