Judges Comments

This image is almost like a painting. It's a night shot, hard to shoot. Nice balance of ambient light and flash which give it a realistic and natural feel. The blurred motion of the bride and her veil makes this photograph. The faintness of the white veil streaming across the picture add to the dreaminess of the image. The limo driver holding the umbrella adds to the content of bad weather. The misty night and the groom waiting with his head slightly down also add to the feel of the image.

Love the blur of the bride. Really emphasizes her hurry to get on with the honeymoon. Beautiful, simple composition. The warm and cold colors really work.

Judges Comments

The idea of this image is terrific.  It’s just a little too loose.  If I could get a better look at the couple in the car I would like it that much more. Technically the exposure is perfect.  Just enough blur coupled with the right amount of stop action.   The distance between the crowd and the limo is just a little too far for it to work perfectly--it really is an impressive try.

This is an unusual shot. Departure shot taken from the crowd, very loose framing to absorb the atmosphere. It may have been a quick grab shot, but regardless, it works. I love the greenish light, everything is blurred but the bride and groom looking out the window, is sharp. A very loose photo but a real and unanticipated moment. Any night photo like this is hard to shoot, photographer did a pretty good job of balancing camera flash and the ambient night lights.

Judges Comments

Really nice departure picture, love the way the photographer took that extra step and went inside the limo to capture this. Unusual perspective from inside which is an intimate look of what the bride and groom are doing and thinking. The photographer was thinking "What else can I do? What is a better angle? How can I capture a better moment?" I love "the look of amazement" as they are looking out the window, body language of leaning forward and with nice light. Love the little details like groom hiding the booze in a paper bag.

Judges Comments

This is a great moment. I love the old fashioned car headed down the old snow covered road. What a great use of introducing color into an auto chromatic scene. The image really stood out above the rest.

Judges Comments

A traditional scene but untraditional treatment.  The ambient light sets the scene and the strobe freezes the rice perfectly.  The bride appearing to have her mouth filled with the rice cone is simply fun.  The swirl of people added to the frozen flying rice gives the entire image continual motion. Should have cropped out the woman on the far right. She is unnecessary to an otherwise fine image.

Judges Comments

This image is too busy.  Has too much clutter in the background, especially on the left side, and yet that adds to the moment although cropping one half inch off the left hand side would improve the composition and strengthen the moment.

Judges Comments

This image was different than many departure scenes. The strong light on just the bride and groom and their expressions really made this image.

Judges Comments

Very simple piece of wedding photojournalism.  Clean, direct, no wasted space or motion.  Letting the ambient carry the day enhances the mood.

A peek into a private moment after the ceremony. Groom passed out and leaning on the bride makes this photograph. Little bit of the front seat showing on the left gives you a sense of peeking and private moment, that couple is unaware that the photographer was taking their picture.

Judges Comments

It is an unexpected image.  The school bus, the “student” raising her hand on the far right under the emergency exit sign, combined with the motion in the background and the frozen anticipation of the couple on the left--her new ring displayed just so.  Stronger bounce flash while not altering the ambient might have given a touch more definition, but really it’s pretty good just as it is.

Judges Comments

Nice classic, tight, clean, long lens shot. Everything is nicely lined up and compact in the frame. Hand on left releasing sprinkles, and flower girl's expression on right, fill the frame nicely. Lot of momentum and energy in a photograph.

Judges Comments

I can really feel the energy in this image. The single strobe and slow-shutter speed help add to it as does the camera tilt. Tilts don't always work, but this one definitely does. The flower petals fill the frame and don't allow for any wasted space in this picture.

Judges Comments

This image is a good example of the old expression “Fly on the wall.” The moment of the couple relaxing together was captured beautifully as though the newlyweds were alone together.

Judges Comments

I really loved the composition of this image and the framing with the confetti looked like falling snow.

Judges Comments

Simple image with a couple of nice graphic elements. The color and composition are nice. Love the body language of the bride grabbing a smoke before hopping in the limo.

Judges Comments

Sparklers must be where it's at these days. There were a multitude of images that contained them. This one made the cut because of the excellent composition, color, moment and use of the ambient light. The viewer goes straight to the bride's big smile. The groom's undone bowtie says the party's over and the honeymoon's about to begin.

Judges Comments

This was a very nice, quiet moment with good composition and use of extreme wide angle. However, the focus on the bride fell off and was back focused.

Photographer's Comment

Off-camera lighting enhanced this image as the couple made their exit among sparklers and cheering guests.