Duke Contest - Take 2

[WestAir 2,530]

Voted on Just Beachy. I dunno why, but it caught my eye. :(

[Turbine777 13]

Great of you to hold this contest Dan!!! Kudos to you!! Hey,How about submitting a shot of your own??

Thanks, I enjoy this kind of stuff and glad others do too. As for my own screens, I plague the forum with enough of them haha. Actually I did just do one screenshot, and that was the voting results as of 7PM ;)I am working on a post in another window at the moment to show more of up until now only I have had the honor of seeing. Almost done, but for now, congrats guys!Stay tuned to see the other entry's in just a short while!

[Turbine777 13]

Hello again peops,The contest is now officially over and as we can see, the community has clearly spoken.(Screenshot taken at precisely 7:00PM)A huge Congratulations to Jefferson Santos (Avsim user: Jefferson) for winning with your fine entry "Spotting at Kai Tak" and another Congrats to Alex Neugebauer (Avsim user: eddh_flyer) for placing 2nd with your fine entry "Just Beachy". :( I wish there were a third place award for Erik for his more than fine entry, but if it's any consolation you had my vote :wink:Once you have time to use it I hope you'll both come back and leave your honest opinions about it, and perhaps even use those screenshot talents of yours to show us a little something.I will now place the order for you as well as email Mr.Young the email address to transfer the order to. Once he receives it you should get an email from him with your key as well as a download link. Please head over and register it once you get your key.This might not happen immediately since it is Sunday and there is work to be done on his end since none of this is part of the normal automatic purchase/download preocedures one would see if they bought it for theirselves. Please let me know once you have it so I know not to keep pestering Mr.Young also :wink:As I mentioned, this contest wasn't easy to narrow down to 3 and although I haven't gotten the ok from some entrants, I want to show you some of the competition shots that were submitted. For bandwidth reasons and not wanting to flood the Avsim network I am making them all links rather than thumbnails. Other entries(The order is of no significance)

• As mentioned earlier, the "Snowblind" entry from Ioan I think was a great touch. I think it's an artistic approach and love the way the paint blends in with the snow.
• Another one mentioned previously was the "Stormy Approach". This was submitted by Aleksi Lindén and is 2 years old, but love the way the sky is open and the way the other aircraft is in the distance. It looks as though the MD-11 is being surrounded by a storm and cut off from all others. Very nice shot I think and almost had a place in the top 3 here. I wonder Aleksi, but is that my passenger lighting there? Hehe.
• Here is a great shot of a Federal Express paint landing by Brandon Burkley (Avsim user: bburk). I love the perspective in this shot, the lighting and the logo light shine. Also love the smoke/dirt behind it and the detail seen in the distance of the bridge and light posts, very nice screenshot all around.
• Another one similar to the above, was this very cool "Screenshot" by Mike Murawski (Avsim user: Murawski). I love the sky in this shot and the looking through the grass perspective is really cool and gives it allot of depth. Seeing the fence in the background as well as the barbed wire on top is really cool too. Finally this livery is one of my favorites and very funny.
• Jonathan Marsh did something I tend to do often. He included a shot of VRS's F-18 in his to perhaps get it some exposure. If you're not familiar with VRS and like military models, then from what I've read, VRS is the PMDG of military aircraft in FSX. You can see Jonathan's entry here. He also sent me some other shots after Phase2 had started and one I personally loved was the F-18 pilots perspective. Very cool I think and glad I got it after the fact because it would have made my choices that much harder. The only thing I would think that would have made the shot any better would maybe be higher altitude with jet trails coming from the -8 and perhaps dusk to show a little button back lighting in the Hornet :drools:. Here is another screenshot Jonathan shared with me that had me laughing and clapping at the same time! Any MD-11 pilots out there think they have "The Right Stuff?" My nickname for this shot would be "The Right Bluff".
• This shot here was from our very own Taylor Oldham (Avsim user: thefsxflyer). What I really like about this shot is you can just make out the airport in the distance. It looks like CATI conditions to me and the rwy looks pretty small for the queen. If I were flying this it would surely be called "Missed Approach" but for anyone else flying it would have to just call it "Brass ballz".
• This one is from Joseph Barlow (Avsim user: BadgerRat) of a great paint (wonder if this is one of HD Lee's?) of probably the largest MD-11 fleet there is, the FedEx Express. I like the overall detail to this and the fact that we're looking at the dark side in dusk with just a hint of sun glare on the tip of the nose cone. The level of reflection is perfectly captured on the fuse and is just a great shot.
• This entrant was one of the first to submit his screenshot and nice enough to be honest with making some very slight Photoshop edits and reminding me to make it a known rule. The edits were slight and I would have thought they came from the ENB pluggin most likely. But again, it wasn't a rule at the time of his submission and he made it perfectly clear. It's from Kenneth Smith (Avsim user: WestAir) and I really liked it. You can see the pilot is either ditching or flew a tad long,,, just a tad haha. The gear being down and ABS disarm would say there may have been ground contact but then attempted to go for the screenshot hall of fame :)
• Tim Smith (Any relation to Kenneth? hehe) submitted this great shot from the well known St.Maarten. Like a lot of you, I tend to show lots of real life video clips to fam and friends of just how close these aircraft get to the beach and bathers here at TNCM. This airport is not as iconic as good ole VHHX but it is definitely in the top of the list. I love the fact that the warning sign on the beach is in clear view for this shot.
• This entry came from Craig and is a really nice shot with lots of warm color of the JS-41. The JPEG may not do it justice but the BMP was too large a file for me to make available. The rudder seems to have a depth that really stands out in this shot and the shadowing on the wings with the light just on the leading edge and engines I found very cool. One of my favorite things about this image was the water sparkle as well.
• Here is another one of the JS41 I like to call "Feeling Blue". It is by Adam Schallau and another great shot of this fine bird.
• Randolph Vallee, also a JS41 flyer sent in this fine photo. Great color and love the paint. The two just work really well together giving it a warm feel to it.
• Speaking of warm feelings. This photo, also of the JS41 too has a warm feel to it, but in a small town country kind of way. Great FTX scenery with the harbor below and lots of little details one can look at for a long time. I enjoyed studying this picture and looked at it quite often. It was sent in by Nick Silver (Avsim user: BrasiliaNick).
• This one by Ryan Dunn looks like what a lot of us see when we load a PMDG 747 with the same engine type. It could also be an addon like EZdok, but if it's the first thing I mentioned, all I can say is great turn around and use of a situation gone bad. Love the perspective and stretched look!
• Ethan Rayhorn (Avsim user: Efussander) sent in this great shot. I'll leave it to you to guess the airport, but I love the skyline here. Although I sim often, this shot really gave me a feeling of being at altitude if that makes any sence :)
• Last but certainly not least, this sweet shot was sent in by Martin Dahlerup (Avsim user: Firstofficera320). Love the ENB here and the set back view of the camera. I also really like the subtle peach color to an otherwise cold looking sky. Very nice.

Well, there you have it folks. I hope you all enjoyed it and hope the entrants all take a minute to share any thoughts they want, addons used, ENB on or off, etc, etc...I have placed my order and hopefully you will both have your copies soon!Once again, congrats and thanks to all those that entered as well as those that voted!Sorry but that little yellow guy just doesn't say CONGRATULATIONS like this man...Haha, thanks for posting this pic, Shane!

[thefsxflyer 1]

The theme of all these screenshots is REX. Its amazing the screen shots you can get out of FSX. Congrats to the winners

[bburkley 0]

It is amazing what REX can do to the sim. I think most serious simmers have it by now but if you don't, get it! It will definitely beautify FS for you.Congratulations to the winners, excellent shots, especially the Kai Tak one I chose, great work there Jefferson.As for the other contestants (including myself) that did not make it to the top three, let me say, there were some great shots in there!A few of my favorites were Nick Silver's (BrasiliaNick) awesome sunset shot, Ethan Rayhorn's (Efussander) superb use of the FSDT DFW scenery (also the location of my screenshot), and Martin Dahlerup's (Firstofficera320) cockpit perspective shot of JS41 - the lighting and clouds were amazing in that one. Actually, I was originally going to submit a cockpit perspective shot but couldn't choose one out of the myriads that I took. The JS41's interior beauty definitely makes for an amazing cockpit view. I just purchased the boxed JS41 yesterday, and am really excited to step inside that cockpit this week. My amends to everyone, and thank you Dan for the contest, I'll be keeping a close watch for your next one Brandon Burkley

[horizon216 0]

I would have to say Martin Dahlerup's (Firstofficera320) screenshot was one of the most realistic looking one. It actually made me look at it for a while, I really like how all the gauges on the JS41 look so realistic, and the sky made it even more cool. good job!ryan dunn

[Murawski 21]

Dan... Perfect work on this... Big thanks to you...

[Jefferson 3]

Oh... My... God...I... Did it?!?!*******, that's totally unexpected!! I'm so thrilled!! Thanks for everyone who voted for my picture.. seriously, I'm speechless! Haha, that's fantastic!! A Duke!!I'd liek to congratulate Dan for the amazing idea, and also for everyone who participated sending their entries, and specially, the finalists!I'm serious, I really don't know what to say, that's so unexpected, I'm really, really happy! That was never the true intention of my entry, I was just "Ok, let's see what happens..."!Thank you so MUCH!!About Add-ons on the Picture:REX 2PMDG 747xFly Tampa Kai Tak VHHXAgain, THANK YOU SO MUCH

[CaptainNick 575]

COngrats to the winners,and WOW to the rest of the screenshots, all so beuatifull and well composed.

[Guy014 9]

So glad to have even made it in the final three. No worries, I'm happy a lot of you liked my picture but congrats to the winner, enjoy your Duke!I'll most certainly be competing with you guys and gals in future contests.

[Turbine777 13]

I've emailed you both the serial keys and download links. Let me know if you have any issues and enjoy your new toys :(

[MorsAbAlto 19]

Hail to the Dan-Man :Peace:On a more serious note,without your efforts, Dan, this contest would not have been possible. It's rare and commendable for individuals to go out of their way to provide joy to others for no personal gain, especially in the current economic and social climate. You have invested a lot in an attempt to advocate creativity and sense of community around these pages and this is something we should appreciate and savor. A noble gesture, Dan. To cut to the chase: Thank you very much! This also goes out to Rob Young of RealAir Simulations, who donated the second prize and made possible something of an early christmas for me.Sorry for the spiel, but it just had to be said.Next, thank you very much everybody who voted for my picture "Just Beachy". To be honest, I didn't think it would even make it into the voting. It was my way to deal with my fustration about the onset of autumn and the despicable weather that comes with it. An attempt to keep the summer going for a little bit so to speak. I just imagine walking Maho beach with a bikini-clad lady in each arm when I am walking through the cold rain. Airplanes and women, can't beat that. Call me a pervert *lol* Kudos to all who didn't make it into the vote. Let's see what Dan plans next!What's in the picture:

• PMDG Jetstream 41 (Get it now if you haven't already! Amazing on all counts.)
• Real Environment Extreme (slightly altered theme "Pristine Tropics")
• flytampa St. Maarten
• ENB Series 0.75 with ORBX profile
• ******* Altuves Shader Model 3 Enabled
• a bad approach *heh*

If anything, I think the screenshot shows what FSX can look like with reasonable FPS, even on a modest PC like mine, when using ENB. It's so good of a plug-in that even Ryan uses it. I urge you to at least try it once. If there are problems, it's very easy to remove it and it adds a lot to the beauty of FSX. I love it. HDR at nearly no cost, 'nuff said. If there is any remote interest, I'll upload some more screenshots I made during the flight leading to my contest entry.I'll be off for a test drive...*dangleing keys*P.S. I forgot to comment on the other finalists. Both pictures are great. "Wheels up" has a fantastic mix of hues. The atmosphere is incredible, as is the perspective. This is what a bird strike must look like from the birds POV. I wonder where this shot was taken. Despite the spectacular approach, the Kai Tak picture conveys a certain tranquility for me. It's also a bit symbolic.A lone 747 approaching the runway at dusk. Like it's the last flight of the day or even the last flight ever. A nice tribute.

Edited October 25, 2010 by eddh_flyer

[realpilotsimpilot 11]

Apparently I'm in the minority, but I liked the Wheels Up shot. I like the beachy view, but that could be a default plane. I love cokcpit shots on short final, but a very of teh actual cockpit would have been cool. So, I sort of DQ'd in my head because it didn't really feature a specific plane (sort of the way Ryan did). As between the 747 and the J-41, I think the 744, while it has cool blooms, is a litle low. If the camera was a few feet up, so we could get a better perspective of the runway the bird was turning into, I would have picked that one. So , that leaves Wheels Up. I love the clouds in that shot and the very dark sense of the J41.

[Turbine777 13]

*dangleing keys* hahaha. Nice touch Alex!Great write up on what you used and thanks for the kind words as well.Look forward to seeing a screenshot but of course this aircraft although pretty straight forward can still be slightly involved if you are use to heavies. Take a couple days, get use to her and if you're up for it, get the RXP530 or 430, it is insanely close to the real thing and adds so much to the overall experience. If you use VC (hopefully not sure the duke even has a 2D) they already made it fit perfectly. I wish I could have been able to supply it with the award, but other than my brief mention of the 530/430, that's all they'll get from me :(@Doug.I too voted for Wheels up and have it set as my laptop background. Such an awesome shot that I wish did better than it did. Anyway, personally I think the angle of the camera was perfect for the 744 and it was actually that very thing that made me lean toward it even making a spot in the top 3 (to be honest). I liked that it was as far back as possible while still close enough to maintain a good amount of detail.As for Alex's pic, I know he didn't fully feature the JS41 but that wasn't a rule and I did like the little bit of pride I felt when I saw it and recognized it merely from the wiper. For me this picture demonstrated a case where too little was not too much and just enough to make it all work, but the beauty of these type of contests is seeing all the different views on how they take in an image and what parts of them are others main focus :)The best part of course, is not one opinion is right or wrong and can be as unique as the shot itself.

[MorsAbAlto 19]

Dan,please check your email (and empty your PM inbox while you're at it :()).