Our judge for summer 2015 entries was Scott Gardner, Photo Editor at the Hamilton Spectator (@Scottatthespec, sgardner@thespec.com).
We split up this contest in particular to encourage participation from the new students and to show them that they can get their work seen by pros who are happy to critique their work.
As you can see by Mr. Gardner's comments, this sort of insight from a working professional is invaluable to newcomers such as ourselves.
Thanks to our judge and all participants, and keep submitting!
Here are the results, with the judge's comments:
We split up this contest in particular to encourage participation from the new students and to show them that they can get their work seen by pros who are happy to critique their work.
As you can see by Mr. Gardner's comments, this sort of insight from a working professional is invaluable to newcomers such as ourselves.
Thanks to our judge and all participants, and keep submitting!
Here are the results, with the judge's comments:
First Year
First Year News:
Nothing awarded. There was only one entry
and it was a photograph that I would not really classify as news. Regardless,
the caption was necessary to understand what was going on in the photo. It’s
one thing for the caption to expand upon a powerful image but if it is
essential to understand the image, the photograph isn’t really conveying what
it needs to. My only suggestion would be to perhaps key in on one of the faces
for more impact. The loose composition detracted from any impact that may have
been there.
First
Year Feature:
Only first place awarded. Beautiful image. Low key that works. A bit of a stretch for a photojournalism
feature but sometimes we overthink this category and forget to include images
that are just pleasing to look at. This one is just that. The other entries
failed to have enough content to make them either visually or emotionally
interesting. Feature is not just “anything that isn’t news or sports”. The
lighting, composition, timing etc are what contribute to an eye-catching
photograph. The other three entries didn’t hit the mark on this in my opinion.
 |
| SAINT-PAUL-D'ABBOTSFORD, Que. (21/07/2015) – On the late afternoon of July the 21st 2015, Mont Yamaska’s orchards was under another violent storm. In the province of Quebec, this summer temperatures were hard for fruit growers. With an average temperature of 22 degrees Celsius and a lot of rain, it was impossible this season for delicate fruits such as peaches to grow. Photo by Audrey Caron, Loyalist College |
First
Year Multi-Picture:
Nothing awarded. Again, only one entry but
that entry didn’t tell the story. The captions were required for this. It is
tough to tell a story with one photo. When the photographer has the option of
using several images, it is usually easier to convey the story. This entry was
just several images from an event that required the caption to understand what
is going on.
First
Year Sports:
Only one award. Decent action
with decent timing and in focus. All elements of a decent sports photo. A great
sports photo has peak action and excellent timing (being in focus is really
just a given). The ball milliseconds before it enters the glove might have
added some tension to the moment (did he catch it?) but also makes the photo
easier and quicker to read. I had to look to see that there was indeed a ball
in the glove. Also, don’t be afraid to shoot tighter, crop and then maybe crop
again. The player is not off the ground so keeping his feet and the grass in
the photo is not necessary. The photo is all about what is going on from the shoulders up-the facial
expression of the player and the hand making the catch. Lose all the other
elements that only distract from the meat of the image. No we don’t all have
giant telephoto lenses so get as close as you can and don’t be afraid to crop.
(There is a wide range of opinion on how much to crop and it really comes down
to personal taste. There are no rules barring “don’t ruin the photo”. I love to
crop out ANYTHING that doesn’t add to the photo and that includes arms, legs
and whatever else is taking away from the image in my opinion. Ask yourself
“what is it that makes this photo interesting?”. If it doesn’t add anything,
crop it out. Take a look at the now famous Bautista bat flip photos. There are
some that come in tight on the flip and some that include the cheering fans in
the background. Both excellent images with some different ideas of what details
add to the photo and what details are deemed distracting).
 |
| SCARBOROUGH, Ont. (05/06/15) – Justin Chung of the Mary Ward Wolverines softball team catches a ball at Mary Ward’s softball field in Scarborough on Wednesday, May 6, 2015. The Wolverines went on to lose against the Falcons 12-7. Photo by Beatrice Serdon, Loyalist College. |
First
Year Portrait:
Strongest category for sure. There were at
least three winning images to award.
A few general comments about portraits. Portraits aren’t just
photographs of people’s faces. There needs to be some point to the portrait.
The idea is to tell the viewer something about the person. The photographer
needs to be in control and know what they are trying to say about the subject.
Sometimes real emotion is present that can be captured which takes a keen eye
and reflexes. Sometimes the photographer
is relied upon to create a situation that conveys who the person is with
posing, props, location etc. (Mark Seliger is a master of this IMO).
First Place: There was just something about the man’s face and expression and the tears that made this a compelling image. It appears to be a “real” moment which also makes it particularly effective. I get that he is at a tough spot in his life (which reading the caption revealed to be true). Nothing fancy-just real emotion framed tightly to make it easy to read.
 |
| (16/05/15) SAINT JOHN, NB - Saint John resident Royden Kenney mourns the loss of his personal possessions in an apartment fire on Coburg Street. He was particularly upset about a life-sized stuffed tiger that he referred to as his best friend. The fire was contained before nightfall and no one sustained serious injuries. |
Second Place: This was a close second. I liked the lighting which kept the elements fairly simple and clear to read. The use of the simple prop is also helpful. This just didn’t make first because there wasn’t as much emotion or sense of who this person is as the first place image.
 |
| Powassan, Ont. (15/08/09) - Musician Nolan Giesler takes a cigarette break and displays a well used pick guard from his first electric guitar. Photo By Isaac Paul |
Third Place: I just like this character. The image captures his personality and blowing out the background a bit still allows some context without too much distraction.
 |
| Belleville, Ont. (15/09/06) - Resident Andy Karr poses for a portrait on Front street, Historic Downtown Belleville. Photo By Isaac Paul |
Second Year
Second Year News
First Place: This was the photo that
jumped out at me immediately. It is not an in-your-face news photo but the
photographer created a striking image with good context by keeping things a bit
loose. The tiny helicopter shows the massive scale of the fire and the orange
haze makes the image visually interesting but also keeps the things clean but
keeping the contrast of the background a bit more subdued.
 |
Port Alberni, B.C. - (06/07/15) - A 5 hectare fire increased by an estimated 30 hectares overnight on Dog Mountain, Port Alberni. Smoke has spread to cover the entire southern half of Vancouver Island. Cabins close to the water have been evacuated and police are not allowing locals access to their homes. As of 5'clock today the fire reached the bottom of the mountain. Photo by Phil McLachlan
|
 |
BRANTFORD, Ont. (2015-08-2
|
Third Place: This is just a good bread and butter news photograph with all the elements to tell the story. Simple as that. It is framed fairly well and has many interesting elements to study that help tell the story. My only quibble is the victim is somewhat obscured by the standing firefighter. A second or two sooner or later and the firefighter might have moved and that distracting element would be gone. At spot news it’s easy to let the adrenaline take over. You still need to be pay attention to the technical details (lighting, composition, depth of field, separation from background etc )of the shot to make it really sing.
 |
BELLEVILLE
|
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| NORTH BAY, Ont. (22/08/15) - The attendant at North Bay's Heritage Carousel relaxes as he watches the last ride of the night go round and round. Photo by Nakita Krucker |
Second Place: I’m a sucker for graphic feature photos and is just that. The use of the longer lens and the interesting lighting make a nice photograph out of a guy riding his bike over a bridge.
 |
EDMONTON, Alta. (3/5/15)—A bicyclist is lit up by colorful LED lights while they cross Edmonton's high level bridge. The aesthetic lights were lit for the first time last summer on Canada Day and were crowd funded by Light the Bridge. People could buy individual lights and have them dedicated; the movement was created in order to brighten up Edmonton's skyline. Photo by Hannah Lawson
Third Place: Nice composition using the flag to frame the couple in the window which is balanced with the similar smaller flag. Keeps things simple, clean and easy to read. Demonstrates a good eye and an ability to see what might work before it instantly presents itself and then make it happen.
TORONTO, Ont. (2015-06-2
|
Second Year Portrait:
First Place: This photo stood out for several reasons. Interesting light and composition as well as the piercing gaze of the two subjects. Shooting through glass also gave an ethereal quality that made it all the more interesting. Lots of elements to look at.
 |
| CAIRO, Egypt (15/08/12) - Rania (right) and her little sister Miriam look out from the back of a bus window after a night of shopping in downtown Cairo. Photo by Zachary Prong |
Second Place: Yes, this photo is a bit of a cliché but it is still done well. Decent separation from the background, nice lighting and a nice hook with the mirror image reflected in the water adds to the impact of the photo. Tight framing gets rid of extraneous details. A bit more fill on the left side of the frame and waiting until the marks from the goggles on the swimmer’s forehead were gone would have raised the bar on this one.
 |
| Connor Bissett, a Whitecourt swimmer, has qualified for the Special Olympics World Games 2015 in Los Angeles at the end of July. He will join Team Canada to swim freestyle, backstroke and relay events. Bissett was at the Allan and Jean Millar Centre on July 8, 2015 to train for the upcoming competition. Photo by Marissa Tiel |
Third Place: Interesting use of light and shadow to add some visual impact. The rich colors of the background and the dark shadows work well together to create an eye-pleasing palette and some mystery. The inclusion of the tapestry detail in the upper right adds some more information and also give the viewer some more visual material to examine. I found this distracting at first but eventually thought it actually added to the photo by giving the composition some balance in addition to the previous comments.
 |
| CAIRO, Egypt (15/08/17) "I want to go to live and work in Europe or Canada but they won't give me visa. Egyptians can't leave Egypt…Here I am very poor." Samaan Montiro is a 27-year-old Coptic Christian from Manshiet Nasser, a sprawling slum on the outskirts of Cairo. His neighborhood is known as "Garbage City" and the people who live there are called Zabaleen, literally "garbage people." Most of the residents live amongst the enormous amount of trash they collect and recycle from across the city. Photo by Zachary Prong. |
HM: Gave this an honorable mention because it just nicely lit and composed. This type of lighting can be tricky and the photographer pulled it off well. Simple as that.
 |
| DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, (18/08/2015) - Dakoda McMillan, a construction worker in Alberta, watches the sky pass on his was to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic for a well deserved vacation. Photo by Charles Vilagut |
Second Year Sports:
First Place: Nice moment. Nice timing. Nice lighting. Nice composition. That’s a winning combination.
 |
| Joaquim Fontane Maso of Spain throws his boat around in Garburator during semi finals at the 2015 ICF Freestyle World Championships on the Ottawa River on Friday, Sept. 4, 2015. This year the event took place at the Garburator feature, near the town of Beachburg, Ont. Photo by Marissa Tiel |
Second Place: The low angle makes for a cleaner composition with a wide angle lens which adds some reference as to where the action is taking place. Good composition and good peak action.
 |
| BELLEVILLE, On. (15/07/2015) - Justin Magee ollies huge over this gap on Pinnacle St. Belleville, July 7. Magee has been skating for well over 10 years and has no intentions on stopping anytime soon. Photo by Charles Vilagut |
Third Place: This image has some great action and a great facial expression as well-two qualities that make for a top notch sports photograph. The only thing that lowers it to third is the framing which includes the two out-of-focus heads which can’t be cropped out and do nothing but distract from the meat of the photo. The photographer has focus and timing down for sure on this one. Unfortunately, the one aspect of sports photography that is rarely discussed but can make or break a photo is position. Knowing how to put oneself in the “right” spot to allow all the right elements to shine is what separates great sports photographers from the rest of the pack. Better positioning might have helped this photo. That’s a big “might” since we don’t really know the layout of the venue or available shooting positions. Kudos to the photographer for continuing to shoot even if it didn’t frame up great in the viewfinder. Always better to come away with something decent than gambling on spectacular and coming up empty handed.
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| MISSISSAUGA, Ont. (2015-08-10) -- Moises Batista of team Brazil is knocked over after attempting to score during a wheelchair rugby match against Colombia at the 2015 Toronto Para Pan Am Games in Toronto. Wheelchair rugby, known for its violent collisions, is an event for the first time ever in the Para Pan American games in Toronto this year. Photo by Andrew C. Johnson |
SOME
GENERAL COMMENTS:
I absolutely guarantee that some of you
will be thinking that my choices were totally out to lunch. “How could that photo win over this one? Is this
guy clueless?”. Herein, lies the nature of contests. It is all so subjective.
What I like in a feature may not be what someone else likes. The same goes for
composition, lighting, etc etc. Photography
is such a subjective endeavor. Don’t get hung up on contests. It’s a
good way, especially early in your career, to gauge where your skills may be in
the general scheme of things. But, if
you put all your self-worth as a photographer into how you do in contests, you
are risking stifling your own creativity. You may begin to doubt your vision
because some judge didn’t happen to be into it. You may start to copy the type of photos that seem to win contests
and fail to develop your own style. I’ve seen numerous trends in the contests
over the years (black and white, tilted frames, cropped out faces blah blah
blah). Somebody did it for a reason and won a prize so now everyone does it and
thinks it automatically makes a good photograph. Learn what makes a photo
effective and be able to articulate why (because it won first prize is not an
answer). Why is black and white a good tool here? Why should I shoot wide as
opposed to tight? If I tilt the horizon, what does that communicate? You will end up building a skill set beyond
the purely technical and be able to apply those skills on your own style of
photography and be able to communicate what you want to with your gear. IF the
viewer gets something from your photo, it is a success regardless of what some
judge thinks. You just have to find your niche and pursue that and you will be happy
with your work.
Standings
The current standings for the 2015-2016 Photo of the Month Contest.
Points Awarded
150- Marissa Tiel
125- Zachary Prong
100- Andrew C. Johnson
100- Nakita Krucker
100- Phil McLachlan
100- Audrey Caron
100- Chris Donovan
85- Charlie Vilagut
75- Isaac Paul
50- Hannah Lawson
150- Marissa Tiel
125- Zachary Prong
100- Andrew C. Johnson
100- Nakita Krucker
100- Phil McLachlan
100- Audrey Caron
100- Chris Donovan
85- Charlie Vilagut
75- Isaac Paul
50- Hannah Lawson
