So I saw a ton of cameras clicking away as I was hurrying along the parade route on Saturday, and even got to meet a few blog readers to boot which was lovely to be able to put a face with the photos! Don’t forget to share your festival photos with us Deadline is may 25th!

Alright here’s a few of the photos that have filtered in for our festival challenge.

For a recap of the challenge click here.

I AM ALSO SHOUTING A REMINDER TO ALL OF YOU THAT YOUR NAME…YOUR REAL NAME MUST BE ON THE UPLOADED PHOTO ENTRY SOMEWHERE. I will not publish any photos as a standout without a real name.

“SK Marching Band” by Jack C. Harpel

“Viking Day Parade” by justmy2cents

“Finish Reflections” by Greg Salo

“Parade Royalty” by Colette Wilson

“Ready Set Go” by Greg Salo

“Untitled” by Warrick Wilson

“Untitled” by Warrick Wilson

“Untitled” by Warrick Wilson

“Bremerton on Parade” by kitsapmike

“Bremerton on Parade” by kitsapmike

“Viking Day Parade” by justmy2cents

“Viking day Parade” by justmy2cents

“Armed Forces Parade” by cshutty

“Armed Forces Parade” by cshutty

“Armed Forces Parade” by cshutty

“Baby Viking!” by Colette Wilson

“Dancing In The Streets” by Colette Wilson

“Fly Over” by Jack C. Harpel

“I Love A Parade” by Jack C. Harpel

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Here are a few of my favorites from the first half of the Armed Forces Parade (I had to bolt out early to shoot a soccer game):

“Moody Clown” by Meegan M. Reid/Kitsap Sun

The Central Kitsap Marching Band marches down Fourth Street duiring the Armed Forces Day Parade in Bremerton, Wash. on Saturday, May 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Kitsap Sun, Meegan M. Reid)

Crew members of the USS Kentucky makes their way down Fourth Street for the Armed Forces Day Parade in Bremerton, Wash. on Saturday, May 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Kitsap Sun, Meegan M. Reid)

Marli Stodden munches on a dorito as she watches the Armed Forces Day Parade in Bremerton on May 19, 2012. (MEEGAN M. REID / KITSAP SUN)

“Honest Abe” by Meegan M. Reid/Kitsap Sun

Check out this fabulous shot by Jack C. Harpel of a Canada goose and eagle in what looks like quite a rumble.

Not only is it a great action shot with wonderful composition but I love how the other geese are just milling around and how there is the one heron in the background, who you know is most likely egging them on by chanting “fight! fight! fight! in a mocking Canadian accent.

Or maybe the goose was just trying to “GOOSE” the eagle… har har har har…yeah I know that was a pretty bad pun attempt.

“Canadian Goose vs. Bald Eagle” by Jack C. Harpel

A pair of herons fish along the shore on a rainy Tuesday, May 22, 2012 in Kingston. (MEEGAN M. REID / KITSAP SUN)

Here a few “catch-up” snaps from my slight obsession of shooting a photo with the Hipstamatic App on my iPhone whilst waiting around for visually interesting moments while on assignments for the paper.

~Meegan

“Kites Over Kingston”

“Senior Center Softball Game Outburst”

“Cinco De Sombrero”

“Side Stage At The Producers”

“Some Guy ‘Napping’ Next To My Car In The Kitsap Sun Parking Lot”

“The Stage Set Is Not Yet Ready…”

“Civil War Buffs Visit Middle School”

“Flying Sheep”

“Cat Naps Next To A Kitsap Sun”

“Nacho…Er I Mean Lucha Libre Wrestlers”

“Music Man Mic Check”

“Little Lighthouse In A Big Lighthouse”

Whoa, it’s one busy weekend of festivals beginning tomorrow…which makes me think that Photo Challenge #50 should showcase this weekend of visually interesting events.

Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to show us your best photo from any part of Armed Forces Day, Viking Fest and/or the Rhododendron Festival.

So your instructions are:

1) Shoot a dynamic photo (or three) from one of the events.

2) Upload your photo by May 25th.

3) Make sure your name, your real life name, not just your email handle is on the upload form somewhere.

I’ll include a recap of uploading and instructions at the end of this post. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at mreid@kitsapsun.com.

Larry and I might complain about shooting parades and we admit freely that we are not those people who “love a parade” but these events yield so many strong images that it sort of evens out our dislike for covering parades.

Don’t forget to think about what you are shooting and sharing with us. Don’t just point and click, unless that really does work for you, try to show us dynamic images that scream “Yay Armed Forces/Vikings/Rhoddys!”

Here are some shots from our 2011 archives to get you thinking:

A woman clad in a viking helmet wanders past a colorful tent during the opening of the Viking Festival in Poulsbo. (MEEGAN M. REID/KITSAP SUN)

Courtney Walker,center, and her husband Andy Maxey from Bremerton watch the Mountain View Middle School Squire band march up Fourth Street at the Armed Forces Day Parade in downtown Bremerton.  (LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN)

The Viking Fest Parade travels along Fjord Drive in Poulsbo, WA on Saturday, May 21, 2011. (Meegan M. Reid/Kitsap Sun)

The  Kingston Middle School Marching Band plays  on Pacific Ave. during the  Armed Forces Day Parade in downtown Bremerton  (LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN)

Holly Beaudoin, 8, wears her viking helmet while she watches the Viking Fest Parade travel through downtown Poulsbo, WA on May 21, 2011 (Meegan M. Reid/Kitsap Sun)

Bremerton High School  Marching Band flute player Autumn Bondy,16, performs at the  Armed Forces Day Parade in downtown Bremerton.  (LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN)

View Ridge Elementary School safety patrol students wave from inside a Bremerton School District bus at the  Armed Forces Day Parade in downtown Bremerton.  (LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN)

(Larry Steagall/Kitsap Sun)

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The coolest part of my job…well okay ONE of the coolest things about my job, is that I get to go places and see things that the general public doesn’t usually get to see.

Hence was the case this week when writer Amy Phan and I ventured to Hansville for a story on the Point No Point Lighthouse renovations. While the public can peek into the lantern of the lighthouse from the ladder and see the fresnel lens, getting this close and personal is usually not allowed because of the fragility of the lens…it already has one giant crack in it.

Since I am from Michigan (the state with the greatest number of lighthouses at 124) I have a great admiration for these beacons on the shore and was thrilled to get to see the inside of this one.

Jeff Gales image is refracted in the fresnel lens as he talks about the restoration of the Point No Point lighthouse in Hansville on Wednesday, May 09, 2012. (MEEGAN M. REID / KITSAP SUN)

I don’t know if any of you made it down to the Charleston Historical District of Bremerton for the Cinco de Mayo Street Fair today (and no it wasn’t near the adult bookstores or anything so you Bremerton haters can just move along and comment elsewhere), but if you did not attend than I am sorry but you missed out on a whole lot of fun and some great photo opportunities!

There was sunshine, blue sky, colorful costumes, tons of unique atmosphere and masked Lucha Libre wrestlers…really just about everything a photographer longs to capture on a daily basis was present.

Here are a “few” of my favorites, and seriously grab a camera and check it out next year!

ALL PHOTOS MEEGAN M. REID/KITSAP SUN

Alright your challenge, if you chose to accept it, was to show me an image with a corner composition (the subject or point of focus of the image located in a corner or corners of the frame). Here are my favorites of the entries. I’ll try to give you a heads up for when they will be published in the Kitsap Sun print edition.

“Fish On” by Connie Bickerton

While I do wish that this image had a greater depth of field, which would bring the youngster in the corner into focus as well as the other anglers on shore, it doesn’t really bother me that he is a little “fuzzy”. In fact, I like that he’s got a bit of a motion blur to him as if he’s struggling to reel in a giant fish.

“Me and My Shadow” by Jamie Forsyth

I love the composition of this photo as well as the graphic elements that the shadows add. Not to mention that the corners of the frame are utilized just perfectly with the dog as well as the shadow of the photographer!

“Lake Crescent Sentinel” by Harriet Miles

This is a nice frame of bald eagle with a nice statuesque pose, looking out over its territory from the corner of the frame.

“Untitled” by Jack C. Harpel

I don’t know if it’s the necessarily the corner composition of this photo or just the subject matter but I find it to be a very calming image. One which I can almost hear the gulls squawking in the distance and the waves lapping at the shore. It’s a very nice shot.

Nice job on the corner composition photos everyone!

Here are the final entries that filtered in (thanks to the extended deadline I think) and I’ll start mulling over them and try to choose my stand-outs tonight as well as post the next challenge!

“Rialto Splendor” by Dick Miles

“Fish On” by Connie Bickerton

“Precious Kitty” by Debbie Nopp

“Customer Service” by Lea Bessler

“Orchid” by Jack C. Harpel

“Me and My Shadow” by Jamie Forsyth

“Lake Crescent Sentinel” by Harriet Miles

“Customer Service” by Lea Bessler

“Stirling” Engine” by Dilong-paradoxus

“Flower in a Vase” by Jack C. Harpel

“Customer service by Lea Bessler

“Odd Man Out” by Lael Alspach

“Gone To Seed” by Jack C. Harpel

“Untitled” by Jack C. Harpel

“Resting Eagle” by Jack C. Harpel

With the completion of this year’s West Sound Guide (a project which forces me sit for hours and hours in front of my computer searching through endless files of images from Larry, our freelancers and I… as I mutter over and over again, “why do we shoot so many photos?!?!?) we get to have a sigh of relief and an opportunity to share with you all a little bit of our process for choosing a cover.

Here’s how that process goes; I search through a whole year’s worth of images looking for interesting/scenic/photos that scream “KITSAP!” and I start widdling down from there. When I get to about 30 I hand them off to managing editor David Nelson and he edits them down, and then the office votes and then a few of us get together to make the final decision.

That’s right, the process is not even close to as interesting as say picking the next American Idol or whichever reality show one may fancy.

But anyway, once that cover is chosen we have a whole folder of “cover wannabes” that never get to have their cover destiny fulfilled. And there are a few of us, who begrudgingly accept this year’s cover but think there was a better option…not that I would be one of them…I mean I may or may not have been pushing pretty hard for the lawnmower man photo or one of umbrellas because come on who are we kidding, it rains here and we all know it.

So what do you think? I’ll post our 2012 cover and than our rejects and you can vote at THIS LINK HERE!

THE 2012 COVER WINNER

#1. Paddling At Island Lake by Larry Steagall

THE “ALMOSTS”

#2) Sunset On The Shoreline by Larry Steagall

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#3) Casting In The View Of The Olympics by Larry Steagall

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#4) Colorful Sky Over Mt. Ranier by Steve Zugschwerdt

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#5) A Man and His Dog by Larry Steagall

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#6) Kayaks Lined Up by Larry Steagall

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#7) Paddling in Dyes Inlet by Larry Steagall

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#8) Black Umbrella by Meegan M. Reid

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#9) Silverdale Picnic by Larry Steagall

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#10) Snowy Olympics by Larry Steagall

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#11) Sailboats by Meegan M. Reid

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#12) Reunion To-to-Toe by Meegan M. Reid

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#13) Carrier Flag Waving by Larry Steagall

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#14) Hood Canal Shrimp by Meegan M. Reid

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#15) Little Umbrella Girl by Meegan M. Reid

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#16) Paddle Board Sunset by Meegan M. Reid

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#17) Viking Fest Flag by Meegan M. Reid

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#18) Sunset at the Dock by Larry Steagall

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#19) Ladybug Flower by Meegan M. Reid

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#20) Stand up Paddler by Meegan M. Reid

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#21) Tiny Catch of The Day by Meegan M. Reid

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#22) Lawnmower Man by Larry Steagall

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#23) Summer Backflip by Meegan M. Reid

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#24) Ferry View by Meegan M. Reid

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#25) Duck Trio by Larry Steagall

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#26) Manette Bridge at Twilight by Larry Steagall

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#27) Ferry Rainbow by Meegan M. Reid

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#28) Hipster shoreline by Meegan M. Reid

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#29) Kayak Trio by Larry Steagall

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#30) Umbrella Crew by Meegan M. Reid

 VOTE HERE!!!