So, we've invited everyone who's played a losing hand in the game thus far to submit a last-chance card to win their way back into semi-finals. I suspected that some of the shooters were sitting on some unplayed Aces & I wanted to give them a chance to be seen. Scanning the last-chance submissions confirms that there is formidable talent lurking within the Leuzer's Bracket.
So here's how this is gonna go down. First, this round will NOT be head-to-head. There are a total of 14 Leuzers, 4 of whom will advance. Decisions will be based on the quality of the card they play, as well as the quality of the cards we suspect they MAY be holding, how big a payoff was negotiated between the photog & TRL, & also how good the photographer can karaoke Maneater by
HALL & OATES. That is to say, don't be surprised if you submitted a brilliant photo but end up getting voted off of Holdem Island. As you'll see, there are lots of great images in this round .. not all of them can advance.
At some point -- hopefully in the very near future -- I'll incorporate the 4 lucky Leuzers into the semis bracket, & then each one will be paired against a player from the (not so)-Final Four for a chance to advance yet again. If you're confused, don't worry -- I am too. It's cool.
Starting with this round, the game will be single-elimination til the end -- no more consolation rounds. Also, sorry to pull the Psych! on you original unbeaten "Final Four" players. Props for making it that far, but you're not outta the weeds just yet. You'll still have to deal with the lucky Leuzers who will, no doubt, be out for revenge -- a blood debt, if you will (& I think you will).
OK, LET'S PARTY!
ANDREW OBERHARDT
Chris Tretwold filming on Tatlow Cr. BC
ATOM CRAWFORD
Chilling with the long lost ones. Grand Canyon '06.
MARK BASSO
Jordie MacKenzie drops Big Tim Falls prior to a six-hour beer and hackey sack session back at basecamp.
JOHN BOONE
Halfway to Scone Hut - JJ Shepherd on the 2-Day Perth Mission, South Island, NZ
CHAN JONES
I can’t paddle right now but I managed to take this shot on a hike at the Chattooga River. Other locals should know exactly where this is. Anyone care to take a guess?
EVAN ROSS
In Greek Mythology, Pandora, the gifted woman fashioned by Zeus, was given a box that contained all the evils of mankind. One day Pandora's curiosity got the best of her, & she peeked inside the lid of her box, immediately releasing all the misfortunes unto mankind. However, there was one good thing that came out of Pandora's Box -- "hope." So now, in times of evil, mankind will still have hope. On the Animas River in CO, Luke Hanson "hopes" to find the light at the end of the tunnel on an early descent of Pandora's Box.
JOHN FULBRIGHT
KB at Skook, 06
HALE HANAWAY
Matt Thomas floating into a blind unscouted corner with lots of wood, Silver Creek.
KENNETT BELENKY
Days like this are why we boat in WA state. Too bad there are like 3 a year. The shot is of Boris Startsev and Bryan Cunitz checking out the tributary below Monster on the Cascade River.
KYLE MCCUTCHEN
Dotcom on the Punchbowls. It's a pretty amazing feeling to know that you're about to stomp the boof when you aren't even halfway through the freefall.
DARIN MCQUOID
Nick Troutman, Rio Alseseca, Mex, 06
SHAWN ROBERTSON
For me, this shot expresses the feeling of calm and peace that often follows the tremendous power of a raging rapid. This is Justus McCarty catching his breath and thankful to be alive coming out of one of the most terrifying and turbulent rapids I've ever seen. Zeta on the Futaleufu River in southern Chile at just below the too high to run flows.
NATHAN SILSBEE
Toxaway, NC
BRIAN VOGT
Scott Waidelich styling Box Canyon Cr's signature drop, Offramp, shot under difficult lighting conditions. After soloing a high-water lap on the Cooper, Fish pulled a fast scout & a sick park n huck. In this shot, you can see his left edge dropping, causing him to rotate and land 90 degrees off line -- no problem, just pull a bow stand pirouette out at the bottom of a tech 30-footer.
15 comments:
Maybe it's because I'm stuck in an office in downtown Atlanta, but ALL of these photo's make me want to go kayaking. some pretty good shit from the luezers....
Sweet! A fine showing from all of the Leuzer rebounds. Sick waterfall and canyon-scenery shots are standing out.
Belenky if this was one of the only 3 sunny days in WA - then why is the water still on the camera lens!
Mabey it's because I'm stuck in a campus computer lab in Jersey, but that Maneater video made me want to bust out of my cubicle and dance with the hot freshman chick across the lab.
The shots are pretty awesome too.
Heh, good zing about the droplets on the lens. For the record, that was spray from the falls, not rain from the sky.
There are a lot of badass shots in this round.
hate to say it but atom crawford, evan ross and shawn robertson are the only ones who stepped up in the losers round..but it's still kinda weak that the losers get back in and the winners just wasted some of there aces to stay in the game...
atom, cutch, darinm, and ross are the four. bring on the next round!
If the "winners" are worth their salt, they'll be well prepared for the semis. by doing it this way, it keeps everyone on their toes & ensures that in the end, the best photogs are represented.
re this comment: "but it's still kinda weak that the losers get back in and the winners just wasted some of there aces to stay in the game.."
this logic makes zero sense. we haven't even run another round for the winners bracket yet. the cards they played in their last round were the precisely the cards that separated them from the losers -- how did they "waste" those cards? they advanced out of the round, which is, um, the point.
That picture of the Inflatable is sick, didn't think those guys could run drops like that!!
I think the best pics are
1. Atom
2. Brain
3. Darin
4. Kyle
Hale, Atom, Darin, Kyle in no particular order.
These are my picks that should make the next round.
1. DARIN- Love the downstream
angle of the shot.
2. BRIAN- Crisp and unique, really
like the strip of light on the
paddler!!
3.KYLE- too common of a photo but
great light and very crisp.
4.HALE- Nice NW color and feel.
1) Basso (Nice Pic)
2) Mcquid (Good angle)
3) Ross ( Great Canyon pic)
4) Hathaway (Big old growth nice color)
There are some close calls here, but here are my pics to make the next round.
1. Atom Crawford
2. Darin Mcquoid
3. Brian Vogt
4. Hale Hanaway
Andrew: nice shot but doesn't quite capture the canyon or any action and feels a bit like it could be anywhere with clear water.
Atom: beautiful shot, only arguement would be lack of any paddlers at all, more of a scenery photo than paddling/lifestyle shot.
Mark: Nice shot but overexposure kills it.
John: Just doesn't really seem to capture the epic moment for me.
Chan: Doesn't speak at all to the non locals I guess.
Evan: I like this shot but would like to see a tighter crop vertically. The light up top distracts the viewers eye from the canyon and paddler.
John: Just too soft to do it for me.
Hale: One of my favorites of the round, I like both the canyon and the anticipation of the corner ahead. Nice angle looking down and leaving some mystery in it.
Kennet: A clean lens would have made this shot a lot more interesting.
Kyle: Nice shot, a little cliche but sharp with a nice exposure. Really good shot but just doesn't stand out as unique to me.
Darin: I like the angle, would have been better if shot was taken a bit sooner with the paddler closer to the camera.
Shawn: I like this shot but would like to see more of the rapid in it. To people that havn't been there it looks like it could be class II upstream. Still captures an epic moment.
Nathan: This shot is too soft from my taste, and this angle makes the rapid look rather flat. The rocks on the other river bank make it look like perhaps a faster shutter speed would have helped.
Brian: I like the shot, but I think this one too was taken a little bit late, leaving Scott more in the shade than sunlight. Would have been an amazing shot when he was five feet upstream.
My picks would be Hale, Darin, Atom and Shawn.
I think it should be allowed for the judges to change the rules up. It's there competition why shouldnt they. The only thing i'm afraid of is that by not being fair the judges might be scaring away competitors in future years. I know I wouldn't want to compete in an unfair competition of any kind. But what does it matter we're all getting some great eye candy that would otherwise be stuck on peoples computers and never shown to the world! Rock on Rangelife.
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