2007 Photo Contest Winners

Category: Landscapes

Includes any shot that predominantly features the land, water, or sky.

First prize

SITTIN’ ON THE DOCK OF THE LAKE

Early one morning on a late-September weekend at his brother-in-law’s Butterfly Lake cottage near Gravenhurst, Robin Adair saw this idyllic scene. “The lake was so smooth. Everything looked great with the leaves just starting to turn,” he says. “I even managed to get a seagull taking off from the raft.”

JUDGES’ comments

Robin has created a technically perfect shot – a well-framed composition with great lighting and lively colour contrast – but the peaceful, Indian-summer feeling really makes the picture. It reminds us of the last days of summer, with no one else around and not a ripple in the lake. You’d be thinking, “Lucky me, I’m here.”

Second prize

SNOW AND LIGHT

Gilles St-Laurent is a previous winner in our contest. “When I win, it pushes me to pick up the camera and take the time to get the shot,” he says. “This one I took just after Christmas at our place on Lac Bob in Quebec. I walked along a creek where, in sum-mer, you’d get eaten alive by bugs.”

JUDGES’ comments

A great view of the hidden beauty that many cottagers never see: after the bustle of summer, a light covering of snow, but not too far from your cottage doorstep. The cool, dark foreground, with a warmer, brighter light falling through the far-off trees, gives great depth to Gilles’ unforced, walk-in-the-woods shot.

Third prize

LUNAR MISSION

It was 1 a.m. and Diane Rupnow was on her way to bed when she noticed the full moon at her lakeside property in Barnes, Wisconsin. “I debated going to bed and then decided to get the tripod out,” she says. “I had to convince two of my niece’s friends to stand still at the end of the dock for about three-and-a-half minutes.”

JUDGES’ comments

Hats off to Diane for setting up the long time exposure to get this technically difficult shot, combining the beauty of a rising moon with the simple composition of very few elements for a stunning picture. The boys on the dock couldn’t move for this time-lapse shot and yet they manage to look so relaxed. In the tranquil softness of her image, she caught perfectly that night’s mysterious moon glow.