The Winners! - The Great HOLIDAY Photography Competition

[Shaun(OfTheDead)]

Hello everyone!

LOTS of great entries in our Great HOLIDAY Photography Competition. We had a hard time picking out the best, and it really came close.

I had more I wanted to say but unfortunately I don't have access to my notes right now. So for now, allow me to announce the winners, type a little off the top of my head, and I'm inviting Paul Duncanson, author of Photography for the Web to join us.



Best overall quality (The person whose photos were most consistently good.)
11sbarnett







This young lady worked! I could see it.

Lots of creative approaches, and lots of entries too. Shows good consistency, and achieving consistent results are what separates photographers from happy-snappers. Well done!

You won yourself a hard-copy Sitepoint book of your choice, a Sitepoint e-book of your choice, and an I love HTML coffee mug and a SitePoint T-shirt! woo hoo!

(By the way, we'd love it if you posted photos of yourself in your cool T-shirt with the cool prizes!)



Best individual photo (The one, most stunning photo of the whole contest.)
Matthew Higgins's Toy Soldiers



I do a lot of product photos and always had a soft spot for photos that get down to their subjects (no matter how small) and make them the star. Add that to the gorgeous light and uncluttered, undistracting background (that adds context without taking away), and it makes for a wonderful image.

You won the same set up as 11sbarnett (same rules too, we want pics!). Hard-copy book of your choice, e-book of your choice, I love HTML coffee mug and SitePoint T-shirt



Then we have the Special Topics. These were particularly tricky topics, with spot prizes for each!

- cizzlingeast - Aerial Shot of Your Neighbourhood




- vigano - Aerial Shot of Your Neighbourhood




- simonnz - Fireworks



Each of you won an e-book of your choice and an I love HTML coffee mug. (Pics! Pics!)



Sarah (HAWK) will be contacting y'all to set everything up.



As they say, good on you!

Great job by everyone, not only our winners. I know it probably wasn't easy. I see simonnz went plodding through the snow. bijsterbjo went to a gorgeous park and made some beautiful images! kirschna, rodneyboucher, lostumbrellas, and everyone else who took part. Well done all around.

A special congratulations and thank you to our Sitepoint staff who chose to post their own photos "just for fun" too. I loved them!



Congratulations!

[cizzlingeast]

yeah
also i have won something...................................i am too happy...
Thank you sitepoint.....

[Paul Duncanson]

First off - well done to everyone who entered. Anyone who gets out of their warm, comfy home and heads out into sub-zero temperatures to make photos has my respect.* Even those in warmer climes still made an effort which is appreciated.

Shaun has pretty well summed up my feelings about Matthew Higgins's Toy Soldiers so I won't repeat that here (except to say "well done" again).

Back on the first page of the discussion thread for this competition I told how one of my photography teachers used to challenge us to show her something she had never seen before or, failing that, show her something familiar in a way she had never seen it. I suggested you should try to do the same for me (and for everyone else following the competition, and for yourselves). Many of you seemed to take that advice to heart but none quite so much as 11sbarnett. For me, that's what made the difference when deciding which of the many good bodies of work got the consistently best prize. Each of 11sbarnett's shots seemed to be trying to show its subject with an angle, a composition or a point of view that was just a little bit different.



* Today they also have my envy. We are rapidly heading toward a top temperature for the day of 40° C (104°F) and I could use me some snow.

[ralph.m]

Well done to all! Some beautiful photography there. I envy your skills.

Today they also have my envy. We are rapidly heading toward a top temperature for the day of 40° C (104°F) and I could use me some snow.

Yep, some snow would be nice right now. I just burnt my hand on the steering wheel, unbuckling the seat belt and removing the keys from the ignition! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

[ScallioXTX]

Congratulations to all winners, well deserved. I absolutely loved the photo of the tennis ball 11sbarnett. It's amazing how composition can make something as trivial as a tennis ball look like it's something very special!

[molona]

Congratulations to all the winners! Good job, well done and all that. You can do my photos from now onwards

[spikeZ]

Great photos all round and thanks to all those who participated and those that organized it.
Congrat's to the winners!

[HAWK]

Fantastic work everyone. I am envious of anyone that has a good eye for photography.

[mjarel]

C0nGraTs To All The winNers...

[mizwizzy]

Congratulations to the winners! Some real talent on show and thanks for sharing it with us! It was a great competition and one I personally enjoyed following

Well done and enjoy your prizes

[Paul O'B]

Yes congratulations to all the winners and some great photos there. Well done to all those that took part also making it a good competition.

[dheyjim]

I'm so proud that our community is very creative, congratulations to all the winners. Cheers!

[krobinsonrikhav]

That's really amazing. Congratulations to everyone. I wish I would have also been there.

[molona]

That's really amazing. Congratulations to everyone. I wish I would have also been there.

There's always a next time

[dezign.creator]

wao these are all nice photographs............

[Shaun(OfTheDead)]

Sure are!

I really enjoyed seeing this play out. Well deserved winners too!

[kyle80]

Congratulations to all the winners. Great photos. I'd try and join next time

[ryanqm]

Congratulations to all the winners. some of the photographs really have wow factor. when is the next contest? i also want to participate