Post your favorites from the contest

<p>I made a thread like this last year and it ended up being a lot of fun so I'm doing it again this year. In fact, I bugged Nadine into holding the contest again just so I could make this thread. :)</p>

<p>Please list the 5 images from the "Under 3 years" category that you like the most. The criteria that you use for your selections is your own. In my case, I scanned all the images and picked out the ones I liked, then I went back and narrowed down the list by asking, "Is this a picture that I wish I had taken?" Of course, this list could easily be 20 images long but I forced myself to go with just 5.</p>

<p>DO NOT PICK YOUR OWN IMAGE.</p>

<p>Feel free to comment on the images you pick but please, no negative comments. Let's not turn this thread into a critique of images. Let's just celebrate what we like and marvel at the total lack of consensus (I don't envy the judges)</p>

<p>Here are my picks in the order they were posted. These aren't necessarily the ones I think should win, just pictures that I really liked for different reasons.</p>

<p>Cosmin Danila - This image makes my list for the simple reason that I kept coming back to it again and again, trying to figure out how I felt about it. Any picture that can make me think gets a nod.</p>

<p>Michelle Mcnickle - The tone, the color, the ambient light. Beautiful and simple.</p>

<p>Mik Milman - You can feel the motion and fun in this shot. It's fun to look at and probablt attracts my attention more than any other shot on the page.</p>

<p>Rachael Larson-Moreau - Looks simple but it's really not. Very relaxing and intimate and doesn't feel staged at all.</p>

<p>Craig Hutson - A simple, candid snapshot can mean a lot to someone and this picture looks like a great one. beautiful formals may go on the wall but a picture like this goes on the refridgerator and is looked at more than any other shot from the wedding. I'll bet the girls in the picture love this shot.</p>

<p>Feel free to just list your favorites without comment, which is how we did it last year. I just wanted to comment a little because there were so many great shots I couldn't add and I wanted to explain my thinking a little. Here's my list condensed:</p>

<p>Cosmin Damila<br>

Michelle Mcnickle<br>

Mik Milman<br>

Rachael Larson-Moreau<br>

Craig Hutson</p>

<p>Have fun!</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I'm semi-hijacking your thread, Booray, to ask for picks on the Over 3 Years category too. I hope you don't mind...</p>

<p>Links to the threads:<br>

http://www.photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00VX0H<br>

http://www.photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00VX0G</p>

<p>--Nadine</p>

</blockquote>

<p>My list:<br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=2200296">Marek Dziekonski</a><br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=4211416">stephen paul munn</a><br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=3995880">Javier Herrera</a><br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=5052012">Lyle Brocato</a> <br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=1489280">zero coolbeans</a></p>

<p>My tastes are a little too close to Marino's. Here goes:<br />stephen paul munn - perfect expressions. well timed and composed.<br />javier herrera - it's rare that a wedding picture can say so much without a face, although I'd lose the cowboy.<br />Uidumac Eugen - nice heart shape. intentional or candid?<br />Marek Dziekonski - could be in a classic movie promo<br />Roberto Lopez - Bonus points if this is candid, though I wish the smile wasn't cut off.</p>

<p>Personally, I'm going for sentimental favorite this year. </p>

<p>In no particular order:<br>

Stephen Paul Munn<br />Lee Copp<br />Rachel Larson-Moreau<br />Vidumac Eugen<br />Sean Morrison</p>

<p>From the 3 years and over entries, in no particular order, my top four:<br>

Michael Marker "Autumn Bliss"<br>

Zach Gray "B/G Running"<br>

Yaroslav Zrerev "Wedding from Ukraine"<br>

Todd Laffler "Dusk"</p>

<p>From the under 3 years entries, in no particular order, my top four:<br>

Natalie Brown-Norberg "Maui Kiss"<br>

Mark Theirney "Walk on"<br>

Uidumac Eugen "B/G Kiss..."<br>

Wayne Lam "The Fairy Tale"</p>

<p>In no particular order my choices are:<br>

Joey Allen<br>

Natalie Brown-Norberg<br>

Stephen Paul Munn<br>

Robin Fox<br>

Kate Callahan<br>

But kudos to everyone for participating!</p>

<p>My favorites in no particular order (for up to 3 years):<br>

 

<p>Marek Dziekonski<br>

Stephen Paul Munn<br>

Booray Perry<br>

Csaba Varga<br>

Vans Photography<br>

Sean Morrison<br>

Lots of lovely stuff in both categories : )</p>

 

</p>

<p>I think Cosmin Danila captured a moment that brings together two cultures in a poetic composition of wedding bliss. I really like the color contrast of the pinks and white. It is a fun picture and sticks in my mind as a candid wedding moment. Kuddos!</p>

<p>and to finish off my favorites, I pick:<br>

Neven Jurkovic<br>

Barry Frankel<br>

Lyle Brocato<br>

Martin Dygut</p>

<p>The hard part about picking favorites is deciding how much weight you will give to the "Weddingness" (that's my college education typing right there) of the image. It's one thing to say, "I like this image," but then you have to decide if it's in the right "theme" or not, or even if that should matter at all. I don't envy the judges one bit. </p>

<p>I don't think the judging will take as long this year as last year so if you want to post your fav's do it now. After the winners are announced it's not as much fun. :)</p>

<p>I just noticed that Nadine asked for favorites from the "over 3 years" category so here they are in the order they were posted:<br>

Michael Marker - Candid, fun, the color if the boots is awesome. I particularly like that you can see the other foot has a boot on as well which leads you to believe it's not staged. I immediatly began to wonder what the wedding was like that it required these boots.</p>

<p>Zach Gray - So clean and dynamic.</p>

<p>Daniel McGarrity - A tough shot to get right. I tend to shoot the toss from the side and wide but this shot has me wanting to change.</p>

<p>Paolo Caroone - Audrey Hepburn, New York City. Classic</p>

<p>Regas Chefas - Unique and stylish. This is the kind of shot that defines your style, I think.</p>

<p>So tough to pick just five. There are so many others that I love but didn't have room for. Omega NC's ring shot is great, for example, but can you pick a ring shot over a people shot? I don't know...</p>

<p>My driving criteria for picking a shot was, "Do I wish I had taken that..."</p>

<p>I have to say there was a fantastic selection, and my favorites are thus just simply because I wish I had taken them, or that they spoke of true emotion.</p>

<p>3+ Years (In Order Of Fave)</p>

<p>Paolo Cardone<br /> G.E. Masana <br /> Andrew van Bommel <br /> Zach Gray</p>

<p>Under 3 Years</p>

<p>Vans Photography (my absolute favorite, I hope you win!) <br /> Javier Herrera<br /> sean morrison</p>

 

<p>Perhaps I'm out of line here but I thought that these three images were stellar. Indeed there was many superb entries but these represent, to me at least, incredible craftsmanship and were about as close to perfect as could be expected. If I am being out of line, I apologize and will understand this post being deleted from the thread.</p><div></div>

<p>It is fine, David. This is what Booray asked for. As has been stated several times, judging is subjective--it can't be anything else, and everyone has their favorites.</p>

<p>Judging is a tough gig. That's why I reduced my criteria for favorites down to the simple, "Do I wish I had taken that." Unfortunatly, that tends to eliminate some great shots for me, like the beach shot above. Being a Tampa photographer means taking a lot of beach pictures so I don't get as excited about them as I might for something that is, for me anyway, more "rare." That beach picture is a great shot, though. :)</p>