Landscape Photo Competition 2016 No 1 : Results

Judges Comment
For your bold though very peaceful composition, its depth, shapes and contradicting lines. For your beautifully soft tones and gentle colour palette, for the mystery you have captured in the distant Black Cuillin hills which fade away in the rain. Detail is everywhere, your long exposure, filtering and focus are perfect. The sea is made soft and flattened by the passing of time, the rock and its barnicles given their hard presence by the calm of the sea. You have taken your camera settings beyond the basics, you have bent them in your favour thus mastering this peaceful, spellbinding atmosphere. I have come back to admire this shot over and over, it looks so simple, but this is great landscape photography. Congratulations, you win this round !
Photographers Comment
My name is Frédéric Perrin, I live and work in Paris, France. I must admit I've fallen in love with Scotland and the Scottish islands! This was a rainy afternoon and the perfect autumn mood on the Isle of Skye. Feeling the light rain, smelling the sea air. I have a very precise memory of this beautiful moment, contemplating the transparency of this fabulous landscape. “Transparency” is the title I would give to my picture. I used the Zeiss 25mm wide angle lens at f/22 on my Nikon D800 and a ND Grad filter. Exposure time is 6s. Very light post processing in Lightroom (white balance and contrast). Thank you so much for the selection!
blustemy.photo/

Judges Comment
Beautiful tree composition against a snowy mountain scene. I love the slightly unbalanced composition and graphic lines. Great shot and an instant favourite, well done.
Photographers Comment
Eli Greig Deciduous trees, mid winter on top of Hakuba Goryu, the Japanese Alps. A storm approaches. A remarkably beautiful place. Olympus Pen Post processing, nothing more than a traditional dark room tech, some dodge and burn, desaturation and some work with brightness and contrast.
www.elivarjrastudios.bigcartel.com

Judges Comment
There were lots of rushing water shots this round and this is the best of them all. The sunset warms it all up nicely. Colours and exposure are lovely. Is this from just one shot?
Photographers Comment
Thank you very much for the mark of excellence. My name is Brian Connolly, I'm located in San Diego and this was taken at La Jolla's famous pothole area, known as Hospitals Reef or La Jolla Coves. This is indeed a single exposure with very little post work. I used an ND grad, shot RAW and just made minor adjustments in ACR and PS.
https://www.facebook.com/BrianConnollyPhotography/

Judges Comment
This is a lovely moonlit night shot. The halo around the moon setting off the hollow around the house. Nicely exposed light in the window to add that warmth.

Judges Comment
So much drama here, and contrast too. I love your opposing top and bottom, the gold and the silver, the cloud detail and the black land. We see lots of lakes and mountains photographs on here, often nice views too, but it takes an original approach to come up with an interpretation like this. Great shot, well done and good luck with this very noticeable out-of-the-frame style :-)
Photographers Comment
My name is Frederic , I took this picture in Flores island, Azores. Camera is a Sony ILCE-6000 with 18-105 lens, shot at 97mm, F6.7, 1/90, ISO100. Post processing: Lighting adjustments only.
www.aerografica.pt

Judges Comment
This is as moody as they get. Nice but forbidding, cold and dark wintery conditions. You have caught the entire dynamic range of the low light and some lovely colour too. Beautifully mastered shot. Well done.
Photographers Comment
Thank you for the mark of excellence. My name is Ajit Menon and I am a hobbyist photographer from New York. This was shot in Norway in one of the fjords of the Lofoten Islands.
www.ajitmenon.com

Judges Comment
Wow ! This is an original silhouette shot against a frantic night sky. I like your composition with plenty space for the tree and the northern star circle, and use of the very wide angle which has helped you create those amazing star tracks. Great work, well done!
Photographers Comment
Thank you for the compliment. This image looks really nice on a metal print! I shot this with a Canon 6D and the 11-24mmL lens, at 11mm. There is roughly an hour's worth of exposure using 30 second subs stacked in Photoshop CC.
https://myles-photos.smugmug.com/

Judges Comment
This is amazing and so complicated to pull off. What a clever mix of celestial and artificial light, all of those plants gazing up to the Milky Way over that black hill. Clever work and a stunning result, well done.

Judges Comment
Certainly this is a remarkably wild spot and you have captured that last ray of red light on the cliffs but especially in the spray from the wave. Well done, we’ll gladly see more like this please :-)
Photographers Comment
J.K. Putnam, Acadia National Park - Maine, Canon 6D w/ Canon 16-35mm f/4L, Basic adjustments in Adobe Lightroom
www.jkputnamphotography.com/