Damit’s hier mal vorwärtsgeht, kopiere ich wieder den entsprechenden Artikel aus der OWC-Mitgliederzeitschrift für euch. Gesucht waren Fotos für das Cover der Zeitschrift, weil es im letzten Jahr immer ziemlich schwierig war, ansprechende Motive in ausreichend guter Qualität dafür zu finden. Jetzt haben wir eine CD mit allen eingereichten Fotos, da gehen uns die Bilder so schnell nicht aus.

„And the Winner is…
At last the eagerly awaited finale to the OWC Photo Competition was held on 20 November at the Taj Residency.
By Roberta Kimmins.

Alle Bilder waren auf Papier-Passepartouts aufgezogen ausgestellt. Die meisten wurden später auf dem Adventsbasar verkauft.

Sieger James mit den Preisrichtern Shibu und Indira.

Das Siegerbild: "Light Hands"

Zweiter Preis: "Sunset at Chittorgh Fort, Rajasthan"

Dritter Preis: "Chinese fishing nets in Kochi, Kerala"

The event was well attended and the atmosphere early in the evening was full of anticipation for the announcement of the winners. All the photographs were displayed under their respective categories for people to browse and there was a much lively debate on the merits and impact of the different entries. A separate stand was provided for the entries selected for the OWC 2010 calendar with everyone given an opportunity to vote for their favourite.
In all, 334 photos were submitted to the competition in 3 categories: The Beauty of India, Life in Bangalore and Celebrations and Festivals. The judges had a difficult time deciding on the winning photos, whittling the entries down from 334 to 32, to 11 and finally to a final 4 photographs.
The judging panel consisted of Indira Bharadwaj, proprietor of Right Lines Art Gallery; Shibu Arakkal, art photographer and Wassim Khan, fashion photographer.
First prize went to James Leacock for his beautiful photo of a woman’s clasped hands. The judges found James‘ photo very emotionally powerful and full of pathos. They loved the contrast between the woman’s hands and her sari and felt that her life story could almost be read from her hands. James won a 3 day/2 night holiday in Udaipur.
James is a stay at home dad with 2 children and has only been pursuing his interest in photography for the last six months. He said that taking his prize winning photo involved a bit of luck but also a lot of attention to the initial set up. He was very pleased to have nailed an image that captures the moment and that gives pleasure. He didn’t realise at first that he had actually won and it was a huge surprise when he at last realised. One of James‘ photos was also selected for November on the 2010 calendar.
Second prize winner was Janet Adams. Her photo of an atmospheric landscape won the judges admiration for its classical and spiritual qualities. Janet won a 3 day/2 night holiday in Jodpur.
When asked about her photo, Janet said that she took it while on a trip to Chittorgarh, Rajasthan in March. She had been captivated by the mystery of the place but while taking the photo didn’t realise she had captured the sun in the background or how it would turn out. She hadn’t originally intended to enter the competition and was surprised at how well her photo had done.
Third prize winner was Rienke van Niewland with a photo of Chinese fishing nets. The judges commented on the strong composition and the capturing of a magical moment. Rienke won a 3 day/2 night holiday in Kerala.
All the competition entries captured different aspects of India and its culture with great results. Now it’s up to us to get our cameras out in preparation for next year!“