WINNERS of the November Photography Challenge

First of all, I want to give a huge thank you for all the participants of the first challenge.

 (found here) 

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976832419 

 This month's theme was "Details" and all participants were encouraged to submit original photography that applied to this theme.  It could have been close up details of a subject, an interesting angle, an unusual item...etc, anything that focused on details.  There was a good turnout and many wonderul submissions, so picking the winners was not an easy task!  This month's challenge winner will have the opportunity to pick next month's topic and be the next guest judge. 

Since this month was the first challenge I decided to do the judging myself, so that everyone else would have the opportunity to participate.  

A little about myself:

 I am an amatuer photographer that started taking pictures out of pure passion for the art.  To me, a photo is a poem without the words and I enjoy whenever I am able to capture the essence of an object in such a demonstrative way.  Since I am mostly a hobbyist, everything is self-taught, although I have had some great constructive feedback that has lead to learning more about the techniques available.   I am married and have two beautiful children and we live a modest life in a rural Arkansas town.  My other passions include writing, poetry, antiques and decorating. I love finding a bargain and you can find me scouring the flea markets/auctions for items that touch my heart in some way.  I have a flair for the unusual.... for example: I have an old door hanging on my kitchen wall and it has recessed panels that I have placed some photographs in, while the old frames I found at a flea market hang empty in my dining room.  I started collecting butterfly items when my mother passed away in 2003 and love ironwork of all kinds, especially scroll designs and such.  I believe that life is about love, plain and simple. 

Now on to the Winners:

THIRD PLACE WINNER is....... RONI SEGOLY!!!!!!!!

Roni's picture and comments can be seen here:

http://www.gather.com/viewImage.jsp?fileId=3096224743959177&iGrpId=3659174697242932

The picture is of a pair of hands. and from the coarseness of the skin, I'd assume from a very hard working man.  I would imagine a nonsmoker, as his fingers do not have the tell-tale yellowing.  The reason I picked this photo is because it leaves the viewer wondering... who is this person and what is he waiting on? Where will he be heading next? To a farm? To a cottage home? The photo is focused, deliberate...good framework.  Really brings the viewer to the hands themselves and the jacket becomes a sort of background color. The details are obvious here, the wrinkled skin, the ridges in the fingernails, the bit of dirt beneath them.  It all adds to the character of this photograph and gives it a comforting feel, as if this is someone we could all know. 

Thank you to Roni for his submission and Congratulations on your Third place win!

SECOND PLACE WINNER is...... Lahs H.!!!!!!!

Lah's photo and comments can be found here:

http://www.gather.com/viewImage.jsp?fileId=3096224743964441&iGrpId=3659174697242932

This is an excellent example of how to use something as simple as some leaves to make an extraordinary shot! The color pops out at you and the variety of coloring in the leaves makes it even more eye catching.  I adore the raindrops and how they look almost frozen on the leaf.  Some slight reflections in the raindrops is an added bonus.  The picture itself is very crisp and clean.  Focus is excellent and I also enjoyed the way the leaves fade in the background ever so slightly.  Just a great capture that replicits the theme "Details" very nicely.

Thank you to Lah for your submission and Congratulations on your Second place win!

 (and finally......)

FIRST PLACE WINNER who will receive the GRAND PRIZE of a $15 Gift Certificate to Amazon.com is....... (DRUM ROLL PLEASE)...............CARLA F!!!!!!

 Carla's photo and comments can be found here:

http://www.gather.com/viewImage.jsp?fileId=3096224743951192&iGrpId=3659174697242932

 There were so many reasons to pick this picture as the winner.  First off, as I commented originally, it is mostly the angle that just captures my attention.  This is not an easy shot to achieve. The subject matter is very delicate and must be dealt with carefully or risk damage to the fungi. Look the ridges underneath the mushroom cap! Furthermore, the depth of field is just amazing!  It appears that these mushrooms go on forever and ever, and that is a result of a good photographer as those details could have been easily lost.  Also, I liked the varying shades of light and how it plays on the stems and foreground.  This is what this challenge was all about, stepping out of the oridnary and into the extraordinary.  Taking the measures to get the best photo possible in the most appealing manner and with as much detail saved as possible. 

Thank you so much Tina for your submission and Congratulations on your Grand Prize win.  Enjoy your shopping at Amazon.com. 

I am so happy that there were so many submissions for the first month and I hope we can get even more in the upcoming months.  For those of you not familiar with the new group, please visit and sign up and maybe next month, you will see your photo featured as the winner!!

 www.photochallenge.gather.com

Thank you again,

Hazel 

Group Owner/Moderator