Image Challenge Winners

Lambton College Digital Photography program Image Challenge

The Image Challenge is our print competition where students submit their best work from their portfolios at the end of the term.  Each image is judged and scored with the top score in each category and overall winners being declared.  

Judging took place in the Digital Photography studio and was conducted by three respected photography experts; Leonard Segall, Executive of the Sarnia Photographic Club; Petro Tiahur professional commercial photographer; and veteran Sarnia photojournalist Glenn Ogilvie.

The judging was intense and took over six hours to complete.  The competition was very close and many of the winners are separated by extremely small scoring margins.  

The competition involved a total of 130 images entered into seven categories

-22 first-year students must enter four separate images.  They have four categories to choose from (Nature, Portrait, Commercial, Un-classified)

-10 second-year students must enter five separate images.  They have three categories to choose from (People, Places, Product)

We held an exciting awards ceremony held April 22^nd at Paddy Flaherty’s pub on the waterfront in Sarnia.  After the ceremony we were treated to a live band courtesy of Angela Smolders and the staff at Paddy Flaherty's.  It was a great time, thanks to everyone involved!

Thanks to sponsors who generously provided prizes for the student winners:

-Camera Canada / Forest City Image Centre

-Vistek

-Carman’s foto source, Sarnia

-Paddy Flaherty’s

The Overall Competition winners receive a plaque and financial Scholarship Awards from The Geri Freeborn Memorial fund.  The winners are decided by the total score on all their images entered in the competition. 

The Geri Freeborn Memorial Awards were created by program faculty in honour of a former Digital Photography student who passed away suddenly in January 2013. At age 57, Freeborn was the oldest student to enroll in the College’s Digital Photography program. She has been remembered as a hard working student who was creatively driven.

Congratulations to all our students.  The level of competition and quality of your entries was superb.  

All of you have made us all proud! 

The winners are:

First Year Competition

Overall winner – Christina Duizer

Second Place - Jessica Dillon

Third Place - Elizabeth Bosma

First Year Category Winners

Portrait – Jessica Dillon

Commercial – Christina Duizer

Nature – Alexa Coupland

Unclassified – Nathena Lightheart

Second Year Competition

Overall Winner – Kaitlyn Eastman

Runner up – Fera Kennedy

Second Year Category Winners

People – Jeff McCoy

Product - Fera Kennedy

Places – Angela Smolders

 

One image from 1st Year Overall Winner - Christina Duizer  "Tea Tower"

One image from 1st Year Overall 2nd Place Winner  - Jessica Dillon  "I'll Drink to That"

One image from 1st Year Overall 3rd Place Winner - Elizabeth Bosma  "Transfixed"

1st Year Commercial category winner - Christina Duizer  "Pulleys"

1st Year Nature category winner - Alexa Coupland  "Frosty Tree"

1st Year Portrait category winner - Jessica Dillon  "Roar"

1st Year Unclassified category winner - Nathena Lightheart  "Universal Beauty"

One image from 2nd Year Overall Winner - Kaitlyn Eastman  "Beautifully Broken"

One image from 2nd Year Overall Runner Up - Fera Kennedy  "Not Einstein" 

2nd Year People category winner - Jeff McCoy  "Strength of Character"

2nd Year Product category winner - Fera Kennedy  "Balloon Girl"

2nd Year Places category winner - Angela Smolders  "A Warm Invitation"

Image Challenge Judging

The Image Challenge is a print competition where our students submit their best work from their portfolios at the end of the term.  Each image is judged and scored, with the top score in each category and overall winners being declared.  

Judging took place on April 17^th in the Digital Photography studio and was conducted by three respected photography experts; Leonard Segall, Executive of the Sarnia Photographic Club; Petro Tiahur professional commercial photographer; and veteran Sarnia photojournalist Glenn Ogilvie, now with The Sarnia Journal.

The judging was intense and took over six hours to complete.  Many of the winners are separated by extremely small scoring margins, is some cases, less than 1%.  

Students had the opportunity to sit in the judging session and listen to the judges comments, and the experience was very educational for everyone.  

Thanks to the judges who toiled over the images!  It was very generous of them to commit a full-day to our students.

The winning entries will be posted very soon, so please visit again to see the fantastic winning images.

L-R. Leonard Segall, Executive of the Sarnia Photographic Club; Petro Tiahur professional commercial photographer; and veteran Sarnia photojournalist Glenn Ogilvie, look extremely serious as the look over one of the cateories. photo by Spencer Drake

Program co-ordinator Richard Beland displays an image for the judges to view. photo by Spencer Drake

Some of our students watch and listen, somewhat nervously as the judges look at their images.  photo by Spencer Drake

As our judges toil, faculty members Dave Chidley(far left),  Don McCahill and Richard Beland (far right) tabulate the results.  photo by Spencer Drake

Our judges Glenn, Petro and Leonard, take a first look as Dave Chidley flips through a category under the watchful eye of Richard Beland (right)  photo by Spencer Drake

Chasing Photography Spirits -by Jeff McCoy

Editor's note: In the following weeks, you will hear and see images from our students themselves: their thoughts and reflections on the course, their work, and the work of others. Come back often to see what is happening in the Lambton Digital Photography program.

Chasing Photography Spirits -by Jeff McCoy

Some may say they were born into photography. I would like to think that I was born into it, but I think I stumbled upon photography instead. In 2010, I upgraded my flip-phone to the iPhone 4 and three months later I was hooked on capturing iPhone images. It was not long after that I enjoyed digitally manipulating them in Photoshop. In 2011, I purchased my first DSLR and was off to become the best photographer I could; I was stopping for nothing.

“Painted River Crossing” digital abstract of the Bluewater Bridge, Sarnia, Ontario 2011. Photo by Jeff McCoy

“Eternity” digital abstract of a decesed tree in Camlachie, Ontario 2011. Photo by Jeff McCoy 

Once I realized how much time it was going to take to learn photography through mass media or other means, I decided the better decision was to enroll in the Digital Photography Program at Lambton College. A friend informed me of the program three-months prior to its launch in September of 2012.  I had gained as much knowledge as possible on my own, but something was missing.

Before College, I enjoyed landscape photography mostly; I would also find myself chasing red tail hawks around our area too. Seriously, chasing hawks became an addiction - ask my kids. I’d pull off to the side of the road on the highway and chase them into the bush on the 402. This lasted only about two months; I stopped noticing the hawks but often think about those days. September 10^th, 2012 was the day I officially registered for College and that was the day I finally met my hawk. Of course I did not have my camera and had to run home for it. For me, the hawk signifies I was on the right path, because I just enrolled myself as a college student.

Jeff McCoy with Hawk that he came across the day he registered for Lambton College Digital Photography

The Digital Photography Program gave me the knowledge I needed to progress as a photographer; it helped me develop my own style, it taught me photography endurance and it taught me how to successfully run a photography business. If I relied on mass media for knowledge instead of the program, my current body of work would show little progress today. 

 L-R image 1 - Portrait of bodybuilder Tim Love after placing 1st in the Provincial Heavyweight Class;  image 2 - Portrait of Cody Kafara; image 3 - Portrait of bodybuilders Rachel Green and Jon Vanderveen;  image 4 - Portrait of Sophia for Esby & Soph Kids Clothing Concepts Spring clothing launch. - Photos by Jeff McCoy

Image left wedding portrait of newly weds Ben and Amy Anisworth

Image Right wedding portrait of newly weds Wayne and Ashley Hartley - Photos by Jeff McCoy

If it was not for Lambton College, the faculty or my fellow classmates, I would not be skilled or proficient enough to have become a successful professional photographer so quickly; in fact, I would not have even considered photography as a career. I look around at my fellow classmates’ work and see great potential in everyone; we have all become adepts of photography.

“The Dancer” from the series Empty Space taken at the OHM Fashion Show in London, Ontario 2014. Photo by Jeff McCoy

Image left portrait of bodybuilder Adam Lagacy. Image right band portrait of Running Red Lights. Photos by Jeff McCoy

This is a quotation that our program coordinator Richard Beland shared with our class; “I can’t help you choose your ideas, but I can help you fine-tune them.” If you are aspiring to become a professional photographer, this program will give you all the tools you need.

In a few weeks, my time with the Digital Photography Program will come to an end, but my photography career will commence.  Below is a snapshot of my body of work, and if you wish to view what I have been building for the past three years, please visit www.StudioKaoss.ca. 

“Peel the Surface” Matched Frequency from the abstract series Expression of Noise taken in New York City 2013. Photo by Jeff McCoy

“Flash of Light” #7 from the abstract series Built in Shadows taken in New York City 2013. Photo by Jeff McCoy

Keep Getting Better - by Aaron Esser

Editor's note: In the following weeks, you will hear and see images from our students themselves: their thoughts and reflections on the course, their work, and the work of others. Come back often to see what is happening in the Lambton Digital Photography program.

Keep Getting Better  by Aaron Esser

I never thought going to school for photography would be so challenging. Who goes to school for photography, right?

I originally found out about this program through an article in the local newspaper. I had heard of Richard Beland and knew that he was quite a successful photographer. I decided to check the program out online. It seemed perfect. I already had the computer and camera I would need which would help cut down costs and it was right at home here in Sarnia. I have always wanted to be a photographer. I knew I might not work as a photographer full time after this program because I also wanted to do other things as a career, but I knew I had to do something I loved.

The first few weeks of the program seemed too easy. We were just going over the absolute basics. Some stuff seemed just like common sense. But then, there were some basic things I learned that I didn’t know at the time which turned out to be essential. Within a couple of weeks, the program suddenly became extremely difficult. As a photographer, you have to be fast on your feet, good with people, and know your technical  stuff for any situation. It’s not as easy as you think to be professional and to create professional images. Additionally, you have to be able to output many images quickly to clients. It has not been easy the last two years. With multiple projects in several classes, you have a lot to get done.

But it’s all worth it. By the time this year is up, I will have a website, several portfolios, a CV, an artist statement, a business plan, a logo and much more to get me started in my photography career.

I have heard many photographers say that you don’t need to go to school. This may be the case if you are the kind of person who has the ability to teach yourself day in and day out without anyone pushing you. But, going to school for me was a way to make sure I learn. I’m a busy guy with many other projects going on in my life, and if I didn’t go to school, some things would be left behind. School forces you to learn. It forces you to become better.

I want to show several images from my first year compared to my second year. There has been a great improvement. Photography is all about light. It’s amazing, how much more I have come to understand the importance of this from the first to the second year. My images are more consitent. It is no longer based on chance whether I get a good image or not out of a shoot. There are several creative design classes in the program. They have challenged me to make my images stand out through differing lighting, placement, and angles. Without this program, I never would have forced myself to keep getting better.

The digital photography program at Lambton is a great program. If any one is planning on becoming a professional photographer, this is where to start.

Aaron Esser

www.aaronesser.com

Self portrait of Aaron Esser. Image left from 1st term for self portrait assignment and image right from 4th term for online portfolio assignment. Photos by Aaron Esser

Portrait of Andrew Esser. Image left from 2nd term for image imitation assignment and image right from 4th term for online portfolio assignment.

Portrait of Elijah Wright. Image left from 2nd term for anti-bullying image assignment and image right from 4th term for online portfolio assignment.

Portrait of Meghan and Lynae Esser. Image left from 2nd term for personal potrait work and image right from 3rd term for volunteer assignment.

Portrait of Taylor Esser and friends. Image top from 1st term for background and foreground interaction assignment and image bottom from 4th term for bad light assignment. 

Image top from 2nd term for shooting food assignment and image bottom from 4th term for food for thought assignment.