Category Hannu Hautala
1. Anne Vertanen – Demoiselle DamselflyBeautiful demoiselle.
An image that scored winning points evenly from the entire jury, and whose power is based on clear straightforwardness and tasteful exaggeration of colour saturation. The warm yellow of the wingtips gives a nice complementary colour contrast to the prevalent blue of the image. A rich carpet of light balls creates an interesting background layer without breaking or losing the main subject.
2. Tuomo Björksten – Syksyn värit
Colours in the autumnal forest. A charming view of a sparse mixed forest in autumn, which is beautifully shaped by the soft light, and whose picture elements are balanced in the image area. In this photo as well, the slightly exaggerated colour saturation, still within the limits of subtlety, works effectively.
3. Tommi Alatalo – Muuttohaukka
Morning mist in taiga forest. An often-seen subject photographed from an iconic location, but the flying silhouette of a falcon above the fog-enclosed canopy electrifies the atmosphere. The foggy landscape, which is usually the main subject, becomes the background in this image. The wedge shapes of the wings and tail go together well with the spruce trees emerging from the fog.
4. Pasi Parkkinen – Neuvottelu
Ravens chatting on the snow. The natural expressiveness and mutual communication of the birds has been perfectly captured at just the right moment. There is a good rhythm in the image, and the plumage of the black birds is well brought out in the steady light of a cloudy day.
5. Anna Välimäki – Aamunavaus
The beauty of an autumn morning at its best. A fine, engaging view on the popular subject of morning mist. The entire image area is full of interestingly arranged levels, the tonal range of which changes wonderfully from the blue-grey of the shadows in the foreground to the warm yellow and magenta red of the centre and background.
Honourable Mentions
A view into the kingdom of the perches. The perfect composition of the image elements is supported by the rhythm and the impression of movement created by the “layout” of the fish shoal. The view is crowned by the wonderfully gradient turquoise of the water across the image area. A delicious fish photograph, which, however, caused a slight dispersion in the jury’s score distribution.
A frozen and beautiful, but slightly desolate view from the beach in early winter. The juxtaposition of the snow-capped stone and the folds of icy slush against it contains strong symbolism, supported by the misty greyness of the empty horizon.
Gentle warmth and play. A fine, somewhat different wolf image, showing not the bloodthirsty beast of the forest, but a sensitive cohabitant of ours. The delicate morning light and the lightly pastel colour scheme of the image, together with the white spots of cottongrass, perfectly support the atmosphere that reflects the relationship of the wolves in the photograph.
