2015 Black & White World

Digital Photo Pro is pleased to announce the winners of the Black & White World 2015 Photo Contest. We received more than 3,000 submissions. Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to all who submitted. Go to the Contests tab to see the Finalists’ Gallery and to stay informed about upcoming photo contests.

© Ricardo Williams

Sprinkler

By Ricardo Williams

The original idea behind this photo was finding a way to represent one word with an image that described it and at the same time was able to tell a story. The word was “sprinkler,” and it was part of a Photography Scavenger Hunt on the G+ Community. In this hunt, we’re usually competing with about 500 other photographers from around the world, each one with his or her own interpretation of a group of 10 words. For this word, I wanted to adhere to what I imagined was the general idea of water sprinkling, but give it a mysterious and dark turn. Besides the other aspects of photography I’m interested in, I’m also a self-portrait photographer. I wanted to pair my portraiture with something striking, mysterious and at the same time captivating and inviting, all the while representing the word. I set up my camera on a tripod with a plastic protective rain sleeve. I placed the tripod in my shower, below the showerhead, and covered the walls of my shower with a black cotton backdrop and set up my SB-900 on a light stand, camera-left, at about 45º to 60º. That was a great way to create the shadows and light I was looking for. I turned on the shower, kept the shower curtains open and tried to get close enough to the camera where it could capture most of my expression, but not close enough for the sprinkling water to hit the lens. The water wasn’t very warm, because warm water creates steam and fog that then clouds the lens. I took about 40 to 50 shots, and 15 to 18 of them were without fog or sprinkles on the lens. I selected my top ones, edited in Lightroom and changed the image to black-and-white to create more drama. This was my favorite one because of the detail in the sprinkles, the water streaks under my chin and the water droplets falling right over my eyes.

You can follow Ricardo Williams on Instagram @ricardowilliams16, on Facebook at ricardowilliamsphotography and on Google+ at +RicardoWilliams.

Nikon D90, Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR , Nikon SB-900

© Jack Foley

Boston Joe

By Jack Foley

I was hired by Father Bill’s & MainSpring to do photography for their annual report. The organization provides services to people who are struggling with homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness to achieve self-sufficiency while maintaining their dignity and independence. Joe was a resident of Father Bill’s & MainSpring adult emergency shelter in Brockton, Massachusetts. I’m using his first name only to protect his privacy. He was my first assignment in a full day of shooting. I had a brief introduction and was given five minutes to photograph Joe. My intent for the photo shoot was to show the character Joe had displayed in our brief meeting, and I was fortunate to capture his strength and confidence. I’m told Joe has since left MainSpring House and hasn’t been seen lately. Three off-camera Nikon Speedlights were used to light the subject. Two lights were in back at 32 watt-seconds and a front light in front at 16 watts. The flashes in back were shooting through white umbrellas and the front flash was a beauty dish. I shot in RAW and processed the files in Lightroom and edited in Nik Silver Efex Pro. Some minor Photoshop work was done to the background to remove signs.

Visit Jack Foley’s website at jackfoleyphotography.com, and follow him on Facebook at jackfoleyphotography.

Nikon D-800, Nikon 24-70mm, Nikon speedlights1/100th sec., f/5, 66mm

© XiaoYing Shi

Surfing Girl

By XiaoYing Shi

First Place Package:

• Publication of the winning photo in Digital Photo Pro
• Online publication of the winning photo in the Winners’ Gallery
• A Professional Backpack 30 from Manfrotto
• A VEO 265AB tripod  from Vanguard
• A Strobist® lighting kit from LumiQuest
• A 32GB Professional 1066xx CF memory card from  Lexar
• A Compact HoodLoupe from Hoodman USA

Second Place Package:

• Online publication of the winning photo in the Winners’ Gallery
• A  VEO 235AB tripod  from Vanguard
• A Starter® kit from LumiQuest
• A 32GB microSDHC 633x UHS-1 memory card from Lexar
• A Lens Cleanse 12 pack Kits from Hoodman USA

People’s Choice Award:

• Online publication of the winning photo in the Winners’ Gallery