Dgrin Mini-Challenge #261 - In the bleak mid-Winter ***RESULTS***

sarasphotos

With so many top-quality entries you all certainly made judging difficult. Here are my comments and the results:

HMs go to: (in no particular order)
@sapphire73 Gretchen, I know yours weren't official entries but all three were such super representations of the "bleak midwinter" theme I have to give you an HM. I'm not sure which I liked more, the hungry baying elk or the lonely road leading towards the Rockies.

@kurzvorzwoelf 3) a shepherd driving his herd of sheep... I liked the balance of this shot very well although the exposure of the sky was slightly problematic. I think this might be interesting in BW.

@grandmaR 1) Purple Mountains: a great winter landscape with the road leading our eye right into the scene

@DavidRGillespie 1) temporary pond and reflections: I lived in Seattle for 16 years, so I know exactly what that wet PacificNW winter feels like. Ugh. This captures it perfectly! I love the way the reflection provides the only lively spot in this otherwise barren scene.

@lkbart 2)hint of snow: Lillian, I like the way you've framed this one with those lonely branches with just a bit of snow and a little bit of color from the sun in the background

Third Place:
A tie:
@JAG 1)Cook Inlet, Alaska
Wow Joyce, if this isn't bleak and desolate, I don't know what is! It was a tough choice between the eagle and this one but I found the overall composition better here.

@bfluegie 3)winter cornfield stubble
Barbara, I have a fondness for agricultural landscapes and love how you've captured the sensuous curves of the shorn cornfield.
I also very much liked the snow-covered hydrangea.

Second Place
another tie, this time for two differing views of winter's silent beauty:
@Cavalier 3)Yosemite meadows
Jo, what I like about this shot is the way you captured the fog hovering above the snowy meadow glimpsed through the bare tree trunks.

@StueveShots 2) Sunrise...
Wow, this is beautiful, almost too beautiful and opulent for what I had in mind. But it definitely says "cold"!

AND THE WINNER IS...
@pegelli 1)Sunrise in the Park
Pieter, I found your set to be photographically the best group of three and this first one was wonderful. The curve of the fence, the hovering fog, the interesting sky all add together to capture the winter mood.

So Pieter, it's your turn to post a mini - I'm looking forward to what you think up.

sapphire73

@sarasphotos thank you very much for the HM and kind words! Congratulations to @pegelli and the other finalists! Great theme and wonderful entries!

lkbart

Congrats to Pieter for the win, & for a great set of shots! & Congrats to all the finalists & thanks for the HM! Nice mini Sara - theme & comments!

GSPeP

Congratulations to the winner(s) !

pegelli

Wow, never expected that in such a strong set of other submissions here. Thanks Sara and also thanks for the extensive comments on all the shots.

Congrast to the second and third places, all of them were great and fit the theme well.

I am quite busy at the moment, but I'll try to get something up the coming days so we can continue the mini-challenge tradition.

kurzvorzwoelf

Thank you @sarasphotos for organizing and judging the mini and also the HM including some feedback . Congratulations to @pegelli for the first place! And to all others, I really enjoyed the various entries. I'm excited for the next Mini.

JAG

Congrats Peter for the win! Thank you Sara for an excellent run of a mini challenge and for the 3rd place spot. I should have given some information on that eagle. We were driving when I spotted it about a quarter of a mile away on a river we had been following along side the road. I wanted to stop to get some shots of the river with the icy open areas, but that was when I saw the eagle. So I pulled out my brand new sigma lens that is 500mm to 1200mm zoom on it. I couldn't get out of the car, but with the window down and the lens resting on the car window frame, I managed to get this shot. That lens is heavy but it's pretty sharp for being a quarter of a mile range.

sarasphotos

Wow, now I am even more impressed by that shot! I love hearing the background stories to our photos.

DavidRGillespie

Thanks for the HM Sara, and congratulations to everyone. I am looking forward to the next challenge Pieter.

StueveShots

Wow! Thanks for compliment in my placement, Sara. I, too, would have chosen Pegelli's--it was a lovely capture, especially with the fog. Where I live, we get the bitter cold and sometimes the deep snow, but we rarely have the damp, bone-chilling grey. But I remember it from my childhood, and Pegelli's shot captured it well. Congratulations to all; this was an excellent challenge!

bfluegie

Sara, thanks for picking my cornfield photo for one of the third place spots. It was kind of a fluke shot. I saw that scene across the street from where I parked to see the frozen waterfall and I liked how the swirls in the clouds complemented the curves in the cornfield. Thanks for such a great challenge. I really enjoyed seeing everyone’s take on the theme. Congrats to Pieter on the win and to all who placed as well.