2006 Winter Contest
Action
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1st Place: Adam Welch from Colorado, United StatesJudges Comments
Although not the most beautiful or technically aesthetic picture I came across, I loved the moment and composition. It's one of those pictures that takes you there and makes you feel like you are part of the action (or at least wish you were!). Great energy, wild composition that adds to the feeling of action and abandon...otherwise known as drunkenness??? :) I love the hand in the foreground bisecting the frame, great expression of dancer on right. The woman in middle, upper frame, with her eyes just on the edge is perfect.
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2nd Place: Mark Earthy from London, EnglandJudges Comments
The texture, composition and moment are great. Groom's face is perfectly framed within the confetti burst. The framing of the house is strong and makes the whole image very bold. This is an explosion of action at a moment that can be very hard to capture well.
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3rd Place: Mark Earthy from London, EnglandJudges Comments
I just love the cacophony of flowers that fill the frame but we are still able to see the expressions on the faces of the couple.
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Judges Comments
The man on the right really anchors the whole group but it is so much fun following everyone's expression and body language.
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Judges Comments
The bride's gaze, the flight of the veil and the nearly perfect placement of the eyes in the most transparent part of the veil make this work. I think it would work better as a square (cropping out the left 25% or even vertical to play up the vertical movement of the veil.
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Judges Comments
COMMENTS: The groom's body language and the height of his jump make this work. It suggests he is happy to be married (or at least done with the ceremony.) The weather/light make it feel so summery. The photographer's position leaving the hilltop to bisect her does not help the image.
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7th Place: Kenneth Paul Soong from Alberta, CanadaJudges Comments
The man levitating in the center is just perfect. Looks as though he just lifted right off the ground. This might have been very confusing if the other men had not been included.
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8th Place: Matteo Lavazza Seranto from Italy, ItalyJudges Comments
Just the right combination of ambient and artificial light to freeze this moment. I understand the tradition of rice/confetti, etc at weddings but I don't understand why – and perhaps that is my attraction to this image. I'm not sure the bride understands “why†at exactly this moment as well! The picture does suffer from a bit of compositional centeritis – it could have been composed better but I still like the action and movement of the picture.
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9th Place: Jared Platt from Arizona, United StatesJudges Comments
A cliched moment at weddings but captured as a timeless moment, with peak action, joy, beautiful, beautiful light to highlight the exact point of action. A complex image that captured the moment of action very well.
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10th Place: Anne Ruthmann from Massachusetts, United StatesJudges Comments
Whoever he is, he's lucky! All the girls are grabbing for him and he is very cool through it all. Great composition, use of flash to highlight the main subjects. A wonderful moment and a great storytelling image.
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11th Place: Hassel Weems from Georgia, United StatesJudges Comments
The anticipation of the main boy really makes this, as does the perfect position of the garter. Most other faces only add (in a good way) to the tension. The very dark background and the single harsh light coming from the right push the harshness/contrast up to an unpleasant level.
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12th Place: Josh Stephenson from Colorado, United StatesJudges Comments
I love the layering of this image. The category is action and what is so cool about this image is how each layer – the front hand/arm, then the ladies faces and then finally the dancing in the background all have an action and emotion attached to them. The framing of the action works well – the right hand of the frame does bother me just a bit but it is a fun image to just look at.
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13th Place: Mike Day from Ontario, CanadaJudges Comments
There is so much going on in this picture, so many wonderful faces and gestures, hands coming from every direction. It is the kind of picture that is so nice to take your time and meander through.
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14th Place: Hilarion Goh from Singapore, SingaporeJudges Comments
A joyful photograph, it is almost as though they are walking on air. I like the framing. By including the building and steps the image really has an unusual feel.
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15th Place: Brian Walski from Colorado, United StatesJudges Comments
The photographer's position relative to the bride and groom as well as the subject's level of energy/expression make this work. The colored light on the background subjects also helps. The brightness of the groom's arm and the slight ghosting on the left side of the bride's face detract form the main center of attention, their expressions. Yes, they are a byproduct of mixing flash and available light, a good strategy but they do distract. A flash with a remote flash cord, held off camera, up high and to the right would have helped.
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16th Place: Brooke Hendricks from Washington, United StatesJudges Comments
The garter toss is always fun but I can't help but imagine the photographers reaction when he/she realized the toss was going over the edge of the boat – secretly we are saying, “YES, now flip over the edge and make sure you through your feet way up in the air for a better picture!†All of the faces tell a great story – and the location of the garter is spot on.
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17th Place: Evrim Icoz from Oregon, United StatesJudges Comments
This is peak action for sure. What a move, is all I can say. And what a great moment on the dance floor. Great use of flash to freeze the moment just right, at the apex of his jump, or whatever he was doing! I love the two light fixtures above him as well...very strong
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18th Place: Mark Gardner from Maryland, United States -
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