Thank you to all the photographers that shared their photos showing your best abilities as a photographer in this photo contest made possible by our friends at FOTOdigital magazine. FOTOdigital is a photography website and magazine founded by writer and photographer Jose Antunes, under the motto "Less Gear, More Fun". The original name was for a printed photography magazine, in Portuguese, published from 2001 until 2009. The original website, in Portuguese, run from 2008 until early 2013. The actual website (www.fotodigital-online.com) is in English. In February 2013 the first issue of FOTOdigital magazine was launched, completely created in Adobe Lightroom 4, an experiment that lasted for 5 issues. From the 6th issue on, FOTOdigital moved on to InDesign for a faster and more conventional workflow.

A special thanks to the photographers that helped us find the finalists and to friend & professional photographer Jose Antunes for his collaboration as a guest judge!

Grand Jury Winner

"I like it and I declare it as my top favorite, although it is not in the kind of photo I would do or even prefer, usually. But I like it because it immediately reminds us of magic, levitation, even if we know it’s all a trick. At the same time it looks old, suggesting another time and place, with mists, dark spaces, and the movement of the hair suggesting... movement. You know it’s not real, you know there is a trick, but when faced with it you want to believe it is just that: a photo of a magic moment. That’s the magic of photography, I believe." - Jose Antunes

Runner Up

"This could be my top favorite, and it still is one image that fits into the things I like to see and would probably – try to - do. This said, this is another magic moment – and I do not care how the author managed to get the light from the lighthouse to look that way – with the curve of the Milky Way following the shape of the lighthouse light. Every element fits to create a unique view. It may not be the most “clean” photo I’ve seen of the night sky, but this is a well organized frame, with everything in place to tell a story. The more I look at it the more it looks as something from a book about a fantastic story, a starting point for an exciting adventure." - Jose Antunes

Runner Up

"It’s impossible to not like this photo of elephants. It’s not the usual snapshot from an African safari, with elephants looking at the photographer. These absolutely go home, probably tired of being photographed. The different sizes of the animals, the placement on the road and the whole frame pass on a message that will alays make you smile. When photography is more than just the “same everybody does” it reaches another level: it is still a document from what is supposed to be a unique voyage, but it transcends that category and means more, as a memory of a moment, that a regular – and many times boring – shot. This is the image made by someone that knew there is always a new picture within the picture everybody else took. I almost can imaginee all photographers just putting down their cameras after the elephants turned away, while the author waited for this “time to go home” moment." - Jose Antunes

Runner Up

"Colour, shape and sense of movement are all present in this well organized picture of firemen in action. If this was not staged, it’s a good capture of action, a unique moment that could be used for anything from a news story (which it probably was) to an editorial article about the work of firemen or even an advertisement. I know from experience that smoke, water, fire and fireman, either in urban or forest backgrounds, work well to give you some strong images, but it is not always easy to frame everything in such a way that it looks perfect. This image manages to be a document but also a coreographed moment: look at the positions of the three firemen, the curve of the hose, the movement suggested by the figures and even by the smoke/spray moving away from the position where the group stands. And there is more detail to discover, like the little star reflecting close to the back of the first fireman. Excellent shot!" - Jose Antunes

Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist