February Monthly Theme Contest 2016 submissions
Dear Streethunters.net Readers,
The second Monthly Theme Contest photos have been submitted and we took a good look at them all and finally made our choices. Please keep in mind that the process of selecting a photo is very difficult and challenging owing to the high standard of the photos entered!
First of all let’s take a look at all the photos that were submitted and accepted in this Monthly Theme Contest.
ATTENTION: This time round we had many photographs that were out of subject so we had to extend the contest. During the extension period we got more photos that were based on the theme we asked for. Photos that didn’t meet the Theme criteria have been disqualified.
At this moment I would like to thank each and every participant for submitting their photograph. We have a great collection of photos with “Two worlds on one corner” to show you! This time we had 17 valid submissions which can all be seen here:
Since there is no longer any voting, we are presenting the photos with the name of the photographer.
The nominees
Every month each one of us Streethunters.net editors picks one photo as a nominee. This month, both Andrew and myself picked the same photo which is interesting. Anyway here are the photos we chose and the reasons why:
Andrew Sweigart
A magnificent monochrome shot. Even though this corner is on a dock, the two worlds seen here are what make this shot meaningful. The young child on one side, and the working man on the other. The child may be daydreamIng about any number of things while the man is carrying a large, heavy load of supplies to the waiting man on the boat. The responsibility-free world of childhood versus the work associated with adulthood.
Digby Fullam
The brief was ‘Two Worlds on one corner’ and we certainly have that demonstrated here – excellent juxtaposition! There’s excellent framing with the corner itself positioned along one of rule of thirds vertical lines, and a lovely mix of hues as the left hand corner is predominantly green, and the right hand corner orange pink. Then we have our subjects – the left side is a single man looking a lonely, and on the right we have a couple tenderly hugging one another. Excellent!
Spyros Papaspyropoulos
As soon as I saw this photograph I knew this would be my choice. There are so many elements here that make it a killer shot. First of all I really like how close the photographer is to the child. This closeness makes the photo feel very alive and engaging to me. The “Two worlds, one corner” concept is clearly shown through the composition. The man on the left is working, carrying boxes full of energy, clearly moving fast, something that can be noticed from the blurriness of him, while the little boy on the right is sitting still, thinking, clearly in a state of idleness. Presenting this scene in black & white emphasises what the photographer has managed to capture with one click of the shutter. He has captured two states (active & idle) and two ages (adult & child). A remarkable shot indeed.
Stay tuned to find out who will win the Contest and the CAMSLINGER Streetomatic Thomas Leuthard Edition!
So there you have it Streethuntes.net Readers. We have made our choices and now we have to debate which one is the best out of the 3. Next week we will reveal this month’s winner of the contest and the COSYSPEED CAMSLINGER Streetomatic Thomas Leuthard Edition, so stay tuned!
Though I understand and accept that the selection is done by the editors (and I prefer it over the plebiscite, btw) I hardly understand what’s exactly different between a corner in a mall and a corner on a dock, as long as two distinct scenes – or “worlds” – happen there.
One of the nominees doesn’t even show a corner of a street but just an obstacle along the way.
wtf?
Thanks for your comment Alessandro, and I’m glad to hear you prefer the editor selection system over a vote.
As you will be aware, the February theme was a challenging one, as evidenced by the fact that we chose to extend the submissions deadline in order to get more of entries. February’s was clearly a very tough theme for people to produce photos for. It made for some interesting results thought!
Our choices are of course subjective, and obviously that is always going to make things difficult. We had to discard several great photographs that we felt didn’t meet the criteria, and we pushed the boundaries of the theme as far as possible in order to get photos that we felt were great works of art, and best represented the theme of “Two worlds on one corner”, which is the real ‘message’ we were looking for in the submissions.
I’m sorry you feel my selection is not ideal (which I assume is the nomination you are referring to?). As I wrote, I thought it was a superb piece of juxtaposition. To me, it is very much showing a corner. It was a difficult choice though, as I think we have some superb photos here. I hope you look forward to our winner’s announcement, and future Monthly Theme Contests, and I hope to see you submitting in the future!
Hello Digby.
No, I wasn’t referring to your selection but to the one by Jeff Sof, This one:
https://www.streethunters.net/wp-content/gallery/monthly-theme-contest-feb-2016/SHMTC-02-1600009.jpeg
where, actually, there’s not even a real street corner. That’s a scaffolding along a straight street which just happens to be upon a street. I mean, what’s the difference between a corner in a mall and a corner of a scaffolding?
I firmly believe that there are some great photographs among the nominees, much better than the one I was able to submit – and to be honest the very one you chose, to me, deserved to win – and I perfectly understand if, after a few submission, you was forced to explain that you looked for a street corner.
But what I can’t understand is why insist upon the concept of “we want a street corner” and then accept (and even choose as a winner) photographs which don’t show a street corner at all.
We can’t even tell if the photo by Wendell Daliva is actually a corner or not. It could be just a market stall along a street.
By the way, it doesn’t matter. As I said, I like the editor selection system, even if sometimes I find it obscure.
Cheers!
Ale-