2020-21 Saint Kosmas Photography Contest
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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
“Romanian Saints in Their Glory”
Photographer:
Roșca Lucian Andrei
(Vaslui, România)
Honorable Mention
Photo Description:
“The Holy Church is the visible presence of God in our world. The church in this photo has been painted only with Romanian saints on the exterior. When I enter, I feel that I am being embraced by all the saints of Romania, and when I pray inside of this church, I am overwhelmed by the fact that the saints of our nation are praying unceasingly for us.”
Judges’ Recognition:
Eirini Pajak: 3rd Place Pick
“Romanian Saints in Their Glory” © Copyright 2020 Roșca Lucian Andrei. All rights reserved. Saint Kosmas Orthodox Education Association, 2020-21 Saint Kosmas Photography Contest.
“Χριστός ἀνέστη! Христос воскресе!”
Photographer:
—
Honorable Mention
Judges’ Recognition:
Eirini Pajak: 2nd Place Pick
© Copyright 2020 Saint Kosmas Orthodox Education Association. All rights reserved. 2020-21 Photography Contest.
“Bell Tower at Saint Anthony’s Monastery”
Photographer:
Seva Korolev
(British Columbia, Canada)
Honorable Mention
Judges’ Recognition:
Nektarios Kaelin: 3rd Place Pick
John Kaemmerling: 3rd Place Pick: “The composition is good in the sense that the tower is filling the frame nicely, but not centered perfectly. There is a nice flow to the image; your eye wants to keep looking around. The tonal gradation and detail are also very good with dynamic range detail from the dark areas all the way up to the light areas. The color really pops and it makes me want to go there.”
© Copyright 2020 Seva Korolev. All rights reserved. Saint Kosmas Orthodox Education Association, 2020-21 Photography Contest.
“Baptism”
PHOTOGRAPHER: Natalia Joyce (Michigan)
Honorable Mention
© Copyright 2020 Natalia Joyce. All rights reserved. Saint Kosmas Orthodox Education Association, 2020-21 Photography Contest.
Judges’ Recognition:
Matushka Amy Gillispie: 1st Place Pick: “This photographer has not only told a story, captured precisely at the right moment, but has also captured the physical senses of the moment with the texture of the water on the baby’s face and body. The “active” shot of the splashing water and the glow of the candles reminds us that living our Orthodox Faith requires action and activity.
“Child with the Paschal Light”
PHOTOGRAPHER: Ioanna H. (Arizona)
Honorable Mention
© Copyright 2020 Saint Kosmas Orthodox Education Association. All rights reserved. 2020-21 Photography Contest.
Judges’ Recognition:
John Kaemmerling: 2nd Place Pick: “I love the rim light on the child’s face. The profile of their face is nice compositionally on the right third of the image. Looking into a candle can be mesmerizing and the subject matter of a child waiting for the Paschal celebration is also exciting.”
Fr. Peter Perekrestov: 3rd Place Pick: “Although the elements in the photograph are somewhat out of focus, that and the fact that the image is black & white give the photo a somewhat ephemeral sense of the moment and a “TEXTURE” of the event. The candle being held by a child speak of a pure heart's perception of the joy of Pascha.”
“Fiery Sunset over Saint Anthony’s Monastery”
Photographer: Seva Korolev (British Columbia, Canada)
3rd place
© Copyright 2020 Seva Korolev. All rights reserved. Saint Kosmas Orthodox Education Association, 2020-21 Photography Contest.
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
© Copyright 2020 Seva Korolev. All rights reserved. Saint Kosmas Orthodox Education Association, 2020-21 Photography Contest.
Judges’ Recognition:
John Kaemmerling: 1st Place Pick: “The composition is done well and the sky is exposed nicely with good color. Picture is nice and sharp and it is zoomed in enough to see clearly the detail that you want to see. God’s canvas in the sky is one of people’s most interesting subjects to photograph or paint. Everybody loves a good sunset, making it interesting with the foreground subject is even better.”
Matushka Amy Gillispie: 2nd Place Pick: “The strong focal point of the tower with the cross contrasts quite well with the radiance of the sunset. The clouds appear to be moving as they sweep across the sky.”
“The Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit!”
PHOTOGRAPHER: Ioanna H. (Arizona)
1st Place
© Copyright 2020 Saint Kosmas Orthodox Education Association. All rights reserved. 2020-21 Photography Contest.
Judges’ Recognition:
Nektarios Kaelin: 1st Place Pick
Eirini Pajak: 1st Place Pick
Fr. Peter Perekrestov: 1st Place Pick “I like the movement in the photo while the hand is STILL. The anointing hand and child’s head serve as a focus point. Good lighting for an indoor shot.”
Matushka Amy Gillispie: 3rd Place Pick: “This photograph captures the theme incredibly well. The baby being blessed with the “Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit” by an older, worn hand represents timelessness despite a beautiful contrast between the generations. The smile on the woman’s face is perfect for this shot. Even the person representing the “church” in the background is important to this photo. The lighting in this shot is warm. Beautiful shot!”
JUNIOR DIVISION
“Icon with Candles”
Photographer: Chloe Stokes (Texas)
Junior Division Winner
Judges’ Comments:
Matushka Amy Gillispie: “This photographer has captured the activity of the candle’s glow. The lines created by the lights are quite strong. Congratulations!”
Fr. Peter Perekrestov: “As compared to the other junior finalists, this photo has movement (the light rays), good use of light and a somewhat ‘philosophical’ element to it.”
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.