AG|WPJA The Artistic Guild of the WPJA

Judges Comment: Despite the visually rich array of color and constellations, the bride and groom still stand out as the bright stars of their own heaven. This is a compelling image where light, composition and lens use bring clarity to a moment that could have easily been lost beneath the planetarium display.

Judges Comment: I liked the light-hearted mood and feeling of this image. It's clearly the work of a professional but has the unassuming style of a family scrapbook. It is laden with personal vision without pretensive ego. Instead, the moment arises among the fundamentals of light - a simplistic image that is anything but simple to attain.

Judges Comment: The round brims echo the circular curves of the document being signed. This is a beautiful image that speaks to universal themes of tradition - a strikingly simple illustration of classic photojournalistic style.

Judges Comment: The moment alone would be enough. I enjoyed the entry point via the woman with the camera and the wonderful expressions of the two men pouring rice. But the higher contrast and inherent sharpening has accentuated the scene into an image that leaps from the surface so vividly you can hear the revelry.

Judges Comment: The woman in the chair looking at the child provides the reaction to the action of this moment. The slight vignetting helps keep our eyes from trailing away from the scene as the carpeted runway, her flowing veil and the child's legs provide an excellent entry point.

Judges Comment: The blurred tilt-shift style works well here as a visual accent of the moment. Look around the scene and the rather stoic expressions of attendees and how that sea of faces contrasts with those of the bride and groom. Two sides of the same coin.

Judges Comment: The symmetry of the composition furthers the ornate formality of both the moment and the room. The wide lens is an excellent choice, along with composition, that provides numerous entry points into the image, leading us directly to the moment.

Judges Comment: Framed by flowers and light, a father's kiss and her warm, sentimental expression would be powerful enough. But then we see a tear glistening down her cheek, dangling from her eye like the white gold earrings she wears. That simple drop adds the crystalline accent of a powerful moment.

Judges Comment: The confetti raining against a backdrop of darkened skies really enhances the moment. Infrared was a good choice here due to the additional clarity it provides in a scene of dizzying details.

Judges Comment: What a lovely moment as this bride steps from the car. It's a basic documentary approach that needs little more than the time honored adage of "F/8 and be there." The bride alone is enough.

Judges Comment: The extreme detail provided by this HDR style approach was the perfect choice. When combined with a super-wide lens, viewers are given a delightful "tour" of this magnificent church and the ceremony.

Judges Comment: This is a classic juxtaposition of shape and form with the four figures in the painting above echoing the four in the ceremony beneath. Add the vertical shapes of the bride and groom and those fluted columns and the mirrored juxtaposition is visually completed.

Judges Comment: I enjoyed the aged photo look of this image. It flattens the scene and allows us to take in the entire image as a whole, as opposed to a complete reliance on the details. Yet we are not deprived of those details either. Their faces fall into view as easily as the confetti falls from the sky.

Judges Comment: The moment of the bride and groom celebrating is, of course, the key element of this image. But I also liked the mystery discovered in the look of attendees. Something is behind the couple. The image doesn't tell us, but in this case, the added layer of mystery is a plus.

Judges Comment: Those dark clouds didn't ruin the day. The bride and groom walk triumphantly from the ceremony holding hands. Better yet, his hand trails behind him, wrapped in a confident fist instead of a doubtful crossing of fingers.

Judges Comment: What a delightfully surreal scene. The square room. The distance separating everyone. Is it an inquisition. No one is smiling. The room mirrors the formality.

Judges Comment: The blur adds clarity to this image, ensuring that the perfect storytelling details rise from this image. All come together for a image laden with mood and feeling.

Judges Comment: This image finds compositional balance by weighting the expanse of empty space above the canopy with the myriad of details below. There is so much to see in this photo. People swimming, a lone palm tree, ships on the horizon, an attendee checking the back of his digital camera - not to mention the bride, groom and colors. And if that wasn't enough, you have to love that Chinook helicopter dragging a flag at far-right.

Judges Comment: The appeal of this image, beyond the obvious moment and the composition, is that it's a rare view from the perspective of attendees. It's fun to be part of the crowd sometimes instead of on the front ropes.

Judges Comment: This is such a lovely surreal wedding scene. It would look like a funeral if not for the bright colors of the bridesmaid's dresses and the long flowing white dress of the bride. But that's what also makes it so appealing - there is a moment to be found in the stark contrast of a chapter in life beginning among symbols of chapters long closed.