(Winning Photo: Michael Meinhardt)

Eric: Congratulations to Michael Meinhardt for winning last week’s weekly assignment: “Emotion“. The reason I thought that this photo was the winning photograph was for several reasons.

First of all, I feel that the emotion in Michael’s shot it is an emotion we can all relate with (envy, jealousy, and lust) related with material things (cars especially). The fact that it is a really high-end car (Bently) adds to the feeling of desire, and the man’s positioning in the frame is great (on the right) and the expression with his hands. Slouched over, dejected, having his hand over his eye in a look of despair. His balding hair suggests that he has been working for a while (as a middle-aged man), and the watch on the right hand to me is a symbol of his material wants (and running out of time?). The background reflections are quite beautiful aesthetically as well, and shows all the other people walking past him.

The second-runner up is Digoy Isleta. The reason I enjoy this image is because of the great layers, depth, and (of course) emotion contained in the shot. The shot feels very three-dimensional, and has many things going on. First of all, the woman in the background looks lost and is grasping a mysterious hand coming out of the shadows (to show hope?) There is another random hand waving above her head, maybe to suggest for her to wake up and exit her daze? Also you one kid on the left (wearing the superman shirt) looking at her – perhaps a superman to save her? And the last boy on the far left, with his arm around the superman girl is looking straight at the photographer, making you feel like an active participant of the scene, rather than a voyeur.

The last winning shot is a photo by Longwen Chen that feels quite dystopic and surreal. The strong grain and grit makes for a nice backdrop, including the mysterious lines and shadows lurking from behind. I first see a young boy in the far left, screaming out – perhaps for his mother? Then enters the man on the left, who is giving a menacing stare to the photographer. He seems to ignore the child on the right (or seems unaware of him) and is exiting the frame. The man’s legs in a “V” shape adds to the composition of the photo. The tilt of the photo distracts me a bit (would have preferred it straighter) – but at the same time it adds to the uneasiness of the image.

Congratulations to all the winners, and keep updated for next week’s assignment on my Facebook fan page! Let us also know what you think of the winning shots by leaving a comment below!