There were 90 amazing photos submitted to this year's Teen Photo Challenge. We were so impressed by the talent displayed by the teens in our county! Congratulations to our winners and a big thank you to our guest judge, Paige Young, Art and Photo Professor at Grand Valley State University.
Category: Water
Judge's Choice - A Cunning Morning In God's Glory by Justyce Autumn
Judge's comments: This is a great composition! I love the softness of the landscape with the fog and the boat. The composition is beautifully framed that really allows the viewer to explore the composition in the frame. Beautiful. Great attention to detail. I even love the color gleaming on the rocks in the foreground.
Judge's Choice - Waves by Claire Gross
Judge's comments: This composition is so simple yet so beautiful. I think people forget about the simplicity that shows beauty. This is a great composition that fills 2/3 of the frame with beautiful blue water and a perfect amount of composition that fills the frame with the sky. I love this point of view and attention to detail. A very strong composition.
Category: Animals
Judge's Choice - Orb Weaver Spider by Charlotte VanWingen
Judge's comments: Great great detail and framing within this and getting so close to your subject matter. Off centering it really allows you to look at the image, view the subject and then move throughout the frame. You could bring down your black point just a tad so you can really create a little bit more contrast within the frame, too.
Judge's Choice - Pure Bliss by Ashley Larson
Judge's comments: This is GREAT stop motion and such an intentional composition. I love the balance between the animal running and the cornstalks [?] and how it has such a simple palette but is very eye catching. The movement in this frame is great as well as the composition that feels perfectly balanced.
Category: Exploration of Color
Judge's Choice - Night Lights by Sophia Feldpausch
Judge's comments: Subliminal spaces. I adore this image. The clarity - the color - everything about it is absolutely striking. I adore how you made such a minimal location feel so interesting and beautiful. I also love the perspective and spacing in this image. That space between the gas pump and the ceiling is a big deal, if you were to take this even a hair lower those items would run into another - so the fact you were paying attention to all of this spacing is so impressive.
Judge's Choice - Stepping Into Fall by Erin B
Judge's comments: I adore this color combination and birds eye view. Even the playing with pressing the composition and creating such tense placement with the shoes at the edge of the frame is a really great way to make this image feel more than just about leaves. Even the wet pavement was a great addition to making those colors stand out more than a lighter background.
People's Choice Winners
My Pet Gecko, Frodo by Gavin Sperling
Dark Party by Pyper Gordon
Thank you to all our teen photographers for sharing your incredible talent with us! We can’t wait to see what you all come up with next year.
And thanks again to Paige Young, our guest judge! Paige says about herself:
"I am a full time art and photo professor at Grand Valley State University, and a full time cat-mom [I have 3 kitties I adore]. I have taught at many colleges including: Kendall Art and Design, GRCC, MSU, and GVSU. I have ran my own photography company, APaige Photography since I was 16, and have been focusing on Weddings and Engagement as I have niched down. I photograph and create many fine art works that revolve around identity, grief and mental illness - which I have shown in galleries around the world. I am currently taking on select wedding clients while making my main focus Academia and fine art work with purpose!"
Add a comment to: Winners of the 2023 KDL Teen Photo Challenge