Landscape Photo Competition 2016 No 4 : Results

Judges Comment
We say that photos are stolen moments in time, and of course a beautiful photograph conveys much more than just a copy of that moment. This picture does just that. The sea is alive, the waves full of movement, the birds swirling around, my eye jumping from one to another… I also love the pastel tones and the clever way your darkened sky holds my gaze down in the picture. Lovely, creative work, well done you win this round!
Photographers Comment
Thanks so much! It's quite an honor to be recognized amongst so many phenomenal photos! My name is Andrea Spence, I'm located on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I shot this image last winter after a Nor'easter at Coast Guard Beach along the Cape Cod National Seashore with a Canon 5D MKIII and the 24-70/2.8L lens. I was drawn to the gulls gliding and swaying over the stormy sea looking for a meal churned up by the waves. Post processing included basic color correction in Lightroom and Photoshop.
www.facebook.com/andreaspencephotography

Judges Comment
Full marks for your original everyday subject and clever long exposure which brings the wind into this out-of-the-ordinary composition, softening the vegetation and hardening the road sign. Great stuff!

Judges Comment
So dark and yet so light. It is a truly atmospheric picture with the whole story coming through so little detail. This one cannot be missed, its artistic slant making it very special. Beautiful, well done.
Photographers Comment
Thanks for the acknowledgment. The photo was taken somewhere in the north of Scotland, where the harsh conditions are defined by the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. I feel very attracted by the struggle between light and darkness in the North Atlantic areas. It is the mood more than the detail and the perfect exposure that interest me. -Erik-
www.northernmoods.photos

Judges Comment
Very mysterious, in its content but also its cold colours and dark tones. There is a need to come back and have another look… what is that figure doing in the river?
Photographers Comment
Thank you so much for this mark of excellence !! I am very grateful & humbled. Congratulations to everyone. My name is Debe Rymut from Chesterfield Michigan.This photo is one of my favorites, taken in Seattle Washington in a very rural area. The season was changing into the winter months when it becomes dark, cloudy & misty . While driving we came across this outstanding view of large mountain peeks in in a row draped in low hanging clouds with just dots of colors left , then to see a lone fly fisherman ! It was like the world didn't exist in that moment.

Judges Comment
The view is stunning and you have given plenty space to this wonderful sky which brings the dream to this picture. The standing figure in pink makes this pop and brings us a real sense of sharing this great outdoors.

Judges Comment
Here is a beautifully simple and minimal monochrome shot where the seabird steels the viewer’s attention back from the tree and island. Lovely use of space, well done!
Photographers Comment
Thank you for the Mark of Excellence Award! The scene is of a saltwater tidal flat called Mud Bay located in suburban Vancouver. Amazingly, the lone tree is a pear tree growing in the salty, mud flat and renews itself every spring with leaves and flowers, and bears fruit in summer. When I took the photo there was a light haze hanging over the water and the island in the background almost seemed to be floating. The photo was taken with a Nikon D7000 using a Nikon 18-200 mm zoom lens.

Judges Comment
The reflection makes a lovely warm and mottled backdrop for these beautifully placed lily leaves, and a nice contrast of conflicting lines to make them stand out. It is a clever well balanced composition, nicely spotted.
Photographers Comment
My name is Stefan Betz and I am a nature photgrapher from Germany, fullmember of the GDT. Thanks for the Mark of excellence. This shot was taken while I was weating for beavers at a sea in Kynnefjäll, Sweden. For me the scene looked like a paiting. More from Sweden on my website.
www.betz-naturfoto.de

Judges Comment
This is a lovely soft toned composition with a hard central dividing line, separating a chaotic foreground from the gentle distance. The closest tree makes a strong anchor, catching the viewer, the distant trees give depth. Nice shot, well done.
Photographers Comment
I love to shoot landscapes that tell the whole story and life of a territory, not just the classical landscapes with perfect light and condition. My land, the Po Valley, can be flat, foggy, cloudy and for that to be so beautiful. It 'only a matter of moods ;-)
https://federanghino.photo

Judges Comment
Beautiful panoramic shot of a beautiful view. You have captured that magic moment of morning light perfectly. This photograph’s depth comes from the foreground vegetation which frames the clouds which in turn frame the volcanoes. It is tricky composing a panoramic shot, you have done well.
Photographers Comment
Yvan Rochat, from Switzerland. I thank you very much for the mark of excellence! This landscape is in Indonesia, East of the Java island, at 2'800 m above see level. We were freezing from 4 am with my wife and our 2 girls of 4 and 6 year old. Thanks to their patience, I could make this pano with the best possible light. A nice scenery of the Bromo Volcano, to share with a crowed of photographers. One of the difficulty was to keep the tripod stable as we were packed and squeezed against a fence. It was nevertheless worth the hassle, as we now have a nice memory of this unique landscape.

Judges Comment
I like the wide angle portrait format you have used here making the foreground so important, the tuft of grass almost coming alive. Unfortunately there is nothing in the distance to really hold the eye and counter that foreground force to balance the composition. Technically very correct despite it being a difficult one to expose correctly with that very bright sky, you have filtered it well.