Grant Galbraith has won the Focus August 2020 competition with a stunning black & white image of a waterfall. He will receive a NiSi V6 Switch Kit – 100mm Filter Holder with Enhanced Landscape CPL & Switch – valued at $429 – courtesy of Focus Sponsor Nisi Filters Australia.
Second place was awarded to Steve Algie and third place to Stephane Thomas, who will receive a credit from the Focus Committee of $150 and $50 respectively, to spend with any Focus Sponsor.
The Focus August 2020
competition, themed “LONG EXPOSURE” was designed to challenge Focus Plus
Members to shoot new long exposure images during the month of August 2020.
The competition attracted 87 valid entries. Two independent judges, Adam
Williams of Easy Way Photography and Andrew Code of NiSi
Filters Australia 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 :
Adam Williams said :
“A huge congrats to all that entered. Whether or not you got an award is irrelevant. All the photos had something special in their own way.”
Commenting on the winning image, Adam added :
“Packed with atmosphere and mood and a sublime handling of the tones, made this the stand-out image of the competition for me.”
Andrew Code added “
“This is a beautiful
image! The waterfall was captured at the perfect shutter speed to
show movement and create a smooth flow, which looks stunning contrasting with
the dark background. The mist adds so much drama and leads the eye to the
waterfall.”
Commenting on the second-place image, Adam Williams said:
“Simple and intriguing, the sense of isolation and loneliness in combination with the weathering and exposure time, told a really emotive story.”
Andrew Code added :
“ A beautifully captured long exposure that shows movement and gives the
sense of a long period of time. The brightness on the horizon contrasts well to
the building and this contrast really draws the eye to the building. I don’t
often see B&W star trails, but it works perfectly and really made this
image stand out.”
Commenting on the
third-place image, Adam Williams said:
“A visually stunning image. Beautifully planned and executed. The pop of
colour and light, the complementary colour palette, the simplicity and the
story of time passing and history decaying, all added to a very visually
appealing photo.”
Andrew Code added :
“This image was the longest exposure (series of exposures) of all the
entries, to tell the story of movement over a long period of time. I loved the
great use of complementary colours between the blue from the stars and orange
from the lights on the Furnace. The image feels balanced and I’m drawn into the
centre of the celestial pole while taking in the great textures on the
Furnace. Well done this was a wonderful image!”
Jo Andrews, Chairman of the Focus
Committee, said
“Congratulations once again to Grant Galbraith. Thanks also to our two
judges, Adam Williams and Andrew Code, 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.”
Note. This competition was free to enter but limited to Focus Plus Members.
Focus Plus membership costs just $5 p.a. and offers access to Focus Sponsor
discounts, special events and competitions. More details here.