I knew this one was going to be tough. In my opinion almost every shot presented was capable of winning. It's also a more difficult subject to apply the usual "rules" to. So I downloaded all the shots (there were more than 40!) and reviewed them a number of times, slowly deleting files till I had what I thought were the best.

Before we go through the winners I'd like to comment on the group in a general way. A couple of things I looked at were exposure, saturation (over doing it) and PP as well as the rule of 3rds, distracting elements, dust on the shot/sensor and sharpening (or too much). Sometimes the rules don't apply but that's what I was looking at.

My intent was to have as many people enter and get in the spirit of things. To get some of the members that don't often join in. I think in that regard, this was a success.

So there's a large group of Honorable Mentions. All of which could easily be the best presented for this challenge.

It was fun and I wish everyone a Happy New Year and great shooting in 2008.

Honourable mentions (in no particular order):

Marc, Great shot in many respects. Love the colour and natural look to the light. Just wish there were no houses in the tree line.


schmikey, What can I say? Love the shot and the abstract nature of it.


Julie_B, Just a beautiful image with wonderful colours and the trees are nice and sharp. Great clouds.


GWP, Great shot with fantastic colour and clouds, I just wish the sun didn't bleed into the hillside.


ricardobeat, Very nice take on the theme. A little earlier in the day than a 'sunset' but it works well. I would have preferred to see the rocks a bit more (not so dark).

[Peter Zack]

nate, This is a great shot and I love the colours. I would have liked to seen the trees a little sharper.


LaRee,
This is an excellent capture. I might have liked a little more foreground beach and less of the upper sky.


axl, This shot has really great contrast and intense colour. The sun's edges are nice and crisp. Really well done. The sun might be a little too close to the center.


SouthShoreRob, again another great image and I really liked the mood. It's a great capture of the pose with the fisherman. A very relaxing image. The boat? Yes/No?

[Peter Zack]

m8o The colours in this is nothing short of phenomenal. The image is crisp and the sky looks so expansive. I like the angle of view.



Clarky
Great shot. Colour and the silhouettes of the skyline. Just superb overall.


atupdate
What can I say? I picked this image partly for the colours, that it was sharp, the composition is near perfect, great DOF. But primarily I liked this because it might be a once in a lifetime shot. So you get the nod for seeing this opportunity and doing such a great job with something that I imagine gave you very little time to set up.


Overall the images were great. At one point I was considering just creating a gallery and declaring all the shots winners But then that would be a cop out.
Very well done and now the torch passes on to you atupdate.

[daacon]

Nice work all , congrats to the winners and HM and really everyone that participated. Good job on judging Peter that was a tough one.

[atupdate]

Peter,

Thanks for the honor of being the winner out of all of these great shots. I must fess up that this image was not a once in a life time shot, as the grasshopper is dead. My son found it laying in our yard and I ended up gluing it to a piece of ornamental grass. I also used some stiff monofilament line that I colored with a black marker for the antennas, as the real antennas were rather wrinkled and ugly.

When I submitted this image to the monthly dpreview challenge, I drew in the antennas in post processing after cloning out the wrinkled antennas. This caused a bit of an uproar when I confessed my transgressions. I later re-shot the image with the monofilament antennas and copy and pasted it into the original before printing the current version.

If you feel that set-up and post processing of this shot taints the worthiness of this image, please feel free to choose a new winner. Although, I not sure that I'll return the prize money

Tim

PS: I'll wait a couple of days before starting a new challenge to see if I get bumped from the winners circle by popular demand.

[jshurak]

good pic(k)s So many to choose from!

[Fritz]

Atupdate, Thats a great story, and a great shot. Congrats to the winners!

[JCSullivan]

What!? You mean I didn't win, again? OK I've had it I'm going to the corner to pout.

OK, I'm back. Congrats all including atupdate.

[Peter Zack]

I agree. It may not be the quick, well taken shot I assumed but the time and effort that went into it and the idea/vision to create a very well excuted image still makes worthy of winning the top spot. Pick a new theme I'm looking forward to the next round.

Your prize has been mailed, don't spend it all in one place!!

[daacon]

Peter,

Thanks for the honor of being the winner out of all of these great shots. I must fess up that this image was not a once in a life time shot, as the grasshopper is dead. My son found it laying in our yard and I ended up gluing it to a piece of ornamental grass. I also used some stiff monofilament line that I colored with a black marker for the antennas, as the real antennas were rather wrinkled and ugly. <snip>

Tim

PS: I'll wait a couple of days before starting a new challenge to see if I get bumped from the winners circle by popular demand.

Damn Tim anyone that went to the that much trouble deserves the win - Peter double that mans prize money this instant! I don't think there is any need to wait (as Peter already indicated) - Lead on - now I have a whole new strategy to get photos

[sajmmiller]

Excellent choices, and thanks for your efforts, Peter. Congratulations to all the winners!

[schmikey]

Thanks for the honourable mention Peter!
I really appreciate the time and effort you took in judging and 'critiquing' the winners and honourable mentions - very informative comments. I'm sure you'll need a rest after that 'ordeal'!?!

[NaClH2O]

Congrats to all the winners, and a big thanks to Peter for hosting it.

NaCl(I'm just glad I didn't have to judge it)H2O

[m8o]

Thanx for the runner-up-ship mention Peter. I'm honor in such esteem company! Congrats to all.

I'd forgotten about atupdate's contribution ... you chose wisely!

I appreciate the mention. And, to answer your question, yes I do believe the boat is a bit of a distraction. I'm just not good enough in PSE to "clone" it out or whatever. LOL.

Rob