So all the submissions were in and we closed up submissions for the First Shutter Photo Ribbon Contest this past Friday, January 29th.  It was a fun competition with a bit of a challenge, a size of 965×70  – a truly unique aspect ratio.  But our readers came through with a lot of great submissions.  The judges panel – consisting of myself, Lisa Newton of Travelin’ Local and David Clark of David Clark Photography and Cliffs and Ruins – spent the weekend  putting in our heads together.  We selected the winner by each picking our top five entries and assigning points accordingly:  5 points for first, 4 for second, and so on.  After we combined our points, there was a clear winner…

The Winning Ribbon Photo:

Entry #1 by Mark J. Sanders

Mark’s entry was David’s #1 pick.  Here’s what David had to say about it:

The main criterion which I considered when picking the ribbon photo is this: the photo must be interesting and eye-catching, without taking over the entire page. Mark’s flower macro is an excellent photo, especially under that criterion. The small strip of photo still clearly reveals its subject, with a single solid focal point. At the same time, the shallow depth of field helps to “mute” the rest of the image. The colors are lovely, but again they are best at the focal point — the rest of the image is relatively muted. All of the colors work together without any distracting elements. Overall, Mark’s photo perfectly balances color, subject, and composition, without any one element overshadowing the others.

Lisa’s Thoughts:

With its playful use of color, clarity, and up-close focus, it was easy to choose Mark Sanders #1 as one of my top five choices.  He evokes my sense of smell and fragrance in the air with his ribbon.  Flowers are a living organism, and Mark’s excellent photographic skill, brought this flower to life in more ways one.

Travis’ Thoughts:

It’s often difficult to work with such a restrictive aspect ratio.  Many photographers would work to try to fit a subject into the shot – and they would produce great shots.  But Mark’s entry is suggestive of something more.  It vividly paints a picture of the entire flower – you can almost see the edges extending beyond the edges of the photo.  It will bring some color to the site without distraction.

First Runner Up

(Untitled) by Rayzr55

Rayzr55’s entry was Lisa’s #1 pick.  Here’s what she thought about the entry:

Being an aficionado of black and white photography as much as color, Rayzr’s picture captured my imagination and my attention. Within his ribbon is a scene which in all reality tells a complete story. Rayzr captured the essence of light and dark while artfully documenting a car traveling in the early morning dusk on a highway we don’t know anything about, but it’s both haunting familiarity and paradoxically its mystery takes us to a place far-a-way in our imaginations. The trees and countryside signify solitude and the feeling of the open road in the country sky.

Second Runner Up

Morning Rush by Nethel Flores

Morning Rush was my (Travis’s) first pick.  Here are my thoughts:

Gradients and patterns apply well to such a bizarre aspect ratio.  But what if the gradients are made of the patterns?  In this case, we see donuts moving down a conveyor belt from left to right – far to near.  As the approach, their size helps to create a gradient from left to right, light to dark, thanks to the holes in the donuts.  To me, this photograph clearly demonstrates a shot that embraces a challenge.  I feel that this is a shot that is strengthened – not hindered – by the aspect ratio.

Final Thoughts

Considering our setback in November, and some tweaks to our rules (thanks to all the early feedback we received), I think this competition turned out well.  I want to thank all of those who entered.  I surely hope you all had fun working in such a bizarre aspect ratio. I especially want to thank our judges, Lisa Newton and David Clark for helping me to select our winner.  And finally, I’ll thank Mark Sanders for providing our new title ribbon for the next several months.

Within the next few days, keep an eye out for a survey about the competition.  Whether or not you participated, we’re looking for feedback so that we can improve future competitions for our readers.

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