Creative Flash Photo Contest Winners
"First of all, I want to say that all these shots are great! Choosing a winner was a very hard decision and I feel I must explain my choice: For me, given the huge flood of images we see everyday, it is important to capture something impactful, to deliver eye-catching shots. Whether it is through the use of an extreme light-shadow-contrast, a very dynamic scene, an unusual usage of light and gear and so on. I think it is important to move away from the well-known scenarios and not to "play it safe", so to say. For me, a shot can be blurry, with clashing colors, dark, too bright and with the whites bleeding out.... anything…. Anything but boring!" - Guest Judge Tilo Gockel
Thank you to all the photographers that shared their photos that show a creative use of flash in this photo contest in collaboration with Rocky Nook. Rocky Nook is a leading publisher of books by photographers for photographers.
A special thanks to friend and professional photographer Tilo Gockel for his collaboration as a guest judge. Tilo Gockel is a photographer and expert in the field of flash lighting. He has published countless articles on photography and image processing in popular magazines (DOCMA, DigitalPHOTO) and has written numerous books. His blog, fotopraxis.net, offers numerous tips and tricks learned from his extensive experience with photography.
"You’ve got to love this shot. The powder works great and backlight is the perfect choice. I also love the decision to leave the light source in the shot and to rotate the image. This is a perfect example of the fact that often it is not important at all if your photo is perfectly sharp throughout or perfectly exposed, without any out bleeding white spot––if you manage to get a shot full of dynamics and full of emotions like the shot at hand, these things are not that relevant anymore (although, please don't get me wrong, this shot is also technically very well-executed)." - Tilo Gockel
"Love this image, so intense, just great! The photographer did a wonderful job in my eyes, selecting to place the light below the eye line, which is normally a "no go", because this tends to deliver a lighting that might seem a bit scary sometimes. Also, I love the brave crop of this image and the decision to only show one eye. Bravo!" - Tilo Gockel
"Wow, this little cute mouse, so small, so real! What a great shot and scene. I am perfectly fine with the scene being 90 % black because this allows the observer's eye to concentrate on the little mouse. The backlight also serves well to emphasize the fur. The scene is intense because everyone (or is it only me?) wants so shout: "be careful with that piece of cheese, this is a trap!!”" - Tilo Gockel
"I love images with lots of shadows and extreme lighting, preferably backlit and with hard light (which is often simply more interesting than soft light). For me, this just gives more impact! In this shot everything comes together. The silhouette works great and the water gives dynamic to the shot. Thumbs up!" - Tilo Gockel
"Aah, so good, so real, love it! Everyone who had or has dogs knows that situation, when your dog is wet, and the countdown begins until all of the sudden the whole house is soaked too! This is a shot with perfect light (backlight) to illuminate that scene. The shot also has a great dynamic!" - Tilo Gockel
