Begin now shooting photography for the
2022-23 Saint Kosmas Photography Contest!

STUDENTS MAY SUBMIT ONE Photograph PER MONTH
FROM MAY - DECEMBER 2022

• The theme for 2022-23 will be the same, but the theme will be extended to also include elements of nature referenced on 5th day of creation.

• Family Registration Form for Contest Participation is required annually to participate.

• If you are a professional photography or photography teacher and would be interested as serving as a judge for this contest please contact us.

Eligibility:  Contestant must be an Orthodox Christian (baptized Orthodox or officially enrolled as a catechumen in the Orthodox Church) with a birth year of 2003 or later (maximum age being those turning 19 in the year 2022). There are no eligibility restrictions based on Orthodox jurisdiction, type of schooling, or country of residence. Parent of Contestant is required to submit the “Family Registration Form for the 2022-23 Saint Kosmas Contests” once per family per year before submitting entries in the contests.

Submission Limit: 1 photo per child per calendar month between May 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022. This translates to a maximum of 8 entries IF the student is submitting one per month beginning in May 2022. Multiple submissions per student in one month will not be accepted. December 31, 2022 is the deadline for the 2022-23 Saint Kosmas Photography Contest.

Announcement of Winners: January 15, 2023

Distribution of Awards: All students who place in this contest, and are present at the 2023 Saint Kosmas Conference, will be presented with their award at the conference. For those winners NOT in attendance at the conference or oratorical festival, awards will be mailed out following the conference.

2021-22 Saint Kosmas Photography Contest

THEME:
The Beauty of God’s Creation Represented in
THE FIRST FOUR DAYS OF CREATION
(Genesis 1:3 - 2:3)

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

THEME INTERPRETATION

DEPICT ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:

• Light and/or Darkness

• Day and/or Night

• Water (Seas, Oceans, Lakes, Rivers, etc.)

• Firmament (Clouds, Fog, Dew, etc.)

• Land or Landforms

• Plants (Grass, Plants, Trees, etc.)

• Seasons

• Sun, Moon, and/or Stars

© Copyright 2022 Saint Kosmas Orthodox Christian Education Association. All rights reserved. The photography presented on this page may not be reproduced, posted, or published in any media form or on any website or social media platform without the written permission of the photographer and/or parent or guardian of the photographer. Permission is granted to share only by linking to this webpage. Thank you for respecting the intellectual property of these young photographers!

SENIOR DIVISION
Birth Years 2002-2006
(turning age 15-19 in 2021)

Let the Earth Bring Forth Grass, the Herb Yielding Seed

Photographer: Ioanna
Birth year: 2006
Age 15 in 2021

Recognition: 1st Place of the Senior Division, “Best of Show” for the 2021-22 Saint Kosmas Photography Contest
(receiving a total of 9 points from 3 judges)

Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT

Residence: Florida
Parish or Church Community: Annunciation & Panagia Vlahernon (Reddick & Williston, Florida)

Scent of Heaven

Photographer: Lucian Andrei Roșca
Birth year: 2003
Age 18 in 2021

Recognition: tied for 2nd Place of the Senior Division
(receiving a total of 6 points from 3 judges)

Camera: Canon

Residence: Vaslui County, ROMANIA
Parish or Church Community: “The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and St Catherine" Church, ROMANIA

Elements of the First Four Days Seen in the Arizona Desert

Photographer: Ioanna
Birth year: 2006
Age 15 in 2021

Recognition: tied for 2nd Place of the Senior Division
(receiving a total of 6 points from 3 judges)

Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT

Residence: Florida
Parish or Church Community: Annunciation & Panagia Vlahernon (Reddick & Williston, Florida)

Light and Dark

Photographer: Anastasia ILIUK
Birth year: 2006
Age 15 in 2021

Recognition: Honorable Mention for the Senior Division

Camera: Canon EOS M50 Mark II

Residence: New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
Parish or Church Community: Protection of the Holy Virgin – Russian Orthodox Church, Cabramatta, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA

The Lesser Light to Rule the Night

Photographer: Anastasia ILIUK
Birth year: 2006
Age 15 in 2021

Recognition: Honorable Mention for the Senior Division

Camera: Canon EOS M50 Mark II

Residence: New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
Parish or Church Community: Protection of the Holy Virgin – Russian Orthodox Church, Cabramatta, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA

Snow Blanketing the Earth

Photographer: Lucian Andrei Roșca
Birth year: 2003
Age 18 in 2021

Recognition: Honorable Mention for the Senior Division

Camera: Canon

Residence: Vaslui County, ROMANIA
Parish or Church Community: “The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and St Catherine" Church, ROMANIA

JUNIOR DIVISION
Birth Years 2007-2010
(turning age 11-14 in 2021)

Begin now shooting photography for the
2022-23 Saint Kosmas Photography Contest!

STUDENTS MAY SUBMIT ONE PHOTOGRAPH PER MONTH
FROM MAY - DECEMBER 2022

2020-21 Saint Kosmas Photography Contest

© Copyright 2021 Saint Kosmas Orthodox Christian Education Association. All rights reserved. The photography presented on this page may not be reproduced, posted, or published in any media form or on any website or social media platform without the written permission of the photographer and/or parent or guardian of the photographer. Permission is granted to share only by linking to this webpage. Thank you for respecting the intellectual property of these young photographers!

2020-21 Contest Theme:
“Timeless Orthodoxy in the 21st Century”

Judges:

(Judges’ bios and general comments are at the end of this page.)

Matushka Amy Gillispie, Nektarios Kaelin, John Kaemmerling,
Eirini Pajak, and Fr. Peter Perekrestov

SENIOR DIVISION:
Best of Show

“Baptism”

PHOTOGRAPHER: Natalia Joyce (Michigan)

Honorable Mention

“Child with the Paschal Light”

PHOTOGRAPHER: Ioanna H. (Arizona)

Honorable Mention

“Fiery Sunset over Saint Anthony’s Monastery”

Photographer: Seva Korolev (British Columbia, Canada)

3rd place

Judges’ Recognition:

Nektarios Kaelin: 2nd Place Pick

Fr. Peter Perekrestov: 2nd Place Pick: “Nice PANORAMIC composition allows one to get a sense of the vastness of the desert, not only the sky. I like the fact that the palm trees and church are NOT centered, this gives an interesting perspective and balance.”

“Saint Anthony’s Monastery Sunset Silhouette”

PHOTOGRAPHER: SEVA KOROLEV (BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA)

2nd Place

“The Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit!”

PHOTOGRAPHER: Ioanna H. (Arizona)

1st Place

JUNIOR DIVISION

Comments from the Judges:

from Matushka Amy Gillispie to all participants of this contest :

It takes courage to enter a contest! I commend you all for being brave!

You did a fantastic job with your photos! Keep practicing, keep shooting, keep growing!

Hints:

• Photos are taken to record moments/visual images or to tell a story.

• Photos, which tell a story with a strong focal point promoting that story, tend to draw the interest of the viewer.

• Photos taken with intention and attention to everything captured in the frame of the photo tend to be stronger.

from John Kaemmerling to the contestants:

As a general rule, always make sure that your picture is in focus, not only in the lens but also by not moving the camera while the photo is being taken because this can introduce blur. Use a tripod when possible for the sharpest images.

Try to tell a story with your image. Reduce distracting elements by zooming or walking closer to get them out of the frame. You don’t want things that take you off the edge of the picture; you want your eye to keep looking around within the frame.

For images that are converted to black-and-white, make sure that the contrast is right so that it doesn’t just appear as a flat gray. The whites should pop, and the blacks should pop.

For architectural images, generally speaking, make sure the camera is perfectly level not only horizontally but also keep the lens perfectly horizontal with the ground. That way, the perspective does not shift so that the building appears narrower at the top of the image, giving it an unnatural appearance. An architectural image looks cleaner and more professional if the vertical lines of the building go straight up and down. Using the above method is the easiest and cheapest. Otherwise, you can correct perspective shift with more advanced software. Finally, you can get a really expensive lens that allows you to shift within the lens, but they are rare and costly, and usually, only architectural photographers buy them.

I would say that one of the best ways to improve your photography is to continually practice. Photography has gotten cheap, and you can keep shooting until you get it right. Learn how to look for interesting and/or flattering light. Fill the frame with your subject. Do not necessarily always center the subject in the middle of the image. Keep distracting elements out of the frame.

In conclusion, to enjoy what you do with photography, add your unique perspective, and it will be interesting to others. Lastly, above all, do everything your best for the glory of God.

More About the Judges:

About Matushka Amy Gillispie:

For the last 22 years, Matushka Amy and her husband, Father Robert Gillispie, have been on the hard but rewarding homeschooling journey with their nine children, from birth through high school.

She graduated from Ohio State University with a B.S. in Architecture and pursued a Master’s of Theological Studies with a concentration in Liturgical Architecture. Throughout college, Matushka Amy worked as a freelance photographer. Photography—recording moments and telling visual stories—has been a huge part of her life.

In 2009, she created the company Building Brilliant Minds, which provides courses in Architecture, Photography, Writing, Piano, Theater and Art. Some of these courses are also listed with CLRC (Classical Learning Resource Center). She supports the methods and concepts of Project-Based Learning and Choice-Based Learning, giving students the opportunity to explore the arts and to learn to how to use them to give glory to our Father in heaven.

About John Kaemmerling

John Kaemmerling has been working as a professional photographer for over 20 years. John grew up in Santa Cruz, California and always wanted to be a photographer. He studied photography in college and learned from other leading photographers in the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas to hone his craft and develop his style. John opened his Santa Cruz photography studio in 1997 and within a few short years, he had earned International Awards for his photographs. Since then, he and his team of wedding, portrait and commercial photographers have traveled the world photographing for weddings, corporations, magazines, catalogs and lifestyle shoots.

Winners of the 2019 Saint Kosmas Photography Contest

Contest Theme: “Timeless Orthodoxy in the 21st Century”

1st Place Winner:
Nicholas Novachuk (Florence, Arizona)

Judges for the 2019 Saint Kosmas Photography Contest:

Archpriest Peter Perekrestov, Eirini Pajak, and Nektarios Kaelin