2014 iPhone Photography Award Winners...

Have you ever taken a great photo with your iPhone?  Anyone who knows me is aware that I LOVE taking pics...from landscapes to sunsets to architecture to kids, I am always snapping photos (much to my family's dismay).  What can I say?  The cliche is so true: our kids ARE growing up so fast, and I love to capture life as it is passing by....

In my experience, the iPhone has amazing speed, focus, and clarity to capture some beautiful photography.  I rarely even carry along my normal camera anymore since I capture better images (with exception to enlargement capabilities) with my iPhone, particularly of fast-moving little ones!

As such, I was thrilled to stumble upon the July 12-13, 2014 Wall Street Journal Review section's display of the winners of the 2014 "iPhone Photography Awards".  From the WSJ....

Who needs a fancy camera? Today's smartphone pictures can rival professional shots. Last month, the iPhone Photography Awards announced its 2014 contest winners in 17 categories, including travel, animals and architecture. Founded seven years ago by photographer Kenan Aktülün, the contest allows entrants to use iPhones, iPods and iPads and any apps, but no desktop editing programs. Out of thousands of submissions, judges chose 54 winning images from photographers in 76 countries. An M.F.A. isn't required. "The awards are celebrating the creativity of iPhone users," Mr. Aktülün says. "It's not about being a great photographer." - Alexandra Wolfe

Attached below are some of the winning photographs from various categories from this year's competition...Enjoy!

1st Place - 2014 Photographer of the Year - Julio Lucas, Bradenton, FL

2nd Place - Photographer of the Year - Jose Luis Barcia Fernandez, Madrid, Spain

3rd Place - Photographer of the Year - Jill Missner, Ridgefield, CT

1st Place - Animals - Michael O'Neal, San Francisco, CA

2nd Place - Animals - Naomi Wu, New Taipei City, Taiwan

3rd Place - Animals - Teddy Cohen, Tel Aviv, Israel

1st Place - Architecture - Yilang Peng

2nd Place - Architecture - Chun Wai, Hong Kong

3rd Place - Architecture - Coco Liu, US

1st Place - Sunset - Little Su, New Taipei City, Taiwan

2nd Place - Sunset - Danielle Millar, Waterkloof Heights, South Africa

3rd Place - Sunset - Edward Adams, Pebworth, Warwickshire, UK 

1st Place - Children - Danny Van Vuuren, Northriding, South Africa

2nd Place - Children - Olga Otchenasheva, Geneva, Switzerland

3rd Place - Children - Mellisa Barrilli, York, Ontario Canada

1st Place - Nature - Felicia Pandola, Providence, RI

2nd Place - Nature - Erika Brothers - Frisco, TX

3rd Place - Nature - Laurent Caillaud, Ste Maxime, France

1st Place - Food - Alexa Seidl, Washington DC

2nd Place - Food - Chien Nan Liao, Nantou City, Taiwan

3rd Place - Food - Sofija Strindlund, Stockholm, Sweden

1st Place - Lifestyle - Brandon Kidwell, Jacksonville, FL

2nd Place - Lifestyle - Rhonda Dent, Vancouver, BC Canada

3rd Place - Lifestyle - Mihai Coliban, Bucharest, Romania

1st Place - News/Events - Gerard Collett, London, UK 

2nd Place - News/Events - Juana Chaves, Madrid, Spain

3rd Place - News/Events - Jeannine Danhieux, Basel, Switzerland

1st Place - Trees - Aaron Pike, San Francisco, CA

2nd Place - Trees - Coco Liu, Chicago, IL

3rd Place - Trees - Mariko Klug - Erding, Germany

1st Place - People - Lauren Smith, Pensacola, FL

2nd Place - People - Athena Tan, Singapore

3rd Place - People - Hector Navarro, Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico

1st Place - Seasons - Coco Liu, Chicago, IL

2nd Place - Seasons - Dragos Bardac, Bucharest, Romania

3rd Place - Seasons - Alexis Chartrand, Montreal, Quebec Canada

1st Place - Flowers - Jenny Anderson, Everett, WA

2nd Place - Flowers - Lee Atwell, Seattle, WA

3rd Place - Flowers - Monica Ganter, Glenside, PA

1st Place - Landscape - Elena Grimailo, Moscow, Russia

2nd Place - Landscape - Gwenn McGill, Portland, OR

3rd Place - Landscape - Craig Harvey, Andover, Hants UK

1st Place - Panorama - Kyle G. Horst, Watertown, SD

2nd Place - Panorama - Roberto Pastrovicchio, Trieste, Italy

3rd Place - Panorama - Birsan Lonut Liviu, Lasi, Romania

1st Place - Travel - Adrienne Pitts - London, UK

2nd Place - Travel - Jordan Fraser - Belfast, Ireland

3rd Place - Travel - Sergey Korshunov, Moscow, Russia

1st Place - Still Life - Sofija Strindlund, Stockholm, Swede

2nd Place - Still Life - Maddy McCoy, Fairfax, VA

3rd Place - Still Life - Cara Barer, Houston, TX

1st Place - Other - Terry Vital, Windham, NH

2nd Place - Other - Coco Liu, Chicago, IL

3rd Place - Other - Tracey Renehan, Stockholm, Sweden