2010 Q3 Contest
Reflections
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Judges Comments
I love that you first see everyone taking pictures or looking at the back of the camera and after studying the image you see the reflection of the bride and groom kissing. Very nicely done.
If you look very closely you will see there are three levels to this photograph. The bride and groom kissing in the mirror, the line of attendees taking photographs and behind them another couple kissing! Nice moment layering the image and also capturing the emotion.
What an incredible image. It could have held its own in almost any category but it reigns here without doubt. Everything works. And don't you love that as the mirror in the foreground reflects a kiss between a bride and groom, another kiss is occurring in the background? That's a detail you wouldn't expect. It would have been a winner without that background kiss but everything added together makes this photo stand alone.
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2nd Place: Julie Ambos from Florida, United StatesJudges Comments
Strong composition with a really interesting reflection. Very nicely done.
This photographer made the most of this location. Nicely done.
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3rd Place: Marianne Earthy from London, EnglandJudges Comments
Light, color and magnificent beauty! It’s all there in this elegant frame of a couple dancing with the added element of the bride's face beautifully lit in the mirror reflection. A glamorous photograph that I’m sure they will treasure forever.
I can't imagine a moment when a mirror creates a more perfect additive to a moment, revealing the bride's face as she spins in dance beneath the gaze of a watchful painting. A high compliment among photojournalists was, "I wish I had shot that." This image meets the "qualifications."
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4th Place: David Pullum from London, EnglandJudges Comments
Photographer did a great job capturing the fancy footwork of these dancers and their reflection. I would have cropped out the guy in the background in the upper right corner and it would have added a stronger symmetry to the image.
Reflections can become a gimmicky effort to do something "different." They generally delight clients but I personally believe few rise beyond that. Interestingly, this category produced images of genuine merit. I really liked this image, not because of the reflection but because it is a real moment of playful joy. Furthermore the photographer included enough elements (particularly the smiling face of the man at center) combined with good composition to make it an image that would likely stand alone sans reflection.
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5th Place: Mary Schroeder from Oregon, United StatesJudges Comments
Very nice reflection and I love the way the lips are seen but not the face above the lips.
This photo is one of my favorite of the whole contest. Beautiful, edgy, poetic. Love it.
Photographer's Comment
A few minutes before she walked out the door to get married.
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Judges Comments
Another well composed image which uses reflection as an integral part of the composition. I might suggest a crop down from the top as I don't think the upper part of the image is needed and competes with the bottom.
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7th Place: Franck Boutonnet from Rhone, FranceJudges Comments
This photograph has a very sexy mysterious feeling. It’s a very different way of seeing but the elements work with the framing of the face that obscures the head on the women in the background. The photograph asks questions and that’s an interesting element that we don’t often see.
Nice seeing as well. Composition makes it way more than a wedding photo.
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8th Place: Tony Marin from Victoria, AustraliaJudges Comments
A very good take on a often done image.,
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Judges Comments
Here's a first. I've judged tens of thousands of top level wedding photos from some of the best photographers on the planet but I can't remember ever seeing this scene. But, the onus is on the moment. Thus, not only is this photo unique (at least to my experience) it also includes the bride and groom. Mostly I like the "seeing" of this scene combined with its wonderful execution by the photographer.
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Judges Comments
Very clean and simple but the image works very well.
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11th Place: Shane Snider from North Carolina, United StatesJudges Comments
Interesting juxtaposition of images in this photograph that reflects the bride greeting someone as another takes a photograph and others watch very seriously in the background. I like the framing but I would have come down a bit on the top of this image because my eye wants to escape the frame upward. Cropping it a bit tighter would add to the graphic design of the image.
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12th Place: Marianne Earthy from London, EnglandJudges Comments
What a fun moment as the mirror creates the illusion of the bride's arm. It's a quick "read" that presents itself without fuss or fanfare. It gets to the "punchline" quickly and makes us all smile.
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13th Place: Thomas Gallane from New South Wales, AustraliaJudges Comments
Simple but well done. Has some edge.
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14th Place: Matt Adcock from Quintana Roo, Mexico -
15th Place: Julie Kim from London, EnglandPhotographer's Comment
I had kind of planned for this shot to happen. It was a gorgeous, sunny day which is not all that common in the UK so I wanted to make the most of the gifts this light was going to bring. Car exits and entrances are not always that graceful, so when I saw the bride and groom having a little toast I walked right up to the window, using my body to block some of reflection so I'd have a clear shot inside. The groomsmen outside support the scene.
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16th Place: Marino Prieto from Parana, Brazil -
17th Place: Chris Hartwig from Paca, France -
18th Place: Karen Bridges from Illinois, United States -
19th Place: Blair Gable from Ontario, Canada -
20th Place: Marco Ficili from Sicily, Italy