We're happy to announce the monthly winners of our Photo of the Day contest for September, 2008. Here's a look at September's winners, along with some comments from the judges:
First Place
Silence, by Kani Polat
(Kani won a Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Printer.) One thing that makes the Photo of the Day judging interesting is the range of opinions among the judges as to what makes a great photograph. It was unusual then, to see almost complete unanimity in the voting for Kani Polat's "Silence" image. This one just really grabbed everyone's attention, our eyes kept returning to it during the judging. The contrast between the sharply-defined geometric forms of the dock, the misty, undefined surface of the water (from a long time exposure?), and the organic shapes of the distant mountains was endlessly fascinating. Also, the way the horizon divided the image, with more restless imagery above and more static below was very interesting. A beautiful shot, congrats to Kani for this beautiful image!
Second Place
Watership Down, by Frank Somma
(Frank won a Canon PIXMA MP970 Printer.) We've seen this sort of inverted-reflection composition many times before, but seldom as well-executed as this in this shot by Frank Somma. The water surface is smooth enough (no fine ripples) that the surface disappears as part of the image, leaving only the distorted images of the ship and its mast as the obvious subject. Beyond that, the judges had a hard time describing just why they liked it so much, but it was another shot this month in which there was a high degree of concordance among the judges in their appreciation of it. A beautiful, lively, engaging image.
Third Place
Moon-lit telescope, Jupiter and Milkyway, by Han Uitenbroek
(Han won a Canon PIXMA MP610 Printer.) It always helps to have an interesting or unusual subject, but Han did an excellent job of composing this image, and executed the 30-second exposure (at ISO 800!) flawlessly. A shot juxtaposing the manmade object of the telescope building against the majestic sweep of the galaxy. Very impressive, a shot that causes you to wonder about the scale of the universe. (Or, just appreciate the pretty lights in the sky, depending on your perspective.) Nicely done!
There you have it: 30 great Photos of the Day, with 3 exceptional ones capturing top honors. - So what are you waiting for? That could be your photo up there this time next month! Dig through your digital shoe boxes, pick your best and join the fun!
