First place: Wonderful. Great light and a nice quiet moment that shows a timeless feeling for these body builders. The use of the foreground with the predominantly dark with light areas for emphasis is a great contrast to the colorful main stage in the background. This image is graphic and timed well. The difficulty of contrasting cool and warm tones in an image was also impressive. Tonal range was spot on and skin tones were correct. The Rembrandt lighting in the shadow was nice. Overall, a very strong, timeless image.
Second place: Ha! This is a “make us laugh” moment and you did it perfectly! Clearly we loved the expression on the face. There is good play with the player standing next to Alvarado, so you show juxtaposition to add to the overall humor. This was tightly cropped and captured at the right angle. These things matter and make the photograph as good as it is. Thanks for the laugh!
Third place: This is a great, timeless image and it stood out to our judges immediately as a top contender. When we consider feature images in sports, this certainly is a timeless graphic image. Consider your crop. Maybe that could make a great photo even greater. It’s the perfect moment to capture this with the hat and face turned the right way so we can make out important details in the shadows that help inform the story.
Honorable mention: We kept coming back to this. We had other images that were graphic and done very well, but the contrast in color, the repetition of theme, and the unexpected play of the coach throwing snow at the player kept us looking. This isn’t the easiest image to crop, and it was done thoughtfully, below the neckline at the top, above the knee on the bottom. The photographer is clearly considering the frame very thoughtfully. Wonderful placement of the action in the lower thirds. Well done!
Category notes: This was a strong category this month. We had some very strong contenders that did not place. To all who submitted: keep photographing. Clearly your hearts are in this, which is why we got another great sports category.
Judges:
Kriston Jae Bethel/Freelance, Steve Falk/The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sarah Landwehr/Temple University
Judges Comments
First place: Wonderful. Great light and a nice quiet moment that shows a timeless feeling for these body builders. The use of the foreground with the predominantly dark with light areas for emphasis is a great contrast to the colorful main stage in the background. This image is graphic and timed well. The difficulty of contrasting cool and warm tones in an image was also impressive. Tonal range was spot on and skin tones were correct. The Rembrandt lighting in the shadow was nice. Overall, a very strong, timeless image. Second place: Ha! This is a “make us laugh” moment and you did it perfectly! Clearly we loved the expression on the face. There is good play with the player standing next to Alvarado, so you show juxtaposition to add to the overall humor. This was tightly cropped and captured at the right angle. These things matter and make the photograph as good as it is. Thanks for the laugh! Third place: This is a great, timeless image and it stood out to our judges immediately as a top contender. When we consider feature images in sports, this certainly is a timeless graphic image. Consider your crop. Maybe that could make a great photo even greater. It’s the perfect moment to capture this with the hat and face turned the right way so we can make out important details in the shadows that help inform the story. Honorable mention: We kept coming back to this. We had other images that were graphic and done very well, but the contrast in color, the repetition of theme, and the unexpected play of the coach throwing snow at the player kept us looking. This isn’t the easiest image to crop, and it was done thoughtfully, below the neckline at the top, above the knee on the bottom. The photographer is clearly considering the frame very thoughtfully. Wonderful placement of the action in the lower thirds. Well done! Category notes: This was a strong category this month. We had some very strong contenders that did not place. To all who submitted: keep photographing. Clearly your hearts are in this, which is why we got another great sports category.