Last Months G.O. Newsletter Photo Contest Winner
The February 2020 photo contest theme was 3D Photo. George! This is a WIN! George Cribbs (@geojunkie_george) you totally nailed this months theme. Pun intended! This months challenge was extremely difficult for many reasons. Subject, Light, Camera settings, Composition… all need to be perfect, but the real difficulty comes in finding the proper angle and visualizing the shot. I think that everyone that is reading this will 100% agree that this image is perfect in all those ways. I really love the edit on this image, heavy contrast and clarity really bring out the wood grain adding so much texture again adding to the 3D nature of the shot. Congratulations George this shot could not get any better.
January is the start of a new year full of new themes! “Put it on a pedestal” was the theme this month and Lisa you definitely put this image up high! Lisa Westberry (@lisawestberryphotography) this is a fantastic example of this months theme. What a beautiful and vibrant subject you picked and the pedestal you put them on is so full of texture and perfectly compliments the subject. So many great images this month and i can really see that you all really tried hard to go outside the box. I really love seeing all the posts and the friendly competition that this little community has fueled. Thank you all for taking the time to contribute your art and passion. I can not wait to see what you all come up with next month! Congratulations Lisa!!
December 2019 photo contest theme was “Lines”. George Cribbs (@geojunkie_george) This is great! The lines of this image really pull you in. I love how anywhere you look in this shot your eyes are directed down the street. The buildings push your eye down and the long exposure car light lines take your eye back down the street. George you have achieved so much depth in this photo by really using those great lines! very nicely done sir, I have one question is it 6:20 am or pm LOL.
The Winner of the November 2019 G.O. Photo Contest is Lisa Westberry (@lisawestberryphotography)!!! This just screams FALL! Vibrant oranges, reds,and yellows from edge to edge. This image really made the judges get into the fall spirit. You can almost smell it in the air when you look at this image, one of the judges commented. I agree 100%! Congratulations Lisa for winning and thank you so much for sharing your amazing talent with us.
Jeff you knocked it out of the park! The winner of the October Photo contest with the theme “Silhouette” is Jeff Shell ( @kayakjeff7 on Instagram). This should be the cover of the 2020 calendar titled Sophie and friends! I will go ahead and put my order in now Jeff. This shot is so great and the judges all went crazy over it. From a photographer point of view the technique is outstanding! placing the sun behind the dogs head enough to not over expose the shot, composition is fantastic in the way you got down on their level so we could feel a part of the moment. From a storytellers point of view you really warmed the heart with these two old friends. I love how their tails and paws are exactly the same as if they have been around each other so much they have picked up each others mannerisms. Outstanding work Jeff and thank you so much for sharing!
Congratulations Amy Poturnicki ( @amypoturnicki on Instagram) for winning the September G.O. Monthly Photo Contest! The theme this month was “Animals Outdoors”. This has got to be the cutest thing I have seen! this bashful chipmunk stole the hearts of the judges. Every time I adventure into the wild and come across one of these little guys I always stop and try to take their picture and it almost never works out. How did you do it Amy!? teach me your magic!
For the month of August the G.O. monthly photo contest theme was “Smooth Water” and well this is a perfect example of how it is done! Corey Lasell (@soxguy28) well done my friend! The judges really loved the rich color in the green trees and moss. This is just beautiful in so many ways, I love how the water seems to be coming from everywhere and I would think that without using this long exposure technique you would not see all of those little drops of water. I also love that you framed the shot to include the rocks in the foreground really adding to the overall depth of this image.
This July we focused on the tiny things all around us with the theme “ Little Black and White “. Over 120 photo entries shared, how awesome is that! Baby birds, toads, bugs, plants of all shapes and then there was the battle of the Daises! So many fantastic images shared this month I am just glad I was not the one who had to choose. In the end there can only be one, And that one is this beautiful capture from Lisa Westberry ( @lisawestberryphotography ). This image is everything I love about doing this monthly contest. I try to imagen a style or a theme that I don’t really see my friends doing much of. I throw it out there and watch all these amazing photographers in this community take it far beyond even what i had in mind. This community is so amazing and I want to thank each and every one of you for inspiring me every day to do what I love. Lisa what can i say about this photo that it doesn’t already say for itself. Wow, simple composition, dramatic depth of field, perfect balance, soft tones, beautiful lines. This is amazing. Thank you for sharing your incredible work month after month.
If you love the outdoors and photography please support and follow Lisa and all of these great photographers on Instagram by searching #GilletteOutdoors.
And the winner is! Brain Bradley ( @bhbrad in Instagram) This is a fantastic image! Just the theme “My Path” automatically lends itself to a Leading Lines composition, and this image is an amazing example to that. I really love this type of composition when taking outdoor photography that has man made structures visible. It is a perfect time to juxtapose the humans need to make strait lines and natures need to grow in absolute chaos. Great work with this Image and thank you so much for sharing it in this months contest!
First time the contest has ever been won by the same photographer two months in a row! George Cribbs ( @geojunkie_george ) you are the winner of the May Photo Contest with the theme “Take A Seat”. Love this shot George! The reflection off the water is great, the composition is super clean using the rule of thirds, I like how you went darker with the image and let the bright color of the chair pull you in. All around beautiful capture!!!! Contest themes like this are not at all easy, I applaud everyone who took the time to attempt it. i hope you all had fun and learned a little something alone the way. I would also like to give a special shout out to Deborah Garrett @djgheart who has been carrying a chair around Portugal, learning her new camera and making some beautiful pictures along the way. Great Job!
"Spring is in the air" and was definitely represented on Instagram! I was so happy to see everyone getting out into nature and enjoying the spring. With 273 entries into the April GO Photo Contest you can imagine it was so hard to pick just one. But in the end there must only be one. George Cribbs ( @geojunkie_george ) you are the one! Simple and elegant, this image uses the classic rule of thirds in its composition. One of the judges said that she loved how it looks as if the two are in it together as they fight for a poison in the warm sun. This is a spectacular image George and a well deserved win Congratulation!
What an amazing month of larger than life photos! At the end there can only be one, and that one is this amazing capture from Josh Wolf! This is the kind of image that takes ones breath away! I love this picture on so many levels! The color and tone are brilliant and very Josh Wolf. I am a fan of an image that truly tells a story and this speaks volumes. I can tell you that the judges were absolutely blown away by so many outstanding images this month. Josh this image was hands down everyone’s favorite. thank you so much for sharing this breathtaking image with us.
The Theme for the February Photo Contest was “Sticks & Stones” Patty Cribbs (mrsgeojunkie) you are the Winner! This combination of hard impenetrable ground and wrapping twisting roots has all ways fascinated me. This image has not only one but two amazing examples of that. I love that you worked both of the trees into the shot and I absolutely love how the roots on the top tree push your eyes down to the roots on the bottom and then off the bottom of the frame. it is almost like melted wax running down the hill. I also love to imagine that when you came around the bend in this trail this monthly photo contest theme pooped into your head and you got super excited to take this shot! Well done! thank you so much for sharing your amazing photos and your epic adventurers Patty.
The winner for the month of January 2019 with the theme of "Vista" goes to Jeff Shell and this truly beautiful vista. Last month I had said that the definition of the word vista was not exactly what we all think of when we think of a “Vista” It actuality refers to a view through a narrow opening not just a view. Jeff you nailed the challenge with this one! there are a few things that I love about this shot, first off the view of course, second are the layers of trees at different elevations on the mountains, and the composition using the two trees to frame the scene and give us the true VISTA. great work my friend.
December 2018s theme was “Black & White”! I always love the contrastie world of B&W. Congrats to Retta Stephens, you are the winner of the G.O. Newsletter Monthly Photo Contest! This image is very powerful. The judges all brought up different reasons why they picked this image. The composition and the balance created by the trees and the way Retta chose to frame them. The 3 distinct tonal range, the bright sky, the black trees, and the gray sand. This really does give the image a simple sophistication that makes it pleasing to the eye. One of the judges totally liked it for what I love this image for, the intense emotion and story that I feel as soon as I look at it. When I look at this image I actually feel the unsettling chaos that the image portrays. The fog creates an endlessness because there is no horizon line. The twisted broken trees almost look like they are trying to pull themselves to shore to escape the pounding surf. The rough water and crashing waves makes me feel as if a terrible storm has battered this coastline. I have been to this beech before, with bright blue sky’s and sun this is a beautiful and almost magical place. This B&W image feels so different and I get the feeling this feels closer to the truth of what really happened here. Beautiful shot Retta and Congratulations!
This was an Incurable month of photography! The Theme was simply “Your Color” and when I originally came up with this theme i expected whole images of bright bold color. tons of photos poured in over the month and defiantly gave us that bright bold color of fall some bright greens and reds even a few white on white entries. The judges took all the images and came back with 3 images that they thought should win. I laughed and told them there can only be one. They sent back this image from @lifehappensphoto as the winner of the November 2018 photo contest! I always love to ask them what it was about this image that stands out. I was told that this tiny tree standing out above every other tree on this mountainside had it own personality . The theme was “Your color” not just “color” and this image made them think if this photographer was a tree in a crowd this would be their color. Wow. I love this image in so many ways. Art speaks to people and can be interpenetrated in so many ways. this is the beauty of what we do. thank you all so much for sharing your unbelievable images and i cant wait to see what comes next!
The winner of the October G.O. Monthly photo contest with the theme "Space Between" goes to @bradley_folk. What an amazing display of composition and color! One of the things I love most about hosting this photo contest is seeing time after time how just a few words in the title theme can translate in so many different ways into outstanding images. As photographers we all have a way of looking at the world differently than others, you have been told you have an " Eye". This is an image that I personally would have never taken, my "eye" wouldn’t even have seen it. A group of four judges fell in love with it, I too fell in love with it and the more I look at it the more it speaks to me. You really have an amazing talent, Congratulations! thank you so much for sharing your amazing images and your amazing journey with all of us.
September 2018 and the winning photo with the theme “Droplets” goes to @kayakjeff7. Jeff this is out of this world! I was so excited to see so many amazing images from everyone this month. The judges took time looking through all of the images and they all seemed to come back to this bright beautiful little bee. This image has a beautiful composition, color pallet, subject, and the droplet is so crazy! As outdoor photographers we sometimes look for the big picture, grand vista, and rolling landscape. Just look at how this tiny insect with a tiny droplet of water on its head is just as magnificent. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful work with us every month Jeff I always love to see what you come up with!
Congratulations to Susan Bartel! ( @akgeocacher on Instagram ) The theme for the month of August was "Take A Seat" the idea was to take a chair out into the world and use it as the main subject of your image. Susan this is an incredible image! From a composition standpoint you hit several key points. Framing the subject using the planes wing and tail, the landing gear creates leading lines directing the eye down to the subject, and the horizon line not only parallels the tail but divides the image to give great symmetry. From a visual standpoint the Pop of color in both the chair and the sunset really make this a winner. great work and I cant wait to see more!
The winner for the month of July is Jamie Amos! (@hippietrikerchik on Instagram) What a fantastic image Jamie! The judges really love your editing choices here, the image has enough dark space to really make the highlights pop and give the light an almost liquid effect as it pours into the scene. The long exposure is also a beautiful touch showing that silky smooth water effect all in stark contrast between the light and dark space of your image. this is really lovely work thank you so much for sharing it with the group. I can't wait to see what you come up with next. Congratulations!
Great job on this amazing win George Cribbs! @geojunkie_george on Instagram. The June contest theme was "first person shooter" the idea was to show the world through the eyes of the photographer as if the viewer was actually there. NAILED IT! The judges love this shot George, and they also love the collaboration with Mrs Geojunkie. I love that you took into account the fact that you wanted both sticks to be in the shot and the mountain to also be a major focal point so you picked the perfect composition to balance this image correctly. Great work George!
The May 2018 GO Newsletter Monthly Photo Contest Winner is Sally Tyler! @sallytylerphotography on Instagram. After A LOT! of back and forth between the judges on this months winner this amazing photograph came out on top! Congrats Sally, this is truly a work of art. First of all i love the simplicity of the composition almost a center punch right through the middle. The color with its beautiful golden tone and natural gradient from the reflections on the water is so calming but still eye catching and vibrant. As artist we all know that if this was two ducks or four ducks this shot would be less attractive, so giving us the three really makes this image so pleasing. I also love that you went so dark with the darks, some people are afraid of this much dark space. Great photo, subject, an edit for this months theme. thanks for sharing your beautiful Photography Sally!
And thank you to everyone who posted so many great Golden Hour images this month, you all really made it so hard to pick just one.
Congrats to Tommy Meyer ( @mcsmeyer on IG ) for winning the April G.O. Photo Contest! This months contest theme was Black And White. Tommy this is an incredible image, perfect balance and composition. The closest hill being near black, the sky in the distance being nearly white, and the perfect gradient effect the mountains give as each gets lighter as they move into the distance really gives a depth and a vastness that blows my mind. I remember you saying that this image in color was so vibrant, It is funny how my mind seems to paint in its own colors. Thank you so much for entering this months contest and sharing your beautiful work with the GO community.
Susan, @Imagesbynana This is a beautiful Image! Congratulations on winning the March Photo Contest with the theme "Lovely Lines" What can I say about this lovely image that the image isn't already saying... Nothing. The judges loved the way the entire image is forcing your eye into the center of the frame. The water pushes your eye to the right and back, as the tree line and reflection pushes your eye to the left and back. No matter where you start looking your eye ends up in the same beautiful spot. Well done Susan we love it! Keep up the great work and thank you sharing you amazing images.
Lisa Westberry @lisawestberryphotography on Instagram. February's theme was “Beautiful Blur” we wanted to see photos with great depth of field, the beautiful balance of an image that is out of focus and in focus, in all the right spots. Congratulations on this unbelievable image! You are the winner of the February G.O. Photo Contest. The judges really love the symmetry and the way you used the depth of field to pinpoint one set of thorns and really draw your eye into the shot. This is a beautifully composed image Lisa. keep up the fantastic work and we can't wait to see more from you in the future.
Josh Wolf is the winner of the January 2018 G.O. Photo Contest! January's theme was "Smooth Water" and Josh you nailed it with this awesome waterfall capture. The judges loved the juxtaposition of the white smooth water and the deep dark rocks, and then that pop of color in the fallen leaves on the foreground sent it over the top. they also loved the composition of this image. The top of the falls landing in the upper left focal point and the bottom of the falls landing in the lower right focal point. Also the way you have the light of the sky balanced out by the brightly colored leaves. When someone says you have "an eye" for photography, They are basically saying you have a natural understanding of composition. they just say "an eye" because it is shorter. HaHa. Great work Josh and thank you for sharing your amazing photography!
The theme of the December G.O. Photo Contest was " Let the light shine in". This Stunning shot from Jeff S. @Kayakjeff7 on Instagram plays with the light and shadows so perfectly. The white soft glow of the fog and subtle reflection off of the water are like magic. The composition is outstanding, placing Sophie (the Dog) in the foreground on the bottom left point ( Rule of Thirds) and then the beach and forest follow the right two points of interest. This is an amazing Image Jeff and the judges are defiantly blown away! Keep up the great work and I can not wait to see what you come up with next!
Congrats to Lana ( Instagram @catchmeif_u_can) for winning the November G.O. Photo Contest! This months Theme was "The little things in life'' and this beautiful image captures that perfectly. First of all the composition is lovely, a bright pop of fall yellow in stark contrast to the dark bark behind it really puts the subject on center stage. Then the veins of the leaf draw your eye from the outside edge towards the center onfnd the icing on the cake is this beautiful detail of the dew droplets catching light. This really is a great image that has layers upon layers of goodness. Great work and thank you so much Lana for sharing your work with the group!
Mark Voigt ( IG @mark.voigt) Is The October GO Newsletter Photo Contest Winner! The theme "On the road again". This is an epic Photo Mark. One of the judges commented "The yellow line draws your eye into the shot and directly to the peak of the mountain". Great composition and awesome use of that leading line to point out your subject. This is classic great work. Congrats!
Congrats to Corey Lasell (@soxguy28) for winning the September G.O. Photo Contest!! This is just one of many shots that he entered into the monthly contest with the theme of Wild Animals. Please check out Coreys page, if you do not already follow this truly talented photographer you are missing out. The judges loved the intensity of this shot " this is what i picture the wolf and myself looking like when we locked eyes for the first time in the wild" said one of the judges, and that is exactly what I thought when i first looked at this shot. This image tells a story and it makes the hairs on my neck stand on end. Great job Corey and keep up the good work!
Congrats to Lara Darling (Ldarling43) for winning the August G.O. Newsletter Photo Contest! this is an amazing shot! i really love the detail and the composition of this shot. The bright green background really makes the mushroom pop and gives the whole image great depth. Fantastic capture Lara!
Corey Lase @soxguy28 on IG Congratulations on this beautiful image!! Sunset, mountains, river, forest, and trail, you could not have packed one more piece of beautiful scenery into this shot. I love the 50/50 split composition you used here with the sky and reflection on the river and then the hard diagonal cut of the grass line and green forest. Really beautiful work Corey!
Congrats to Jason Clemmons! @jmcartisticphotography on IG You are the June G.O. Newsletter Winner!!! The judges loved this image in many ways. The color, prospective, and composition are amazing. I really love the journey that I feel this image brings. It makes me thing of overcoming obstacles, distance, and time to get to where you want to be. Great job on this amazing shot Jason and thanks for being a part of this outdoor community!
George @geojunkie_george you are the winner for the month of May! What an amazing image and an amazing place that you have shared with us. The judges are blown away by this photo and i completely understand why. Great composition, perfect use of the rule of thirds, love the foreground middle ground and background separation, reflections, and oh ya all that beautiful GREEN!
This Months Winner is Jeff Shell aka @kayakjeff7 on Instagram. Congratulations Jeff on this beautiful image! This shot really makes me want to get outdoors, thank you so much for sharing so many great images this month Jeff.
This playful shot from @Eye_Heart_Florida is the winner! The judges loved the bright colors and beautiful contrast of the black and white birds. " it really stood out from the rest in the gallery". I agree! I really love the colors and the composition, each bird is in the right place at the right time. This is a lovely shot and a well deserved win!! Congrats.
Susan @imagesbynana What can I say that this amazing photograph doesn't already say? This Image really is inspiring both from a photography standpoint and from the standpoint of someone who truly loves the outdoors and what it means to be out in nature. As a photographer I love the tone and composition. The subject "Fence Post" is 100% the star, and has a great supporting cast with the layers of trees and water in the foreground and the foggy sunrise in the background. As an Outdoorsmen the image makes me feel a quiet calm, and relaxed. I would love to walk that fence line off into the fog and just get lost for the day. Great job Susan.
Patty Cribbs! @mrsgeojunkie you are the winner for January! What a beautiful shot. Thank you so much for sharing this and so many other great images this month! The judges loved this shot, who wouldn't. These are the kind of scenes that every landscape photographer dreams about! Perfect composition and a great eye! I can not wait to see what you have for us this month!! Congrats on an awesome win!