Faces

 Let's FACE it.   It's a busy time of year.  Grades are due.  Sports are back (finally!!).  And life is a bit crazy.  But -- there's always time to post some winning photos!  Congratulations to the winners of the "Faces" Challenge.  

FIRST PLACE

RAVEN CARROLL

SECOND PLACE

AMANDA DELEON

THIRD PLACE

CAMILA MARTINEZ

FOURTH PLACE 

KATARINA GONZALEZ

FIFTH PLACE

DAVID SMALL

Military Pride

 Military Pride is not reserved for Veteran's Day, the 4th of July, and Memorial Day.  It's not just fanfare, flags, and fireworks.  Military Pride is the day in/day out, 24/365 grit and loyalty to country and family.  And military kids know this better than most.   They understand symbolism and sacrifice; loneliness and loss; commitment and connection.  This photo challenge gave students the opportunity to demonstrate the different faces of Military Pride and its relationship to their lives.  

FIRST PLACE:  CAMILA MARTINEZ

Excellent composition and strong technique.  Creative approach to the theme. 

SECOND PLACE:  DAVID SMALL

Great angle/perspective.  Strong focus and exposure on the foreground. 

THIRD PLACE:  DRAVEN SAUCEDO

Good job filling the frame and incorporating a background.  Be careful to keep enough light in all elements of the image.  

FOURTH PLACE:  FINLEY HUNTING

Creative approach to the theme. Strong emotional response.  Image might be stronger with a few stops down in exposure and perhaps all of the hand in the frame. 

FIFTH PLACE:  MORGAN HOLLINGSHED

Good job filling the frame with a variety of objects to tell the story.  Exposure is a little dark.   

So Sweet

This week's challenge "So Sweet" had photographers capturing their cravings. While most images were very straightforward focusing on a variety of sugary treats, a few photographers thought outside the box and tried to focus on character rather than calories. While there were many notable contenders, winning entries not only had a clever idea, but also a clean focus, even exposure and white balance, and strong composition. There was more than one entry that would have placed if the white balance would have been correct, or the lighting/exposure more purposeful.