Thank you to all the photographers that shared their best photos B&W water shots in the Water In Black And White Photo Contest with chances to win a Sigma Lens and more!

A special thanks to our friend and professional photographer Nathan Wirth for his collaboration as a guest judge in this photo contest. Nathan Wirth, who was born and raised in San Francisco, is a self-learned photographer that uses a variety of techniques— including long exposure and infrared— to express his unending wonder of the fundamental fact of existence by attempting to focus on the silence that we can sometimes perceive in between the incessant waves of sound that often dominate our perceptions of the world. Nathan also curates and edits, slices of silence, an online place to read and view conversations about photography.

People's Choice
Grand Jury Winner

"When I first looked through the images, Ariel's image stood out brightly, immediately, and lastingly.  For me, it has everything to do with (1) the composition and (2) the contrasts.  First, the composition is quite engaging -- especially with theuneven split between non water and water-- and how that split is divided by theedge of the pool.  Meanwhile, the swimmer, placed at the bottom of the composition draws the eye right in-- the movement of the water behind him equally engaging.  To the left we see three swimming-pool chairs, the two that are not occupied lying flat and the one with a person sitting in it upright.  The two tables and the whitesandals are also engaging features-- all of which also contribute to the overall contrasts in the image: (1) the blacks and whites, (2) the motion of the swimmer and the stillness of the person sitting, (3) the imbalance of water and non-water, (4) the fluid motion of the water and the static sitting area (which are, themselves, a nice contrast of light and dark).  Everything is off center but ever so engaging as theeye makes it around the minimalist quality of the overall composition (all of it driven by the swimmer who is about to swim out of the composition).  Excellent work, Ariel." - Nathan Wirth

Runner Up

"Reminds me of Hokusai's Mt. Fuji woodblock prints from Edo.  Brilliant contrasts as well-- the snow-capped whites of Mt. Hood standing out in stark contrast to the dark sky and water.  Very, very nice work." - Nathan Wirth

Runner Up

"For me, it is really those wisps of clouds that take an already engaging the image to the next level." - Nathan Wirth

Runner Up

"Those many drops of water really add to the intensity of the scene. Very intense." - Nathan Wirth

Runner Up

"Silence, minimalism.  Beautiful simplicity." - Nathan Wirth

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