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this journal 
..AND THE MOMENT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!
Presenting the 2006 Photography Olympics OFFICIAL RESULTS!
We are extremely pleased to announce the Photography Olympics results are in! It was a grueling task on behalf of 5 judges from 5 different countries who independantly and without conferring went through all 149 entries from 47 different countries assigning each photo a numerical value from 1-149 in order of preference. Once that was done the results were compiled and the 5 values for each photo were tallied to arrive at a number between 5-745, which then determined the ranking of the photo. The numbers were assigned lowest to highest ... the lower the better. This method when combined with 5 different tastes in photography resulted in a rather dramatic race as each judge submitted their numbers!
Anyway enough small talk .. here we go! ..ANTHEM PLEASE!
Gold Medalist ..prize: 18 month subscription to deviantART
'Mt Fuji Sunrise' by ~bethwaukee representing the country of JAPAN
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silver Medalist ..prize: 12 month subscription to deviantART
'Flipping Back' by ~Perlekes representing the country of PORTUGAL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bronze Medalist ..prize: 6 month subscription to deviantART
'Chilling Between Life' by ~NadavDov representing the country of ISRAEL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR MEDALISTS!! YOU'VE DONE YOUR COUNTRIES PROUD!
And now presenting the remaining top 20 photos:
4TH PLACE:
'Eye of the Sun' by ~eehan representing AUSTRALIA
~~~
5TH PLACE:
'A Lonely Day' by ~eclipsic representing SWEDEN
~~~
6TH PLACE:
'Somewhere Only We Know' by ~ageofloss representing FINLAND
~~~
7TH PLACE:
'top of Hill' by ~Amenoz representing SAUDI ARABIA
~~~
8TH PLACE:
'Sunset II' by ~h9351 representing SAUDI ARABIA
~~~
9TH PLACE:
:thumb30115532:
'heavenly wild' by !dotmlk representing THAILAND
~~~
10TH PLACE:
'Monk at Angkor' by ~Zymmij representing CAMBODIA
~~~
11TH PLACE:
:thumb29604253:
'San Gimignano village, Italy' by !sil63 representing ITALY
~~~
12TH PLACE:
:thumb30020789:
'Narreyroux' by !Wodewose representing FRANCE
~~~
13TH PLACE:
'Saudi Architecture' by ~Haifa-M representing SAUDI ARABIA
~~~
14TH PLACE:
'The Ice Path' by ~Fishermang representing NORWAY
~~~
15TH PLACE:
'In prayer....' by ~hbrodsly representing ISRAEL
~~~
16TH PLACE:
'Dog Sledding' by ~BethMcBeth representing the USA
~~~
17TH PLACE:
'Our Land' by ~Curmudgeon75 representing CANADA
~~~
18TH PLACE:
'devART Olympics ...go USA' by ~themobius representing the USA
~~~
19TH PLACE:
'Landscape' by ~LLr0cks representing GERMANY
~~~
20TH PLACE:
'Medieval Reflections' by *Meneerofongeveer representing BELGIUM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
and now the top three picks of each judge:
*wb-skinner
:thumb30115532:
'heavenly wild' by !dotmlk representing THAILAND
As a nature photographer I can only say this about my first pick... when a moment like this comes along.. when it looks like God himself is scraping his fingers across the earth ...it sure is nice to have your camera with you...
I'd give my left nut to call this photo my own ...'nuff said.
~~
'Flipping Back' by ~Perlekes representing the country of PORTUGAL
To compose a shot like this .. and then wait patiently to capture a fast-moving object within that composition ...and then execute perfectly, is truly an accomplishment worthy of an olympic medal. I saw this before it received a DD and thought 'Man! ..this deserves a DD!' well IMO it also deserves a medal in the Photo Olympics.
~~
:thumb29604253:
'San Gimignano village, Italy' by !sil63 representing ITALY
The textures, the lighting, the color, the sharpness, the composition, the feel of this photo really amazed me. It makes me want to be there.. no ... it does one better ..it takes me there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~BeyondTheHorizon
First of all, let me say that I had a hard time to make my picks. There are so, so many submissions of a very high quality, and I am amazed by the number of entries. It has been a pleasure to walk through the submissions, and I am honored to be judging.
'Monk at Angkor' by ~Zymmij representing CAMBODIA
When I first saw this shot, I felt completely lost in the contrast. History, architecture, culture and contrasts are beautifully blended, telling the story of a nation. A people. A history. In my mind, this picture is complete.
~~
'Mt Fuji Sunrise' by ~bethwaukee representing the country of JAPAN
Stunning. Simply. I think that is the word that best describes the power of this shot. The picture beautifully emphasizes the intensity, in an ever so soft and gentle way.
A poetic journey through a beautiful landscape. I felt so calm when viewing this shot.
~~
'Flipping Back' by ~Perlekes representing the country of PORTUGAL
Awesome display of motion (I hope that guy survived that), taken from an interesting angle. I enjoy very much, how the strict architecture of the bridge creates a eyetwisting background for the bike-artist, and the lighting shading from top-left to bottom-right is beautiful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*horai
'Somewhere Only We Know' by ~ageofloss representing FINLAND
Oh, the difficulty. I agonised over this one and which position to put it in. It's absolutely brilliant, a really wonderfully artistic photograph with superb composition, beautiful subject matter and quite incredibly well thought out.
I would love to have taken this or even have the ability to take this.
From an artistic standpoint, the composition is the best I've seen in a photograph for a very long time. It draws the viewer in to a scene of frozen tranquillity and beauty rarely seen and always when one doesn't have a camera. The frozen water is really glass, the tree is alive but sleeping and contemplating the thaw and the undisturbed snow testifies to the peace and quiet one could enjoy deeply.
Truly the Ice Queen's kingdom and yet very inviting. I want to go and feel the antiseptic chill, breath the frigid but clear air and experience a site one only gets to see a couple of times in a lifetime so on the basic level of making me want to visit a country for me Finland wins. I am only one of five though so my influence is limited.
~~
'Monk at Angkor' by ~Zymmij representing CAMBODIA
I'm not the best person to talk about technical brilliance in a photograph so I have to work from the aspects that appeal to me.
After three days of agonising over the 149 photographs entered for the competition I finally settled on "Monk at Angkor" as my second choice for a number of reasons.
The first thing that struck me was the feeling I wanted to visit this temple and explore it's inner walls. I wanted to talk to the monk about his life, history, struggles and his country etc. He peaked my interest heavily and that was part of the competition.
Secondly, the photo is startling with the monk's robes standing out against the faded glory of the old temple and a beautiful pale sky. It hits a person immediately whether at thumbnail level or full resolution.
Lastly, the composition for me works very well with an almost distinct feeling of three layers and the sky only showing in the corner. Despite the fantastic architecture one is drawn again to the figure at front and his almost incongruous and happy smile.
For me, Cambodia is the second place I want to visit.
~~
'Ben' by *nutmeg-42 representing AUSTRALIA
My third place pick was an almost immediate thought that any kid this happy must live somewhere pretty damned cool.
It's a stunning portrait of a very happy little boy out for the day on the beach. There's no shyness there and no other motive in the face other than pure joy and that's a wonderful thing to see.
I'm glad his dad kept this one around because it makes me want to visit Aus and I have to admit, I miss my young son at this age, we had some great fun and the time passes very quickly, they grow up real fast.
From a slightly more tech viewpoint, the depth of field forces the viewer to look at the subject re-enforcing the happy message and lastly, for some reason I immediately knew this was Australian before I looked at the description but for the life of me I have no idea why.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~billsabub
'Somewhere Only We Know' by ~ageofloss representing FINLAND
Having never been to Finland, this shouts Finland for me - gorgeous snowy scenery.
Exquisite, technically perfect shot. Excellent tonal control throughout the entire image, maintaining texture in the most difficult area, the foreground snow, and even in what could have been a featureless, boring sky show through.
This shot set the bar very early in the Olympics and although a pack finished closely behind, they couldn't unseat this shot.
~~
'Mt Fuji Sunrise' by ~bethwaukee representing the country of JAPAN
As with the previous, this shouts Japan for me. Having taken many shots of the mountain, especially in this exact spot, I can appreciate the difficulties and effort to get this shot. Many Japanese have dedicated their life to capturing the mountain in its many moods. Beth nailed it.
Perfect composition, with plenty of interesting elements, not just the mountain. The clouds, the reflections and the outline of the trees on the far shore of the lake keep the eye moving. I can feel the bitter cold breeze on my cheeks, knowing that's what Beth felt, since that's the only time of year that you'll get a sunrise shot like this of Fuji-san.
Perhaps the clincher for me is the technique - Velvia slide film, filters over the lens (not added during post-processing) and a spotless scan.
~~
:thumb29604253:
'San Gimignano village, Italy' by !sil63 representing ITALY
Wonderful, wonderful shot of a villa. I can hear the children playing football in the street, the gossiping ladies, the arguing men, the screaming of Vespas down the side streets. I was immediately taken back to the squares that I visited in Verona and Venice. This shot makes my desire to return that much stronger.
Great composition and exposure. Details in everything, from the shadowy side of the building to the wispy clouds. My eye cannot stop wandering, looking at the different colors of stone in each wall, the architectural lines, even the TV aerial and clotheslines.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Ellygator
'Flipping Back' by ~Perlekes representing the country of PORTUGAL
It's an amazing composition and a wonderful depiction of modern urban life. The photographer demonstrated a great sense of timing, color and form. I love how the suspension of the bridge seems to pull the cyclist upwards into the sky; and the static figures of the watchers with their bikes form a superb contrast. The image gives a wonderful sense of synchronicity, like it could not have happened in any other way.
'Chilling Between Life' by ~NadavDov representing the country of ISRAEL
Yeah, we've all seen seascapes: the waves, the clouds, the reflections in the water, but the inventive positioning of the model with his primary color-scheme just turns something ho-hum into an arresting and visually stimulating composition. The image really wins me over with its inventiveness and bold concept.
~~
:thumb30115532:
'heavenly wild' by !dotmlk representing THAILAND
have never seen anything remotely like it and the beauty, textures and colors of the image just blew me away. I love everything, from the light-rays in the misty atmosphere to the sharp shadow outlines of the trees to the amazing bronze, congnac and gold tones receding towards the horizon. It's the beauty of nature at its finest!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There were so many other great entries that almost made the top twenty.. if entrants are completely obsessed with knowing how their own photo faired, you can note me and ask ...but I'll lie like a cheap rug... if your photo didn't show here.. you placed 21st!
Well folks! We're so glad we had a great turnout in this contest and would like to thank everyone for participating, rooting, commenting and just showing interest in the first ANNUAL Photography Olympics...yeah thats right ...we'll be back next year ...bigger and badder than ever!!
All 149 entries can be viewed here: THE ENTRIES
ALL FLAGS ON THIS PAGE ARE USED ROYALTY FREE COURTESY OF 3DFLAGS.COM
Presenting the 2006 Photography Olympics OFFICIAL RESULTS!
We are extremely pleased to announce the Photography Olympics results are in! It was a grueling task on behalf of 5 judges from 5 different countries who independantly and without conferring went through all 149 entries from 47 different countries assigning each photo a numerical value from 1-149 in order of preference. Once that was done the results were compiled and the 5 values for each photo were tallied to arrive at a number between 5-745, which then determined the ranking of the photo. The numbers were assigned lowest to highest ... the lower the better. This method when combined with 5 different tastes in photography resulted in a rather dramatic race as each judge submitted their numbers!
Anyway enough small talk .. here we go! ..ANTHEM PLEASE!
Gold Medalist ..prize: 18 month subscription to deviantART
'Mt Fuji Sunrise' by ~bethwaukee representing the country of JAPAN
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silver Medalist ..prize: 12 month subscription to deviantART
'Flipping Back' by ~Perlekes representing the country of PORTUGAL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bronze Medalist ..prize: 6 month subscription to deviantART
'Chilling Between Life' by ~NadavDov representing the country of ISRAEL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR MEDALISTS!! YOU'VE DONE YOUR COUNTRIES PROUD!
And now presenting the remaining top 20 photos:
4TH PLACE:
'Eye of the Sun' by ~eehan representing AUSTRALIA
~~~
5TH PLACE:
'A Lonely Day' by ~eclipsic representing SWEDEN
~~~
6TH PLACE:
'Somewhere Only We Know' by ~ageofloss representing FINLAND
~~~
7TH PLACE:
'top of Hill' by ~Amenoz representing SAUDI ARABIA
~~~
8TH PLACE:
'Sunset II' by ~h9351 representing SAUDI ARABIA
~~~
9TH PLACE:
:thumb30115532:
'heavenly wild' by !dotmlk representing THAILAND
~~~
10TH PLACE:
'Monk at Angkor' by ~Zymmij representing CAMBODIA
~~~
11TH PLACE:
:thumb29604253:
'San Gimignano village, Italy' by !sil63 representing ITALY
~~~
12TH PLACE:
:thumb30020789:
'Narreyroux' by !Wodewose representing FRANCE
~~~
13TH PLACE:
'Saudi Architecture' by ~Haifa-M representing SAUDI ARABIA
~~~
14TH PLACE:
'The Ice Path' by ~Fishermang representing NORWAY
~~~
15TH PLACE:
'In prayer....' by ~hbrodsly representing ISRAEL
~~~
16TH PLACE:
'Dog Sledding' by ~BethMcBeth representing the USA
~~~
17TH PLACE:
'Our Land' by ~Curmudgeon75 representing CANADA
~~~
18TH PLACE:
'devART Olympics ...go USA' by ~themobius representing the USA
~~~
19TH PLACE:
'Landscape' by ~LLr0cks representing GERMANY
~~~
20TH PLACE:
'Medieval Reflections' by *Meneerofongeveer representing BELGIUM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
and now the top three picks of each judge:
*wb-skinner
:thumb30115532:
'heavenly wild' by !dotmlk representing THAILAND
As a nature photographer I can only say this about my first pick... when a moment like this comes along.. when it looks like God himself is scraping his fingers across the earth ...it sure is nice to have your camera with you...
I'd give my left nut to call this photo my own ...'nuff said.
~~
'Flipping Back' by ~Perlekes representing the country of PORTUGAL
To compose a shot like this .. and then wait patiently to capture a fast-moving object within that composition ...and then execute perfectly, is truly an accomplishment worthy of an olympic medal. I saw this before it received a DD and thought 'Man! ..this deserves a DD!' well IMO it also deserves a medal in the Photo Olympics.
~~
:thumb29604253:
'San Gimignano village, Italy' by !sil63 representing ITALY
The textures, the lighting, the color, the sharpness, the composition, the feel of this photo really amazed me. It makes me want to be there.. no ... it does one better ..it takes me there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~BeyondTheHorizon
First of all, let me say that I had a hard time to make my picks. There are so, so many submissions of a very high quality, and I am amazed by the number of entries. It has been a pleasure to walk through the submissions, and I am honored to be judging.
'Monk at Angkor' by ~Zymmij representing CAMBODIA
When I first saw this shot, I felt completely lost in the contrast. History, architecture, culture and contrasts are beautifully blended, telling the story of a nation. A people. A history. In my mind, this picture is complete.
~~
'Mt Fuji Sunrise' by ~bethwaukee representing the country of JAPAN
Stunning. Simply. I think that is the word that best describes the power of this shot. The picture beautifully emphasizes the intensity, in an ever so soft and gentle way.
A poetic journey through a beautiful landscape. I felt so calm when viewing this shot.
~~
'Flipping Back' by ~Perlekes representing the country of PORTUGAL
Awesome display of motion (I hope that guy survived that), taken from an interesting angle. I enjoy very much, how the strict architecture of the bridge creates a eyetwisting background for the bike-artist, and the lighting shading from top-left to bottom-right is beautiful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*horai
'Somewhere Only We Know' by ~ageofloss representing FINLAND
Oh, the difficulty. I agonised over this one and which position to put it in. It's absolutely brilliant, a really wonderfully artistic photograph with superb composition, beautiful subject matter and quite incredibly well thought out.
I would love to have taken this or even have the ability to take this.
From an artistic standpoint, the composition is the best I've seen in a photograph for a very long time. It draws the viewer in to a scene of frozen tranquillity and beauty rarely seen and always when one doesn't have a camera. The frozen water is really glass, the tree is alive but sleeping and contemplating the thaw and the undisturbed snow testifies to the peace and quiet one could enjoy deeply.
Truly the Ice Queen's kingdom and yet very inviting. I want to go and feel the antiseptic chill, breath the frigid but clear air and experience a site one only gets to see a couple of times in a lifetime so on the basic level of making me want to visit a country for me Finland wins. I am only one of five though so my influence is limited.
~~
'Monk at Angkor' by ~Zymmij representing CAMBODIA
I'm not the best person to talk about technical brilliance in a photograph so I have to work from the aspects that appeal to me.
After three days of agonising over the 149 photographs entered for the competition I finally settled on "Monk at Angkor" as my second choice for a number of reasons.
The first thing that struck me was the feeling I wanted to visit this temple and explore it's inner walls. I wanted to talk to the monk about his life, history, struggles and his country etc. He peaked my interest heavily and that was part of the competition.
Secondly, the photo is startling with the monk's robes standing out against the faded glory of the old temple and a beautiful pale sky. It hits a person immediately whether at thumbnail level or full resolution.
Lastly, the composition for me works very well with an almost distinct feeling of three layers and the sky only showing in the corner. Despite the fantastic architecture one is drawn again to the figure at front and his almost incongruous and happy smile.
For me, Cambodia is the second place I want to visit.
~~
'Ben' by *nutmeg-42 representing AUSTRALIA
My third place pick was an almost immediate thought that any kid this happy must live somewhere pretty damned cool.
It's a stunning portrait of a very happy little boy out for the day on the beach. There's no shyness there and no other motive in the face other than pure joy and that's a wonderful thing to see.
I'm glad his dad kept this one around because it makes me want to visit Aus and I have to admit, I miss my young son at this age, we had some great fun and the time passes very quickly, they grow up real fast.
From a slightly more tech viewpoint, the depth of field forces the viewer to look at the subject re-enforcing the happy message and lastly, for some reason I immediately knew this was Australian before I looked at the description but for the life of me I have no idea why.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~billsabub
'Somewhere Only We Know' by ~ageofloss representing FINLAND
Having never been to Finland, this shouts Finland for me - gorgeous snowy scenery.
Exquisite, technically perfect shot. Excellent tonal control throughout the entire image, maintaining texture in the most difficult area, the foreground snow, and even in what could have been a featureless, boring sky show through.
This shot set the bar very early in the Olympics and although a pack finished closely behind, they couldn't unseat this shot.
~~
'Mt Fuji Sunrise' by ~bethwaukee representing the country of JAPAN
As with the previous, this shouts Japan for me. Having taken many shots of the mountain, especially in this exact spot, I can appreciate the difficulties and effort to get this shot. Many Japanese have dedicated their life to capturing the mountain in its many moods. Beth nailed it.
Perfect composition, with plenty of interesting elements, not just the mountain. The clouds, the reflections and the outline of the trees on the far shore of the lake keep the eye moving. I can feel the bitter cold breeze on my cheeks, knowing that's what Beth felt, since that's the only time of year that you'll get a sunrise shot like this of Fuji-san.
Perhaps the clincher for me is the technique - Velvia slide film, filters over the lens (not added during post-processing) and a spotless scan.
~~
:thumb29604253:
'San Gimignano village, Italy' by !sil63 representing ITALY
Wonderful, wonderful shot of a villa. I can hear the children playing football in the street, the gossiping ladies, the arguing men, the screaming of Vespas down the side streets. I was immediately taken back to the squares that I visited in Verona and Venice. This shot makes my desire to return that much stronger.
Great composition and exposure. Details in everything, from the shadowy side of the building to the wispy clouds. My eye cannot stop wandering, looking at the different colors of stone in each wall, the architectural lines, even the TV aerial and clotheslines.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Ellygator
'Flipping Back' by ~Perlekes representing the country of PORTUGAL
It's an amazing composition and a wonderful depiction of modern urban life. The photographer demonstrated a great sense of timing, color and form. I love how the suspension of the bridge seems to pull the cyclist upwards into the sky; and the static figures of the watchers with their bikes form a superb contrast. The image gives a wonderful sense of synchronicity, like it could not have happened in any other way.
'Chilling Between Life' by ~NadavDov representing the country of ISRAEL
Yeah, we've all seen seascapes: the waves, the clouds, the reflections in the water, but the inventive positioning of the model with his primary color-scheme just turns something ho-hum into an arresting and visually stimulating composition. The image really wins me over with its inventiveness and bold concept.
~~
:thumb30115532:
'heavenly wild' by !dotmlk representing THAILAND
have never seen anything remotely like it and the beauty, textures and colors of the image just blew me away. I love everything, from the light-rays in the misty atmosphere to the sharp shadow outlines of the trees to the amazing bronze, congnac and gold tones receding towards the horizon. It's the beauty of nature at its finest!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There were so many other great entries that almost made the top twenty.. if entrants are completely obsessed with knowing how their own photo faired, you can note me and ask ...but I'll lie like a cheap rug... if your photo didn't show here.. you placed 21st!
Well folks! We're so glad we had a great turnout in this contest and would like to thank everyone for participating, rooting, commenting and just showing interest in the first ANNUAL Photography Olympics...yeah thats right ...we'll be back next year ...bigger and badder than ever!!
All 149 entries can be viewed here: THE ENTRIES
ALL FLAGS ON THIS PAGE ARE USED ROYALTY FREE COURTESY OF 3DFLAGS.COM
Mad 
congrats to the winners!
go AU, Japan, and USA!!!
or
[link]
-Beth