Gray skies and stubborn snow remnants show that a lingering winter keeps a tight grip on our community. But while April may resist Spring, our photographers certainly don’t. This month’s contest entries showcase colour bursts, texture, and energy as we celebrate skill and creativity rather than relying on seasonal clichés.
Capturing something remarkable in the ordinary is the magic of photography. Our Entrants rose to the challenge, and this month’s results are something to celebrate! Let’s take a look at our top Winners!
Submit Your Photo for April's Contest!
WINNER
Mike Yackulic
Congratulations to our Winner, Mike, who shot a beautiful picture of North Falls in Oregon. Mike explains, “Silver Falls State Park is a wonderful park (in Oregon) filled with waterfalls, several of which you can walk behind. This waterfall has an enormous cave behind it spanning hundreds of feet.”
What our voters loved most about this photo was the framing. It’s like you’re looking into the “eye” of the waterfall. Most waterfall photos take on an air of grandiose- they fill the frame, and you can almost hear their thunderous sound through the photo. Mike’s waterfall photo, however, beckons your attention by intimately inviting you into its solitude. It’s energetic without being loud and peaceful without being too still. You can almost feel the dewy veil of the air, reaching out with a dampness that stops just short of a kiss on the skin.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Tonya Davison
There’s a haunting feeling unfolding in the pages of Tony Davison’s Hymn Books. It is reminiscent of those long prairie road trips where you pass abandoned towns with abandoned churches - a snapshot of space and time that stands completely still. I imagine for most people, the thought probably grazes their minds about what’s inside those eerie buildings. But very few people actually stop to explore what’s inside. We’re glad Tony Davison was one of them.
Tony came across a 1930’s church on one of those roadtrips and describes what she saw: “Once inside this church, there were 2 Hymnals/Bibles sitting on the pedestal. I left them the way I found them and took the photo. In post-processing, I converted the photo to B&W so it can visualize the age of the photo.” Congratulations, Tonya!
Eliot Slaven
We are also thrilled to award another Honourable Mention to Eliot Slaven’s breathtaking capture from Smutwood Peak. In a heroic pose, this lone adventurer stands, clothed in a vibrant yellow coat, his back to the viewer, facing the jagged edges of a majestic, mountainous background. Eliot says, “One of my favourite frames from an absolutely epic morning on Smutwood Peak. The dynamic range was absolutely out of control, making this edit challenging. I still probably didn’t do the scene justice, but I’m proud of the image nonetheless.”
We agree with Eliot that what makes this image more dramatic is the edit, and viewers might be surprised by how important a good edit is in defining a winning photo. Seasoned photographers have taught classes at McBain that show us the editing behind their award-winning photos, and you would be in awe of the difference an intuitive, thoughtful edit can make. Never underestimate the tonal change and emotion that a thoughtful edit can have on your final image.
Enter our April Photo Contest!
We love that our McBain community showed up well this month! What we can learn from this month’s submissions is that there are really no limits when it comes to how far you can take your photos. Often, new photographers and even hobbyists will stop once they’ve got the shot. But what other photographers have shown this month is that experimenting in the editing room can go a long way in taking your photo from good to great - and maybe even award-winning!
With that said, we just want to encourage all of our McBain contest participants to go the extra mile! Once you’ve taken the photo, ask yourself, “How far can I take this”? You’d be surprised how much the world opens when you’re willing to stretch your creativity a little further. Thank you to all our wonderful submissions. You can find some further submissions below.
