We're happy to announce the winner of March's competition “Surrealism and Dreamscapes.”
For those who don't know, the Light Stalking Monthly Photography Competition carries a $100 People's Choice Award and a $250 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 “Surrealism And Dreamscapes” Photo Contest
Surrealism in photography is an art that can be used to capture unreal or dreamlike images. There are many ways in which this genre can be executed. While photographers can use their creative thinking and artistic ideas to plan and execute the shot in camera, there are also other techniques like double exposure, composites or reflections which may be distorted to create a dreamlike effect.
There are many landscape, nature and portrait, still life shots if shot under the right light and weather conditions, will give a surreal and/or dreamlike mood. It is the photographer's choice and interpretation of what feels surreal and dreamlike.
March's contest theme was “Surrealism And Dreamscapes” and the participants had submitted varied images based on their creative vision and interpretation of the theme – surrealism and dreamscapes. There were a mix of images, from landscapes, nature to composites and double exposures.
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 / thought, etc. The results are entirely subjective and there are no losers in any competition as we all know.
Here are March's winners:
First Place: “Zebra” by Tersha
The above image titled “Zebra” is a clever use of the double exposure technique by Tersha, to get the final image that looks both surrealistic and at the same time delivers a story. Double exposure is a creative technique where two images are overlayed on top of each other to create a single photo and a lot of thought goes into choosing the two images that need to be overlayed – like for example, relationship between the two images, light conditions to match the final results, colours, especially the backgrounds, etc.
Tersha has cleverly chosen two images shot in nature – one a wildlife image and another of a bare tree. The final image can be interpreted in many ways, but the face of the Zebra in between the trees and the look in its eyes gives a melancholic feel and reminds me of the situation in the world right now where trees are being cut down in large numbers and forests destroyed in the name of urbanisation or wildfires caused by humans. The animals lose their homes, families, suffer for food, water and are in so much pain and I feel this photo could be used to portray one such story.
Not sure if the double exposure was made in camera, but Tersha has very cleverly framed the zebra with its eyes clearly in between the two main branches of the tree. The contrasting lines and contrasting colours work well together to give the final image a surreal effect, and the images chosen work well together.
Congratulations on the win Tersha, a clever execution of double exposure.
Second Place: On “Golden” Pond by Pat Garrett
The above landscape image captured by Pat is a true example of how one can capture dreamlike scenes without having to make use of any other techniques. The mist over the pond and the golden hour truly add to the magic and give a surrealistic and dreamlike result.
Pat's description of the image mentions that the pond residents had already returned to the city. The thick mist in the far end gives a mysterious look and makes one wonder if there are any more residents in there.
The small rocks in the water, then the light falling on the water, and some flora that are visible through the mist, all lend for a dreamlike result. Pat has captured the shot at the right time when the right light hit the location to give this atmosphere and congratulations Pat on this natural and dreamy landscape image.
Third Place: “Good times” by Frogdaily
The above shot “Good times” by Frogdaily looks very surreal and this looks like a composite or double exposure image that is also very creative. Cats love looking at birds and sometimes chasing them too! Frogdaily has cleverly chosen two images that work well together to tell a story.
Frogdaily has chosen a dreamlike ocean image with the birds flying around for their food or they may just be soaking in the warm sun. The cat's pose is perfect and just aligned well, looking at the birds. This image can also be interpreted as the cat dreaming about birds flying around.
The black and white conversion has worked well in this situation to focus attention on to just the cat and the birds that contribute to the story and nothing else dominates the frame. This is a beautiful example of surrealism and congratulations Frogdaily on this creative image.
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 Lightstalking which they can spend as they please on our blueprints, drills, courses or Presets.
The most popular photo for March, voted by the contestants was “Shells” by Tersha which has won the people's choice award. Tersha has made use of a variety of shells and stones, glass pieces to execute this shot. The portrait has been beautifully overlayed with the shells highlighting certain features in the portrait, like the eyes, nose, lips, jaws and cheekbone, etc.
The monochrome treatment gives a classic feel to this image and the contrasting textures work well to give the final image a surreal look. Congratulations Tersha on the win and a beautifully made image.
We still have a day left to submit photos to our April's monthly contest and it has already seen some entries with interesting submissions already. This month our theme is “The Essence Of Movement.”
If you would like to join and enter some images into our monthly contest then take a look at your options here.
