by
Dave Pardue
posted Tuesday, June 2, 2015 at 4:40 PM EST
From the pondering of aurora to the absolute communion, our April Photo of the Month winners and runner's up all share a certain mystical etheriality. A gorgeous hummingbird preening, a new twist on the pleasure and pain from a rose's thorn and a baby primate in quiet contemplation round out our top five for this month.
Thanks so much to everyone who enters our Photo of the Day contest, and congratulations to the winners this month! The top three all receive gift certificates from Adorama of $300, $200 and $100, respectively.
Click any image below for a larger view and more details. And please keep the wonderful submissions coming our way!
[International readers are welcome to enter, but only US and Canada residents are eligible to win prizes due to regulations.]
First prize • Trollaskagi by Gisli Kristinsson • Canon 5D Mark II
Our winning image this month, "Trollaskagi" by Gisli Kristinsson, is truly exceptional. There are so many wonderful elements in this image that allow the eye to wander throughout, finding new curiosities and yet always returning to the majesty of the aurora themselves, which in this case seem to all be pointing towards the same area of the heavens. The only drawback is that we can't display it larger.
Nice shot, Gisli!
[For more on aurora photography please
click here!]
Second prze • Anna's Hummingbird Preening by Nikki McDonald • Sony A580
We receive many hummingbird shots, but most are in flight and usually similar in composition.
Our regular Nikki McDonald's image here captures a rarer side of a hummingbird's life, and the
beautiful background adds a wonderful sense of dimensionality and a soft contrast to the bird's texture.
Congratulations on a terrific image, Nikki!
Third prize •
Pleasure and Pain by Karen Celella • Canon 7D
No stranger to the prize-winning podium of our contest is Karen Celella and her two trusty Canon 7D's. She's been featured not only as our
monthly winner on several occasions but also in
an article about the success of DSLRs in our contest. One of the best things about Karen as a photographer is her diversity, as she's won prizes with a huge variety of subjects. Our judges were somewhat thorn on this image (sorry, I meant "torn") but it still managed to take third overall. Some may see it as ordinary, but for me personally I find the image both unique and fascinating, and the geometry compelling.
Thanks for being one of our top contributors month after month, Karen!
Our two runner's up this month both have an aura of peace and tranqulity, so if you're having a manic day at work, take a well-deserved break and enjoy the serenity of these two wonderful images.
First runner-up • The Thinker by Glenn Nagel • Nikon D800
Second runner-up • The Absolute Communion by Mrigankamouli Bhattacharjee • Canon Rebel T1i
For anyone wanting to know more about our competition please visit this news story which describes our contest and also offers some useful tips to help you succeed. To see camera and exposure information on this month's winners or to visit previous months please visit our POTD winner's gallery.
Ready to submit a photo of your own? Just click here! And to compliment these photographers on their submissions or to offer your own analysis, please use the comments section below.
• Thanks to Adorama for sponsoring our contest! •
• • •
News stories from previous monthly winners:
Wild Dolphin by Karen Celella