This image just makes me smile. Ocean creatures fascinate me. Excellent title which makes a great statement—We all need friends to make life better. The image has a warm feeling, aided by the soft light. These guys really do look comfortable. An afternoon snooze with friends—nice image.

This image is unique. We photographers usually like a lot of “usual” images, pretty things, etc. So, it’s refreshing to see different things. So, what do I see. If I applied some photography rules, we might say “the main focus is dead center (no rule of thirds).” Well, sometimes we just don’t need the “rules” The image has excellent use of some very difficult lighting. Getting the couple in the foreground in silhouette is wonderful. I just applaud the maker on the work it took, because I’ll be willing to bet it took lots of setting changes to get everything to work out.

We’ve all heard it said, The eyes are the windows to the soul. This image speaks volumes to me about intensity, expression, determination, kindness, raw emotion, tenderness, love….it makes me want to talk to her and find out what generated her pose, her expression. And naturally as a photographer myself, I’d be interested to hear the maker’s process of creating the image. It probably should rank even higher.

Where to begin—Anytime you have a scene like this with several people included, there’s lots to talk about. Let’s start with the obvious, since we are like a fly on the wall. I see two rather young girls in a room where a male is taking a bath. Are they related? Is this in a cultural where this would be considered normal? Lots of questions—but turning to the elements of the shot. Awesome lighting, especially the beam of light forming a perfect leading line making sure we look first at girl #1—which starts the questions again. I let your group ask those questions. The image has solid whites and bold blacks and it overall very well exposed. I really enjoyed this image!

First we can agree that any time spent in Alcatraz would likely cause any person to want to end their life. So, the suicide door is obviously the one without any building official approved landing. So one might ask, would the escapee decide to try to jump to the crossing ramp below (some might be successful, others not so lucky)…or is the inmate who is successful to get to door open, so riddled with thoughts of how his escape will likely end at the hands of sharpshooters in the watchtowers, gunning the poor person down—the only choice is jump wide to avoid the walkway and plunge to certain death on the concrete below. (maybe I should write crime stories-haha) The image: The image is excellent, well lit with an unmistakable leading line in the skywalk. Excellent work here!

I’ve looked at this image much more than any of the others. I’ve mentioned before that a couple of images probably should have ranked higher and could have been #1. So what makes this more deserving? Probably a little bit about the political climate in the world today—or at least in the U.S. The title of the Image begs the question, What is he wishing for? He’s caught in the shadow of what appears to be a capital building, maybe to represent the Nation’s capital…Could he be wishing for better government. Maybe it’s more personal—he may want a better life for himself and his family. Maybe he’s completely alone and has no family, no friends, nothing. So his wish may just be to find some food and a place to sleep (safely) tonight. Who knows? But the title and the image are both winners in my book.

About the photo technically speaking, the background is ominous making me think whether or not our Capitol may not survive. The man’s position literally makes me think he could reach out and grab me. He wants, he needs the attention of someone who can help—help in whatever his wish truly is.

This image may be titled Dinner Time, but it doesn’t make me hungry—It does make me glad that the maker either has an excellent, very long lens or got a very well timed drone shot. Whatever the case, the photographer can be very proud of their # 1 image for this year’s competition. Some prints draw the viewer in—this one makes me back up at first before I can appreciate the details. First, what’s the bear eating, is it fish or a huge lobster—I can’t tell. Which ever, it wasn’t fast enough to get away. Talk about timing—the lighting is perfect, giving the bear excellent “light to dark ratio” for great contour. The water dripping from the bear’s chin illustrates the perfect timing to snap the shutter. How many times have you been shooting wildlife and just missed the perfect shot? And when you did get a great shot, was it just luck or the patience for waiting and waiting for things to be perfect. Either way, this shot was perfect timing and awards the maker with # 1 color image of 2025 and best in show, in my book.

Let me start by saying, I’m not a horse lover. I even joke that I never trust an animal bigger than me. But I’ve taken enough high school senior girls with their beloved horse to know that for many, a horse can be the most precious best friend or valued ranch worker ever created. The title is certainly appropriate and I wonder, are they really wild, or have they just heard about the 2 fer 1 at horse feed haven? Are they running to something or away from something. If they were human, I think the one in the middle, that’s looking back may be about to say, “pick up the pace, they’re gaining on us.” My wondering childlike questions aside, the image is magnificent. The lighting reveals excellent timing for the shot—what do you think, is it at sunset or sunrise? Either way, this image could have easily been ranked number 1—it’s a wonderful photograph and the maker must be very pleased with their work.

What a beautiful surreal image! It literally looks like it could be the surface of a lunar planet. It’s one of those prints I could stare at for long periods of time and think of questions like, I wonder what massive wind storms it took to form that major peak, or is it a volcano? Is it an arid climate all year around, or is it the extreme rain storms that have carved out the design. Well, you get the point—for me this image has intrigue and interest that ranks it in the top 3 of this year’s competition. It would make an awesome wall print (large – 4’x6’ or more) The lighting is exquisite, softly illuminating the large peak. Another thing I wonder as I gaze at the image is, what is the texture like? Is it soft and granular like sand, or is it hard and rigid like rock? It’s a wonderful piece of beautiful art that sparks a lot of interest. Kudos to the maker!!

I’ve seen this church many times over the years as Ferndale is always one of my favorite places to visit. I never thought about shooting it at this angle. I will next time though. I love the image—the angle makes it seem as though the building almost reaches the heavens. I can’t imagine any other workable composition—this is perfect. The cloudy skies give an ethereal feeling. Great job!

Sunrises and sunsets are our favorite times of the day, right?! This is an exceptional panorama design. Maximum impact is demonstrated here by the vastness and ruggedness of the terrain. Beautiful soft light sets the scene for some movie director to bring prehistoric back to life. Super image!

This little guy really caught my attention like he is peaking around a corner playing peak-a-boo or something. This is a really nice image with great composition choices and the subdued lighting makes the color pop. Does anyone there see another critter in the shot or is it just me? I’ll just let you all study it and not divulge it here. I love birds and appreciate the part they play in the world. But I never wanted to own one. Obvious other factors that make this image a #6- the shallow depth of field, and the clarity in the bird’s head. Very nice work.

Oh yes, I see the spider, finally. So, nice title – there’s so much other great stuff to look at here, I had to wonder about the title—did the bird eat it, is there part of it in the bird’s mouth—no, oh there it is. He’s likely to be lunch as soon as the bird notices him…So part of a good photograph for me is one that evokes thought and/or conversation. The thing is, I’m here by myself, so I just type my conversation, with myself, out, like a crazy person. I love the Tanager’s colors and the maker’s composition. Sometimes we see an image where the bird might be facing out of the frame making it look awkward. So good job! A thumb’s up on the shallow depth of field too. It makes the bird look very vibrant.

I really like this image—I lived in the Seattle area for 15 years and used to like watching the ships navigating through the harbor with such huge payloads of products. So while we believe that it’s not a drawbridge, is there a tragedy in the making, or was the image shot from a low angle? I’m guessing the latter. I don’t think the maker could have directed a more symmetrical shot. I’m tempted to get out my calipers and measure from the edges of the ship to the pillars of the bridge. I know---I’m kind of nerdy that way. But what an exciting scene—love the color(s), the lighting is perfect. And I applaud the maker on choosing a catchy title. Don’t get me started on poor titling !!

A lively image appropriately titled, as the stork is acknowledging the moon in the very athletic dance. The playmate bird seems to be directing the dance, while other birds approach to observe the fun. So with those elements, I see an attractive, well balanced image. The scene, although spirited, also gives me a calming vibe. It takes me back to the times I saw very similar scenes along the rice fields of Northern California. I think it’s the slightly pink cast to the fog that makes it serene. On a humorous note, I kept looking at the stork’s mouth/beak, wide open—I thought to myself, He’s howling at the moon. But do storks howl? Unlikely—but it’s undoubtedly making some kind of sound, which may or may not be directed at the moon. So, a comedic, yet tranquil scene—nice work.

This image appealed to me because it reminds me of my mother. It has colors that she used to decorate in. The teapot vase is one she would have spotted at a yard sale and snapped it up to use for her own floral arrangement. So isn’t that one of the things we love about photography—the memories an image can bring back. This item is a centerpiece so it’s perfectly composed in my opinion. The colors are vibrant due to the excellent lighting. For these reasons, this image ranks #10 surpassing the other 30+ images.