Child Photo Competition 2013 No 1 : Results

Competition Winner : First Prize
$2,606.00 plus a Leica V-LUX 40 worth $800

Judges Comment
Congratulations to the winner of the first I Shot It Child-Competition! It is such a great and very emotional picture! A special moment captured that really touches my heart. Old and young together in a protecting or maybe consoling situation. It tells a story, has a great composition and a real special light situation, focused on the essential. Thank you for such a great shot!
Photographers Comment
My name is Morten Holbein and I live in Norway. I work as an IT Manager but my favorite hobby is to take pictures whenever I get the chance. After discovering the beauty of shooting digital two years ago, I devote even more time to photography now. I have the camera with me every day and try to “capture the light” when the opportunity arises. This is a very personal photo for me of my father and his grandson. It is taken just before my father was to be operated on for heart surgery and my nephew who was afraid that he would not see his grandfather again. I was sitting beside them and shot from my hip with a Canon 5d MarkIII and 40mm 2.8 pancake lens which I always carry with me. As for post-processing, it is mainly sharpening and light adjustments with Adobe Lightroom and then sent to Silver Efex Pro for black and white conversion. Thank you very much for the First prize. I am honoured and proud.
500px.com/mortenholbein

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
I really love this picture and if I could choose a second winner it would be your photo! The reflection, the expression on his face captured in the right moment, the colors and the light situation.....on balance a great photo!
Photographers Comment
My name is Joshua Forschen, currently in the US Air Force serving in Germany. This particular photo was difficult to catch as I couldn't see what the camera could. Alex and I were on a train travelling to Trier, Germany. I saw the moment and wanted to catch it quick. I used an Canon 7D with a 50mm 1.8 lens. I couldn't fit this scene through the viewfinder in the position I was sitting so I used LiveView, but couldn't see the screen. I was totally unaware that the image contained the reflection of Alex's face and the composition almost symetrical and including lead-in lines from the rail tracks on the ground outside. As for post-processing, the image is almost totally unaltered. No cropping or straightening was performed. Only a slight desaturation because it was still winter and felt that bright colors would distract. Overall, I am very honored to receive a mark of excellence! This will inspire me to keep improving! Thank you very much!
www.flickr.com/photos/forschen/

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
Her glance touches my deeply! The connection between the girl and the woman in the back is strong and it tells a whole story to me. Perfectly done!
Photographers Comment
My name is Daniel Maissan, and I live in the Netherlands. This picture was taken in the slums of Mumbai, India. I traveled India, Thailand and Burma for five months. The reason I take photographs, is to make contact with a world I understand less every day. This girl was standing in the door opening of her little house made of wood and metal plates on the roof. When I got down on one knee, to take the picture, her mom came to check out the situation. It became a warm and wonderful meeting with the most kind family you can imagine. The picture was taken with a Leica M9 and converted using Lightroom for the raw conversion and Silver FX Pro for the black and white conversion.
www.amanwithaleica.com

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
You captured a real calm and intimate moment between two little boys. Technically well executed! Love it!!
Photographers Comment
My name is Amy Bates, I live in southeast Georgia. Photography has been a hobby of mine since I was a young girl. This photo was taken at the Hampton Inn on Jekyll Island ,GA. We found our oldest son asleep in the arms of his younger brother. I quickly grabbed the nearest camera and stood over them to take a few shots. I took this photo with a Nikon coolpix s51 and converted it to black and white. This is one of my most treasured moments between my two boys. Thank you so much for choosing my photo for a mark of excellence. I am honored to have been chosen amoung so many beautiful photographs! :)

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
WOW! This image is really works! What a special moment with such strong emotions. It is sad and consoling at the same time. The colors are great and it is perfectly framed. I really love it!!
Photographers Comment
Thank you I Shot It and Thank You to our Judge Lisa Alessandra Kutzelnig for doing such an amazing job of choosing some truly outstanding images, every one of them inspires me. I'm not sure that my work deserves the honor of such company, but I am flattered nonetheless. My name is Jeff Edes and the photo you see was taken during a recent trek through Laos. The small village where I shot this image was alive with activity as we passed through shortly after sunrise. This child was attached to his grandmother who was smoking a pipe and helping repair a thatched roof hut. Canon 5d Mark ii, post process with Adobe Photoshop LR
www.jeffedesphotography.com

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
A perfect shot! Technically well done and it puts a smile on my face!
Photographers Comment
These fun kids did put a smile on my face! I was with a friend on this day and what I remember most is how I was feeling at the time. The technical part of photography has very little interest to me beyond the obvious need to have reasonable exposure and focus. I shoot because its emotional from start to finish. The process can be fun and engaging, but at the core of it I know its about how I'm feeling about what I'm shooting. If just a spark of the feeling is conveyed I'm happy with the result. Thank you for the kind words and for selecting my photo in this category. Congratulations to all who took part in this competition. Its a pleasure to review the submissions.

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
Great photo! You caught the right moment in the right time! Perfect!
Photographers Comment
This was a portrait session with a friend of mine(Chad) and his son (Wayne). It was shot on a white background using a Canon 580EX thru a beauty ring. I used a Canon 50D and a Canon EF 24-70 F/2.8 Lens at 48mm. It was processed in Lightroom, Photoshop, and NIK Silver Efex PRO. I always like to let my subjects be themselves with minimal posing. The magic moments are always caught as in this photo. Thanks for the Award Robert "FERD" Frank
www.ferdworks.com

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
It is such a funny and great photo! Congrats to this! The brave expression in his face.......ready to take-off and safe the world!! Love it!!
Photographers Comment
Hi my name is Stacy Simmering and we currently live in Hawaii. This photo is of my son, he is the baby of 4 wonderful kids I have. He has such a funny and outgoing personality. He loves pretending and his imagination takes him places I could never dream of. I wanted to capture this part of his childhood so he, or I would never forget. I used a Canon T1i with the 18-55mm lens. No special fancy equipment just a special little boy! Thank you so much for picking my photo I am honored and humbled. Congrats to all the winners!

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
At first sight an every day situation. Cutting toenails is not the favorite pastime of children. But I have never seen this captured in such a lovely photo!! GREAT!!
Photographers Comment
When I received the message for the MARK OF EXCELLENCE I was happy to have taken a picture that pleases other people. Lucky the camera was near by as the situation was a fine amusement for the onlookers. The picture was taken by a Nikon FM2 and Kodak T-Max 400.

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
It is such a beautiful picture! The eyes of this boy are sparkling, full of proudness. Technically well executed, a great light composition and perfectly framed! It works!!
Photographers Comment
Those are my son's hands adjusting the tie of his son, Jacob. It was my son's wedding day and moments before this, Jacob was crying because he had been sick all week. It's a very precious shot for me. A wonderful remembrance of a very special day. Patricia Solano Camera: Canon Rebel 3Ti Lens: Canon 50mm Lightroom and Nik Silver Efex Pro using a copper toner No cropping, just a little darkening of the upper left hand corner which was a little 'hot'.
500px.com/pattybfeliz

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
There is something magical in this picture! A composition with the right light, perfect colors and caught at exactly the right time! You did it!!

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
What a great light situation! It is not easy to shoot such a great picture when it is raining cats and dogs. The mood in this situation is captured very well and you want to celebrate with them and start to dance in the rain!
Photographers Comment
My name is Kyle Batson and I shot this image at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, Kansas. This spot next to this water ride is a favorite of kids who want to play in the raining water. I wanted to make sure my timing was right to get the jump, so I used manual focus to have better control. Shot with a Sony Alpha a850 with a Minolta 50mm lens at f2. Processed in black and white with Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
www.kylebatsonphoto.com/

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
Strike!! A real situation with real emotions! Such a photo can't be planned in advanced. It happens by accident with a sense for the right timing! Love it!!
Photographers Comment
Thank you very much for highlighting my work! My name is Antonio E. Pedreira. I took this photo in LA California. I used a Nikon D800 with a 85mm 1.4 prime lens. Nikor.
www.antonioepedreira.com/film-video-projects/

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
Very well done! Perfect picture with strong colors! Technically well executed and powerful!
Photographers Comment
Thank you for the recognition! My Name is Erin. I am from Saskatoon, SK Canada. This image of my adorable nephew Ryan was taken in my front yard. He and his dad were having a leaf fight, and Ryan was having a blast!! I used my 5D MKII for this image. It's definitely one good memory!

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
Two little ladies with a serious facial expression, straight into the camera. It is a great picture!
Photographers Comment
THANKS FOR SELECT MY PHOTO. I AM ARMANDO RAMOS FROM PIEDRAS NEGRAS, COAHUILA IN MEXICO. I TOOK THIS PHOTO OF 2 LITTLE GIRLS PLAYING "PRETEND WEDDING" IN 1986 DURING MY MEDICAL TRAINING IN THE NORTH OF MEXICO (I RECENT MADE CONTACT WIITH BOTH OF THEM VIA SOCIAL NETWORK, AND Y HOPE NOW THEY MARRIIED EACH FOR REAL. I SHOT THE PHOTO WITH MY CANON F1 AND 50 MM LENS, KODACOLOR FILM. THANKS FOR THE MARK OF EXCELLENCE.

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
It is quiet simple but you do not need to have a special arrangement to take a great photo. It is emotional and you can look at it again an again. It never gets boring!
Photographers Comment
Diane Luongo NY/NJ Canon 7D Lightroom
photoartbydiane.zenfolio.com/

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
This photo is really great! An unobserved moment, caught in the right time!

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
Wow! This photo is perfect! The only source of light is a candle. It is very dark but so perfectly executed! The light is exactly on the places where it should be. So it tells a story and reminds me of old paintings from Georges de La Tour and Caravaggio!

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
The reflections in the window are great and the colors are amazing. Beautiful!!
Photographers Comment
Thank you for the mark of excellence award! This is a shot of my daughter Alva sitting in the car waiting for me. She was totally absorbed in her own thoughts and I was lucky to have my camera with me and took some shots. I used a Canon 5d mark III with a 50 mm f1.4 lens.