Whalebone Magazine (the self-proclaimed ninth-best magazine in the world) just wrapped up their Second Annual Whalebone Photo Contest, leading up to the release of their aptly named Photo Issue. Categories included Water, Adventure, Human, Motion, Joy, and Weather — whatever those things mean to you.
All of the categories were very intentionally up for interpretation, which resulted in an incredible range of creative submissions. It could just be me, but I feel like many contests these days have certain expectations and a certain type of photo that has a chance at becoming a finalist. Don’t get me wrong--there isn’t anything inherently wrong with that expectation, as many contests are very niche or tailored to specific audiences. However, their dedication to artist interpretation and creativity really attracted me to it and created a batch of finalists that are so wide-ranging and all spectacular. Now, without further adieu, here are the category winners (all finalists can be seen at the Whalebone Print Shop:
Michael Francis Connelly | Hide 'N' Suck
Mark McInnis | Mulcoy's World
Tyler Schank | Harmony House Hugs
Siddharth Kaneria | Wall of Death
Sultan Ahmed Niloy | Enjoying the biggest festival Durga Puja
Daniel Pullen | Tidal Pool
It is refreshing to see such an incredible variety of compositions and styles sharing the common thread of an overarching category theme. For the first time in a long time, I was not only excited to see all of the finalists (not to mention being selected as a finalist myself) but also inspired by the creativity they all brought to the table. Oh, and did I mention that the contest entries and associated print sales support No Kid Hungry?
