Horse Photo Competition 5 2017 : Results

Judges Comment
This is such a remarkable image and an instant favorite. The stark, yet dramatic, setting allow this young horse to stand out in this cold environment. The contrast of the softer tones of the swirling water against the sharper lines of the subject allow the horse to truly stand out. Great capture and editing. Nicely done, and congrats! ~ illona

Judges Comment
What a truly stunning silhouette image of these three horses standing into the wind on a hilltop. I initially would have suggested a different framing, putting the three horses more to the left, but then we would have lost the single horse far out on the distant hill which is truly perfect. So nice job and wonderful capture! ~ illona

Judges Comment
This is such a wonderful image. Framing this adorable pony with the two bent trunks is perfect. The rich colors of the leaves and moss contrast with the soft, misty background, and the pony stands out brilliantly in the midst of it all. Nicely done! ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thank you very much for the Mark of Excellence! My name is Valentina Goeck and I'm working as a pet photographer, graphic designer and artist. I live in the middle of Germany, but I'm travelling a lot for pet photography, I also love travelling to other countries. I took this picture in an area called Odenwald near Heidelberg. The owner of the pony showed me these special trees so I wanted to integrate them in a picture. I'm using the Canon 5D Mark III. The editing process was quite complex but I really enjoy bringing out the important things in a picture and reduce the others as there was for example a diagonal tree in the backgound which I edited out because it was heavily distracting the view.
www.valentina-goeck.de

Judges Comment
This is such a tremendous image and an instant favorite. The low angle brings the viewer immediately into the scene. Strong contrast with rich blacks and bright whites give this image impact, and the rich textures give us plenty to examine. Nicely done! ~ illona
Photographers Comment
This image was made in the Grayson Highlands of Virginia as part of a photo book called 'Faces of Grayson' which is a portrait series of the wild ponies of the Grayson Highlands. The camera used was a Sony A7R MK1. Processing was done in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom Classic CC. My name is Adam Welch and if you would like to learn more about the extraordinary wild ponies of the Grayson Highlands then please visit the link below. Thanks I SHOT IT and everyone who loved the photo :)
www.aphotographist.com/faces-of-grayson-photo-book

Judges Comment
What an incredible landscape for this beautiful horse. The low angle is perfect for this setting, giving us a glimpse of the rocky shore and adding to the incredible array of textures, fro the the shimmering water, the mist against the mossy backdrop, the craggy rocks, and the falling water. The horse caught in mid-stride adds to the overall drama of this image. Nicely done! ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Dear Ilona, thank you for choosing one of my horsepictures again. I am Marion Schoening from Berlin/Germany. This picture shows the great Skogafoss in Iceland with an Icelandic Horse of course. We took it during a workshop in the early morning to avoid any tourist inside the pic. Used my Nikon D750 and Sigma Art 35 mm.
https://www.facebook.com/MarionSchoeningPhotographie/

Judges Comment
This is such a fun image, and the strong framing allows the viewer to follow the line of this horse's strong neck right down to its adorable expression. Beautiful tones and management of white balance. Nicely done. ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thank you so much for this award. My name ist Beate and i am an amateur photographer based in germany. This picture shows the horse of my best friend. We took this picture in front of the barn and Omally fits perfectly in front of this background. I love the clear structure so the focus is totally on the beautiful horse. I took the picture with my canon 6d, 70-200mm2.8. I processed it only with ligthroom.

Judges Comment
What a fabulous image -- absolutely stunning light and framing, and such a calm, easy pose by this beautiful horse. Nicely done! ~ illona

Judges Comment
This wonderfully intimate closeup is nicely done, with clear focus on the warm, amber eye, and great management of black-on-black. Nicely done! ~ illona
Photographers Comment
Thank you so much Ilona! I'm Anna Panke from Cologne, germany, and I'm just in love with the eye4s of horses. As most of the time in horse photography I took this with my Canon 5D Mark III and the 70-200mm 2.8L. I processed it via Lightroom and Photoshop to really put the focus towards Antons beautiful eye.
www.annapanke.de

Judges Comment
What a fabulous setting and horse. The conversion to black-and-white keeps this image mysterious and the viewer's focus on the horse. I do find that the tree in the foreground, splitting the frame in two, is somewhat distracting, and might have suggested a different angle ... but otherwise a lovely image. Nicely done. ~ illona