Black-And-White Photo Competition 1 2014 : Results

  • Judges Comment
  • We find this image striking and full of emotion. The composition helps the storytelling, we dive into the photo. Simple and very effective storytelling that leaves the most important questions for the viewer to answer.
  • Photographers Comment
  • First of all I want to thank you for choosing my photo as the winner of this contest - I am honoured! My name is Markus Heitkämper from Germany / Essen. In 2011 this picture was made in Tuscany and it represents my photographic aim: capturing those life's little moments whose meanings are always in the eye of the beholder. Therefore the elected photo is ambiguous, too: Is there a tender and intimate atmosphere? Are these two human beings sadly or simply - tired? Shot with Leica M9P and 35mm FLE, wide open; post processed in LR 4 and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2. All the best Markus Heitkämper
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • We like this, "The Kiss" photo, a very dramatic image that also opens up for some other possibilities. Is he rescuing her, are they having fun, or simply so passionate they didn't notice?
  • Photographers Comment
  • This photo was taken in Havana in January 2014 on the Malecon, the seafront of the Cuban capital. Place to walk and relax in good weather, it becomes inhospitable and even dangerous when the winds get up and throw stones and waves on the pavement. I watched this couple playing and kissing. I got closer, we greeted each other with à smile, and they continued their dance. Captivated by the scene, I caught the wave, completely soaked, but my Leica M240 and the summilux 35mm were doing well ! All the best to you from Geneva, Switzerland. Olivier Vogelsang
  • www.oliviervogelsang.com
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • This is an elegant and filmic composition with great tones and atmosphere. The rhythm in the image is mesmerising.
  • Photographers Comment
  • This was taken at my family's ancestral hometown in Guangdong Province, China, which I was visiting for the first time having been born and raised in Scotland. A procession had just passed and the firecrackers had left a smoky haze in the air when I spotted the man in a hat walking into the scene. Everything just seemed to fall into place and it looked so timeless that this photo just had to be B&W! Shot with Olympus OM-D EM-5 + Lumix 20mm 1.7, converted to B&W in photoshop. Thanks for the feedback!
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • A well-lit filmic scene with a very simple, yet dramatic story. Perfect composition for the purpose.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Paul Borg Olivier, Valletta - MALTA. This photo represent the typical street-scape of Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and European Cultural Capital for 2018. The photo was shot t 4pm in a November when the position of the sun moves straight into the the street in a direct line on the main axis of the City build in 1566. Knowing the neighbourhood, I went to shoot the empty street, when the man walked out of his house creating an "solar eclipse". I titled this photo (Every Man has a silver lining just like a passing cloud." I shot it with a Leica M9P and a 35 mm cron lens (ISO 200, f2.8, 1/500 LR).
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • We like the humor and surprise in this image. the well-dressed cyclist with a mirror, showing us more of the city. Remarkable photo.
  • Photographers Comment
  • I've taken this photo in Talaat Harb square in downtown Cairo in 2008. When I've seen this worker carrying this large mirror on his bicycle, I ran towards him as I knew I might get reflections if I got close enough, I was lucky that he waited for the cars to pass, that gave me few seconds to get close, use my wide angle lens, step on my toes and look down to get the most of the reflection, lighting was perfect, the sun was infront of me which meant that the building reflected will be bright while the man and bicycle will be darker. I took the shot and didn't have the chance to see the man.
  • nourelrefai.com
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • A dramatic scene inside the church. The tonality and mood go hand in hand.
  • Photographers Comment
  • I want to thank you for choosing this photo as one of the winners - I am very honored! About the photo: Basilian monk, Ukraine (2012). I don't know the person on the photo personally, but this photo is still really one of my most personal shots. This is a very lucky and very sad one. I was in Krekhiv, Ukraine and I was looking forward to get some photos of the monastery and the church. On the bench I looked at a lonesome monk and then he turned around, looked at me and said: "No flash, please". End of story, this was the moment. PS: I had no flash. PSS: Later I offered the shot to the monastery and they told me he had died of cancer. Photographer: Ruslan Hrushchak, Leipzig Germany. Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark 2, EF 17-40L
  • plus.google.com/+RuslanHrushchak/
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Two worlds as you have to make a decision which way to go. Yet so close, yet so different they look.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • We like the surprise after the eye has sorted out the different patterns. Great tones and composition.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Yuji Oboshi is the photography duo (yumanyc.com) this is my single project. Capture the world is my lifetime work.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Classic photography, or simply classic composition and use of lines and rhythm in a photo. It's just a moment you like to be part of.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Carol-Lynn Rössel, Winthrop, Maine, USA. Thank you! I am absolutely delighted to have my photograph (taken on the porch on the Oceanic Hotel on Star Island, New Hampshire), chosen in the competition. Star Island is a half-mile of granite (an old mountain top) ten miles off the Atlantic Coast, one of the Isles of Shoals. I took the photo on Tri-X with my Zorkii 4K and its Industar 50 lens. I love old Russian lenses and the timeless quality they impart. Working with a rangefinder is a new delight for me. I've recently purchased a new/old Leica 3M, onto which, with an adaptor, the lenses, fortunately, fit. My photographs are hybrids. I scan negatives into my Mac, work on them in Photoshop and print digitally. This photo needed little post-processing. Thank you again for this honor. Wow!
  • www.lomography.com/homes/rossel/articles
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • A story about what happened earlier and what is likely to happen next, all captured in one instant. Remove a few elements, and it all falls apart. Or said in other words; a joyful composition with alot of elements that work very well together.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • The mood and the slightly off tones in this photo make it a photo to look at and try to understand more of.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Thanks very much! My name is Carolina Sanchez-Monge
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Just a great feeling to this photo, the motion and the idea that you can almost hear his voice and smell the cigar smoke from the office.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Parallel life in the same street. We found ourselves kept looking at this image, at some point even counting the men and the pigs. Sometimes photos don't have to be understood, just looked at.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Great motion and willpower in this photo, the lines, the tones, the somehow epic light. It all comes together and works very well.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Name : Khair Mahfar Location : The image was captured on the Volcanic Ash Dunes of Mount Bromo, Bromo Tengger Semeru, National Park, East Java, Indonesia. Camera : I used Leica Monochrom with 50mm Summilux f 1.4 Post processing : Lightroom 5
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • We like the liveliness of this image, the activity and yet the atmosphere of freedom and the possibilities the day may bring.
  • Photographers Comment
  • My name is Erwin Soegondo from Indonesia. Thank you very much and appreciate for the Mark of Excellence. This image was taken during our visit to Essaouira, Morocco on June 2013. It was dusk but the sun was shining bright while I strolled on the beach toward a local fish market. There were seagulls hovering as if welcoming the fishermen home with their catch that day. It was shot with my favorite travel combo : M9P and Summilux 21mm, post processing: Lightroom 5 and Silver Efex Pro 2. You can see my other shots at my Flickr.
  • www.flickr.com/photos/win_laffan
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • An extremely well-done photo from a world we normally don't see. A world that contains the majority of life on the planet, the underwater world.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Great composition that tells the story of where we are and what is going on, and at the same time puts emphasis on the skier flying towards his goal. Beautiful image of dedication.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Name: Luka Dakskobler Location: Planica, Slovenia I used a Canon EOS 1D Mark IIn. This was taken during the ski flying world cup finals.
  • www.lukadakskobler.com
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • So much to look at in this image that one is not surprised by the unusual looking face in the mirror. It all goes hand in hand.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Name: Calvin Lee | Location: Based in Toronto, Canada | Camera: Canon 5D3 24-70 2.8 | I am humbled and honored to receive the Mark of Excellence for this photo. It was taken in Hong Kong for an ongoing series of mine "artists in their workspace". I had the privilege to enter the studios and homes of some of the most well respected and established artists in Hong Kong and abroad, documenting an unguarded side of their daily life. It's a rare opportunity that I am trying to provide, to peek into their usually considered "work behind closed doors" zone. The artist in this photo calls himself "Frog King - Kwok Mang Ho", and he is most well know for his performance art "Happening". Here he was in his workspace, re-adjusting his outfit and at that moment I took this shot over his shoulder. Please feel free to visit my site for more photos on this series.
  • calvinleephotography.zenfolio.com
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Beautiful light and tones underline the life and action in this photo. Great framing so as to include everything, not omitting anything to let the viewer understand the image.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Thank you very much, I am honored - My name is Throstur Thordarson from Iceland. This image is of the Icelandic horse at the corral Laufskálarétt in Skagafjörður north of Iceland, it was taken with the Nikon D3X, and the Nikon 35mm 1.4G @ f/1.8 processed in Lightroom 3 and Silver Efex Pro 2.
  • www.facebook.com/Throsturphotography
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • In so many ways not an ideal photo of a city, yet a very familiar experience captured in a dramatic way that tells a story.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Name: John G. Hernandez Location: San Francisco California Camera: Nikon D70s Processed to black and white in Lightroom
  • www.johngphotog.com
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • We like the repetition and the rhythm of this photo, almost as a little movie of the same boy coming from the beach and going into the water.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Koichi Watanabe from Yokohama, Japan, with Leica M2+35mmSummaronf2.8+Acros100 Thanks for choosing my photo. This photo was taken in Mostaganem, Algeria, when I had stayed there for my project job. Due to the security reason, we needed to arrange the armed guard to visit seaside, but people there were all very kind and carefree, even for photos. Especially when I shoot this one, I could only do one time, afer I noticed the first boy posing to me, then I saw them through finder. I had waited a little while for the four boys to be located the very best places to shoot, then I SHOT IT once. I was not sure if it becomes successful or not, as I still needed six more months to get it developed after I came back to Japan, because developing B&W films were not available in Algeria. I do love to take such kind of candid photos for years with my lovely leicas and B&W films. Thanks for such a nice opportunity! www.blogs.yahoo.co.jp/freemod1969 sorry, written in Japanese!
  • blogs.yahoo.co.jp/freemod1969
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Just a mesmerizing image to look at and try to understand. Simple, yet very telling with many details. Some of them you don't see until after a while.
  • Photographers Comment
  • I made this photograph in Mae Sot, Thailand, a border town to Myanmar. The area by the river where people frequently cross the border illegally was poor and dirty – not the place to meet tourists. But a place to meet friendly people and a place with a peaceful and quiet atmosphere (If the rich knew that they would buy houses there). I made this picture in February 2014 with a Leica M Monochrom and a 35mm Summilux.
  • benediktgoettert.com
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • A very different tourist photo, with many layers of stories. All involving people. We like it!
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • A very unusual composition in this photo caught our attention, because the emotion and excitement is so well communicated through the combination of light and the girl.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Thank you very much! My name is Carolina Sanchez-Monge.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • We like the viewpoint of this image, almost as if the camera was behind the viewer and taking the viewer into the photo. Great work and excellent tones.
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Very stylish, that is what we like about it. Cool mamma, cool camera, cool simplicity.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Thanks so much for this. This was taken when my Mother and I were in an opticians in London so she could buy some new sunglasses. It wasn't posed or "styled" at all - she really was trying on glasses while I buzzed about slightly getting on her nerves [!] with my camera. Personally I liked the happy accident of all the similarities in our appearance that day - particularly our denim cuffs. It's funny the things you pick up from your parents without even noticing or intending to.. Also a guy in the opticians had just noticed my camera and asked "do you know how to use that, or are you just posing?" Such a sexist assumption, so I'm even more chuffed you marked out this photo! Thanks. Sarah.
  • sarahmlee.com
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Beautiful portrait with great use of light and not much more needed.
  • Photographers Comment
  • Thanks! Auckland New Zealand, Model: Bec's
  • fraserclements.com
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • This photo left us speechless, much like the women in the picture!
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Layers of history and patterns in a room of mystique. We very much like the tones, reflections and patterns in this photo.
  • Photographers Comment
  • This photo was taken inside an old fort in Oman. I am using Leica ME with 28mm Elmarit.
  • www.juliuspictures.name
  • Mark Of Excellence
  • Judges Comment
  • Very unconventional, very effectfull We like it.