After a weekend of image evaluating and score tabulating by a panel of HDR experts and enthusiasts, we're excited to announce the winners of our first HDR Walkshop Photo Contest!
The APC HDR Walkshop with Brian Matiash at Photoshop World Las Vegas, held earlier this month, was universally praised as a good time and a great learning experience. About 30 walkers joined Brian, co-leader Jacob Lucas, and the crew from Artistic Photo Canvas for a walking photo workshop in Old Las Vegas focused on high dynamic range photography.
Fremont Street Experience – a flashy, neon-lit entertainment district oozing with character and texture – is the destination for millions of tourists and locals. It was the perfect locale for capturing brackets, which our walkers post-processed into a fantastic batch of HDR goodness that's now on display in this colorful, full-size slideshow version of the APC HDR Walkshop Photo Contest group pool on Flickr – where you can see and enjoy all of the entries.
Many entries represented walkers' first foray into HDR bracketing and post-processing. We were roundly impressed with the quality of the entry pool overall, and especially the efforts and results of the participants for whom, less than a month ago, HDR was but a tantalizing concept.
Choosing winners was a truly difficult task. Every judge – including Brian, Jacob, RC Concepcion (Educator and curriculum developer for NAPP, co-host of Layers TV, writer for Photoshop User Magazine & Layers Magazine, and HDR expert) and Lew Bedell and Bob Melson (co-founders of APC, sponsor of the HDR Walkshop) – brought their own judging criteria to the table – with opinions as diverse as the body of work that is classified as HDR. The winning images represent the convergences of those varied tastes and sensibilities.
So – with heartfelt thanks and kudos to every walker – here are your winning entries…
1st Place: "Fremont Street Vegas" by Toni Vaughan
Toni's image showcases a nice balance of HDR processing. It's strong without being over-the-top, bringing out all of the rich textures of the scene. The composition is very appealing in its skewed angle and the way that it only shows a portion of the Fremont Street 'Las Vegas' sign.
Toni will receive a Custom 32" x 48" Gallery Wrapped Canvas featuring her winning image courtesy of Artistic Photo Canvas.
2nd Pace: "The Dark End of the Street" by William Beem
William did a really nice job of capturing the full dynamic range of the scene. He recovered most of the detail that would normally have been blown out in the neon and lit signs. The textures brought out of the pavement were also fantastic.
William will receive a Custom 24" x 36" Gallery Wrapped Canvas featuring his winning image courtesy of Artistic Photo Canvas.
3rd Place (tie): "Fremont East" by Damien Jemison
Damien had a very strong composition, showcasing the Fremont Street Experience front and center. He did a great job of leading the eye through the frame and supported it with some great HDR processing.
Damien will receive a Custom 12" x 18" Gallery Wrapped Canvas featuring his winning image courtesy of Artistic Photo Canvas.
3rd Place (tie): "Retouched HDR Photowalk - Vegas" by Dave Clayton
Dave presented a nice juxtaposition of urban structures interwoven with the natural elements of palm trees and shrubbery. His HDR processing was clean and subtle. David also operated with a significant handicap due to the limitations of his camera, but worked through them quite admirably to get the brackets that he needed for tone-mapping.
Dave will receive a Custom 12" x 18" Gallery Wrapped Canvas featuring his winning image courtesy of Artistic Photo Canvas.
Congratulations contest winners! We can't wait to see these great HDR images printed on canvas!
We hope every registered participant of the APC HDR Walkshop at Photoshop World Las Vegas feels like a winner too. We all enjoyed the interactive, expert HDR instruction, the camaraderie, the after-party. And every walker scored an APC "My photos ROCK on canvas" t-shirt and an APC gift card. We hope those cards will be put to use bringing many more of the HDR images entered in the contest to life on canvas.
Soon, we'll be posting a wrap-up of the entire Walkshop event in photos – and showing off more of the judges favorites. (Subscribe to The Photo Canvas Blog RSS feed in your favorite reader or bookmark us to follow the action!)
We welcome your comments below – and we're sure the contest participants will also appreciate and enjoy reading any comments and kudos you care to share with them on Flickr.
Congratulations to ALL winners!! You guys ROCK!
Thank you to APC Pro for hosting this incredible event! It was incredible meeting Brian and Jacob and ALL the special people involved to make this event a huge success!
Congrats to the winners, you guys rock! Hope to do it again next year!
Thanks so much! I've been telling everyone that this was a fun event and I'm really thrilled the judges liked my image. Many thanks to Brian & friends for leading us through the event and to APC for hosting us. You just made my day.
Congrats winners and everyone else who participated. I think all of the images are fantastic. And thanks to APC for sponsoring such a great event.
Wow! Thanks again to APC, Brain and Jacob- and of course all the judges! I had a great time during and after the event. I'm so glad that I moved off the wait-list (at the last minute!) You made my day!
Congrats to all the winners! It was definitely a fun thing to participate in.
Yes, just to really say the same as the others, well done to the winners and all the great entries, I'm in very good company tonight. The important thing for me was the introduction to everyone involved and the enthusiasm and teaching of Brian Matiash. Everyone has been really helpful so cheers to you all ! Thanks APC Pro - now just open up a UK store and I'll be a happy little bunny ;o)
Congratulations to all of the winners ... it's well deserved. I had a blast on the walk ... thanks APC, Brian, Jacob and all of my fellow walkers.
Congrats to the winners. Hope you have another walk next year. Thanks, Brian and APC.
APC #HDR Walkshop Photo Contest winners revealed! http://bit.ly/ddExXC …With HUGE thanks and props to ALL who entered! #PSW
“@APCpro: APC #HDR Walkshop Photo Contest winners revealed! http://bit.ly/ddExXC …With HUGE thanks and props (cont) http://tl.gd/67ti57
We just revealed the results of the 1st @APCpro #PSW #HDR Walkshop! Congratulations to our winners! http://bit.ly/cKr60O
RT @APCpro: APC #HDR Walkshop Photo Contest winners revealed! http://bit.ly/ddExXC …With HUGE thanks and props to ALL who entered! #PSW
Winners of the @APCPro #HDR Walkshop contest led by @BrianMatiash & myself revealed! http://bit.ly/ddExXC Congrats & thx to all who entered!
RT @APCpro: APC #HDR Walkshop Photo Contest winners revealed! http://bit.ly/ddExXC …With HUGE thanks and props to ALL who entered! #PSW
APC HDR Walkshop Photo Contest Winners http://artisticphotocanvas.com/blog/2010/09/27/apc-hdr-walkshop-photo-contest-winners/
@NAPPMEMBER_UK Congrats! #HDR #PSW http://bit.ly/ddExXC
RT @APCpro: APC #HDR Walkshop Photo Contest winners revealed! http://bit.ly/ddExXC …With HUGE thanks and props to ALL who entered! #PSW
@NAPPMEMBER_UK Congratulaitons! #HDR #PSW http://bit.ly/ddExXC
@NAPPMEMBER_UK Congratulations! #HDR #PSW http://bit.ly/ddExXC
RT @APCPro: APC #HDR Walkshop Photo Contest winners revealed! http://bit.ly/ddExXC …With HUGE thanks and props to ALL who entered! #PSW
RT @jflphotography: Winners of the @APCPro #HDR Walkshop contest led by @BrianMatiash & myself revealed! http://bit.ly/ddExXC Congrats & thx to all who entered!
WooHoo! My image won 1st place!! Thanks to the judges and @apcpro APC HDR Walkshop Photo Contest Winners http://bit.ly/cURwPd
RT @fireleafdesign: @NAPPMEMBER_UK Congrats! #HDR #PSW http://bit.ly/ddExXC
Yeah! RT @APCpro: APC #HDR Walkshop Photo Contest winners revealed! http://bit.ly/ddExXC With HUGE thanks and props to ALL who entered! #PSW
To all the winners - great images, congratulations!
APC, Brian Matiash and Jacob Lucas - thank you for an A+ Walkshop!
@StudioDee Congrats! I love all of your images. Walkshop Photo Contest winners revealed! http://bit.ly/ddExXC
Also, congrats to @wbeem @NAPPMEMBER_UK and Toni Vaughan for their winning photos. #PSW http://bit.ly/ddExXC
@StudioDee @wbeem @NAPPMEMBER_UK and Toni Vaughan for their winning photos. #PSW http://bit.ly/ddExXC
RT @StudioDee: Also, congrats to @wbeem @NAPPMEMBER_UK and Toni Vaughan for their winning photos. #PSW http://bit.ly/ddExXC
RT @tjsorchard: @StudioDee @wbeem @NAPPMEMBER_UK and Toni Vaughan for their winning photos. #PSW http://bit.ly/ddExXC
RT @APCPro: APC #HDR Walkshop Photo Contest winners revealed! http://bit.ly/ddExXC …With HUGE thanks and props to ALL who entered! #PSW
RT @tjsorchard: @StudioDee @wbeem @NAPPMEMBER_UK and Toni Vaughan for their winning photos. #PSW http://bit.ly/ddExXC
Toni, great shot. Enjoy your new canvas. It was a treat visiting with you and the entire group after the walk. What a great way to become acquainted with HDR. Nice work, everyone.
RT @APCpro: APC #HDR Walkshop Photo Contest winners revealed! http://bit.ly/ddExXC …With HUGE thanks and props to ALL who entered! #PSW
Congratulations to the winners! Well done!
RT @APCpro: APC #HDR Walkshop Photo Contest winners revealed! http://bit.ly/ddExXC …With HUGE thanks and props to ALL who entered! #PSW
[...] three images I submitted to the Flickr Pool for entry in the contest. On Monday (Sept. 27, 2010), APC announced the results. (Click on the link to view other prize-winning photos and congratulate the photographers – I [...]
A quick congratulations to the winners! Well deserved.
And kudos to all of the participants for going on and tackling HDR with style. I look forward to seeing more of your results down the line. Keep at it!
Congrats to @StudioDee @wbeem @NAPPMEMBER_UK and Toni Vaughan for winning. #PSW http://bit.ly/ddExXC Great images @APCpro #HDR #psw
RT @pirate1399: Congrats to @StudioDee @wbeem @NAPPMEMBER_UK and Toni Vaughan for winning. #PSW http://bit.ly/ddExXC Great images @APC ...
Did you miss it? Yesterday we announced the winners of the APC #HDR Walkshop Photo Contest. Check 'em out! http://bit.ly/ddExXC #PSW
RT @APCpro: Did you miss it? Yesterday we announced the winners of the APC #HDR Walkshop Photo Contest. Check 'em out! http://bit.ly/ddExXC
RT @APCPro: Did you miss it? Yesterday we announced the winners of the APC #HDR Walkshop Photo Contest. Check 'em out! http://bit.ly/ddExXC #PSW
@1daveclayton @NAPPMEMBER_UK That is awesome to hear, Dave. Your image is great. A deserving winner! http://bit.ly/ddExXC
Awesome shots! This is one more reason to regret missing PSW in Vegas this last time. Ouch. ;)