Tuesday, July 15, 2014

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