And the Winner Is…

Happy Canada Day all! Not to get all mushy on ya all but, I loves my country 🙂 I’m a lucky, lucky girl to live here.

And just as I write this, my iPod has popped on Wheat Kings by the Tragically Hip – perhaps my all time favorite Hip song. Doesn’t get any more Canadian than that. The song even starts with a loon call for crying out loud! …sundown, in the Paris of the Prairies… ah go google the lyrics.

“wheeeat kings and pretty things… wait and see what tomorrow brings..”

Ok. That’s enough of that… we have contest winners to announce!

First of all, thanks to everyone who entered – I know this wasn’t your run of the mill contest and you had to put some considerable effort and thought into it so I appreciate everyone who took the time to put together a photograph!

Second… WOW. I’m so impressed. You all stepped up your game big time. These are some of the best photos I’ve seen from all of you. I’m really really proud of you all for getting into and doing such a great job!

So, as promised, the first prize, for the reflector was a random draw and it went to Photo #6:

Mango granita by Anamika from Taste Junction:

Wonderful focus Anamika and the brilliant yellow of the granita contrasted with the green of the mint is lovely.  Very simple props where the star is definitely the food. Congratulations!

Now, I know I said that the prize for the Gift Certificate from Craft and Vision would be chosen by me but, I totally caved and decided to do a second random draw.  The reason was I just couldn’t be objective, especially with most of you being real life and blogging life friends.  That, and the overall quality of the photos made it too hard!  I have to figure out a way that I can blind judge photos for the next contest. lol.

I loved the absolute simplicity of the photos by  Junior and Tricia.  Both were wonderful examples of focus, composition and lighting.  They were  just wonderfully elegant and yet evoked very different emotional responses with very similar setups.  Amazing what different light and angles can do for a photo.

Ethan’s stark shadows really appealed to me in his soup photo – that’s what I’m talking about in finding your own take on an idea!  Good job catching the dripping soup as well.  Plus, I know Ethan didn’t cheat because I saw him on the day he bought that cool coconut ladle back in May. 😉

Mardi’s granola and mason jars are wonderful.  I love this one because it’s so different from what I usually see from Mardi and it’s so full of warmth.  Plus, I know how hard photgraphing glass is – good job!

Gary’s morning coffee and granola is also beautiful.  I love the focus on the coffee cup and the way the foam is smeared on the inside of the mug – makes it feel very warm and intimate and in the moment.

Dean also had a really neat take on morning coffee with a long exposure of the coffee swirling after it had been stirred.  That’s finding beauty in little things and finding a way to capture it.

PlaneJayne, Jodi and Kate have all been improving by leaps and bounds over the last few months.  I’m really enjoying watching your photos get better every time I see them.  And great use of every day items for your props while still making the photos about the food!

Richard’s seafood photo is perfect.  It’s beautifully composed, lit and it looks delicious.  I’m rather fond of black backgrounds and the stark contrasts they give with the food and the plate.  Plus, I love the story behind the fork.

Another of my personal favourites was Pastey’s Pop Shoppe photo.  I love it.  Love the bright colours, the angle of the photograph and the random spilling (although I’m sure it wasn’t random) of the straws.  Full of bright colours, fun and whimsy, which is definitely something that appeals to me.

So who was the winner? 

Photo #3, this stunning photograph by Michelle:

The draw was random, as you can see, but this photo was definitely in my top 3.  I’ve been reading Michelle’s blog for a while now and she takes some solid photos but this is probably the best one I’ve ever seen from her.  I absolutely love it.  It’s so simple, beautifully composed and lit and although she makes fun of it being 70’s looking, I think this could easily be a print that could be sold. I love the contrast of the wooden background with the ornate cake stand and the dark backdrop and then the pop of red berries.  Great job Michelle! Congrats!

I would also like to point out that the photo was taken with a point and shoot camera and not a DSLR.  Could you tell?  I don’t believe you if you said you could! lol.  So once again, an example of how it’s not the camera, but the person behind it that makes the photo.

I will be in touch with both winners via email shortly to sort out the best way to get you your prizes.  And thanks again to all of you for entering and for doing such bang up jobs and taking your photography up a notch!  All with stuff you already had in your house.

Please be sure to visit the set on flickr and check out everyone else’s work and I’ve tried to link back to everyone’s blogs where applicable so hopefully you’ll all find some new reads!

We’ll have to do it again next time some cool loot comes my way 🙂