not long for this world

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not long for this world, originally uploaded by Five eyes. All Rights Reserved.

Wow -- this is our One Year Anniversary Jubilee Celebration Month -- Happy Birthday, Photo Face-Off Challenges!

In this month's Brackets, Mary easily blew past the competition to gain her slot in the Final. Despite the toughest challengers ever (see the slideshow to the left of this post), she squeaked into 1st place with this capture of a hungry heron. Here's what Mary, "Five eyes", of Holland, Michigan USA, has to say:

What is the story behind your Brackets entry?

I feel like a bit of a fraud, but I’ll just be up front: I watched this Great Blue Heron catch this little white fish, but only because someone tossed it to him. He was a beggar, hanging out near a fishing pier on Anna Maria Island, Florida, where we were vacationing this spring. The human factor aside, though, it was fascinating to watch him work on the poor thing, flipping her into the air and catching her again to get her positioned just right to slide down that narrow throat. It was hard not to feel sorry for the fish, given the evil eye of her captor and the pleading look in her own, but I exploited her demise anyway.

You would have, too.

Any tips you have for how to take a great photo?

A popular saying in the world of writers is, “Apply ass to chair,” which means to get over yourself and just sit down and write already. In photography it could be, “Peel ass from chair,” or just get out there and take photos.

I have no illusions that my photos match the caliber of many of our PFO photographers (the fact that I can win the Brackets means anyone can get lucky with a strong photo), but I think I continue to improve because I take a gazillion shots and then, of course, re-apply my ass to chair and play at PFO, paying attention to what speaks to me in my own work—and in all the phenomenal photographs in our pool.

It's PFO's First Anniversary. Any reflections on the past year of our group you would care to share?

I can’t believe that PFO is a year old and that I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of it that long. It’s been a year of dynamic growth—PFO Platinum, new and improved Hall of Fame, Special Anniversary Challenge, Check Play tool, etc—and I unabashedly and unbiasedly believe PFO has evolved into the best group on flickr. Criz continues to introduce ideas that raise the bar, and I see PFO as this wonderful little alternate universe—or maybe university—where people can learn and grow together.

That’s it: PFO University. Guess that would make me one of the deans. How cool is that?