We're happy to announce the winner of December's competition, “Cultural Expressions.”
For those who don't know, the Light Stalking Monthly Photography Competition carries a $100 People's Choice Award and a $100 Overall Winner Award. The People's Choice Winner is selected by a vote of the community, whereas our guest judge selects the overall winner.
The “Cultural Expressions” Photo Contest
We have diverse cultures and traditions in this world and each culture expresses their identity and beliefs in different ways. It could be through festivals and celebrations, art, food, beliefs, rituals/practices, etc., but each one is unique, interesting and has a story.
As photographers, we can capture these cultural expressions in many ways. When capturing cultural expressions and traditions, you need to focus on the authenticity and capture the raw emotions. When capturing cultural festivals and celebrations, focus on the vibrancy and energy of these festivals, and make use of color to add meaning and story to the photo.
Besides these, cultural expressions can be in the form of landmarks. You can photograph architectural landmarks that are significant to cultural heritage. You can focus on the little details, emphasizing symmetry and pattern when capturing the landmarks.
Traditional clothing and textiles are another important part of cultures and traditions. These can be photographed using good lighting to highlight texture and detail.
In December's contest, participants came up with their creative interpretations of the theme with photographs from various cultures. The images included portraits, landmarks, celebrations, street and still life, and the images made use of interesting colours that highlighted the culture.
When choosing the winning photos, we wanted to make sure that the decision process was based on a good interpretation of the theme, followed by other factors like light, composition, story, details, creative vision, etc. The results are entirely subjective and there are no losers in any competition as we all know.
Here are December's Winners:
First Place: “Mexican Day of the Dead” by Wendy P
Wendy shared a photo from a cultural celebration in Mexico “Day of the Dead” showcasing a portrait with traditional dress and make-up. It is a celebration where families and communities get together to honour and celebrate their loved ones who have departed.
Wendy has captured the image in low light to give the image a moody look to suit the occasion and included a bunch of colours from the outfit and the head gear to bring in a pop while also focusing on the cultural celebrations.
The soft light in the frame gives the right mood without much contrast and the expression on the subject's face is also perfectly captured. The centered composition brings all the attention to the subject and allows the viewer to focus on the details without any distraction.
Congratulations Wendy on this beautiful cultural expression portrait!
Second Place: “Pomegranate juice” by Frogdaily
Frogdaily shared a portrait of a fruit juice vendor titled “Pomegranate Juice” that may have been photographed during her travels. Food also plays an important role in cultures and can be part of traditions and these vary with the seasons and throughout the world.
Frogdaily's decision to convert the image into black and white also works, as it helps to bring all the attention and focus to the lady and her work, without being distracted by all the colourful fruits around. The soft light and the perfect tonal range in the photo makes the image look great.
Congratulations Frogdaily on submitting this beautiful photo!
Third Place: “Enjoy Some Luck of the Irish” by Stefanie Markham
Stefanie submitted a photo of a street scene, where she photographed the Irish Dancers on St. Patrick's Day. It is a day to commemorate St. Patrick, but also became a day to celebrate Irish culture and heritage with people wearing green mostly.
Stefanie has photographed the dance moment at the right time when the dancers were off the ground and in sync while the audience are interestingly watching the dance. Stefanie has made sure to include some audience wearing green which is the tradition for that day.
The angle from which Stefanie has captured this photo also makes it very effective. Congratulations on this beautiful cultural/traditional photo Stefanie!
People's Choice Award Winner
Our monthly photo contests also come with a People's Choice Award. The winner of this part of the contest receives $100 worth of store credit on Light Stalking which they can spend as they please on our blueprints, drills, courses or Presets.
The most popular photo for December voted by the contestants was “Silent Night” by Pat Garrett. Just like how Pat has mentioned, it is a song repeated in most places around the world during this time of the year.
Pat has used just the soft candle light to capture the moment, with the light just illuminating her subject and a little bit of the surrounding area, leaving everything else in partial darkness. The photo truly portrays the atmosphere of the season and the song sung at that time. Congratulations Pat on this stunning photo.
We are about two weeks into this month's photo contest and still have a couple of weeks left to submit photos to our January's monthly contest. This month, our theme is, “Rhythm And Repetition.”
If you would like to join and enter some images into our monthly contest then take a look at your options here.
