Landscape Photo Competition 2016 No 2 : Results

Competition Winner : First Prize
$912.00

Judges Comment
This is just simply perfect. The atmosphere of this forest, the dark of the distance, the mottled light and the very natural setting draw us into this wild place. You have captured the moment perfectly, the mood of these woods is wonderful. The old tree in the light, the greens of the moss and ferns, the broken branches lying around all add to the beauty of this very honest photograph. You have no amazing view but you have composed an amazing picture! Congratulations you win this round.
Photographers Comment
Wow, I am so incredibly grateful. Thank you so much. My name is Chanelle Theobald and I live in the beautiful country of New Zealand. This is in the central north island, in a bush area which is mostly untouched, and used to be an old logging track many years ago. We were walking up a bank and the scene literally stopped me in my tracks. I had to quickly take the photo before the sun shifted. This was taken with a Fuji Xe-2 and 18-55mm lens. The only post processing was some dodging and burning, and vignetting to focus the attention on the central area. It was pretty much as you see it with the sun shining through on path up to the tree.

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
Well he have been here before. This is another stunning shot with a sensitive composition and nice soft tones. I love how you have played with the shapes in the virgin snow and the hard line of the house against the sky. It is a stunning photograph and a heavyweight in this round. Well done.

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
This may be a well known Icelandic view, and what a stunning location it is too. But we all know that a nice view isn’t all you need to take a nice photo. The local environment, the weather, the season, the time of day all can influence the atmosphere at a particular moment and bring interest to a photograph. The art is in capturing all of that, composing with those elements in mind; the sand patterns from a less still day, the frosty grass, the cold of this vast expanse… You have managed all of that really well, your composition is beautiful and interesting, easy on the eye, you searched and found the best angle and took the best shot. Out in the field you win full marks. From then on it is a very personal approach. I feel you have taken your image into the surreal, the contrast and textures go just beyond the natural. The digital lab of today brings so many choices and creative possibilities but most often the beauty of nature is best expressed as it really is. Contrast can be adjusted more or less and here or there, density can be added, vignettes created. That atmosphere you so carefully captured can be enhanced, an element in your composition too. There is nothing new there and nothing wrong either, photographers have always developed their negatives and prints with a particular final image in mind, that image which holds attention, creates emotion. At the end of the day it is just down to taste and creative talent. Your resulting image is striking, you came very close, but in this theme of “nature at its best” a softer version would have got further.
Photographers Comment
Hello my name is Markus van Hauten from Germany. I'm a nature and landscape photographer and very happy, that my image got a "Mark of excellence". Thanks also for the comment from the judge. The picture is not hard post processed. It was a night with sea fog and the black sand was full of ice crystals so I was lucky to find these structures in the sand. Here is my socialmedia account: https://www.facebook.com/vanhautenfotografie/
van-hauten.eu

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
The amazing shapes and colours of this landscape keep us looking, it is interesting to see how the rivers have influenced the colours of the vegetation, drawing all those lines. Sadly the definition is lacking detail and one’s eye has trouble settling.
Photographers Comment
My name is Sanjeev Deo, please feel free to checkout my gallery in the link below. Thank you for the mark of excellence, (and an especially big congrats to Chanelle for winning - I am also from NZ and love seeing stunning shots from our beautiful country!). This shot however, was taken in Alaska from a floatplane as we were on our way from Anchorage to Brooks Falls. The patterns of the river networks fascinated me, reminding me of the veins on leaves or a capillary network in the human body. I too wish that the shot had more definition and there was more detail, but unfortunately the windows were not at all clean + had A LOT of scratches, so my processing had to take it into account to try and work with what I could!
500px.com/sanjeevdeo

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
I love your original approach, it takes an experienced eye to find these lines and shapes, and a sound photographer to compose a minimal image like this one. The detail is great too, keeping us looking. Lovely shot, well done.

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
I love the environmental slant here, the very straight lines made by man, the trains slicing there way through the forest… Nice work, well done.

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
This is technically a really sound achievement, it is a complicated exposure to manage, balancing the starlight with some clever light painting on the rocks in the dark. Love this, well done!

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
This was a favourite from the start. It is original, natural, colourful. The sunburst makes a strong anchor point and makes those silhouettes pop. Beautiful photograph, well done.
Photographers Comment
Thanks so much for recognizing this image. My name is Rene Bechard, this image was taken in Brukner Nature Center in Ohio and I was eatin alive by mosquitoes taking it! :D Canon 7D MII, minor post - sharpening and contrast.
www.facebook.com/renebechardphotography

Mark Of Excellence

Judges Comment
Another environmental shot thanks to the wind farm. The shower of rain and a ray of sunlight make this picture, taking us out of the surrounding dark.