HDR Landscapes Photo Contest Explore Series Winners

Thank you to all the photographers that participated in the HDR Landscapes Photo Contest in collaboration with Macphun, sharing their best HDR landscape photos. Congratulations to the winners and finalists, and a special round of applause for the Grand Jury Winner who wins an iPad Mini 4.

"Thanks again for having me be the judge for the HDR Landscapescontest! It was a pleasure viewing all of the finalists and seeing the great work being done with HDR photography and my favorite subject - landscapes. Congrats goes out to all who made it into this final selection of 40 or so images. I spent a lot of time carefully looking over each of the final photos. My criteria for judging was based on composition, color accuracy, use of dramatic light, creativity, and uniqueness. Of the 40 or so final images, I made a list of my favorite 10, then studied and compared each very closely based on my criteria. Here is my selection of winners." - Matt Seuss

A special thanks to our friend and professional photographer Matt Seuss for his collaboration as a guest judge. Matt Suess has been a full-time professional photographer since 1999. He is a fine art landscape & nature photographer and photo workshop instructor currently based in Bozeman, MT in the summer and Scottsdale, AZ in the winter. During the course of the year you will find him exhibiting his fine art photography at select juried fine art venues, teaching group field & class photo workshops, creating online photo classes, and teaching private one-on-one instruction online & in-person, as well as taking new photos and creating new artwork while updating his progress on his photo journal/blog.

Congratulations Grand Jury Winner "Yellowstone Canyon" by rexjones

"This photo caught my eye right away when scanning the list of photos, but it really captured my attention once I viewed it larger. Timing is everything and this photographer caught the light at the perfect moment! I love the sun rays drawing my eyes to the left canyon wall, in contrast to the darker right. Leaving the river just off center was perfect placement. The lighting and mood of this photo is wonderful - great job in post production. Lastly, a unique perspective from a very challenging and difficult place to photograph. Congrats!" - Matt Seuss

Congratulations Runner Up "Skogafoss" by moharrim

"A very mystical shot that I would love to see in print in a super large size. Having the waterfall in the dead center actually works in thisphoto because the top and bottom of the waterfall follow the "rule of thirds". The clouds were moving in the right direction during this long exposure, bringing my eye down into the waterfall." - Matt Seuss

Congratulations Runner Up "Rusky Mist (1)" by KarlWilliamsPhotography

"This photo is so clear and crisp and peaceful. Great composition and wonderful lighting. Looking at this photo I can feel the stillness of the cool air and the warmth of the early morning sun." - Matt Seuss

Congratulations Runner Up "Hallelujah" by alanasisk

"I love the lines in this photo - the horizontal lines of the clouds and foreground grass play well with the vertical lines drawing me into the church. Great color too. Good composition and framing, although I would have preferred a tighter crop on the left in closer towards the trees as I found my eyes wandering off to the left too much." - Matt Seuss

Congratulations Runner Up "The Quintessence" by LorenzoNadalini

"Very nice panorama. I really enjoy the layers in this photo in addition to the transition of color from the warmth on the left to the cooler colors on the right." - Matt Seuss

Congratulations Amateur winner "Broken Top" by jmartelli