Athens, NY Photographer Named Bronze Medalist at International Photographic Competition 

Robert J Near is honored by peers and jurors for high-quality photography.

Robert J Near located in Athens, New York was named a Bronze Medalist during Professional Photographers of America's 2018 International Photographic Competition. Near’s work will be on display at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, Jan. 20-22, 2019. This International Photographic Exhibit is held in conjunction with Imaging USA, an annual convention and expo for professional photographers.

A panel of 32 eminent jurors from across the United States selected the top photographs from nearly 5,073  total submitted entries at Gwinnett Technical College in Georgia. Judged against a standard of excellence, 2,622 images were selected for the General Collection and 513 (roughly 10 percent) were selected for the esteemed Loan Collection—the best of the best. The Loan Collection images will all be published in the much-anticipated “Loan Collection” book and over 365 selected General Collection images will be published in the “Showcase” book by Marathon Press.

The level of the award is determined by how many of those four images receive the highest possible honor: acceptance into the PPA Loan Collection, which is displayed at photographic exhibitions, conventions and other photography events. Near was named a Bronze Medalist by earning a merit—a mark of quality and honor—for each of the four images included in his entry case to the International Photographic Competition. This is the most prestigious competition of its kind, where images are judged based on a standard of artistic excellence, not against each other. In 2018, hewas one of only 208 Bronze Medalists.

About PPA:

Professional Photographers of America (PPA) is the largest international nonprofit association created by professional photographers, for professional photographers. Almost as long-lived as photography itself, PPA's roots date back to 1869. It assists 30,000 members through protection, education and resources for their continued success. See how PPA helps photographers be more at PPA.com.

Contact: Robert J Near

Rjnear3256@gmail.com

Athens, NY Photographer Named Silver Medalist at International Photographic Competition

Robert Near of RJNPhoto is honored by peers and jurors for high-quality photography

Athens, New York – Robert Near of RJNPhoto in Athens, NY was named a Silver Medalist during Professional Photographers of America's 2017 International Photographic Competition. Near’s work will be on display at the Gaylord Opryland Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee, Jan. 14-16, 2018. This International Photographic Exhibit is held in conjunction with Imaging USA, an annual convention and expo for professional photographers.

A panel of 33 eminent jurors from across the United States selected the top photographs from nearly 5,800 total submitted entries at Gwinnett Technical College in Georgia. Judged against a standard of excellence, 2,660 images were selected for the General Collection and 644 (roughly 11 percent) were selected for the esteemed Loan Collection—the best of the best. The Loan Collection images will all be published in the much-anticipated "Loan Collection" book and over 200 selected General Collection images will be published in the "Showcase" book by Marathon Press.

The level of the award is determined by how many of those four images receive the highest possible honor: acceptance into the PPA Loan Collection, which is displayed at photographic exhibitions, conventions and other photography events. Near was named a Silver Medalist, meaning that one of his four merited images entered the PPA Loan Collection. In 2017, he was one of only 108 Silver Medalists.

About PPA:
Professional Photographers of America (PPA) is the largest international nonprofit association created by professional photographers, for professional photographers. Almost as long-lived as photography itself, PPA's roots date back to 1869. It assists 30,000 members through protection, education and resources for their continued success. See how PPA helps photographers Be More at PPA.com.

Contact: Robert Near

Lights of Proctors

Couple of photos I took of the lights at the Proctors Theater in Schenectady NY.

Stottville Bayou

Couple of photos I took over in the Stottville NY area that reminded me of a southern Bayou.

It is Infrared Photography Season

With the leaves blooming here in Upstate New York is is time to break out the digital infrared camera. Fun camera to use on bright sunny days rendering vegetation light shades of gray and white.

On the way home from Hudson

I had to go over to Hudson the other day to see my surgeon for a post OP for hernia surgery the week before. Since the hernia surgery I have been watching the weight of items I carry, so I have been using my Olympus Pen micro 4/3 camera system. On the way home I took the lower road out of Hudson and stopped to grab these few images. Images processed using Lightroom and NIK Color Efex Pro software 

Stockport NY

Here are a few images I took in the Stockport Area near the Hudson River here in New York state.

Out of Focus Tre Lights

Two images are Christmas Tree lights take with 50mm lens thrown out of focus. The fist image is with lens set at f/1.4 aperture and second is at f/2.8 aperture.

Winters Moening Fog

I woke upSaturday to here the sound of foghorns on the Hudson River here in the Town of Athens. So I grabbed the camera and headed down to the shores of the Hudson Riverto get some winter fog images.

First Snow Coating

December 1st here in the Town of Athens brought us our first blanket of white, or should I say sheet of white since is a very light snow fall. Here a few images I took during a short drive around the area Saturday morning. 

Sunrise on the Hudson River

Series of images taken this past weekend long the west shore of the Hudson River here in Greene County.

Early Morning Find

This is a great time of year for taking photographs, the cool mornings provide for fog rising of the water bodies. This past weekend I took a drive down long the Hudson River here in Greene County to find this boat anchored in a small cove. I will be going back to this location and work this subject more prior to owners pulling it out of the water for the winter.

Reed Reflections

Reflection images taken with Olympus Pen camera and 45mm Lens.

Digital Infrared Images

The look of snow in the middle of summer is called Digital Infrared Photography. Below are images I took over the past few weeks using my Nikon D200 which has been converted to only capture infrared light waves, rendering green foliage white like snow.

Micro 4/3 Imaging

I have had Olympus Micro 4/3 Pen camera system for over a year now but never used it that much. Lately I have been back making images and now using the Pen system more. Here are a few images taken over the last few weeks with the Olympus Pen EP-2 and the kit 14-42mm lens. I have always loved the Hasselblad square format that the nice thing with the Pen system you can set it up to shoot square format images.

PS Even though Copy Right stamp says 2011 they where taken in 2012

iPhone on the Hudson River

I have been spending some time out on a friends boat here on the Hudson River. While on the river I took some images with the iPhone and then processed them using Snapseed iPhone App. The images are not near the quality you would get from a Digital camera like the Nikon D700, but not bad considering they are from a cell phone and then processed directly in the phone.

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