This has been a tough contest to judge - lots of great pictures. But this caught my eye from the very start. I really love that you chose to shoot it through the window with the rain running down. This creates a very poetic atmosphere. The color is just wonderful and the woman has a beautiful and a little melancholic expression which suits the rain very well. Congratulations on taking first place in this contest.
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Wonderful expression on this little girl. Excellent use of the very shallow depth of field with the eyes tack sharp as they should be. Great color grading with the muted colors and great eye contact with the photographer. The very narrow crop suits the picture perfectly - indeed a great natural light portrait.
Some might argue that this is not even a portrait at all - but to me it is, and a very good one too. I love the colors and the vintage look you chose for the picture - and I get mystified by this beautiful woman with her face covered up. I also feel that the square crop was the way to go with this. It suits the post processing very well and makes me think of the old days when I was shooting 6*6 myself. A worthy 3rd place in this contest.
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Natural light is a wonderful and readily available source that can be just as flattering as studio light when harnessed correctly. You should use light and shade to create mood and emotion, instead of the more limited and two-dimensional quality of flat lighting.
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A great portrait of this legendary street photographer. I just love his expression and that you have chosen to give his camera so much space in the frame. Also a great choice to have him placed between the two windows in the background. A few things I feel could have made this shot even better: The letters from the Canon sign is a little annoying - I would have cloned them out (Yes I know it wouldn't be true documentary then, but does it have to be 100% true?). I also think that the white in the eyes is a bit too bright - it looks a little unnatural to me. But a great shot anyway :)
This is just so funny. Love the perspective you got from shooting this from above with a wide angle lens and the boys expression is great - I can almost hear him roar at me. But I simply don't understand why you chose to do the selective coloring here. It simply ruins it for me - I would have liked it much better if it was pure black and white or pure color. I rarely see a picture with selective coloring that actually works - and unfortunately this is not one of them. It would probably have made my "commended" list if it had been just black and white or color.
Excellent "through the window" portrait. I don't know if this was a lucky candid shot or if it's staged - and it really doesn't matter to me either. She has a great expression like she is saying "How dare you take my picture" - but in a friendly and positive way. Excellent black and white work with an "analogue" feeling to it because of the grain. Great work :)
