Steven Algie has won the Focus June 2020 competition with a striking long exposure black & white seascape. He will receive a facemount acrylic print of his winning image, courtesy of Focus Sponsor, Created For Life.
Second place was awarded to Kay Cypher and third place to Anton Gorlin, who will receive a credit from the Focus Committee of $150 and $50 respectively, to spend with any Focus Sponsor.
The Focus June 2020 competition, themed simply “JUNE” was designed to celebrate the relaxation of covid-19 restrictions, allowing recreational landscape and seascape photography to resume. Images must have been captured during the month of June 2020. The competition attracted 176 entries. Two independent judges, Jarrod Castaing and Steve Arnold, studied and scored each one.
Every competition entrant can access their scores by re-entering the competition website : https://comp.focusphotographers.org/enter/login.php
A gallery of the top 25 images is available here : https://comp.focusphotographers.org/enter/results.php?competition=FocusJune2020Comp
Jarrod Castaing said
“It was a close contest between the winners. We saw some dramatic lighting and
great weather. The images that did well balanced these conditions with strong
compositions, subtle processing and an element of emotion.
Our first-place winner was minimal yet powerful. Carefully composed with great
attention to detail throughout every edge of the frame, combined with strong
lighting and an ethereal mood.
Second place gave us a great sense of the last few months. Wild and intense.
From isolation, to an impending storm framed by wind battered trees.
Third place showed great technique and careful contrast both in exposure and
the subtle use of complementary colour.”
Steve Arnold said :
“It was a diverse set
of entries this month and the ones that scored well are the ones that did a
great job of combining mood and emotion, with solid compositions and refined
editing. The top 25 gallery reflects a diversity in style while these key
underlying elements remained consistent throughout.
1st place: A well-deserved winner, this is a layered image that works on many
levels. The balanced and detailed foreground gives just enough to lead us into
the scene without pulling us away from the main story which for me is the
contrast in the hard jagged rocks rising up through the soft misty water in the
centre of the frame.
2nd place: There’s a lot going on in this image but the pattern and symmetry in
the trees along with the consistency of the raindrops, and the framing of the
lightning and bench allows all the elements come together to create order out
of the chaos, resulting in a very powerful image.
3rd place: It’s all about the overall mood and feeling for me with this image.
The refined editing leaves just enough detail in the carefully placed rocks to
provide context to the scene, while the colours in the sky add a really
pleasing warm glow.”
Jo Andrews, Chairman of the Focus Committee, said
“Congratulations to Steven Algie. Thanks also to our two judges, Jarrod Castaing and Steve Arnold, who donated their time and applied considerable skill to their task. And finally, thanks to everyone who entered this competition. Whether or not you were successful, entering a free competition is a great experience, to develop the quality of your work and test how well it communicates.”
The next free Focus monthly competition will be themed “LONG EXPOSURE”. Sponsored by NiSi Filters Australia, this competition will be launched shortly with a closing date of 31 August 2020.