Here's a look at the winners of our December contest: 31 great photos, 3 excellent winners, and 2 fine runners-up.

"Blast from the Past," "The Great Ape," and "Fire and Ice" were chosen as our December winners. Congratulations to Bob Jensen, Kenneth Mucke, and Ivan Meljac!

Without further ado, here's the three monthly winners for December, and comments from the judges on what made them so great. Clicking on any image will open a larger version in a new window.

First Place
Blast from the Past, by Bob Jensen
Bob won a Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Printer. (review, info, shop)

Wow, what a shot! A rare unanimous pick for first place amongst the judges, Bob Jensen's dramatic photo of a cannon being fired was an easy pick. Bob's timing was obviously perfect, and the composition is exceptional. We suspect the image was worked over a bit in Photoshop (a lot of burning-in, we'd think), but that's perfectly fine by our rules, and the result is stunning. The blast of the cannon immediately captures your attention, then the shape of the flames and the sparks blowing back draw your attention back to the gunners. Just an amazing photograph, congratulations!

Second Place
The Great Ape, by Kenneth Mucke
Kenneth won a Canon PIXMA MP990 Printer. (info, shop)

Primates of all types make interesting subjects, but it's easy for shots of them to look hackneyed or cliched. It's also tough to get really good framing and lighting in typical zoo environments. Kenneth Mucke triumphed over all challenges, though, in his beautifully rendered portrait of "The Great Ape." A repeat winner, Kenneth's mastery of tone and composition in black and white photographs is once again evident in this evocative shot. We love the clean, uncluttered, yet natural-looking composition, and the way it focuses attention on on the animal. The tonality is wonderful, too, making maximum use of every part of the available range. The photo has dramatic contrast, yet there's excellent detail in shadow, midtone, and highlight. The result is a lushly three-dimensional image that draws your eyes in and in. Kudos to Kenneth for his vision, patience, and skill, both pre- and post-exposure.

Third Place
Fire and Ice, by Ivan Meljac
Ivan won a Canon PIXMA MP640 Printer. (review, info, shop)

What a great shot, a great study in contrasts! Unless Ivan is unusually lucky, this almost certainly involved a fair bit of patience to set up, to get just the right angle, exposure, and to wait for the sun to just kiss the horizon.We love the composition, with the bright line of the horizon dividing earth/sea from sky, and the glint of sunlight in the ice floe and streams of retreating water drawing your eye to the subject. The exposure is great too, and we suspect again that it didn't just happen, but required some careful work in Photoshop. Very, very well done, congratulations!

Layers	Clingman's Dome at Dawn
by Siamak Jafari	by Jeffrey S. Rease

As always, 31 great daily winners made it hard to select the three very best, but that's a happy chore here at IR. Congratulations to all the daily winners, and thanks to everyone who submitted photos for December's contest. The consistently high quality of images submitted to the Photo of the Day contest are what makes it the success that it's been!

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!