Several months ago, Fstoppers and ViewBug teamed up to host a landscape photo contest with Elia Locardi as the judge. Thousands of images were submitted with some heavy competition but the best have surfaced to the top. Check out the winning images below and get a little inspiration from the Grand Jury Winner below.
From the thousands of winners, three different winners were chosen with the following prizes:
- Grand Jury Winner - The Grand Jury winner will receive an exclusive interview post on Fstoppers featuring their work, website, and brand, a showcase on ViewBug, a one year ViewBug Premium membership, and 350 Reward points on Viewbug.
- People’s Choice Winner - The People's Choice winner will earn a one year ViewBug Premium membership and 350 Reward points on Viewbug.
- Amateur Winner - The Amateur winner will earn a one year ViewBug Pro membership and 350 Reward points on Viewbug
After much deliberation, the Grand Jury Winner selection was given to przemyslawchola for his image "Somewhere in Tuscany."
With his choice for the winner, Elia Locardi had this to say, "Having visited Tuscany myself, I can say that it is definitely one of the most beautiful places on the planet. This photo embodies that beauty with a stunning blend of light and composition. On top of that, the photographer was able to capture some of the elusive ground fog that occasionally flows through the hills and valleys. A great photo over all! "
We followed up with Przemyslawchola and he have us a few words of inspiration about his image and photography. For Przemyslawchola, photography started during his teen years shooting on a Nikon D80. As he experienced different moments in life, he relentlessly worked to capture each scene with a particular vision. His goal for each picture he takes is to let the viewer experience the photo as if it were an actual moment, letting the mood and atmosphere seep out of the photo and place the viewer in the scene itself. He likes to keep his scenes soft and simple and connect his viewers with his work and with each other. His camera of choice is now the Nikon D700. To see a little more of his work, check out his website.
The next winner, the People's Choice, went to Nubcake for his photo "Golden Moment in Hamnoy"
The final prize for Amateur Winner was given to jeacaj for his image "Jurassic."
Congratulations to all the winners for their beautiful images!
Although these contestants didn't take home any prizes, we couldn't resist sharing a few more of our favorites.
"Griming" by hannesmautner
"War Waves" by antonioaleo 
"Subway" by andrei_duman
"Moonlit Silence" by Stian.
You can see the full list of all the top choices for the contest on the winners page. Be sure to check out all the new contests that come out on Viewbug every week to win some incredible prizes and make your mark on the photography community.
Hi.
Am I alone in having “seen” most every image here before, somewhere, every year?
Not in a literal sense, of course, it is just that I see what I expect to see.
This then is to me, an inherent “problem” we are now facing, namely that of a Groundhog Day where landscape photography is concerned.
I see exactly what I expect to see, with everyone seemingly using the same gear, a D800 / Mark 5, a 24-70, 80-200 and maybe a 17-35 set of lenses and filters we are reinventing the same wheel we’re all treading.
How then do we reengage with the landscape or the land (is there a difference?), how do we make use of Edmund Burke's book about the Sublime and Locke’s “Human Understanding”, how do we as photographers cease replicating, annually, that which went before us?
Yes, each image is technically perfect, and yet, ennui is setting in when I view such images.
Now, Simon Norfolk’s or Alexander Gronsk’s images tick far more boxes for me personally, these are to my mind far more creative, thoughtful, dynamic and less disposable as the tsunami of travel and landscape photography which are doing the rounds, yet again.
With this in mind, how did "Subway" by Andrei Duman not win? I have seen that Tuscan scene every year for the past 30+ years, it’s well past its sell-by-date, it even tells us it's a cliche, "Somewhere in Tuscany." - in fact, this one winner, in one move, utterly devalues this competition entirely, in one movement.
Sorry - this is maybe not what you expect to read here, but as long as people stand in the same places with the same camera gear and execute the same pictures we will be forever caught in this annual circle of photographic Purgatory.
Am i the only one surprised by the third place winner? I thought Elia wasn’t that much into “high noon” photos...