The October 2019 Digital Competition’s theme was “Open”.
Judging
Mark Laussade organized the judging by gathering experienced photographers who volunteered to judge. Each of the classes had three judges, and Mark supplied the judges with voting pads. Each judge voted on each photo with a score from 1 to 10. Mark’s software gathered the scores, combined them, and showed the total on the screen. Thus, only the combined score was shown, not each individual judge’s score. After the voting for a particular photo, one (or more) or the judges would critique the photo.
When all photos were rated, the winners were chosen using their scores. In the case of a tie, the judges voted again on the tied images to resolve the tie.
The judges for Class 1 and Class 2 were Phil Hawkins, Bill Bunton, and Allen Irby.
The judges for Class 3 were Phil Hawkins, Bill Bunton, and Stephen Brkich.
Popular Voting
Clay Leben moderated the popular vote using the smart phone/tablet app “Sli.do“. Anyone who wished to vote could download the Android or Apple app. The app asked for a code which Clay supplied; the code for this meeting was “S556”. For each class, people could vote for their two favorite photos using their smart phones or tablets. When the judging for each class was done, Clay announced the results, which were also available on the app to everyone who voted. The popular vote was just for fun; it had no effect on the awards given.
Winners
Class 1 – Novice
There were 16 Class 1 submissions with 4 awards.
Class 1, 1st Place – “Hungry Squirrel” by Ed Peet
Class 1, 2nd Place – “My Mother’s Keeper” by Jean Thomas
Class 1, 3rd Place – “Peaceful Easy Feelin'” by Donna Smith
Class 1, Honorable Mention – “Feeding Frenzy” by Jean Thomas
Class 2 – Advanced
There were 17 Class 2 submissions with 4 awards
Class 2, 1st Place – “Intense” by Troy Carter
Class 2, 2nd Place – “Tree at Night” by Agee Springer
Class 2, 3rd Place – “Waiting on the Train” by Deborah Cole
Class 2 – Honorable Mention- “Grey Heron over Kenya” by Dave DeVore
Class 3 – Expert
There were 10 Class 3 submissions with 2 awards.