Here’s your weekly photo dispatch with a list of last month’s Photo Challenge winners…
Don’t forget — this month’s theme is Tickled Pink and it’s your last chance to enter the Challenge (and your last chance of the year to win the $2,000 Grand Prize) before voting begins in October. You’ll find details on entering and winning below…
— Lori
Lori Allen
Director, Great Escape Publishing
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September 2, 2009
The Right Way to Travel, Weekly Photo Tip
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WHO’S YOUR BABY — WINNING ENTRIES
By Shelly Perry in Portland, OR
Last month’s photo challenge theme was “Who’s Your Baby.” The prior month’s winner, Laguzda, acted as our guest judge and chose our first-place winner.
** First Place goes to aowcannon for “Handful of Precious”
** Second Place goes to ThisOldHag for “Penny-Lane”
** Third Place goes to shelpix for “He Men”
** Honorable Mention goes to sweetgrain for “Ready for Her Close-up”
This is what Laguzda had to say about her first-place pick…
FIRST PLACE — HANDFUL OF PRECIOUS
“The scale of the tiny baby to the enveloping hands — and especially the baby’s hand grasping the adult hand — speaks volumes of security and serenity. I love the rich black background that makes the image pop even more. Beautiful photo, not only stock quality but high-end magazine caliber.”
SECOND PLACE — PENNY-LANE
The post-processing on this photo gives it “the Wow Factor.” Its creator, ThisOldHag, contributes often to the Photo Challenge and always has a keen eye for compelling subjects and composition. Here, she really takes it up a few notches with post-processing skills that really bring out the color, creating an image that’s moody and interesting. Plus, there’s copy space and the photo has a story to it. It’s fantastic to watch peoples’ work progress. Nice job.
THIRD PLACE — HE MEN
This photo also benefits from some really nice processing. Composition, exposure, and all the other technical aspects of the photo (as far as can be seen here) are good. What I love most about “He Men” is the interaction between the two people and those fantastic expressions. A shot like this has a lot of story and could be used in a number of ways for ad campaigns.
HONORABLE MENTION — READY FOR HER CLOSE UP
This photo makes me laugh, not only because of the child’s antics, but also for the person in the background looking on with a big grin. The shallow depth of field works to reinforce that the main subject of the photo is the child, yet the juxtaposition of the two is compelling; it indicates a relationship and interaction between subjects.
Congratulations to each of our winners!
The first place winner gets a $30 gift certificate to the AWAI E-Bookstore, and will also get a chance to compete for the $2,000 Grand Prize in October. Second- and third-place winners, as well as the honorable mentions from each month will all be entered in the Hall of Fame to compete for the Grand Prize, too.
ENTER TO WIN — THIS MONTH IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!
Remember, this month’s theme is “Tickled Pink.” Submit your photos by 8:00 a.m. EST, Monday, September 28. If you’re a first-time user, you’ll need to register first on the “register” link on the right side bar. Once you have a username and password, click “Enter to Win” to upload your photo. Only one photo per applicant per month will be considered. Multiple entries will be deleted.
[Editor’s Note: Learn more about how you can turn your pictures into cash in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel. Sign up here today and we’ll send you a new report, Selling Photos for Cash: A Quick-Start Guide, completely FREE.]