and the new zeiss zm ...

goes to ...

erik borst of amsterdam, the netherlands.  not only is zeiss sending him their zeiss ikon zm body but he's also getting the zeiss biogon t* 2,8/28mm lens.   edit:  i just saw that erik sent me an email about the camera settings ... canon 30d .. 16-35L/2.8 at f/7.1 and 1/640th.  see ... not only was it digital but it was also colour! ;)  i'm totally not biased. ;)

yes, i know ... it's in colour.  i know everyone would probably have thought a b/w photo would have won.  it was fun watching the votes coming in.

and the final tally ... resulted in the erik's photo winning.

not only do i love the fact the horizon is nice and straight ;) ... but i love how many different things are going on.  funny that after i've checked out the guy looking at his camera to the older guy making his photo to the woman doing something in the background i'm drawn to the guy in the center with his binoculars ... and i end up smiling because of the little girl looking at what i'm assuming is her mother.

patrick kahn also commented ... "This photo is perfection, composition and color-wise, it is stunning. It has a painting-like quality to it, the rich tones and the background which is almost surreal. The people in there bring life to this already beautiful setting, and they look almost vintage, as if this shot had been planned and cast. The dark-non descriptive clothes bring contrast and enhance the strength of the imagery without beeing a distraction. Just an incredible shot."

hoping to get some more quotes from the judges.  wanna thank ben roberts, bill pierce, severin koller, nhat nguyen, patrick kahn, laith majali, hossein farmani and elinor.  there is no real order to this list i just took it from the original announcement page on uber.  rip.

and a huge-huge-huge thank you to richard at zeiss for both sponsoring the prize and ... keeping his word even after uber crashed and burned.

yes, i'll have some words about that whole sitch soon.

again, thank you richard.  that was beyond cool.

we got 600+ entries.  there were some amazing photographs to look at.  the choices were difficult. 

soon ... i'll post a blog with photos representing all of the judge's choices.  in the meantime ... the two following photos -- even though there's no prize therewith associated -- represent 2nd and 3rd places...

2nd place was ...

by markus hartel of new york city.  very nice moment, mate.  thank you so much for entering.

and last but certainly not least 3rd place goes to ...

by christian rollinson of the united kingdom.  i think you'd be stoked, christian, if you know who liked your photo the best out of all of them.

maybe i'll tell.

maybe i won't.

we'll see.

i'm stoked for erik of amsterdam!  it's so nice knowing you used your contacts and were able to get a photographer -- a deseving photographer, of course -- a new piece of gear and an amazing piece of glass.  i wonder if wank ever did anything like that? ;)

again, thank you judges, submitters and, of course, zeiss. 

yes, i have lotsa photos to share.  scans.  some digi.  that said ... i've been beyond busy.

good stuff.

but beyond busy.

hopefully, i'll be able to post more over the next couple days.

archiving has been taking up a lot of time.  it's been nice, though.  tedious.  but.  nice.

hope this finds you all well!

thank you all for your patience with the contest.  i know many were anticipating the results.  me, too, actually. 

cheers from the not-so-smoky-la.

p.s., guys ... everyone who posts stuff on the web should learn about iptc and including at least copyright information on your photographs.  aperture does it very well.  so does photo mechanic.  photoshop is clunky.  dunno about light room.  but ... seriously ... when your iptc information is in there all someone has to do is see the file info and at least have a clue as to who made the photograph.  i'm just saying.

Comments

[Brian Webb]

Well-deserved!

*sigh*

back to dealing with my Bessa LOL

[Dan]

How can I be bitter about losing when photos like that won.
A very pleasing end to a (what felt like) very long competition.

[Gjorgi]

agree with you Chris on the "diversity" of the winning photograph. before I read the rest of the blog, I was looking at the photo and though: wow, so many different stories here!?...

i hope the winner enjoys his new toy :) and hope to see some photos from you :) it's about time

take care,
Trajcov

[Riccardo]

oh, the winner photo is really unimpressive to me.
And that is not to say my images were best, I have seen a lot of other good work. But the winner? Disappointing.

Looking forward for the next context though! I have my Leica, so I have my gear...

[severin]

the winner deserved it. also for his portfolio in general. i was never quite sure if it's good to pick just one photo because a nice snapshot is done easily sometimes.

haha chris you should tell. it's the price for the third ;)

[Stewart Bywater]

Congratulations Erik on your win. I agree that it's a fantastic shot, and a well-deserved win! Hope we'll get to see some of the shots you take with that beautiful prize!!

Best wishes,

Stewart.

[tina]

lovelovelove erik's photo. it really has everything--young and old people, even the meta photographing-other-photographers thing!

[Tanczos Andras]

I'd be lying if I said I'm not surprized, but indeed it is great photograph!

Congratz, Erik! ;)

I love love Christian's photo, maybe even more, just because I think not many people would have noticed detail like that, and capture it well.

[Robert Price]

Congradulations to the winners, You all deserve it. And congrat to all who enterd too, it was a fun contest.

[Rastislav]

What a great picture, truly a perfect moment where all the participants are captured at exactly the moment they should have been captured. One second later or sooner and all would be lost. There is a story within each person and on top of that a beautiful composition.

Congrats to Erik and to the 2nd and 3rd choices... truly great photos.

*takes out Electro35* I’ll have to hang on to this one a little longer :) ... not that I’m complaining... I know Christian used a Electro and he sure did a nice job with it.

Thank you Chris for the opportunity!
Hope you're doing great!

[Philip "flipo"]

Nice choice for the winning picture as well as for the other two.Been watching Markus Blog since months.

[Rich Mattingly]

Man - that's a great, great shot that won...one of those photographs that "keeps on giving." Too often I know I'm overly focused on some central action or idea when I'm shooting and overlook the fine art of really seizing a complex, multi-layered moment. That photo is a great reminder to always look at the whole frame, not just how it frames a primary subject.

I recently switched from using bridge to lightroom 2.0 precisely because of what a good job it does tagging photos with copyright info - it can stick your copyright data into your photos as your import them from your cards, so no fear of EVER forgetting...and you also have an instant back-up!

[Scott]

Awesome, great shots :)

[Markus Hartel]

Erik contributed a well deserved winner. a stunning photograph with lots of action in the right places! thanks for the nod Chris.

[Pat!]

many congrats to all the winners

great stuff :)

[C Weeks]

@brian: i think it was well-deserved as well, mate. "dealing" with a bessa? bessa's are great!

[C Weeks]

@dan: you should never be bitter. bitter is for people like theonlinephotographer and kenrockwell. ;) they're bitter because they have zero talent. ;)

it was long. there were a lot of people involved! :) not only that but uber ... well ... ya' know.

[C Weeks]

@gjorgi: that's what i thought when i saw the photo ... so many different levels and layers.

i'm sure the winner will make lots of good photos with his new toy. did you see his website????

yes, some photos from me soon!

[C Weeks]

@riccardo: it would only be impressive to you if they guy rode to the location in a wagon pulled by a mule and then used a large format camera. ;)

you're too old school, mate.

you have to open up your world and your eyes to different takes on street photography.

glad you have your gear. hope you're well old-boy.

[C Weeks]

@sev-the-austrian-bitch: i'm happy you think he deserved it ... was stoked when i saw his portfolio as well. he has some really nice moments in there!

the reason i didn't have people pick just one was the same thinking you mentioned.

i should tell, right?

okay ... christian ... sev thought your photo should have won! there's your prize. ;)

[C Weeks]

@stewart: i'm hoping we get to see some of the photos from his new toy as well, mate. i hear it shipped today! :)

[C Weeks]

@tina: a photograph like a fine wine ... layer-upon-layer! :)

thanks for the comment, love.

[C Weeks]

@tanczos: happy you like the selection, mate.

i liked christian's photograph as well. it's all about the details.

[C Weeks]

@rastislav: you can make a photo with almost any camera, mate. happy that you enjoyed the selections. it was fun selecting them for sure!

that's what i love about this photo ... one second ... one half second on either side of the exposure and ... it would not have existed.

very well done moment! for sure!

[C Weeks]

@robert: thanks for your comment, brother. glad you had fun with it. i know i did! :)