For our February 'Shadows and Silhouettes’ photo competition we enlisted the help of guest judge Todd McGaw and a new Facebook based 'people's choice' vote.
Congratulations to Bill Roberts who has won the top prize in our February 'Shadows and Silhouettes' photo competition with a beautifully composed image of a Bedouin camel rider in the desert outside Dubai.
Guest judge Todd McGaw, former AIPP Travel Photographer of the Year, praised Roberts' image for it's stark outlines and carefully considered composition.
"I love the graphical nature of this image," said McGaw. "It's very two-dimensional and reminds me of traditional Thai shadow puppets. The shape of the dunes suggest the camels are walking a tight-rope across the desert, but I love that you can still see their hooves shuffling through the sand, destroying the sharp line of the dunes as well.There's great definition and detail in the rider too, contrasting with the fact that the sand and the camels are completely silhouetted. The timing of this frame is fantastic – the separation of the two camels, all of their legs visible, and compositionally set with the low backlight from the sun directly behind the subject. Bravo!"
Bill has won a Spyder4PRO, valued at $240, courtesy of Kayell Australia.
This month's competition saw the introduction of a new People's Choice vote, with the shortlist posted on our Facebook page last week and visitors asked to 'like' their favourite images. The post reached more than 11,000 people (a record for our Facebook page) and attracted more than 1100 likes. Congratulations to People's Choice winner Angela Seguna, whose photo 'I'm Out of Here' proved to be the crowd favourite. As our inaugural People's Choice winner, Angela has won a 12-month subscription to Australian Photography + digital magazine.
If you'd like to be part of our March competition, 'Bad Weather', you can enter here. And to be a part of the People's Choice vote, make sure you 'like' the Australian Photography + digital Facebook page. That way you'll be notified as soon as we post the shortlist.
You can see the full selection of shortlisted images below, including runners up in both categories.
ABOUT THIS MONTH’S JUDGE: Todd McGaw is an award-winning wedding and travel photographer. Based in Queensland, McGaw's recent accolades include AIPP Queensland Wedding Photographer of the Year 2013, AIPP Master of Photography 2012, AIPP Travel Photographer of the Year 2012, AIPP Queensland Wedding Album of the Year 2012, AIPP Queensland Wedding Photographer of the Year 2011. In 2013 American Photo magazine included McGaw in its Top 10 Wedding Photographers in the World.
WINNER: 'Camel Rider Silhouette,' by Bill Roberts. JUDGE'S COMMENT: "I love the graphical nature of this image. It's very two-dimensional and reminds me of traditional Thai shadow puppets. The shape of the dunes suggest the camels are walking a tight-rope across the desert, but I love that you can still see their hooves shuffling through the sand, destroying the sharp line of the dunes as well.There's great definition and detail in the rider too, contrasting with the fact that the sand and the camels are completely silhouetted. The timing of this frame is fantastic – the separation of the two camels, all of their legs visible, and compositionally set with the low backlight from the sun directly behind the subject. Bravo! – Todd McGaw.
COMMENDED: 'Poised,' by Robert Dettman. "A very tidy and well seen industrial silhouette. I appreciate that this photo hasn't been 'mirrored' left-right and apprears to be naturally occurring. Love the powerful symmetry and balance here – well framed, and well treated tonally-speaking." – Todd McGaw.
COMMENDED: 'Leederville,' by Libby Holmsen. JUDGE'S COMMENT: "Nice use of silhouette and shadows here. These photos can be difficult to capture; waiting for the right person to walk along, in the right direction, while the sun (and therefore all your shadow lines on the buildings and/or the ground) are moving. I really like the stark contrast between the subject and his background here. The shadow line creeping up the left face of the buildings burns this for me – the same photo made maybe 45minutes before (or after, depending on the direction of the sun), may have kept the shadow line on the ground yielding golden results, but then maybe the photographer had to wait 45 mins for someone to walk into frame. Who knows? But I can appreciate where the photographer is going with this." – Todd McGaw.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE WINNER: 'I'm Out of Here,' by Angela Seguna.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE RUNNER UP: 'Above the Clouds,' by Scott Plume.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE RUNNER UP: 'Day Done,' by Paula Heelan.
'Climbers,' by Alison Young.
'Grandpa,' by Raul Policarpio.
'I'm Batman,' by Rod Lw.
'Kiss the Bull,' by Karen Cogan.
'Morning Light,' by Libby Holmsen.
'Raven Perch,' by Kelly Slater.
'Ready For The Day,' by Ian Houghton.
'Shadow Dancer,' by Heather Dekkers.
'Shadow on a Wall,' by Rick Bucknall.
'Shadow People,' by Steven Weston.
'Slenderman,' by Holly McSeveney.
'Someday We'll Meet Again,' by Rebecca Diepenheim.
'Spooked,' by Joshua Reuveni.
'This is Gonna Hurt,' by Karen Cogan.
'Time Traveller,' by Libby Holmsen.