We truly enjoyed changing things up a bit here at I Heart Faces and hosting our very first month of having only one judged photo challenge, Beautiful B&W.  We loved watching the photo submissions pour in and were amazed at how gorgeous they were. What an inspiration to see so many amazing images in one spot!

We invited Jen & Steve from Bebb Studios to join us as our Guest Photographer Judges this month and they certainly had their work cut out for them!  After carefully culling down all of the entries, they chose these images as their very top favorites.  Huge congratulations to everyone whose image was chosen in the Top Ten.  You should be very proud!

First Place: Maryanne Gobble

The Bebbs wrote:  Mysterious and evocative, this is the kind of image we would love to make. That says something pretty powerful. It’s interesting, engaging, intriguing and it brought us back over and over again. In a world filled with images, it’s rare to find something different – and this is one of those finds.

Kudos to the maker for the complexity of the vision and the simplicity of the black and white conversion. This subject(s) stand alone, in their space with a starkness that is refreshing and almost jarring. It’s an image that causes the viewer to ask questions and wonder about. It isn’t a “feel-good” image per se, but it’s a compelling image, and that is what sets it apart from everything else.

Second Place: Candid Impressions Photography

This image drew our eye immediately. The conversion was simple – no overt toning to take away from the light and shadow – and that helped draw us into the focus of what is happening in this image. From a technical perspective, kudos to the maker for a great composition, exposure and conversion. When an image is technically good, it gives the viewer the chance to see the story and this story is full of magic. You can almost hear the laughter between these two. A good photograph is made up a several factors, but for us one of the most important (aside from the technical) is to make the viewer feel something. This photo made us feel happy. We would love to have this kind of photo of our own family.

Third Place: Jaime Lynn

This is the perfect combination of technical ability, caught moment, and composition. The maker made us laugh and cringe all at once, reminding us of the intricacies of sibling relationships. This is something we could see our own children doing and we congratulate the maker for having the wherewithal to capture this image.

Fourth Place: Old Nichols Farm

The movement in this image is fantastic, as is the story being told. We could feel the warmth of the day and hear the giggles of excitement tinged with fear as they are being pulled through the frame. We would have liked to see a little more of the puller, just to give a bit more context to the image, but the emotional impact is there and that is key to drawing the viewer back to an image.

Fifth Place: Windsor Photography

Sixth Place: Corrie Owens

Seventh Place: mrd photography

Eighth Place: Twin Flower Photography

Ninth Place: Angela Tabako Photography

Tenth Place: Redhanded Photography

I Heart Faces Photography News

Thank you so much to Tamron Lenses for sponsoring this month’s photo challenge!  Be sure to check out Tamron’s awesome rebates going on right now.

First Place Prize

Congratulations to our First Place Winner, Maryann Gobble, who will be receiving a $100 cash prize {via Paypal} thanks to this month’s photo challenge sponsor, Tamron Lenses. Your image was phenomenal and we are thrilled to be able to recognize you in this way!

Grand Prize Announcement

Be sure to check back tomorrow when we will be revealing our “Angie & Amy Favorites” and also the Grand Prize Winner of the Tamron 17-50mm lens valued at $649. This gift will be awarded to one random entry from our March Photo Challenge.

The Letter “N” Photo Challenge

We will be announcing all of the details for this month’s non-judged, just-for-fun “Letter N”  photo challenge this Friday! Be sure to visit our blog for all of the details at that time.

Tagged as: beautiful b&w photo challenge, Bebb Studios, photo challenge winners, photo contest winners, tamron lenses