1st Place:
This week was was truly amazing…so many interpretations of “Scenic BB&W” to inspire us in our photographic endeavors! It was awesome to see how a beautiful scenic background (whether from nature or interesting architecture) could add so much to a portrait.
We were completely honored to have the talented Deb Schwedhelm as our Guest Photographer judge this week. Her work is beautiful and her story of little Max made us all weep! Hopefully, it inspired many of us to reach out and share our talent to help someone else in need as well. Deb said of this week’s winner, Jenny: First, let me share that I loved all the entries!! There was such a creative use of incorporating subject and scene together. I also want to share that I really struggled between first and second place. If I could give a tie for first place, I would. Heather Nan‘s entry had such an interesting definition and use of scenery — really an outstanding and intriguing photograph. But I was so drawn to the story of Jenny‘s entry — the composition, the dog spotting something, the girl with the gun, the assumption of a country scene. All the elements (subjects and scene) worked so perfectly together to create an awesome story in one single image. Thank you to all for your wonderful submissions!
2nd Place
3rd Place
4th Place
5th Place
6th Place
7th Place
8th Place
9th Place
10th Place
Each week we (Angie & Amy) like to show off some of our favorite entries as well! Here are our picks…
Krista Campbell
These Photographs
Pamela Oliveras
Sacha Blackburne
VioletRay
All Done
Skye Snyder
Monika McSweeney
Heather Robertson
Ginger Snap
April Russell
Beth Curtis
Valerie Demo
Bumpin’ along the road less traveled
If you were in the Top Ten or an “Angie & Amy Pick” you can go to this page to find your special Winners Button to display on your blog! Super-huge congratulations for entering such an amazing photo this week!
A Friendly Reminder: To be able to be considered as a winner for our photo challenges, you must follow these guidelines…
1| Only ONE photo can be in your entry post. If there are other photos in your entry post, your photo will not be passed on to the weekly judge.
2| Our button must be in your post (you can find our buttons on our “Grab a Button” page.)
3| You must enter a permalink to your blog post or Flickr entry (not a link to the home page of your blog.)
Don’t Miss Out!
Have you joined our Facebook Fan Page yet? All you have to do is click “Like” and then you’ll have access to the new free goodies we are posting there! Freebies will only be available for a short while and then a new one will be posted…so be sure to remind your friends to join in the fun as well so they don’t miss anything!
{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
These are all beautiful photos. I had no idea that there was a contest going on. I would have loved to be a part of the voting.
As far as the whole “gun” deal. You have to realize that depending on what area you are from, this is a normal way of life. Like, I’m sure that in some areas, it’s nothing to see a 5 y/o kid walking to and from school by themselves. I WILL NOT allow my kid to walk to school by themselves and I can actually see the entire trek to school from my kitchen window! But I’m sure that’s just the way of life for some kids. So I don’t judge, however, I still have my not-so-great 1opinion about the mother that lets her baby walk to school by themselves.
Betty (bcatgray) recently posted..It’s Cold Out How to Feel Warm & Fuzzy Inside
These are all so amazing! I’m sure you all had a terrible time deciding !
Thanks for the heads-up Kate…it’s fixed now!
Congrats,
-Angie
co-founder of IHF
Thanks so much for 7th! Great to be picked among some fantastic entries. Just wondering, could I get the linked fixed up to my blog, as I think it’s copied from the one above. Thanks!!
What an amazing line-up! Congratulations Winners! Deb’s choices were spectacular – all the images together created a mini-show of our backyards across America and even two across the big ponds!! Each image was packed with storytelling qualities. WONDERFUl.
Thank you Angie and Amy for choosing my entry as one of your picks. I’m humbled and honored to be among such beautiful artistry. {thanks}
Skye
skye snyder recently posted..Crush on Deb Schwedhelm
Congrats to all the winners! I am soooo excited and honored that I made the top ten!!! Out of all the amazing entries, I can’t believe that my photo made it up there!!
Thank you so much!! I loved looking at everyone’s entries, and the first place winner definitely deserved to win!! 
Kara recently posted..I made the top 10!!
thank you so much for the favorite! love it!
valerie demo recently posted..i heart faces scenic black and whites
Thanks for the ‘pick’ Angie and Amy! The photographs are so inspiring and I love BW. On another note, OMG, I clicked on the story of Max and I was bawling. WOW! It reminds me to be thankful for the little things in this life and to enjoy the journey as much as possible. I am glad that sweet Max’s family has all the photographic memories taken by Deb. I love that a photo can sometimes speak what words never could and can take you back to a cherished moment that would otherwise be faded. Unbelievably amazing.
I love the pictures that the judge picked! And the favorites! They are fabulous! Such a fun week. This is such a great place to encourage each other. I love that about I Heart Faces. Sending love to all the winners and favorites! XO Becky
Life with Kaishon recently posted..Dr Jin Park Sellersville Family Dental
Beautiful photos!!! Congrats to the winners!
I loved so many entries for this week and the theme was fantastic. Thanks I Heart Faces.
thanks for choosing my picture of my daughter in the corn field!! congrats to all the winners!
I’m a huge B&W photo lover and I’m in awe of all these photos!!! Congrats and kudos to each and everyone!!
TidyMom recently posted..I’m Lovin’ It – December 2010 Free Desktop Themes
Congrats to all!
So happy to be an Angie & Amy pick =)!!! Thank you!
Amy is out-of-town with little internet access this weekend so I will address this “situation” for both of us.
First of all, it would take a LOT for us to ban someone from I Heart Faces…something along the lines of pornographic photos being entered, excessive spam, stalking someone, stealing photos, etc. To be banned over a comment? I’d have to say that it would have to be a pretty raunchy comment for that to ever happen.
While I can appreciate people having concerns over the use of guns (whether I agree with those concerns or not), I need to emphasize that this is a PHOTOGRAPHY sharing website and that issue has absolutely no relevance here. All of the photos in this winning post fit well within our guidelines of being appropriate to be entered here. If they hadn’t fit in our guidelines, the link would have been deleted and the photo would not have been passed on to this week’s Guest Photographer Judge.
We also have it clearly stated in our FAQ’s that our website is for adults-only. So, while I personally feel that every photo in this post was appropriate for my children to view, the fact of the matter is that our website is set up for adults to enter the photo challenges and there is almost no reason for a child to ever come here. I know that my children would never sit down at our computer and say “I’m going to visit I Heart Faces today!!” and I’m fairly certain that most other children would feel the same way.
We also make it very clear that the purpose of this post each week is to congratulate and encourage those photographers that were chosen as the “winners” for that week’s theme by that one particular photographer (the Guest Photographer Judge.) It makes me very sad that instead of Jenny being encouraged and uplifted today over her photography efforts, she is instead going away from something that should have been AMAZING for her with a feeling of disappointment. By taking one click over to her website anyone could have very easily found her email address (under her “About Me”) and sent her a private email with their concerns. In my opinion, there was no reason to steal her joy today when it could have been handled privately. In that same spirit, it is very easy to find email address for us here at I Heart Faces as well and we definitely would have appreciated a private email instead of a public comment against one member of our community or our website in general.
If someone enters a photo of two children (or anyone else for that matter!) holding a gun to their heads…by all means their photo would be deleted and they would be asked not to participate again. A photo of a child holding a BB gun, shooting at targets while being safely supervised by an adult (this is all information I learned by visiting Jenny’s blog and reading her post for one minute)…definitely fits within the guidelines we have had posted on our website since Day One.
Photography is an extremely subjective art form. There are many weeks when I personally might have picked different Top Ten photos than the judge did…but I wasn’t the judge so my opinion doesn’t matter. As long as a photo fits within our guidelines, it is possible for it to be chosen as the winning photo. Period. It doesn’t matter whether you (or I or anyone else) thought it should have been chosen. It is up to that week’s Guest Photographer Judge.
I will end this by saying congratulations to Jenny and to each of the other photographers that were chosen to be in the Top Ten and also to those photographers that Amy and I picked as our favorites.
I am so thankful to each of you (and to every single person who enters our challenges) for inspiring my photography journey daily. Thank you for being a part of I Heart Faces!
-Angie
co-founder of IHF
P.S. From my comment on, if you choose to write something concerning this situation your opinion needs to be linked to your blog. We will not be accepting any other “anonymous” comments concerning this situation.
First of all, thank you so much for the 1st place honor in this competition! I am completely blown away and humbled to have been chosen among all of the amazing entries!
I also would like to address the comments… WOW, I never thought of this as a controversial photo. It’s obvious that there are strong opinions on the subject of hunting and guns, especially when there is a female involved.
I am proud of this image. I am proud of my daughter and of my husband who takes the utmost care in instructing my daughter in safety and would NEVER put her life in danger. This is indeed a BB gun, which could cause harm, but she is supervised and is not shooting at any living creatures. She is so tender-hearted that she could never hurt an animal. This is not damaging to her in any way.
This is one of my favorite photos of our daughter. I would not change a thing. Thank you so much to those who have left supportive comments on our behalf. I have to admit that I came to the comment section to express my thanks, but now am leaving with a pit in my stomach. Your kind comments are much appreciated!
Thanks Angie and Amy, as always, for all that you do to provide these fun challenges week after week!
I couldn’t agree more, Andrea! While everyone is entitled to their opinion, this seems a rather inappropriate setting to be voicing it. Debating over the subject matter of the photo isn’t productive at all for our journey as photographers. I’m astonished at the audacity of someone who wants to tear down a photo due to differences of opinion on parenting and guns. Jenny is being honored for her talent. Since when is it appropriate to stand up in an awards ceremony and complain that someone won? Just because we’re protected by the anonymity of the internet does not mean we should throw aside decorum.
Encourage others! I Heart Faces should be a safe place to share ALL kinds of photography and to build up others!
Jocelyn recently posted..It’s That Time of Year
<3's Wow!!! Thank you so much for the honour of being chosen by Amy and Angie to be amidst such beautiful winning photographs! And a big "Congrats" to Jenny for being #1! Its a beautiful image and a tribute to our history as well.
Job well done to all and I'm looking forward to our next round!
*cheers* (VioletRay Photography)
Congratulations to all of the winners – what a fun variety of images!
Thank you Mandy for your voice. I seem to be racked over the coals for my opinion. Yes, this is a BB gun — but it can do damage as well, and if another child, animal, or adult is hit can be painful and harmful as well. Many children have lost eyesight from BB guns. When we are encouraged by the police to keep all guns locked up from children, why hand this to such a young girl.
Kathleen recently posted..Thankful for Poop
Just remember the purpose of this website. It was created to encourage and inspire photographers at whatever point they are in their journey. This comment section is here as a way to offer encouragement and congratulations to the winners.
Andrea recently posted..The Winans Baby Shower
I completely agree! I was shocked to see that a photo of a young girl holding a gun was chosen!
Congrats to everyone! I absolutely love all of these. This is probably one of my favorite categories you’ve had. They’re all so gorgeous!!
Dianne – Bunny Trails recently posted..Wordless Wednesday – Zigzag Shadow
Oh wow! Thank you Angie & Amy for choosing my photo! This is my first time on the top pics page! I’m thrilled!
Some really fantastic photo. I really like black and white photography. Congrats to the winners.
Congratulations to the winner! Beautiful photo!
Congrats to everyone else, I feel really lucky that I was chosen as a favorite among so many talented photographers!
my HUGE congratulations to Jenny in her win! I loved the image the second I saw it. It was totally different and completely captivating! Very very nicely done!
Kathleen, we are all entitled to our individual opinions. And it is alright to express them. But yes, in this case, it does take away from the winning image. There is no evidence whatsoever of anything being killed in the image, and obviously no dangerous activity taking place.
If hunting is not something you enjoy, that is alright, but please don’t judge someone who does. My husband and boys have started to hunt deer to supplement meals during this season and I’m terribly proud of them. And I fully understand it is NOT everyone’s liking, and that’s OK too.
But you cannot take anything away from this wonderful photo the judge chose as #1. It was expertly taken and expertly edited and it did deserve to be chosen. It was chosen for the PHOTOGRAPH.
OK, everyone smile and carry on……enjoy the pretty pictures…..prepare for NEXT week’s challenge as well!
Dana-from chaos to Grace recently posted..iHeartfaces-Scenic black and white
Kathleen,
Hunting has been a way of life for thousand of years and it’s a way of life for some people now. Believe me, her being raised around guns puts her first hand knowing what they can do and she can respect the gun. Do you not think that when you go to the local grocery store that the meat that you buy wasn’t killed? It just all of a sudden happen to die? Nope.
And seriously, a rifle so large? Look at the photo again. She is a small girl. Guns can be huge. The gun is just the right size for her. It’s a BB gun! It’s acutally not a rifle at all.
I am so excited to see my photo in the Top 10. I spent 2 evenings looking at all the photos. All the photos that were submitted are wonderful!
Vicki recently posted..IM SOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!
Kathleen,
Although you have the right to your opinion, I wish you wouldn’t have voiced it. It really takes away from the winner’s moment to enjoy her much-deserved win. In the winner’s post, she states that the gun is a Red Ryder (bb gun) and that her daughter was shooting at targets that the dog kept retrieving. (not nature items/animals) Plus, the girl is clearly being supervised.
Congrats to all the winners!
Andrea recently posted..The Winans Baby Shower
congrats winners!
I hope this comment does not get me banned from i heart faces because I love the photographs and competing with the challenges, but I feel a strong need to speak out against the top winner’s photograph.
I this age of such violence, I really hate to see a young beautiful girl with a gun (getting ready to shoot something probably of nature) win over all these other beautiful and touching images. First, I am strongly against teaching children to shoot innocent creatures like this, and second a child this age should not be working with such a weapon — and especially a rifle so large. It is just inviting her to misuse this weapon and possibly cause a very serious mistake for her life. Anyway, this is my opinion and I have voiced it. Thank you.
Kathleen recently posted..Thankful for Poop
So honored to have my photo chosen as the 4th top! Thank you so much!
Congrats to all, the pictures this week were so great to view!
Wow, I’m thrilled with 10th among all these gorgeous entries! Thanks so much!!
Marla recently posted..B&W Wednesday- the Christmas card shoot
WOW! All the winners and favorites this week are amazing! Beautiful photos, everyone!
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