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Greetings Fellow Photographers!
Well, I'll get right to the point. We received thousands of submissions for our National Photography Month Photo Contest in May, and after looking through all of them, I have to say that there are some brilliant photographers among us. I sincerely appreciate all of your submissions. It was extremely difficult to pick just one, but I had to. Below you will find the winning shot, plus the nine other finalists, with a quick comment from the photographer and from me. I have posted these and 55 other semi-finalists' photos on my facebook fan page -- be sure to drop by and take a look at all of the great shots!
And the Winner is...
After careful deliberation, I chose this shot by Kristie Spettel as the winner. Kristie will receive a canvas print of this shot in the mail from me. Congratulations, Kristie!  Photographer's Comment: The photo is of my 3 1/2 year old daughter's favorite "glitter shoes." On a walk on a gray day, I wanted her favorite shoes to stand out dramatically despite the weather. Using Photoshop, I made a vignette, and played with levels to darken it up a bit, and I believe I used the artistic "cutout" technique. - Kristie Spettel
Finalists, in No Particular Order!
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Photographer's Comment: The photo that I took was of a McCaw Parrot at the Jungle Gardens in Sarasota, Florida. He was among several of them and his colors were the most beautiful out of them all. He didn't seem to mind me photographing him, so I did. - Amanda Vouglas
Digi's Comment: The colors in this photo are absolutely stunning, especially against the black background. Great lines in the photo as well.
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Photographer's Comment: This photo, "Reflecting on the Past," was taken on Sumas Prairie, in Abbotsford, BC. I was out with my camera and spotted this old truck standing in a pond of water which was caused by last winter's flooding. I was fortunate to have the setting sun to light the image and got this shot before the light left the truck. - Betty Johnston
Digi's Comment: The lines on this photo are fantastic, as are the background tones: the brown on top, gray-blue on the bottom, and mix in the middle. Beautiful still life shot.
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Photographer's Comment: The photo was taken inside of Fort Hancock which is located in Sandy Hook, NJ. - Michael Underwood
Digi's Comment: There is such a sense of worry in this photo; I couldn’t take my eyes off it. The cookie-cutter houses underneath a gorgeous yet apocalyptic sunset really set an ominous mood. The only thing I would have done differently is crop out some of the bottom foreground to make this a panoramic shot. I love this one. |
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Photographer's Comment: That is the most popular photo that I have ever taken. I used my Panasonic dmc-fz30 camera. The day looked just like that, very cloudy and cold. It was the Portlandhead Lighthouse in Maine. I used my tripod for this photo. - Nancie Martin
Digi's Comment: I'm not surprised this is such a popular shot for you. It looks like a picture perfect postcard or poster shot for the Maine coast. But the composition is wonderful too; excellent framing with the little bay underneath the lighthouse.
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Photographer's Comment: That was my first entry ever into a photography contest, so thanks! Brief background on the shot: I knew I wanted to go to the Washington Monument to have some fun playing with perspective, but wasn't until we were about to leave until I got the idea to start "jumping around" - so actually, the shot was totally spontaneous! - David Greenky
Digi's Comment: This photo is so much fun. Great job with angles and perspective; I talk about those concepts a lot in my tips!
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Photographer's Comment: This was taken at Busse Woods near Elk Grove, IL. I wanted to take some sunrise photos of nearby Busse Lake. The day I was able to actually wake up early enough I found the entire area completely fogged in. You could not even see the lake, but the sun beams piercing through the trees gave an almost angelic appearance. My photos of the lake were nowhere near as interesting as the ones I took waiting for the fog to burn off. - Thomas Anderson
Digi's Comment: I couldn't agree more about the angelic look of the sun beams. This is a great example of how some of the best shots are the spontaneous ones you don't plan on. |
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Photographer's Comment: My daughter was 2 years old at the time of the photo (she just turned 3 in June). We were at Disney World in Orlando, FL, and the rest of my family went into a store for a bit. We found a place where we could rest and not be bothered. I let her run around as there were no people near where we were. It had been raining for a bit earlier in the day and she was looking at the ground as you see, near the flowers. I was taking shots of her running around and grabbed that one as she was squatting down. - Steve Sileo
Digi's Comment: This photo is so cute! I can't believe it's at Disney World, too. It's such a great diversion from the typical Disney shots we have all seen. This is another example of being ready with your camera. Perfect timing on this one.
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Photographer's Comment: The picture is of my 20 month old daughter. She was playing in a tutu one morning on our bed and my husband was outside doing yard work, so she was looking out the window at her Dad. When I walked in and saw her, I thought it was a picture perfect moment, so I grabbed my camera and got a quick shot before she moved! - Amanda Beardshaw
Digi's Comment: This is such a great shot, and I love the description of her watching her Dad. Converting to black and white was a fabulous idea too. The whites on the bed and tutu blend beautifully.
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Photographer's Comment: I enjoy going on early morning shoots. This shot was taken on a relatively warm January morning in Bucksport, ME. The bridge on the right is the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and was built to replace the bridge on the left that was past its prime. I took many shots of the two bridges trying to show the great architecture of both. This one seems to capture that. - Dan Holmes
Digi's Comment: Wonderful lines in this photo, and converting to black and white really emphasizes the tonal contrast.
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Thanks again to everyone who participated in the contest, and congratulations to all of the wonderful finalists!
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