Photo Contest 2022 Results

International Filter Photo Contest 2022 Results

We would like to thank you all for the tremendous response to the International Filter Photo Contest 2022 (held 22, August to 31,October 2022). We received many works from all over the world and after careful consideration, have selected 38 entries for prizes.

Grand Prize

Tai Chi the intangible cultural asset

Zhang Haifan

Filter：ND

Taken in 2019 at Hubei Juyan Wudang Mountain, Hubei, China.

Jury’s comment

Daisuke Kumakiri: The result looks like an ink painting, but the image also has cinematic and dramatic nuances that can only be expressed with photography. The sense of motion, created by reducing light with a slow shutter speed and filter, and the flowing movement of the people was well expressed. Furthermore, the contrast between opposing elements of stillness and motion, and black and white, is impressive.

Tatsuo Hata: Like a scene from a dance performance. While the performer in the center is standing still, the other performers outside are flowing as if butter were melting. ND filters and good shutter speed control allows photographers to accurately capture the right moment. This work expresses both stillness and movement, while also being enchanting.

Jury Special PrizeDaisuke Kumakiri (Japan) Prize

fashion model

Seonghun Choi

Filter：Sunny Cross

SEOUL FASHION WEEK & 2023 SPRING SUMMER in DDP(Dongdaemun Design Plaza)

Jury’s comment

It was a very bold filtering technique that had a distinct impact. The cross filter was able to create a strong impression of powerful sun rays. If this were only backlit, the expression would not have been as impactful. The light shining on the main subject is probably from a strobe light or reflected light. The three-dimensional control of the light creates a unique snap portrait expression.

Jury Special PrizeTatsuo Hata (Japan) Prize

Geminids Meteor and Shadow

Liu Yanghe

Filter：Soft

On the night of Gemini's maximum, I waited overnight in the cold mountains of Nara and was able to capture a great Mars meteor.

Jury’s comment

The stars reflected on the hood and the blue-white lines of the meteor are impressive. Meteors are not easy to photograph, so I would have said you were lucky. However, this work makes an greart effort in capturing the Milky Way off the hood. Moreover, I feel that he is particular about his car. I think this work has brought in good luck through the effort invested.

Jury Special PrizeChristophe Anagnostopoulos (Europe) Prize

Into space

Yasuhiro Tsukamoto

Filter：ND

After the rain, I followed the plane from behind.The way it flew into space was as if it were departing directly to another galaxy.

Jury’s comment

This year’s contest was very exciting for me to judge as most submitted images were very carefully captured and processed by each photographer, and honestly, it was not easy to decide which of them should proceed in the final round or be eliminated. However, this photo immediately caught my eye from the very first second that I saw it.Photography comes from the Greek words “φως” and “γραφή” which literally means “to paint with light”, and I find this image to be a great example of creative and inspiring photography.The photographer had clearly envisioned this scene, and the photo itself was planned and executed perfectly. By using a neutral density (ND) filter, the photographer managed to extend the overall exposure time of the shot at a length that gave him the chance to draw an imaginary runway in the sky, using the beacon and strobe lights of an airplane as the paintbrush.This in-camera effect, which was produced due to the extended long exposure, is a great example of why photographic filters are so important in photography.

Jury Special PrizeStan Moniz (USA) Prize

The world is big, I want to enjoy the prosperity with you.

Zheng yi

Filter：C-PL

This piece will be the last of my four years of junior high school. 'I finally gave my youth back to her. With midsummer bursting through my fingers, everything that moved my heart has gone with the wind.

Jury’s comment

Judging a photo contest is not an easy task, especially when you're dealing with over a thouthand of fantastic entries to shift through. This photo that I deemed the winner, in my opinion, made each cut with flying colors. There's something special about the human element in a large landscape or cityscape in this matter. Gazing at this photo makes me feel like I'm in the background looking in. Taken a casual stroll down the sidewalk and to see over my right-hand shoulder a man deep in thought or maybe just having a sit down to enjoy the view and soke in the city landscape at night. There's a story that can be discussed a thousand times. Each person perceives the scene, looks, and feels different than the next. This is what makes a good photo a great one. When you can tell a story with one shutter click on a camera, you know you have something special.

Jury Special PrizeGuo Runzi (China) Prize

Together

Stanley Seagren Bernardo

Filter：ND+C-PL

This image was taken during our family trip in Stilts Caltagan Batangas,Philippines last July 2022. The weather was alright, it was 9AM in the morning so the sun was stillnot that bright during that time the light was just perfect. The Filter I used was a +10ND square filter, as well as a CPL square filter, and shot in 212secs on a tripod.

Jury’s comment

This poetic image is the result of the photographer finding the ideal shot in the field to create a photo without words. A medium gray filter (ND) created a long slow shutter shot to capture mystery and beauty. The poetic photo is like an earthly wonderland, a realm of great beauty and no image. The author chose to submit his work with preparation, so naturally his work will be favored by the judges. Photography is a moment of excitement, and when the shutter speed changes, the "depiction" of the subject also changes. Slow photography can also be a compression of time, compressing seconds, minutes, hours into a single photograph.
Slow photography turns from intuition to imagination, from quantity to nothing, using the technical skills of slow photography to capture mystery and beauty. From mechanical into thought, a high-level artistic re-creation, shooting a different perspective impact. Shooting with the shutter slowly opened is not just a picture taken with a slow shutter. It is a higher realm that reflects beauty, context, thoughts and feelings.

Kenko Tokina Special Prize of the 65's anniversary

Cosmos Canal

Shuzo Suehiro

Filter：ND

In October, a cosmos field called the "Cosmos Canal of Nanashiro" appears on the banks of a tributary of the Kikuchi River. I used a slow shutter speed to express the blurring of the cosmos flowers and the flow of the canal.

Jury’s comment

This photo has a very strong impact at first glance, and the wide lens captures the clouds and cosmos in the sky impressively, as if it were painted with a brush. The work was selected for the Kenko Tokina 65th Anniversary Special Award because we believe it shows the new possibilities of the ND filter.

Kenko Tokina Special Prize

N700

Toru Tsukahara

Filter：ND

I took this photo from the Yurakucho Kotsu Kaikan during a sunny daytime.

Jury’s comment

First of all, the impactful side view of the N700 Series Shinkansen caught my attention. The use of an ND filter allowed the photographer to capture a flowing shot at a fast shutter speed during the daytime. The Kenko Tokina Special Award was given to this work for bringing out the potential of ND filters.

Excellent Works