A PERSONAL NOTE: While hosting this contest, I made every effort to run it in as scrupulously impartial a manner as possible. This not only extended to running the contest itself (keeping to strict start and finish times, grouping photos by order received), but refraining from posting in the "comments" thread about any of the entries (even though I wanted to do so), so as not to influence anyone's opinion. Similarly, when the contest rounds first went up, I waited to cast my own votes until several others had done so, so as not to give any entry the advantage of being the immediate "front-runner."
In my
actions, I had to be as detached as possible...because, in terms of
feelings, I was anything but. Only if paisley (to whom I've been married for fifteen years) had submitted one of the leading entries could I have been more emotionally caught-up in this contest.
You see, one of the entrants this time around is not only a dear friend, but a constant inspiration to me. If it wasn't for her knowledge, skill and generosity to someone who, at first, she barely knew, I would never have managed to return to filmmaking twenty years after giving it up. Similarly, it was her invitation, barely 18 months ago, that I join her on a shoot of the Skagit tulip fields (and directing me to this group shortly thereafter) that revived my long-dormant interest in still photography, eventually leading me to a new vocation. And these are only two of the innumerable ways this individual has changed my life for the better over the past five years.
This person was absent from the Photography Group and its contests for far too long, but made a spectacular return last month with
Mountain View. At one point, during the lead-up to this month's contest, I wrote the following to her:
(I hope you'll be entering something, BTW -- nothing would make me happier than being able to announce you as the winner next time around.)
Well...I got my wish. :-) (The fact that she submitted such a great photo, of course, made it easy.)
It is with the greatest of pleasure that I announce the first-place finisher for October (and 16th overall winner of a DU Photo Contest)...
superconnected...for her haunting and beautiful
October Angels.
:yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party:
Second place goes to...
CC ...for her lovely "infrared" nature study,
Winding Road (a photo that has grown on me every time I look at it).
:yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party:
Third place honors, and "best color photo" award, go to...
intheflow ...for her evocative
Dogwood Path.
:applause: :yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party:
I would be remiss in not singling out
graywarrior for "best contest debut" for her spare and mysterious
Dark Passage.
:applause: :yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party:
And, since all four top finishers this month are female, I have to award the
very unofficial "top photo by a male photographer" (not to mention "best use of humor") to
Robb for
Speed Trap.
:applause: :yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party:
Finally, I want to start a new tradition of the "Host's Award" -- in which the person running the contest can single out an entry that they think stands out above the competition. I'm awarding it to an image that, unaccountably, didn't make the finals, but which I thought was one of the very best in any DU contest so far:
Trail Of Leaves, by
Call Me Wesley.
:applause: :yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party: :bounce: :applause: :yourock: :party:
The final standings:
1st: superconnected
2nd: CC
3rd: intheflow
4th: graywarrior
5th: Robb
6th: (tie) Cobalt Violet and alfredo
8th: Mz Pip
9th: Lefty48197
10th: NV Whino
Congratulations to all! :woohoo:
By the way, in case anyone's interested, I went back over the old contest threads to put together a list of all the winners so far. This list includes two events (
Hot Days of Summer and
Extreme Processing) that were originally "challenges," but became official monthly contests when circumstances forced the postponement of the planned contest until the next month.
FOUR WINS
RagingInMiami
TWO WINS
Blue_In_AK
CC
GOPFighter
regnaD kciN
ONE WIN
94114_San_Francisco
algomas
bvar22
ConsAreLiars
F.Gordon
intheflow
JeffR
Mogster
PitbullTed
SOteric
superconnected