'300,000 Likes' Free Photo Competition ( Cloud Themed Photos only! ) : Results

  • Competition Winner
  • Judges Comment
  • The most simple and at the same time most effective way to emphasize the “cloud theme” - it is only by the very small, but clearly visible bird that the greatness of the cloud structure gets its visual appearance. The composition is wisely chosen. In a beautiful tonal black & white photograph the main theme shows itself in an unsurpassed way with the help of a mandatory but in itself unobtrusive side object. In this simplicity lies greatness!
  • Photographers Comment
  • Wow, what an honor :) Thanks a lot!!! This picture I took from my balcony in Berlin, while I was watching the swallows flying in front of those amazing clouds. I made it with a Nikon D50 190 mm, f10, 1/800s.
  • yvonneschleicher.de
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • An artist’s interpretation of the “cloud theme”. The clouds on a cheerful day presented on a pyramid stand, very geometrical. The blue sky though is in contrast to something disturbing, unnatural - as if the clouds are imprisoned by a prism of glass - it reminds us of the famous work of Magritte, who couldn’t have executed this theme in a better way. Brilliant!
  • Photographers Comment
  • This photo was taken while visiting Prague. The triangle reflecting clouds works like a mirror only at a certain angle. I waited for a few minutes for the clouds and that's all. I wish I had a better camera at that time. It is a great honour for me to receive such an award!
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • One cloud illuminated from above by the sun - like an actor appearing on stage. Nothing else. Perfect composition. Black & White harmony. A picture one can look at forever.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • This picture shows the elements. Water, air, the sky and the boat united by the same force - wind, or the lack of. There is a strange calmness in this picture and strong contrast on the other side. Blacks are deep and whites are bright. Composition follows aesthetically the "rule of thirds”. Is there a storm coming to disrupt the peace? The clouds and the boat’s destiny are infinitely connected.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Thank you for the award and comments ! Started photography few years ago, particularly interested in quality of light in photography and how that can affect the subject and mood. I only use available light and wanted the best reproduction in my images so i went for Leica. The image above was taken on a summer afternoon at Washington, DC marina, after a long wait for the proper light to fill in the atmosphere in order to create the contrast between the boat and stormy background . Taken with Leica DLux 5 . Thanks again !
  • www.pbase.com/maxgrigore
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • The desert plain and clouds hanging over the nearby mountains. A threefold in object and in composition. Nicely executed in this strong landscape picture. A black & white in hard contrast. It shows us extremely well that the sky and the clouds are equally important as all other parts in a good landscape photograph.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Hi, my name is Scott Hoyle. Captured this photograph with a Canon 5D Mark 11 as I was leaving Palm Springs headed for LA. There was a large storm the day before that flooded the city streets for a couple hours. I've printed this photo in color and B&W. Like both for different reasons but selected this one for the contest. Thank you.
  • www.scotthoyle.com
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Two layers of clouds wrap around the mountain peaks. The appearance and structure of these clouds is dissolved, unclear. Like in an impressionist painting, but as a black & white version, leaving the details to our imagination. It shows us that clouds can be above and below.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • A joyride! The children in this picture are floating in the air on this carousel and become hence part of the clouds hanging in the sky. Happiness, reminding us of our youth and the wonderful fantasies connected with it. Clouds representing just this aspect of our own existence.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Thank you very much for the honor! It was an unexpected surprise with so many amazing entries in the competition. The cries of excitement and glee emanating from the ride inspired me to capture the youthful exuberance of a hot summer day in Coney Island, Brooklyn. It was an excuse to visit my childhood for a moment and envision myself flying high through the clouds, enjoying a cooling breeze on an oppressively muggy July day. Shot with Canon 60D and Canon 24-105 f4, processed in LR4 and Silver Efex 2.
  • 500px.com/getupk3v
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • A beautiful landscape shot in color. It shows us how important the interaction of the sky with the clouds and the landscape represented by fields and trees is. The photographer has an excellent notion of this by his choice of composition where the form of the big cloud follows the form in the landscape beneath. The trees are black, even cut -off and have no detail, the field is in a warm color and the clouds are all about light. The clouds are clearly the main subject in this photograph, but becoming this only by the other elements being so strongly interconnected.
  • Photographers Comment
  • July 2006, spending my birthday in the mountains east of San Diego, CA, we hiked while watching thunderheads build to the north. After the hike we headed in that direction, discovering that lightning had ignited a wildfire, which combined with the storms to form this scene. Circling the firestorm on our way home, I had to pull over for this shot! Nikon D70s, minor processing. Thanks for the recognition! Visit my Geoff Horner PhotoArt Facebook page to follow me on my photo-adventures!
  • www.facebook.com/pages/Geoff-Horner-PhotoArt/302148569797770
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • How small is man in comparison to the elements, the wide desert dunes and the sky. A great picture where the clouds appear in a similar way as the desert, as one layer lacking in detail. Great effect applied to this photograph and an exciting new take on the “cloud theme”.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Brian Day Location: Mears, Michigan, USA (Silver Lake Dunes Park) Camera Model: Sony Alpha a99; Lens: Carl Zeiss 24-70mm Post Processing: Black and White digital RAW conversion using Silver Efex Pro
  • www.brianday.org
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • These clouds appear as stepping stones in the sky and the hot air. The picture reminds us of the strange forms clouds can take. Nothing can build up as fast, appear and vanish again. You look at it and the next moment they are gone or a new form shapes up … a playground of nature and its creativity.
  • Photographers Comment
  • I made an early morning trip to shoot pictures of a fort in Qatar. After the shoot was done I was returning home. It was a long drive along a desolate road. Winter had just started and the clouds were returning to the desert landscape. As if by magic, the clouds split and appeared in a neat line. The fence next to the road provided a good vertical balance. The clouds all merged together and were blown away some time later. I really enjoyed taking this picture, to show to everyone some of the patterns nature can throw at random.
  • www.bwadventures.com
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Fighter planes penetrating the sky - the pilots living in the clouds, manoeuvring through them. This reality is their world, not the ground. Wonderful black & white picture with strong composition.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Thanks for the commendation! This was a fun image to make. It is a composite, actually. Last year was the centenary of the crossing of the Blue Mountains (NSW, Aus) and there was a flyover to mark the event. I took the image of the planes on that day - just a straight shot against a blue sky. Later, I took the cloud image from my balcony. Each image was nice, but I wanted something dramatic, and this was the result. A bit of contrast, a red filter and some masking of the contrails. I am from Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains and am an amateur photographer. I use Olympus m4/3 gear and generally take photos of anything that grabs my attention.
  • greetingsfromstrangers.wordpress.com/
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • A strong graphical interpretation by this photographer. The square format is wisely chosen. The three palm trees form an identity and symbiosis with the clouds in the background, one cannot be without the other. The details and the light lies within the background, the palm trees are mere shadows. A situation as before a heavy storm, or shortly after? The weather dominating the flora on earth - represented by clouds.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • A flock of crane flying high above the clouds in the early morning or late evening sky. Presented in color, these birds are mere interconnected shadows without detail and the clouds, a band of grey. The picture shows us that there are living things around these clouds. A romantic picture with feeling in a great composition. Wildlife on "cloud level" at its best.
  • Photographers Comment
  • My name is Elizabeth Brugger. This photo was taken at sunrise in South Texas as the Sandhill Cranes flew by. I use a Nikon D3100. I cropped the photo but nothing else. This is the natural beauty of South Texas.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • In this picture there are only clouds, only sky - by reflection. The division between the real and its reflecting counter part is barely visible. The blue color dominates. The earth vanishes and the whole emphasis lies in the clouds. Plain becomes sky, becomes clouds.
  • Photographers Comment
  • My name is Elizabeth Brugger. I took this photo at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in South Texas where my husband & I volunteer. This is Sunrise on the Bay. My camera is a Nikon D3100. There was no need to doctor this photo. This is exactly how it looked that morning & why I knew it would be a spectacular photo. Thank you
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • This picture has most likely been trimmed to age. Resembling an image from the 1930s with a destroyed look applied to it. Monsoon clouds building up on an exotic island or place. A unique look gives this cloud interpretation a strong character of time way back, but with a subject that never changes. Its been given an iconic feel that you never get tired of looking at.
  • Photographers Comment
  • I am Amy Hanson, a novice photographer, and hope to be professional one day. I snapped this photo from my front yard in Kimberly, Wisconsin about a year ago, as a storm was rolling in. It was taken with a Cannon Powershot sx150, and I added an aged overlay to it. I am thrilled that my photo was recognized out of so many amazing photos.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Clouds as intermediary of the sun rays shining on the skyline of a metropolis. A large portion of the picture is dominated by the illuminated clouds letting them appear like a heavenly gift. The small airplane representing a second connection between the light coming from above and the city beneath. The character of the image matches the composition extremely well.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • The color and composition of the picture evokes a Rothko painting. Imaginative and calm because of the straight horizontal lines, structure only in the clouds. It’s all about color tones here. Clouds represented more like in a painting than a traditional photograph.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Thank you for the Mark of Excellence. I took this photo when visited Cinque Terre in Italy, three years ago. Shot with Nikon D300, 18-200 lens at 200. And as it happens sometimes, although I've spent couple of hours there, tornado I was waiting for happened when I was on the bus back to Portovenere. But I shot it. Best, Konrad
  • flickr.com/photosolojam
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Clouds and fog coming from the open sea, dashing against the shoreline hills of the continent. The beholder is part of this dramatic action. The picture is executed in a way that lets us see more in terms of light, bright whites illuminate the clouds. Wonderful composition and play with light in this black & white photograph.
  • Photographers Comment
  • This is a surprise! Thanks for choosing my photo. My name is Julio Barranco and I´m an amateur photographer. I took this picture at the top of the Peña de Bernal in Queretaro, Mexico. It was a wonderful moment with beautiful light at the sunrise. I was just lucky to be there at that moment. I took it using a Nikon D7000 and a 18-200mm lens. Post processing was done with Silver Fx and Lightroom.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Window and clouds, reminding us on the analogy in the computer world and at the same time symbolizing the outlook into the future, what’s next and what’s outside of our own familiar home. The cloud as a symbol.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • One of a series of photos Highly Commended by the I SHOT IT team.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • One of a series of photos Highly Commended by the I SHOT IT team.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • One of a series of photos Highly Commended by the I SHOT IT team.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Hi, my name is Regina Hoer from Germany. The photo shows the Kyle of Durness in the most north westerly part of Scotland and I used my Sigma SD10. I love making landscape and nature photography and I always prefer to include an interesting sky in my pictures, if possible or available. So I appreciate the recognition very much, particularly in this cloud themed competition. Many thanks for the award.
  • www.reginahoer.com
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • One of a series of photos Highly Commended by the I SHOT IT team.