PHOTONews 25th Anniversary Photo Challenge: The World Through My Lens

The World Through My Lens

The World Through My Lens” was a travel themed contest open to all Canadian photo enthusiasts, created in conjunction with our Image Hong Kong photo expedition, which featured the adventures of four professional photographers as they discovered the many sights and scenes of Hong Kong. The Image Hong Kong photo expedition was featured in the Autumn 2016 issue of PHOTO News Magazine as a guide for photographers, focussing on a range of travel photography tips and techniques. To view a selection of photographs from the Image Hong Kong expedition please visit our Zenfolio page at www.photonews.zenfolio.com.

For our 25th Anniversary photo challenge we asked participants to submit images that reflected the contest theme “The World Through My Lens” – the assignment was to photograph the sights and scenes of their favourite destinations – we suggested that subjects could be as close as the view from their front porch or as far away as the other side of the world.

The PHOTO News “The World Through My Lens” contest was open to Canadian residents 18 and older.

For full contest rules and information please visit hongkong2016.photonews.ca/

For more information on Hong Kong, please visit DiscoverHongKong.com

Contest prizes

GRAND PRIZE – Return economy airfare for two from a major airport in Canada to Hong Kong courtesy of Cathay Pacific; 4 nights accommodation in Hong Kong courtesy of The Langham Hong Kong; selected tours courtesy of the Hong Kong Tourism Board; a Nikon D5500 with a 18-55mm VR II Lens Kit and a Vanguard Kinray 53 Purple Backpack (Model VAK53PR) and Vanguard VEO 234 Monopod (Model VAVEOAM234). Total approximate retail value of the grand prize is $7500.

SECOND PRIZE – A Nikon COOLPIX AW130 and a Vanguard Kinray 48 Purple Backpack (Model VAK48PR). Total approximate retail value of the second prize is $590.

THIRD PRIZE – A Nikon COOLPIX AW130 and a Vanguard Kinray 43 Purple Sling bag (Model VAK43PR). Total approximate retail value of the third prize is $510.

With the generous support of our sponsors – Hong Kong Tourism Board, Nikon Canada, Cathay Pacific, Langham Hotel, and Vanguard, we assembled a very attractive array of prizes, and created a special website where the entries were compiled, and displayed in a gallery of almost 2,000 images.

Our panel of judges, Kristian Bogner, Andre Dalpont, Jacques Dumont, Michael DeFreitas, Hayley Ohlig and Michel Valberg, reviewed all of the images, narrowing the field to a selection of 60 semi-finalists including 10 images from each judge. The semi-final selection, which included several images that were selected by two or more judges, were rated by each judge on a scale of 1 – 10, and the results were tabulated to determine the top three entries and 12 honourable mention entries.

The winning images and the gallery of honourable mention entries appear in the Winter 2016/2017 issue of PHOTO News, with more than 100,000 copies distributed across Canada. The digital edition of the magazine can be viewed here: https://www.photonews.ca/index.php/download

The full gallery of contest entries may be viewed here: http://hongkong2016.photonews.ca/gallery/

See below the winner’s images:

First Place:

Tanouja Narraidoo, of Surrey B.C., took the winning photo in our World Through My Lens Photo Challenge, capturing this incredible evening image of multi-coloured badlands, sandstone hoodoos, petrified wood and dinosaur bones at Ah Shi Leh Pah in San Juan County, New Mexico.

>> Click here to read how Tanouja took the winning image

Second Place:

Mark Lachovsky, of Kirkland, Quebec, photographed this stunning portrait of the daughter of a village chief in Namibia. Mark used a Nikon D4 and 60mm lens, shooting at f/2.8, 1/200 second, ISO 200.

Third Place:

Narada Williams, of Toronto, Ontario, photographed this image of the Toronto skyline from Centre Island, using a Canon EOS 6D and 45mm lens, shooting at f/10, 30 seconds, ISO 100.

— Honorable Mention —

Zhugang Zheng, of London, Ontario, captured this sunset image of the Amboseli Plain, Kenya, with a Canon EOS 5D MK III and a zoom lens at 227mm, shooting at f/5, 1/200 second, ISO 100.

John Stewart, of West Vancouver, B.C., captured this iconic image of tourists on a camel excursion in the Erg Chebbi desert in eastern Morocco. John shot from his perch atop a camel, using a Nikon D300 and zoom lens at 95mm, f/9, 1/320 second, ISO 200.

Hoi Wong, of Richmond, B.C. snapped this image of colours and patterns in the Shenzhen International Airport, China, using a Fujifilm X-T10, shooting at 34mm, f/5, 1/210 second, ISO 200.

Ka Leung Ma, of Vancouver, B.C., was on a boat floating through Suzhou, China, when the circular shape of the bridge and the reflected shoreline buildings presented a unique photo opportunity. The shot was captured with a Nikon D7000 and zoom lens at 22mm, f/4, 1/30 second, ISO 400.

Michael Mong, of Vancouver B.C., photographed this Sally Lightfoot Crab climbing over some iguanas in the Galapagos Islands. Michael used a Nikon D600 and zoom lens at 170mm, f/9, 1/400 second, ISO 640, to capture the contrast of the red crab against the grey iguanas.

Seta Karabadjian, of St. Laurent, Quebec, was on a kettuvallam (houseboat) on Lake Vembanad, Kerala, India, en route from Kumarakom to Allepey, when the silhouette of two fishermen came into view. The shot was taken with a Canon EOS 50D and 300 mm lens, f/7.1, 1/2500 second, ISO 320.

Stephanie White, of Ottawa, Ontario, photographed the sunset framed by the beautiful Tori Gate floating on the water at Miyajima, Japan.

Zachary Silverstein, of Toronto, Ontario, was in Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador, on New Year’s Eve when when his friend Mario performed the tradition of jumping over a burning effigy twelve times – once for each month, to banish the troubles of the previous year. Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 50 mm, f/12, 1/800 second, ISO 5000.

Gary Cummings, of Toronto, Ontario, was trekking through the valleys of Kathmandu, Nepal, when he photographed a local villager who shared her stories with the travellers. Nikon D700, 28 mm, f/32, 1/500 second, ISO 160.