February 2014 Results

Donald Weber (@Donald_Weber), two-time World Press award winner, graduate of the Loyalist College photojournalism program and a member of the VII Photo Agency was the judge for February 2014 Photos of the Month. 

Disclaimer from the POM team: The judge's comments below does not necessary represent Loyalist College's photojournalism program.

Entries Stats:
Photographers — 20
Feature — 27
News — 7
Sports — 13
Portrait — 36
Multi Photo — 5 entries/37 photos

FEATURE
Judges' comments:
— You don't need to always crop, understand the frame of your camera and learn to see using those four sides
— I notice a lot of the pictures are ones that are saying everything in the photo. I am sure your teachers will kill me for this, but not always do you have to communicate everything. Sometimes I want to linger on a photo. I chose images that were a little more subtle, beautiful light, mood, composition...
— in general I find not enough understanding of composition, that it can be "fixed" later with cropping or... something else, magic beans? So, learn to see using four sides! 

1st - this is the only picture I didn't waver on, great, nice mood, nice colour, you relaxed and let the environment around you work instead of - gasp! - cropping it out!
2nd - nice colour, gentle, quiet. yes. sometimes you can do this and it works great!
3rd - experimentation is a good thing - if you can pull it off. sometimes, the scene tells you what to do. this is a case when it's appropriate to crop
HM - there were about 3 other photos I wanted here but this one always stuck out, when I went through the contacts it was the first one that just popped right out - and i trust my gut, always. don't think, shoot!

1. Emily Cumming
TORONTO, Ont. (20/02/14) - Tony Morrison, trainer at Sully’s Boxing Gym, scolds Cruz Caneo, 2, for misbehaving.  Caneo’s mother Michelle, 24, who cannot afford daycare brings her some to the gym while she trains.  Photo by Emily Cumming
2. Hannah Yoon
WATERLOO, Ont. (22/02/2014) —Asia Van Vlietat, 11, plays on her iPad at the  Grand River Rocks on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014. Van Vlietat often comes here with her family to rock climb. Photo by Hannah Yoon
3. Guillaume Nolet
KINGSTON, Ont. (20/02/14)--Close to 50 supporters gathered at JAKK Tuesdays Sports Pub in Kingston to cheer on Kingstonian Jayna Hefford during the women’s hockey gold medal win against the United States at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. 
H.M. Mandy Larade
BELLEVILLE, Ont. (04/02/14) - Friends and co-workers Duane Fitchett, Don Dafoe, David Stevenson, and Larry Mussio having coffee together at Y'Wanna Hav'A Cafe coffee shop in Century Place, downtown Belleville on Tuesday morning. The four friends all work for Bell Canada: Fitchett for 40 years, Dafoe for 26 years, Stevenson for 37 years, and Mussio for 35 years. The four meet for coffee every morning when they have a work break. Photo by Mandy Larade.
NEWS
Judges' comments: 
— it sucks to be a news photographer in Belleville, I know.

1st - this surprised me. I like to be surprised. News is not always crashes. Go look at current events coverage (beyond the wires!!!!) and you'll see, check out work from the revolution in Kiev.


1. Sarah Vissers
BELLEVILLE, Ont. (04/02/14)--Backstage before the preview show of Leading Ladies, Sonya Zaback does the hair of Alexandra Bell, a musician in the play. The play is being put on by the Belleville Theatre Guild and performed at Pinnacle Theatre. It is running from Feb. 6-22, 2014. Photo by Sarah Vissers.
2. NOT AWARDED
3. NOT AWARDED

PORTRAIT
Judges' comments: 
— i see a class assignment.... canada...
— Some crazy photoshop happening! Why???? Why do photographers feel the need to meddle in their photos???? Stop it! You would've won.
— this is the strongest category by far... so many i had to chop but i really liked a lot of them. simple, clean, nice light, and most importantly, a lot of humanity showed (except through the haze of photoshop)

1st - lovely. just great. soft, gentle, humane, I get a sense of her. great.
2nd - great as well, popped out immediately. This is a great picture - sometime simple works, it's about the man - I could tell he was some sort of sportsman or explorer or scientist, good recognition on the eyes and the jacket (fur is a nice gift from the photo gods) and making the background simple.
3rd - great as well. in fact, i wanted to give all 1st place to these, but then you have to - wait for it - edit! so i edited. nice job, kind of vulnerable, good choice of light, nice rapport with subject. Yep, all good.
HM - people will scratch their heads at this one, I did to, I thought a long time about if this should make, but it always stayed with me. Why? Because it's just a real moment, simple. Photography is trying to capture a glimpse, nothing more, a sense of vulnerability into the person.

1. Duncan Cairns-Brenner
ST. ANDREWS, N.B. (19/02/14) - Nancy Achen, a founding member of Save our Science, a St. Andrews, New Brunswick advocacy group, poses at Indian Point in St. Andrews, on February 19, 2014. Achen is fighting to bring awareness to budgetary cuts to federal oceanographic research at the St Andrews Biological Centre, one of Canada's most respected oceanographic research centres. After two weeks after the Biological Centre's library was renovated for $2.6 million, the federal government closed it, moving the entire collection to the Bedford Oceanographic Institute's library in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Photo by Duncan Cairns-Brenner 
2. Guillaume Nolet
MONTREAL, Qc. (18/02/14)--One of Canada’s most distinguished and accomplished explorers and mountaineers, Bernard Voyer has over 30 years of expeditions and adventures to his credit. He reached the North Pole in 1994, the South Pole in 1996, the top of Mount Everest in 1999, and summited some of the tallest mountains on the planet including the highest peaks of each of the seven continents. Officer of the Order of Canada, Knight of the National Order of Quebec and the Legion of Honour in France, he has received two honorary doctorates and the gold medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. In 2002, he was recognized by the Governor General of Canada as one of the 50 greatest Canadians of the past 50 years, a distinction that was celebrated by a series of stamps issued in his honour.
3. Hannah Yoon
--Image removed at subject's request


H.M. Justin Chin 
OTTAWA, Ont. (08/02/2014) — Manson Yan reads the newspaper at his home in Ottawa, Ont. on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014. Yan is a recent graduate of Queen's University and is pursuing to become a lawyer. Photo by Justin Chin
SPORTS
Judges' comments: 
— I once did sports, it was really difficult. not much to say.

1st - it jumped out - you;re exploring and not beholden to the usual modes of sports photography - but damn, watch your backgrounds! GATORADE!
2nd - nice, well done (although technically you need to master your camera a bit more, here's a case when you need to learn how photoshop can work for you instead of against you - no blown highlights! use your histogram!)
3rd - again, a little different, like the blur, like her face, like the hair whooshing around. good job.
HM - because I am not a total communist and I realize that not everyone photographs the way I do - so here we have a typical sports photo but it's done well. Just push yourself a bit.

1. James Wood
BELLEVILLE, Ont (01/02/2014) - Swimmers from across Eastern Ontario dive in for the Mixed 13 and Older 800 metre freestyle swim at the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre, home of the Belleville Youth Swim Team. The BYST hosted the Eastern Ontario Swimming Association's latest regional meet this past weekend. Photo by James Wood  
2. Dillan Cools
BANCROFT, ON (02/02/14) Mike Vandolder is trailed by Colt Dellandrea and Andrew Darraugh through turn 4 of a Pro Champ race at the 2014 Hastings Cup in Bancroft on Sunday. Photo by Dillan Cools.
3. Emily Cumming
Toronto, Ont. (20/02/14) – Michelle Caneo, 24, trains at Sully’s Boxing Gym in Toronto.  Caneo balances her obligations as a single mother to her two-year-old son Cruz and her dedication to boxing.  “I want to be a champion.”  Photo by Emily Cumming
H.M. James Wood
BELLEVILLE, Ont (01/02/2014) - Belleville Youth Swim Team member Alexander Grant comes up for breath during the Boys 13-14 200 Metre Butterfly swim at the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre. The BYST hosted the Eastern Ontario Swimming Association's latest regional meet this past weekend. Photo by James Wood  
MULTI-PICTURE
Judges' comments: 
— I liked the portrait series, but a little cheesy at times. Let your subject relax, they all felt to me a little frightened, not quite ready to reveal themselves... just give it a little more time, make a dumb joke, tell them they look pretty, or whatever, just try to get them at ease. sometimes not talking makes your subject disappear into their own world
— multi pic was difficult because I couldn't really figure out what the stories were, repetitive in their sequences and editing wasn't so hot... you gotta stay there! come back! stay there! come back! a lot of this looks like you went for 7 minutes.
— was this an assignment at an old folks home?

1st - thinking differently... but some of the portraits are a little odd, like i said up top there, just relax and your subjects will relax. 
3rd - I am giving two 3rd place spots, no 2nd, based solely on the fact that there are some good photos in there, but of these stories suffered from TERRIBLE editing. I had no idea what was happening. However, you saved yourself because there are some good images, but being a good photographer is not just about making pictures, but what do you do with those pictures?
HM - I can't believe you made a story about nail-polishing.

1. Annie Sakkab
COBOURG, Ont. (24/02/2014) - Don Dimmine is a retired provincial police employee and has been carving wood since 1987. Dimmine also works as an event piper at weddings and birthday parties. These portraits are of the members of the Seniors Woodcarving Club at Cobourg Community Centre and is part of an ongoing project that investigates old age and the social and mental issues that is associated with it. Photo by Annie Sakkab.
COBOURG, Ont. (24/02/2014) - Micheline Prendergast is a retired French Canadian secretary from the Peel District School Board. Prendergast has been carving wood for the past 9 years. Photo by Annie Sakkab.
COBOURG, Ont. (24/02/2014) - Jim McMartin took up carving three years ago after he moved to Cobourg for retirement. McMartin is a dedicated moose hunter and a motorcycle adventurer. Photo by Annie Sakkab.
COBOURG, Ont. (24/02/2014) -  Retired Tom Neill was a truck driver before he took up wood carving few years ago. Photo by Annie Sakkab.
COBOURG, Ont. (24/02/2014) -  Mel Richards is a retired custodian from the school board. Richards started carving when he went on a hiking trip 25 years ago while walking alone in the woods. Photo by Annie Sakkab.
COBOURG, Ont. (24/02/2014) -  Jerry Chatten is a retired custodian from the school board and will always find him sitting next to his long term friend Mel Richards at the Seniors Woodcarving Club. Chatten started his wood carving passion 3 years ago. Photo by Annie Sakkab
COBOURG, Ont. (24/02/2014) -  John Grieve, retired at the age of 75 and started carving 5 years ago. Photo by Annie Sakkab.
COBOURG, Ont. (24/02/2014) -  Mary Louise Tufford is a retired artist and amateur painter. Tufford has been carving and painting on wood for many years.  Photo by Annie Sakkab.
COBOURG, Ont. (24/02/2014) -  Enid Hiscox was a stay home mum. Hiscox has been carving and knitting for her children and grand children for 25 years and joined the seniors club 3 years ago. Photo by Annie Sakkab.
3. Annie Sakkab

COBOURG, Ont. (10/02/2014) - Members of the Seniors Woodcarving Club at Cobourg Community Centre in downtown Cobourg. These images are part of an ongoing project that investigates old age and the social and mental issues that is associated with it. Photo by Annie Sakkab.







3. Annie Sakkab
COBOURG, Ont. (07/02/2014) - Annie Cormier, a 61 retired Marketing & Communication Consultant at her home in downtown Cobourg getting ready to join The Gazelles, a women's walking club for seniors. Cormier moved to Cobourg three years ago with her husband Jim McMartin and joined The Gazelles to meet interesting women who share her love for adventure, walking and the outdoors. These images are part of an ongoing project that investigates old age and the social and mental issues that is associated with it. Photo by Annie Sakkab.






H.M. Elaine Bombay
WHITBY, Ont. (02/02/2014)--Miranda Morris paints her mother's nails in preparation for a Super Bowl party.  Morris, 14, learned nail art while in the hospital receiving cancer treatments in 2012-13.  Photo by Elaine Bombay





Points awarded
150 — Annie Sakkab
125 — Emily Cumming
110 — James Wood
100 — Sarah Vissers
100 — Duncan Cairns-Brenner
75 — Hannah Yoon
75 — Guillaume Nolet
50 — Dillan Cools
10 — Justin Chin
10 — Mandy Larade
10 — Elaine Bombay