Results from the 2003 DennisFlood.com Year-End Photo Contest

Another successful year-end photo contest has come to a close. I would like to thank everybody who took the time to vote - I appreciate all of the comments and feedback too! Without further adieu, I present the results from the 2003 DennisFlood.com Year-End Photo Contest.

The Animals Category Winner - Lil Runt

An unusual photo of an unusual creature to begin the 2003 Awards. Votes were spread fairly evenly through this category, though with 29% of the vote, the Lil Runt edged out Moove Over by a nose to win. The Lil Runt was a dog that I found at a roadside cafe while biking Taiwan's Central Cross Island Highway. The dog appeared to be old and frail, though she did her best to pose for me. I wouldn't be surprised if this displaced chihuahua could speak or at least understand a little Spanish.

The Bikes Category Winner - In the Spotlight

In the Spotlight seemed to be the sentimental choice this year ... maybe people are yearning for their childhood ... wishing they could ride this bike without their post-Christmas weight breaking it. Though I prefer to photograph mountain bikes in action, I have a soft spot for bikes in general. This particularly sweet ride was teasing me from my neighbours' back yard - a perfectly placed shaft of light illuminated this colourful trike. Though I am a bike lover, one of my favourite shots of the group would have to be Slight Wobble ... strangely sadistic.

The Flora Category Winner - Lit Lily

Lit Lily and Sunned Flower were really the only two contenders in this race. The subtlety of the Lit Lily eventually won out over the brash and in-your-face boldness of the sunflower. Patience and good timing helped to make this photo, taken on a quiet summer morning in Northern Ontario, a winner. The sun rose ever so slowly, its light gradually inching across the water until it finally hit and lit this lily.

The Kids Category Winner - Sitting

Sitting amassed more votes than any other photo in this contest. It's a simple shot really - a young boy sitting in a doorway, looking beyond the edge of the photo. Two mini fact-lets about this photo. First, the photo was taken on the same day as the Animals winner, Lil Runt. Second, the box in the upper right is a mailbox. Sleeping finished a distant second place - for the record, I merely captured the image of this sleeping child, I had nothing to do with her falling asleep, or landing face-first in her lunch bowl. Skipping and Resting, two photos that surely earned a few "Ahh, isn't that cute" remarks tied for third.

The Landscape Category Winner - Foggy Fence

Weather was clearly a factor in this photo, taken on a farm just south of Athens. Thick, early-morning fog drastically reduced visibility, but added a strong mood to the photo. I'm proud to report that all of the nominees from this category were taken within five minutes of my home in Athens, Ontario. I've done my share of travelling and now realise just how beautiful home can be.

The Public Transportation Category Winner - Diverse Crowd

This past year, I took literally hundreds of photos on the buses and subways of Taipei, Taiwan. I took two shots in the Montreal Metro (subway) system, and one of them, Diverse Crowd, ended up the winner. My eye was drawn to the simple shapes in this photo, particularly the varied heights of the occupied seats. The name of the photo simply comes from the diversity of the people riding the Metro. The yellow-green tinge to the photo is a result of the fluorescent lighting being shot with daylight slide film, and not from filters or digital manipulation. A close second was one of my personal favourites, Patiently Waiting.

The Taipei Living Category Winner - Heavy Load

Taipei is a city constantly in motion and my six nominees for the category this year all show that. While the bus I was riding was stopped at a traffic light, I looked ahead and spotted a woman pulling a heavy load of cardboard and other recyclable goods. I quickly moved to an open window, changed lenses and caught this fleeting image as the bus sped by. A lone worker pulling a heavy load under a scorching sun ... that is Taipei Living. Another vivid image of Taipei Living, Rush Hour, finished second.

The Unusual Category Winner - Fire Sale

Does it get much more unusual than this? I suppose it does, but this was certainly one of the most unusual moments of my 2003! My assumption is that this man was attempting to heat-treat or protect these woks by super-heating them with a blow torch. However, given the stack of ruined woks in front of him, I'm not entirely certain that he was successful in this mission. Equally unusual were the Roadside Chickens, stacked only inches away from the morning rush hour traffic in Taipei. Smoked chicken anybody?

The Open Category Winner - Shoes

Shoes. At Kid Castle, the school where I taught English in 2003, the students neatly lined up their shoes outside of the classroom when they were having their nap after lunch. One particular class (Senior 'A') lined their shoes up in front of a rather colourful bench. If you look closely, you can see some of the names written on the heel of the shoes. Meditation, a very different photo from Shoes finished second. This photo attracted a lot of attention - I photographed this man meditating on a ledge at the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, on an afternoon with uncharacteristically blue sky.

The Best Overall Photo for 2003, According to Your Votes - Shoes

Shoes wins again. Echoing the Open Category, Meditation finished a close second with Flora winner Lit Lily finishing third overall.