2013 CFC Awards Show - The Best of the Best

On Sunday December 1st, we held our first annual CountyFotoClub awards show.  Our meeting place was transfixed into a festive party room with gourmet foods and plenty of beverages.  We had hundreds of festive images submitted by members along with music of the season playing in the background, all while we gorged ourselves on the sumptuous offerings brought in by the participants.

The meeting started off with a short slideshow by Janice Ruggles-Bolton entitled "Inferno".  It was a wonderful portrayal of the nighttime pumpkin extravaganza at Upper Canada Village.

The second half of our meeting was hosted by David Gilbert and myself, who proceeded to award 18 worthy photographers with trophies for their work during 2013.  David & I judged almost 2000 images that were submitted over the course of the year by club members.  For each of the major award categories, we narrowed it down to four finalists and provided our critique on each of those images.  The results were most impressive.  Here are the award winners along with their images:

1) Best Abstract - Contenders were Ramesh Poraan, Carol Quinn, Tina Konecny with the winner being Jo'anne Van Der Wyst for her "Meshed Veins"

 2) Best Old Relic - Contenders were Daphne Creasy, Gabrielle Holowacz, Jocelyne Cormier with the winner being Sam Serrano with his "Cycle of Time"

3) Best Macro - Contenders were Tina Konecny, Daphne Creasy, Ramesh Pooran with the winner being Robert Logan with his "Iridescent Beetle"

4) Most Prolific Photographer - A special award of merit was handed out to Caspar Radden for shooting more photos, covering more events and always being the first to join in club activities - and doing all this with a great eye for capturing unique shots especially in the wildlife arena.

5) Best Architecture - Contenders were Sam Serrano, Jocelyne Cormier, Gabrielle Holowacz with the winner being Ramesh Pooran for his image entitled "Blue Window"

6) Funniest Image - Contenders were Caspar Radden, Daphne Creasy, Jo'anne Van Der Wyst with the winner being Eric Pierce for his "Harvest Moon(ing?)"

7) Best Child - Contenders were Jo'anne Van Der Wyst, Inge Radden, Gabrielle Holowacz with the winner being Daphne Creasy with her image entitled "Painted Faces"

8) Best Floral - Contenders were Jo'anne Van Der Wyst, Margaret Liddon, Daphny Creasy with the winner being Connie Fowler with her image "Shooting for the Sky"

9) Keenest Photographer - This is another award of merit handed out to the photographer who attended and submitted photos to the most club sponsored events/themes during 2013.  Only one person had a perfect score on this criteria with that person being Margaret Liddon - our "keenest" photographer of 2013.

10) Best Pet/Farm Animal - Contenders were Tina Konecny, Carol Quinn, Gabrielle Holowacz with the winner being Anna Lam for her image "Peekaboo"

11) Best Monochrome - Contenders were Daphne Creasy, Connie Fowler, Anna Lam with the winner being Gabrielle Holowacz and her image entitled "Wash Day"

12) Sharpshooter Award - This award of merit goes to the photographer who consistently produces the sharpest, crispest focused and most detailed images - none other than "steady hand" Alan Jenner.

13) Best Action - Contenders were Daphne Creasy, Margaret Liddon, Anna Lam with the winner being Tina Konecny and her image "Summer Spray"

14) Best People/Portrait - Contenders were Robert Logan, Connie Fowler, Margaret Liddon with the winner being Alan Jenner for his "School Teacher" rendition.

15) Story Teller of the Year - A special award of merit went to the photographer who, through his story and virtual history lesson of early days in the County, provided us with a unique glimpse of our heritage.  The award was presented to Eric Pierce for his work on "The Grave dated February 31, 1860"

16) Best Wildlife - Contenders were Jo'anne Van Der Wyst, Caspar Radden, Ron Mace with the winner being Margaret Liddon for her image entitled "Chipmunk with Fall Leaves"

17) Best Landscape - Contenders were Ron Mace, Connie Fowler, Alan Jenner with the winner being Bert Jenkins for his image "Mossy Pond"

18) 2013 Image of the Year - Our final trophy for the night was presented for the image that had strong impact, told a story yet left much to the imagination.  It is an study of dark and light, of the past and the future, of certainty and the unknown.  It is an image that is technically sound while shot under very difficult lighting conditions.  The 2013 Image of the Year award goes to Ron Mace for his image entitled "Room at Burleigh Falls".

It was a fun night for our young club and 2013 was a wonderful kick-off year.  As a group we have accomplished much and great promise holds in store for the coming year.  We'd like to once again congratulate all our deserving award winners.  A job well done! Thank you all for your great work throughout the year.