"Orange" photo competition - these are the winners
The last photo competition was all about 'orange'. The fact that this color has much more to offer than just the citrus fruit of the same name was impressively demonstrated by your many creative interpretations of the theme!
We received over 4,200 images! We would like to say a big "Thank you!" to all 1,650 participants! That was truly outstanding. We would like to congratulate the winners and say THANK YOU!
1st Place Daniel M?ckelThe winning photo - "Good morning Cape Town"
We received many photos of sunrises and sunsets on the subject of orange. Daniel M?ckel captured a very special sunrise and took first place in our photo competition!
The picture was taken on a trip to South Africa in Simon's Town, which is part of the metropolitan municipality of Cape Town. There is a well-known colony of African penguins on Boulders Beach, some of which occasionally find their way to visitors on the beach and are therefore used to people.
In order to photograph the animals in the morning light and without other visitors, Daniel made his way to the beach at sunrise. The main challenge was to get the penguins out of the background and to photograph them in a harmonious arrangement. To do this, he chose a focal length of approx. 110 mm on the APS-C sensor (176 mm full-frame equivalent), opened the aperture to f/11 and set a suitable exposure time (1/1600s), which made the sky glow orange-red, but made the penguins appear completely black as silhouettes.
"Shortly after sunrise, one of the penguins began to stretch as if greeting the rising sun, and I had my desired motif in the can," reports Daniel.
A great winning photo, congratulations!
More about Daniel M?ckel:
2nd Place Kathleen van Schoorisse2nd place - Oranje Rolstoelatleet
Second place goes to this picture by Kathleen von Schoorisse, which impressed us from the outset: The speed of the athlete is omnipresent and tangible in this picture. The picture was taken during the Brussels Grand Prix on August 27, 2023. The 59-year-old amateur photographer took the picture with a Nikon Z9 and the 70-200mm f/2.8.
Shooting data:
Shutter speed: 1/50 at aperture: f/10, ISO: 320.
3rd Place Julia B?rger3rd place - New York City
This street picture by Julia B?rger has made it to 3rd place. With her picture, Julia has managed to capture a moment that tells a very special Christmas story: "The picture was taken last year at the end of my almost 3-month trip to America in New York. I was in New York for a week just before Christmas, which had been an absolute dream of mine for ages. While walking around New York on my own, I kept capturing everyday, unremarkable moments and people with my camera (Sony a7 III and the Voigtl?nder 35mm/1.4), including this man at the famous clock in the middle of Grand Central Station, true to the motto " driving home for Christmas."
More about Julia B?rger:
4th Place J?rg Egerer4th place - Egg, egg, egg
This minimalist realization by J?rg Egerer made it to fourth place in the photo competition. He explains how the picture was created: "The basic idea for this picture came about while I was washing the dishes. After dinner, there were different plates on top of each other. I was inspired by the edges of the plates, which otherwise tend to go unnoticed. The next day, I went to my photo studio with various plates, platters and saucers. Once I had decided on the shapes and number of plates, I worked for several hours on moving the plates around on top of each other until they looked right. Nevertheless, the test shots lacked something special and unique. When I drove past an egg vending machine on the way back, I had the idea of using egg yolks. I returned to the studio with a pack of 10 eggs. I needed the first egg as a dummy for the lighting settings. The final image was created with the second egg, which I let slide separately from the egg white from a cup into the hollow for the espresso cup. The work was created in 2019 and has already won awards in two international photo competitions."
More about J?rg Egerer
J?rg Egerer works as a freelance photographer near Munich and is a member of the Berufsverband Bildender K?nstler*innen M?nchen und Oberbayern e.V. (BBK). His artistic photographs have been awarded and exhibited nationally and internationally.
5th Place Reiner Spiegel5th place - The mysterious staircase
Some great pictures of staircases were submitted to this photo competition, so it wasn't easy for us to choose. In the end, Reiner Spiegel's picture won us over! The photo, taken in the hallway of a hotel/restaurant in Trier, required special skill in dealing with difficult lighting conditions, as he tells us: "I photographed the staircase from various perspectives while bent over on my knees. The lighting conditions were not ideal due to the bright sunlight that came in at times. The corridor was quite dark." The effort was worth it!
Photographs were taken with a Canon 5D Mark II and the Canon EF 16-35 mm f/4 L IS
Shooting data:
Focal length: 26mm at aperture: f/11
Exposure: 1/40, ISO: 2000
6th place Conny Scholte6th place - A house in the snow
This atmospheric picture by Conny Scholte has made it to sixth place. This impressive photo was taken during a trip to Norway. A dream that the trained hotel manageress from Essen fulfilled in February 2021. The breathtaking landscape of the Lofoten Islands offered the passionate landscape and nature photographer an almost endless number of photo opportunities. Among them was the small cottage on the island of Sakris?y, which offers a great contrast to the rugged and gigantic Mount Olstind behind it and is not - as usual - red, but orange to match the theme of our competition.
Shooting data:
Aperture: f/14
Exposure: 1/20, ISO: 200
More about Conny Scholte:
7th place Jan Wesselmann7th place - "The creative portrait"
This unique portrait by Jan Wesselmann convinced us right from the start and took 7th place! The 26-year-old photographer from D?lmen talks about the process of creating the picture:
"The idea was to get a fashion shot that captivates with its special stylization. During the brainstorming process, the focus was on dynamics, color and materials. The red sunglasses in combination with the warmly illuminated, flying foil form the eye-catcher. The foil beautifully emphasizes the contours of the glasses and the model. It reduces the shot to the essential detail."
The picture was taken in Jan's own studio, photographed from the top left, softly lit with a 90cm Octabox."
More about Jan Wesselmann:
8th place Sandra Rothfu?8th place - Morning walk
Sandra Rothfu?'s picture impressively captures the mood of a misty fall morning. The trees with their orange-red leaves standing on the left and right edges of the misty avenue draw the eye to the center of the picture. As Sandra wanted a person in this one, but was out and about alone that morning, she simply placed her camera on the ground and used the self-timer to take this picture, which came eighth in our competition.
More about Sandra Rothfu?
9th place - Carsten Schmidt9th place - Large fire
This photo of a major fire taken by Carsten Schmidt as part of the Bleckede fire department's official incident reporting made it to 9th place. Carsten has been working as a volunteer press spokesman for the fire department for 13 years and documented the work of the first breathing apparatus wearers at the water cannon during a major fire in Bleckede in April 2011, in which around 8,000 Euro pallets caught fire. The particular challenge with such reporting is to provide meaningful photos without disturbing the operation.
More about the reporting:
10th place Luis Seybold10th place - Redstart
Capturing the perfect moment - Luis Seybold managed to do just that in this photo, which took 10th place in our competition. The picture was taken at the beginning of summer, when Luis kept noticing two black redstarts around his balcony in Esslingen am Neckar. As he always saw them flying with small sticks or moss in their beaks, he assumed that they were building a nest somewhere nearby. "At some point while I was cooking, I noticed grass and moss hanging out over the shutter box of the kitchen window," reports Luis. "Then it was clear to me where the two had built their nest. When the young hatched, you could see them being fed again and again. A perfect moment to test the continuous shooting speed and subject recognition of my brand new Nikon Z8. After a few failed attempts, I managed to photograph the female black redstart from the balcony like this, using a 105mm lens."
More about Luis Seybold:
11th place Julia Didelot11th place - Teatime
This creative combination of portrait and LostPlaces photography by Julia Didelot takes 11th place in our competition. What was once the bathroom of a pub with a dance hall has now become a LostPlace - and thus a unique photo backdrop. This unique scene was photographed with a Pentax K3, illuminated with a small softbox and a clip-on flash.
More from Julia Didelot:
12th place Thomas Buchmann12th place
Just how important spontaneity can be for a good picture is shown by this photo taken by Thomas Buchmann in the early hours of the morning at Frankfurt Airport, which takes 12th place in our photo competition. On the way from the parking lot to the visitor platform, from where the former glider pilot actually wanted to take his picture, a plane flew directly over his head. Thomas immediately recognized the unique combination of the plane and the reflections of the still low sun, which also inspire us very much, as a successful motif and reacted immediately: "Fittingly, shortly after aiming, another plane appeared in the top left corner of the viewfinder, whereupon I pulled the trigger."
More about Thomas Buchmann:
Conclusion of the orange photo competition
With the pictures of the 12 winners, we can unfortunately only present you with a small selection of the unique and interesting ways in which you have implemented the 'orange' theme photographically. Many pictures just missed out on the top 12 places because there was too much to choose from.
We would like to thank all participants and look forward to receiving interesting entries for future competitions. Until then, we hope you continue to enjoy photography and all the moments that can be associated with it and captured!
The prizes
1st place: ?1000 voucher for Nikon
Nikon is a household name and offers excellent cameras and lenses as well as brilliant binoculars.
Nikon brand store
2nd place: 650? voucher for Tamron
From fast fixed focal lengths and macro lenses to mega and travel zooms: Tamron's wide range of lenses leaves nothing to be desired.
Tamron brand store
3rd place: Sirui A100B Bi-Color self-inflating LED continuous light with Grid 100W
The continuous light is the ideal solution for tight spaces and space-saving transport.
To item
4th place: 250? voucher for Laowa
Laowa lenses have become increasingly popular in recent years. Many of them are unique.
Laowa lenses
5th place: Sirui CS100B Bi-Color LED Studio Light 100W with Bowens Mount
Compact light with many effects and color temperatures.
To item
6th place: 150? voucher for Godox
Godox is one of the trend brands for photo and video lighting.
Godox brand store
7th place: 100? voucher for ThinkTank
Think Tank stands for stable and reliable bags, backpacks & Co.
Think Tank articles
8th-12th place: Peak Design Micro Clutch - Hand strap for cameras
The hand strap ensures a secure hold.
To item
