Of birds and black & whites: We announce our August Photo of the Day contest winners

 

 

August has proven to be an interesting month in our contest, as four out of five entries recognized in this month's awards have been recognized in previous months in our contest. And the only photographer on the podium this month who's not yet been recognized in our Photo of the Day monthly awards just happened to win another prestigious contest on our site very recently! More on that in just a bit, but we wanted to make the interesting mention that for the first time in our contest history we have only previously recognized names on the podium.

Some of you may wonder about favoritism being at play here, so let us dispel that notion from the start. When we vote for our monthly winners, they're printed and hung on a large board for all of the seven judges to see, with no names listed other than the rare entry we let pass through to the "final ten" that has a watermark, thus revealing their name. You'll notice there are no watermarks on this month's top five, so it doesn't apply here. (This is not a coinidence, and for anyone routinely applying watermarks to your submissions, you'll want to read this article asap.)

Now to the top five this month, beginning with yet another gorgeous bird-in-flight image from our longtime contributor Linn Smith. It was only about a year ago that Linn took top honors and the $300 prize with a somewhat similar image called "Suspended Above Water." Both images are breathtaking and worthy winners that capture the spirit of photographic artistry and excellence in our contest.

Congratulations on another First Prize, Linn!

 

First Prize • Over-Under by Linn Smith • Canon 5D Mark III

Taking Second Prize this month is Frank Somma, another wonderful photographer who's also no stranger to our podium. Frank won Third Prize just this past July with a stunning image called "One in the Bush" and was recognized in May of this year with his "Emerald Starling." The judges really fell for his entry this month, called "Tiny Dancers", a wonderful composition, with priceless charm.

Well done, Frank!

 

Second Prize • Tiny Dancers by Fram Somma • Nikon D3

And taking our Thrid Prize for August is Kay Brewer, a name that will likely sound familiar to some of you. This is because just last week Kay won the IR / Olympus By The Bay photo contest and a $2500 photography workshop on Smith Island in Chesapeake Bay. This month's entry dubbed "Malachite Kingfisher" brings her the last prize-winning spot this month and formally introduces her to our Photo of the Day contest podium.

Thanks for the lovely submission this month, Kay!

 

Third Prize • Malachite Kingfisher by Kay Brewer • Canon 5D Mark III

Our two runner-up images this month also deserve attention as excellent submissions.

Sirsendu Gayen won First Prize last November with his enchanting and inspired "Little Steps" as well as First runner-up in July with the tranquil "A Prayer." This month's "Struggle" is yet another captivating image from Sirsendu, and we're grateful for his unique and inspired additions to our contest.

 

First runner-up • Struggle by Sirsendu Gayen • Nikon D7000

And taking Second runner-up is Pete Pieslor and his whimsical submission "Big Mouth", a rare and playful image that we liked a lot! Pete was recognized this June as well with a beautiful image called "Balancing Act."

Thanks for another wonderful shot, Pete!

 

Second runner-up • Big Mouth by Pete Pieslor • Canon 5D Mark II

For those of you who regularly follow our contest, you may recall that in June Canon took a clean sweep of the entire top 5, and the top spot in July, while Nikon made a sweep of slots 2-5 for that month. The rivalry continues this month, right on schedule, with a back and forth interplay between the two.  If you'd like to read more on this trend please see this news story from last year which takes a closer look at just how tight that competition has been!

Thanks so much to everyone who enters our Photo of the Day contest. The top three prize winning images all receive gift certificates from Adorama of $300, $200 and $100, respectively. [International readers are welcome to enter, but only US and Canada residents are eligible to win prizes due to regulations.] 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, and this story which tells you all the ways to NOT 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! •

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News stories from previous monthly winners:

 

Wild Dolphin by Karen Celella

July 2015 POTD Winners

June 2015 POTD Winners

May 2015 POTD Winners

April 2015 POTD Winners

March 2015 POTD Winners

February 2015 POTD Winners

January 2015 POTD Winners

December 2014 POTD Winners

November 2014 POTD Winners

October 2014 POTD Winners

 

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