The well is running dry, the tide is going out, water restrictions have reached level 3, and this month’s challenge is quickly evaporating. Ironically, the end of this challenge marks the beginning of hurricane season.  But there is still time to get in that last-minute entry before your camera blows away!

I’d like to thank you all for making the water challenge the most successful yet. There are well over 100 entries, so please send me your TOP FIVE CHOICES. Since there are so many great photos, I’m concerned that each voter choosing only three might not give any one entry enough votes to win.  You have until midnight (PST) on Thursday to send me you votes, so there’s plenty of time for you to browse all the entries and pick your five favorites. As usual, list them in order, with your most favorite first. Be sure to include the name of the photographer as well as the name of the photo for each choice. I will tabulate the votes and announce the winner when I get home from work on Friday.

Send your votes to: DUNCANMATHERS@BELLSOUTH.NET
Or you may send them to BobCat using this site’s e-mail feature.

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The competition is drawing to a close and I have reviewed the entries. There are fine examples of ice and snow and a broard display of liquid forms. There are puddles and droplets and fountains and showers and even my own feeble attempt at photographing an invisible gas. What was I thinking?!

So now I offer my coup de grace in a desperate attempt to present water in a form that has not yet been shown here.

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I took these with the compact camera while waitig for Canon to clean the sensor to my 20D),a free service by Canon.

P1010576 P1010586 P1010593

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I went to the mall to pick something up - glad I had my camera.
 Mom did you bring my water wings? Star Fountain Simple Pleasures Stop n' Shop n' Shower

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Not a good evening to be traveling on 95.  No, I was not driving! It was Friday night and we (me & my beau) were headed for a fun-filled time at the Polish-American club for ballroom dancing!  
I don't ballroom dance (except the merengue) but we had fun anyway watching everyone, shaking our leg a bit and eating our snacks of chips, cheese doodles and Little Debbie Snacks. What a night!!Watery Water Tower

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"An apple a day keeps the doctor away" - not if you don't wash the pesticides off!

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Here is my entry into the Water Challege.  Most of these were taken during my trip to Las Vegas.  Haven't had a lot of time at home to do anything creative, but these will have to do.Arboretum pond Vinetian Gondolas Trapped Pirate on dinghy Mirage Volcano Water show2 Water show3 Winn1 Winn2 Winn Waterfall Caesars Fog on the water Japanese Bridge & stream Light reflections Koi Swimming Tiger

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Trying to capture a drop in mid-splash is freakishly hard!  Out of over 180 snaps I ended up with a handful of keepers.  As for the glass - just playing with something I've seen and wanted to duplicate.

By the way, none of the colors in these pictures were achieved with food coloring, all the water is clear.  Hope you like them!

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Kaley and L.C. were playing in the pool after school today and I decided to try to photograph a wet dog for the challenge.  Only the first picture really qualifies for the challenge, but the others were worth posting.  I was at 1/25th sec. for the 3rd picture.  It's freaky.

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Thanks, Bob.  You're right, it does make it more intriguing.

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Here are some New pictures that I've taken in the past two days for the water challenge.

I hope you enjoy them.

Morning Raindrops After the Rain Backyard in a Drop Flowers by the Lake Spying on the Stream

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I've been splishing and splashing and getting wet but not so wild.  
I went to the beach yesterday and it was so windy the sand was stinging me.  So I went back today and it was lovely. Although I wouldn't go in the water - way to rough. I don't surf - or swim that well.Spritzer, Anyone? Scoopy Doo Scoopy Doo Two Mystic Mist Mystic Mist cropped Peek-a-Boo Where's Surfer Dude? Contemplating a Swim

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Most of you are way more creative than I am...but I went around the house this morning before work to see what I could find that was watery.  "Flushed away" was for humor only, but turned out cool after I applied a filter called 'chrome' to it. Drippy gutter turned out cooler than I thought, as I caught the drip on its way down.  Like Bob, the 3-4 pictures that I shot just prior were of no water at all.  Need a quick trigger finger!  Enjoy...

Flushed Away Pool reflections Drippy gutter

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The pictures of the clothespins and the puddle were taken during an early morning downpour this past Saturday. Betty Boop and bucket was taken later that afternoon at her company picnic during a silly relay race. Knee Deep was taken by my brother more than a year ago in the Big Cyprus Swamp, but he just recently discovered the undeveloped film.  I scanned the picture and applied a little digital creativity.  After increasing the color saturation, I alternately applied sharpening and blurring about ten times.
Pseudo-Seurat Knee Deep

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My blue tarp must have a hole in it, hence the "Liquid Light".  Anybody know a good roofer!!!

Liquid Light

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Steam is invisible. If you think you can see steam, you are actually seeing water vapour, so I had to come up with a way of showing steam at work. Being a biochem service engineer, and being on-call right now means that I can't go anywhere too far away to take pictures so I engineered my own thermal-hydro turbine using the metal from a softdrink tin - couldn't use a beer tin because I'm on-call..., a cork, a couple of pins, a bit of wood and some thumb tacks.

My darling wife thought I had finally gone completely around the twist as I was muttering away to myself as I set to with the scissors and stuff...

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Pocket camera macro mode

P1000448 P1000452 Pocket camera

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These were shot with my Canon 20d...,

Water challenge These were shot with my Canon 20d...,

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This is my first challenge so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Ice 2 Water Table 2 Spring Playin' in the Rain

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Getting started on the h20 challenge.  Subjects: Shirley the cat, Venus the statue, my blue roof, my son and friend (and tourists?) at Hollywood beach, some lady in denial about her age.Belly-Up A little mature for beach toys, no? Yikes, my bucket!

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