Picture This Winners for May

– Posted in: Garden Photography

First, a big thanks to those who threw their hats into the ring this month without having an official judge. I did tell you, though, that there would be a judge or judges who would select a winner based strictly on what grabbed her.

The two lucky judges this month are Nan and myself. We each had a lot of fun making our selections.

So, without further ado, here are our picks, starting with Nan:

“What a treat to explore the many interpretations of Fran’s “Spring Fling” theme. Rather than judging the images on artistic or technical merit, I based my choices on Fran’s statement that the entries ‘should evoke a sense of whimsy, fun and spontaneity.’

First, the Honorable Mentions.

My own yearly spring fling involves some serious plant shopping, so the image of a greenhouse packed with a glorious abundance of bright bedding plants and hanging baskets, captured by Jill-O of Jellyfish Bay, immediately caught my eye.

The entry by healingmagichands of The Havens was much quieter, but to me, the image of a lone dame’s rocket flinging itself up between the coils of an unused hose qualified as both whimsical and spontaneous.

“Bud in the Field” by Lynn of Sin City to Slaterville was a great fit for all of Fran’s criteria: a fun romp through a flowery dandelion patch with a beautiful beagle, caught on the move to capture the essence of a canine spring fling.

My own love/cringe response to garden flamingos made my Editor’s Choice an easy one: the shot of slicker-clad pink flamingos by Cherry Lane of Approaching the Crest was perfectly silly and seasonal.”

Here are my own choices:

“As I was uploading the photos, I caught myself smiling, giggling and whispering ‘fantastic’.

First, the Honorable Mentions:

When I uploaded Byddy Lee’s photo and saw the 2 birds facing each other, I imagined that they were involved in a serious conversation or just gazing at each other in a loving way.  Byddy Lee spontaneously caught a moment in nature that made for a gleeful photo.

Joco’s tulips in a disposable vase naturally flopping over had me the moment I saw it. I could imagine them as swans with their beaks pointed down poking around for their next meal. How whimsical is that?

Benjamin gets my vote for Editor’s Choice award. What would otherwise be an ordinary photo of blackish purple and white tulips a winner were the two tulips in the forefront draping over each other in a fun and spontaneous way. After going back two or three times to look at all of the photos, it was the canoodling, flirty tulips that grabbed my heart.”

June’s Picture This will return to its normal format with a professional photographer as the judge. The moment you see who the judge is, your eyes will light up. We’ll also be reporting on the results of our Picture This poll at some point during the month.

Fran Sorin

Fran is the author of the highly-acclaimed book, Digging Deep: Unearthing Your Creative Roots Through Gardening, which Andrew Weil, M.D., recommends as "a profound and inspiring book."  

A graduate of the University of Chicago with Honors in Psychology, she is also a gardening and creativity expert, coach, inspirational speaker, CBS radio news gardening correspondent, and Huffington Post Contributor.

Learn more about Fran and get free resources that will help you improve your life at www.fransorin.com.

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Fran Sorin
8 comments… add one

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Country Mouse May 29, 2010, 9:56 am

Well that was fun – there are so many ways a photo can be a good photo – it helps to enlarge my sense of the possibilities.

Cherry Lane May 29, 2010, 2:36 pm

Thanks for the honor. I recognize that my photo is not of the best quality, but I’m glad it made you smile/wince!

And if you think the distinction will serve to encourage this GGW newbie to enter again – you’re right! But I’ll need to work on my photo skills.

Congrats to Benjamin – I think his picture is far and above the best piece of photography on display this month.

Melody May 29, 2010, 8:55 pm

Great pics! 🙂

Benjamin May 29, 2010, 9:39 pm

First time I ever entered–I was nervous. Awesome! Thanks!

Byddi Lee - We didn't come here for the grass! May 30, 2010, 3:16 pm

Thank you for the honorable mention. Such fun!

Lynn May 31, 2010, 1:37 pm

Hey! It was good fun and nice to see some whimsy out there. Thanks! (p.s. my blog URL is indeed travelinbride but the title’s Sin City to Slaterville–my fault for not including it in the entry.)

healingmagichands May 31, 2010, 5:52 pm

hey, thanks for the mention! Congratulations to Ben, that photo is beautiful. I have to say that the flamingos were my personal favorite, though!

Chookie June 3, 2010, 7:02 am

I love these photos!

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