Landscape Photo Competition 2014 No 4 : Results

  • Judges Comment
  • This is just stunning and the winner of this competition. You have mastered the light and composition here just beautifully, the foreground movement brings so much depth and indeed originality to your picture, the pastel circles of flowers taking on a dreamlike existence. Rainbows don’t usually wait for photographers to polish up their composition, you have worked quickly and with great effect. This is a wonderful view and a pleasure to behold. Congratulations, you are this round's deserved winner!
  • Photographers Comment
  • Wow, thank you for the honor of winning and the kind words about this image!. I'm very excited to take first considering the exceptional body of work from all the finalists. I made this photo up in Crested Butte, Colorado this June. Duncan is exactly right in that the light in this picture was fleeting at best. I find that up at 9,000 feet and above, the light is generally harsh and very quick to dissipate...this has taught me set up a shot fast. Most evenings I find that the exceptional light we all seek as landscape photographers only lasts a minute or two up at elevation. Compared with locations at sea level, parts of Iceland and Scotland for instance, one can experience well over an hour and half of unbelievable light in one single evening. Mamiya 7ii, 43mm lens, Lee filter system ~ 2 stop hard nd grad, Kodak Ektar 100, Gitzo Mountaineer tripod, Achratech Ultimate Ballhead, minor adjustments in Lightroom
  • lucidlandscape.com/
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Here is a powerful minimalist composition in two very bold halves, with a perfectly straight and divisive horizon. A nice slow exposure gives a soft yet still detailed surface to the sea, the orange sunset stripe brings warmth and plenty punch. It takes a lot of experience and artistic talent to achieve such a simply beautiful composition. Fantastic work, well done.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Thank you for your comment and for the mark of excellence. I took this photo with a Canon 5d2 and a 24mm prime lens. I used an ND filter and a tripod in order to be able to take this picture with a long exposure time (30 secondes). It was shot in France (ile de ré) last summer.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • It is very common to hear people saying that the light isn’t good or that there isn’t enough sunshine to take decent photographs. It takes some photography know-how to understand low light and light diffusion as you have here. It is a nice deep composition with interest throughout, you have given the foreground space and importance adding so much to the atmosphere of this amazing scene. Very well done. PS. Where is this? I must get there one day ☺
  • Photographers Comment
  • Thanks for choosing my photo. This photo was taken in Norway at "Trolltunga" (Trolls tongue). We came to this place after an five hour hike, it was steep and it was raining quite a lot but when we came to this place, which was the goal of the hike, the weather was decent. But just some minutes later everything was gray, so one needs a little bit of luck as well. Some post processing in Lightroom and then stitched from three photos in Photoshop. Nikon D610, Tamron 24-70 @ 24mm f/16 ISO 400 Håkan Sweden
  • www.flickr.com/photos/hobbe9/
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • As is so often the case the best photos look so simple but you don’t get pictures like this by snapping out of the land-rover window. This is just perfect. You found a recipe for a nice image and went on to take that to a very high level of artistic creation. I imagine you looked for this composition for some time. You have used a telephoto lens to press the foreground and background together, drawing that powerful dune line and dividing your picture into those famous thirds. You positioned yourself to place the tree perfectly within the darker sand, boosting its presence and making a strong anchor point for the viewer’s eye to settle. You have used the natural lines and curves to great effect, the detail and emptiness too. Fantastic work, well done.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Thanks! The photo was made almost exactly as you described it! Lens used was indeed a long telephoto lens and the photo was made at 300mm. I am a South African photographer and the photo was made on a very recent photographic journey to Namibia. More of my photos, (plus technique & the equipment) of this remarkable place called Namib Naukluft can be seen at the link below Regards, Ivan Muller
  • thelazytravelphotographer.blogspot.com/
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Another stunning shot in this round of very high level landscape photography. You have managed the light and dark beautifully presenting us with this atmospheric picture of desolate silhouettes in the fog. I love this and as with all the first 10 photos of this round you came so close to clinching it…
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • This is once again a very fine shot. The short depth of field brings all our attention to those wonderful trees, the out-of-focus background, instead of drawing our eye away from the trees, just adds to the atmosphere, bouncing our gaze back to the very sharp subject. Usually chopped off foreground subjects are difficult but here that broken rule gives this composition even more strength. Well done!
  • Photographers Comment
  • Thanks. This photograph was made on a recent journey to Namibia in the Namib Naukluft near Sesriem. I used a long telephoto zoom to achieve the effects as described by the judge. I am a South African photographer and more of my images of this remarkable place can be seen if you follow the link below. Regards, Ivan Muller
  • thelazytravelphotographer.blogspot.com/
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • This is a lovely alpine landscape. You have composed a strong image with great lines where the chalet and mountain hold the viewer’s attention. Your histogram looks perfect and has allowed you to “dodge and burn” very effectively bringing us those lovely soft tones. Nice work and beautiful location to return to in all seasons.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Thanks to the judges! This is the Lago Federa from Dolomites, Italy. I stayed the night in the hut on the left and I must say the view from the window was something extraordinary!
  • jkahilaphotography.com
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Another very original view. I love the grain and the brick wall, the contrast of the cluttered right half and the peaceful left. One doesn’t have to climb a mountain to get a great landscape, it may be waiting for you outside the back yard. It is the light and atmosphere which make the ingredients for a beautiful photograph, you have seized those perfectly here. Well done.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Blue Photo was taken in Vojvodina at dawn on the New Years evening. Taken with Canon AE-1 (analogue, 35 mm) no post processing
  • www.maticki.com
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • You have brought a beautiful atmosphere to this seascape through your sensitive composition. The horizon splits the picture into two neat halves; the pontoon makes a strong lead line into the distance and your clever shutter speed brings life to the water – just enough movement to make that wave break and make an interesting contrast with the still white sand. Nice work, more of this please but be careful to always give the "man-made" less importance than the natural (for this theme)… you have done that here. Well done.
  • Photographers Comment
  • This shot is of Navarre Beach Pier, very close to my home in the Florida panhandle. I had just finished shooting the sunrise when I turned to the opposite end of the beach to find that the clouds over the pier were illuminated by beautiful pink and purple hues. Equipment used was my Nikon D700, Nikkor 14-24mm/2.8 lens, Really Right Stuff Tripod, and Arca Swiss ballhead. Settings were ISO 100, 24mm, F9, 1 second exposure. I made several attempts to capture the motion of the water just right and settled upon this one. I appreciate your acknowledgement of my work with this Mark of Excellence! Kim Herold
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • This is a very photographed spot and the view is well known for its outstanding beauty. You have done well and make the top 10 but for a famous view like this one to break away you need to bring something more original to the composition and perhaps a more delicate and real treatment in the digital lab.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Photographers Comment
  • Thanks for the mark! After feeding the cats in the misty morning I noticed the sun just rising and the rays that started playing in the mist. I literally ran to get the camera and upon return had only one or two minutes until the magic was all over. Camera used was a Canon 5D mark II with the "primepipe" EF 200/2.8L on location outside Mantorp, Sweden. This image is actually one of several crops of a larger image with some slight post processing in Aperture.
  • jabcam.wordpress.com
  • Mark Of Excellence
    • Mark Of Excellence
    • Photographers Comment
    • As a photographer, I knew that sometimes bad, changing or shifting weather can be the ingredient or magic that can put a normal photograph to shame. I really wanted a little longer exposure to show the fast moving atmosphere crashing over the Grand Tetons. Shifting light and a shaking camera were killing my fleeting opportunity! I composed the various shots, started the shutter, and flew open my jacket like a sail to block as much wind as possible from the tripod and camera - exposing my T-shirted self over and over again to negative wind-chill temperatures. "Click" - "Yikes, that's an awful shot" - adjust, adjust. "Click" - blown-out... sunset over. I finally gave up as I could not feel my fingers anymore pressing the remote release shutter and hoped that it was not all in vain. "Event Horizon" was the photograph that almost was... not. Sony A77, Benro Tripod, EZ Leveler, Sony 24-105mm.
    • craigbill.com
    • Mark Of Excellence
      • Mark Of Excellence
        • Mark Of Excellence
          • Mark Of Excellence
            • Mark Of Excellence
            • Photographers Comment
            • Hi, thanks for looking at my pic! Fred Stillings, Sawtooth mountains,Idaho,USA....35mm Kodak transparency film, Pentax P3n, Vivitar 28mm, center column flipped on the tripod to get closer to the ground...grad ND filter...no "post processing"....I wish I could get it to look as good as the slide on a light box ha ha ha!
            • Mark Of Excellence
            • Photographers Comment
            • Thank you very much for noticing my photo in your contest. Photograph was taken in eastern Turkey on the road between the cities of Mus and Van and mountain is call Nemrrut Mountain. I used Olympus E3 camera with 14-54 lens with UV filter in focal length 14mm. Exposure time 1/640 with F=6.3
            • www.paparazziforhire.co.uk