~~~OCTOBER Photo Contest WINNERS!~~~

[mth44sc]

Thread posted in GD here

b]Congratulations to all the winners!!! Thanks to all for the comments recs and kicks. They made my job very easy!
Have fun with next month's contest Cassandra!

1st Place

Cassandra
Toward a more humane America

2nd Place

Blue_In_AK
For the Children

3rd Place

JeffR
Troops Out of Iraq

Hosts’ Choice

Mz Pip
The Promise of Renewal


My thanks and a big round of applause to all of the entries!

:applause: :yourock: :applause:

[Cassandra]

1. THANK YOU!

I'm grateful and a bit shocked.

BTW, do I know how to run the next contest (timing and everything)?

[mth44sc]

2. I sent you

the sage and most useful advice I got from JeffR when I first found myself responsible for the contest via email here.

It has served me well.

Congrats!

PS - when ya get past posting the prelims - you are over the hump...

[JeffR]

6. Just to clarify

most of my advice was a synthesis of all the advice I got from previous winners when I first hosted. If there's one thing that distinguishes the Photo Group - apart from the sheer talent here - it's people's willingness to help each other.

[Mz Pip]

3. Thank You!

Congrats to the winners.All were awesome. And thank you for the Host's Choice! :loveya:

[Eurobabe]

4. Congrats to Cassandra! Nice photos everyone...

:applause: :applause:

:yourock:

[blueraven95]

5. congrats to all the winners!

there were some gorgeous images this time around.

[JeffR]

7. Congrats, Cassandra & Blue.

And a great choice by the host. That's a wonderful photo, Mz. Pip.

I do have to add that 48percenter's entry was much more deserving of recognition than mine. It's so perfectly iconic in this election season, I find myself going back to look at it again and again.

[Cassandra]

8. Thank you Jeff.

I find you very astute at critiques. Can you give me an idea of what people saw that had my photograph win? Technically, it wasn't the best shot, although, in terms of the composition, it came out better than I had expected (framed pretty well, nice blue diagonal). The subject, title, what?
BTW, I thought your photo was wonderful; the subtle variations in emotions really had me searching the faces.

[JeffR]

9. I think a photo like this defies critique

because it just hits so hard emotionally. If it could be broken down into purely visual terms, I think the strongest aspect is that the subject matter is in dappled shadow, while the background is so bright the colors begin to wash out. It's as if this person inhabits a dark space in the bright daylight of what for most of us is everyday life. The darkest part of the photo is the man himself, his features hidden by, strikingly, a newspaper - he might be better informed than a lot of people out there, and certainly better informed than the average FOX viewer. It's also striking that he seems somehow at ease in the moment, despite whatever privations he's suffering.

But the power of the image, for me, is how well it takes the theme this month and translates it into immediately accessible human terms, as Blue's did. It connects, with a little jolt of electricity.

[Cassandra]

10. "a dark space in the bright daylight"

Thank you. Your ability to put what you see into words is why I asked you.
When the theme was announced, I was visiting my parents in Westwood, an area so perfect looking that the homeless seem the only visual glitch. I walked into Westwood Village every day looking for someone suitable to photograph. Most were more suspicious of me and my camera and I wasn't looking to provoke a confrontation with anybody. When I saw the man above, I was far enough away, and he was sufficiently absorbed in reading, that I thought I could get a picture. I took a few shots aimed well above his head, so that if he noticed me, he would think I was looking elsewhere, and then took one shot of him. It looked decent in playback and I moved on. I think, at the time, I thought the shot looked a little busy but it turned out to be the best one I had for the theme.
I was glad his face was mostly hidden; he deserves a little dignity in his life.