January Photo Contest finals! At Last!!

[AndyS]

A little housekeeping before the you get to the vote on final winners:

In due diligence I captured a screen shot of Thread 3v1.0 with voters identified to compare votes in Corrected Thread 3v2.0. Turns out it wasn't necessary as the top vote getters had a large enough margin that my faux pas didn't matter. It did not effect the final outcome (to my unimaginable relief).

Second I want to acknowledge first time participants. The contest filled in ~24 hours AND resulted in one of the most difficult voting experiences for DU ever. You guys are good! Hope you all come back in future contests to share your vision and things you've seen.

Finally if anyone wants a postmortem on the mistakes made PM me and I'll either PM back or if the interest is great enough will post it in the Photo group.

On to the final vote!

Theme:

The entrant takes a photo of anything they want, with some restrictions!
1) Those are that the photo be taken by cell phone ONLY.
2)AND that the photo has not been post-processed in ANY way.
So, one cell phone photo, right out of the camera! NO EDITING AT ALL.

1. Water Lilies


2. Moody Blues


3. Reflections
4.

4. A dusting of large, light snow flakes fallen on a smooth, frozen pond


5. On the N102, Ardeche


6. At the Lake


7. Bee Here Now


8. East 73rd Street, New York


9. Summer Evening


10. Under the Brooklyn Bridge

133 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Time expired
	Water Lilies
	21 (16%)
	Moody Blues
	15 (11%)
	Reflections
	11 (8%)
	A dusting of large, light snow flakes fallen on a smooth, frozen pond
	11 (8%)
	On the N102, Ardeche
	10 (8%)
	At the Lake
	22 (17%)
	Bee Here Now
	8 (6%)
	East 73rd Street, New York
	9 (7%)
	Summer Evening
	10 (8%)
	Under the Brooklyn Bridge
	16 (12%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[skylucy]

1. So many outstanding photos. Very hard decision!

[happybird]

2. Wonderful photos!

Can’t decide, they are all gorgeous. I’ll keep coming back and looking with fresh eyes until one really pops out at me. This might be the most difficult choice yet!

[Biophilic]

3. This one was really hard to choose. Thanks to all who entered.

Lovely and interesting photos.

[Coventina]

4. How am I supposed to choose? I would love to have any of them on my wall!

[SheltieLover]

6. Wow! Tough choices. All are stunning!

[hlthe2b]

7. Great selections all. They make you feel like you have been transported...

and that's a very good thing.

Congrats all.

[BWdem4life]

8. kick

[yardwork]

9. They're all spectacular!

Edited to add that I chose Summer Evening because it immediately reminded me of my childhood. They're all beautiful but this one is a time traveler.

[planetc]

10. Moody Blues: either dawn or dusk, the sun showing off, a few people out in the morning or ...

evening, two walking, and one staring contemplatively off into the mood. This picture sucks your mind into it, and rests it, and calms it, and it's all the work of the color blue. well done, photographer!

[housecat]

11. I like the restrictions, and all of these are winners

The kind of phone used can make a difference

[Harker]

12. As always, they're all winners.

[llmart]

13. K&R

Since I'm a sucker for nature pictures, this was a really difficult choice for me. All of these are amazing and I love that the criteria was that the photos could not be edited in any way. Shows what great photographers we have on DU.

[AndyS]

16. Wellll, ya' have to understand that cell phones do a lot of editing all on their own.

The camera adjusts exposure, contrast, color balance, sharpness and noise to an Artificial Intelligence 'ideal'. Most of the time they get it right for most of the pictures people take.

I only comment because these pictures are not un-edited nor are they not post processed. It is just not done so at the intent of the photographer.

We do have great photographers because it all begins with the eye, ability to see the light and how they combine to make a memorable image. That a cell phone improves on that beginning is only an invitation to grow past that beginning.

[llmart]

17. Thank you for that explanation...

because you're talking to someone who only owns a $40 Tracfone. The camera on it leaves a lot to be desired.

[AndyS]

19. The camera is less important than the eye, the light and the ability to SEE.

Someone said to me, "I've had a dozen Kodak moments in my life and you have a dozen a day."

So many people are in the world but not of it. See the world, smell the air and don't miss a single detail.

The camera only does one thing; show the rest of the world what you've seen.

[llmart]

20. "See the world, smell the air and don't miss a single detail."

That's why I rarely take pictures. I take pictures with my mind's eye and save them in my memory to pull out whenever I need to remember the beauty of this world. I have vivid memories of when my children were little where I can remember the weather on that day, the color of the fall leaves, the smell and feel of the air. Just this morning, here in Michigan, we had an actual sunrise, meaning that we haven't seen the sun for weeks. I stood at my doorwall just enjoying it and telling myself to cement that picture in my mind. When I go on vacation I never take pictures, but I've seen some amazing beauty in many different places and I can still recall most of it.

[enough]

14. Lovely photos! Interesting how the rules for this month's contest

seem to bring out a certain spontaneity and relaxation.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

15. Indeed yes! I think that's a large part of why the submission thread filled up in 24 hours. n/t

[Lonestarblue]

18. All great photos. This one was hard to choose.

[Hekate]

21. They are all astonishing, but Moody Blues just grabbed me

Thank you, Andy, and thank all our photographers

[KarenS]

22. difficult decision,,,, All are stunning! Thank you.

[ggma]

23. Was Summer Evening taken in Omaha?

Swear to goodness, it looks like a neighborhood very close to me!

gg

[Mosby]

24. I wish there was a way to hide the results

Until you vote, or maybe until the voting was over.

[judesedit]

25. Really hard choice. Beautiful photos.

Thanks to all

[Solly Mack]

26. K&R

[Grumpy Old Guy]

27. Kick kick kick!

[a kennedy]

28. Wow, really, really, really hard to choose. Outstanding.

[Emile]

29. Do they wade out to the canoe 🛶?

[mnhtnbb]

30. Good morning kick!

[niyad]

31. All are amazing. How can one possibly choose?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

32. Kick this beautiful post back up!

[ratchiweenie]

33. Wowza. These are wonderful.

[mnhtnbb]

34. Kick!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

35. Kick!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

36. Kick! Kick! Kick!

[Grumpy Old Guy]

37. Kickety kick kick!

[Mz Pip]

38. Kick

[Rhiannon12866]

39. K&R and same as everyone else, how are we supposed to choose only one??

Kudos to DU's talented photographers, and it was equally tough in round #1...

[oasis]

40. K n R

[Niagara]

41. Kick!

[panader0]

42. I wish I could have voted for all of them. No losers in the group.

Kudos to the DU photographers.

[Hope22]

43. What a beautiful selection!

Thank you to all who organizes and contributed to the contest!

[Butterflylady]

44. All really great however,

Water Lilies is outstanding.