Thank you to all the photographers that shared their best photos showing a sense of mystery in the Mysterious Shots Photo Contest with chances to win a Arcanum Membership and more!

A special thanks to our friend and professional photographer Wes Hardaker for his collaboration as a guest judge in this photo contest. Wes Hardaker is a fine art photographer, photography educator and he is a Master in The Arcanum. He specializes in focusing a scene down to its core subject through minimalism techniques, focused composition and creative processing. Wes travels the world like mad, and has been passionately capturing images of it for over 30 years.

Grand Jury Winner

"Huge marks for creep factor in this one. This screams [pun intended] attention to detail, from the wardrobe and prop color matching to the use of a simplistic doll to the young lady's stance with feet turned inward. Very well done on this meticulously executed piece." - Wes Hardaker

Runner Up

"If this was a pure black and white it would be highly interesting and a fascinating piece that makes viewers question what's going on, providing a perfect element of mystery. But if was a pure black and white it wouldn't have drawn my attention nearly as much and wouldn't have made the final cut list. It is the subtle use of color and split toning that really drew me in and made me stare at it long and hard. Brilliant execution of an intriguing piece." - Wes Hardaker

Runner Up

"This is a fantastically conceived vision and well executed image. Good job creating such an interesting and thought provoking piece. I can't imagine it was easy to decide exactly where to stitch the two images together." - Wes Hardaker

Runner Up

"I loved the emphasis put into this portrait that resulted in a subtle but intent expression. You did a wonderful job leaving the shadows perfectly full of detail but dark enough to draw intense mystery into the shot. Very well composed and executed." - Wes Hardaker

Runner Up

"I have respect for any photographer that puts this much effort into a piece. It's a beautiful composition and excellent artistic vision. Nicely captured!" - Wes Hardaker

Amateur Winner
People's Choice
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist