This week Pete and I tackled the judging and we had some great images in the mix. As it turns out, lots of familiar artists but still some great new folks in the bigger pool too. A brief note, we saw some wonderful images from a member who had a BIG, UNFORTUNATE watermark/signature on their images. The signature plate was so distracting that their images, which likely would have been featured, were passed over. Now, if you look through the 5 featured images you’ll see that 4 of them have signatures, so a signature alone doesn’t get you sidelined. Just a big “unfortunate” one. While I’m on the topic, I LOVE how Zack Arias does signatures in lots of his work. He blends them into the image and often changes the perspective and color (and transparency) of his signature to make it fit into the image. Very cool idea. Anyway, on with the judging…

This week’s top honor goes to Brian Rodgers Jr. “Digital Art that Rocks™” for his image Product Photography. From the cool, moody blue colors to the crisp photographic detail, this is a great image. We like the balance of light that pushes the focus to the center and the monochromatic final color and strong yet controlled contrast make this image work very well.

phatpuppyart delivers another beautiful story with mood and mystery. My Time is a wonderful image of freedom, a beautiful location, and a carefree barefoot run through the grass. The colors and textures are wonderful and the slanted horizon adds to the carefree feel of the composition. The sky and the ground and the dress and the girl’s hair all have beautiful texture and all compliment one another. And the color wash makes the image feel somewhat retro.

360kim360 comes through this week with another fantasy composite that features a little boy’s Bad Dream. In spite of the bad dream concept the innocence of the bad dream that’s not really all that bad is sweet. Once you get a little past the story you start to appreciate the atmospheric elements like the lighting and the mist. The pale colors help make the image a bit more artistic and the fact that the dog isn’t looking at the boy and that it doesn’t seem aggressive is calming to the viewer.

Christine Moody is a regular artist in the NAPP portfolios and based on the growing variety of images she’s uploading recently, her style seems to be broadening. uncaged captures a beautiful face in beautiful light but the post processing is different and a bit darker than what we have seen from her before. We like the story of the birdcage and the bird outside of it. As with all of Christine’s work, the eyes are wonderful!

Great landscapes are all about location PLUS the time of day, and teegar obviously got up early to capture Flat Calm. The HDR processing brought out the richness of the colors and the broader spectrum of light. And there’s something special about true calm water as opposed to “apparently” calm water created by an ND filter and long exposure. We also love how rich, cool blues and warm yellows blend with one another in this image to add an interesting warm/cold contrast element to the image.

I am thrilled we have so many talented NAPP members willing to share such great, creative images with fellow members. We hope you’re equally inspired and have a great March!!