Friday, April 1, 2011

DMBLGIT March 2011: Judges and Awards

Wow, you guys! Can I just start off by saying what an unadulterated pleasure it's been to host this month's DMBLGIT photography event? Can you all please just pretend it's still March and keep delivering lovely food photos to my inbox? The other judges and I had a lot of fun drooling over your entries and a heck of a time picking out just a few for awards. Without further ado, let me introduce you to the wonderful judges of this month's contest.

MEET THE JUDGES:


Sala Kannan is a software services entrepreneur by day and food blogger/photographer at Veggie Belly by night. Her site features a wide array of vegetarian recipes reflecting the varied cuisines she's enjoyed throughout the world. Originally from India, she has traveled and eaten her way through over 36 countries, and currently resides near Washington, D.C.



Kris Ngoei is a graphic designer in Bangkok who has also unearthed a great talent and passion for baking as well as food decoration, styling, and photography. Having won a total of 8 awards to date, I can't imagine anyone more qualified to be a DMBLGIT judge. Please check out his stunning works of edible art on his blog, Bake in Paris.






Patricia Scarpin, of Technicolor Kitchen, has been baking since before her teens and blogs from Brazil in both English and Portuguese. She's a cookbook fanatic like me, and her comforting treats are always just the thing you wish were coming out of your own oven. Her lovely photos and sweet styling are also not to be missed.






Ashley Colbourne is the Canadian author of Butterflyfood, a blog featuring gorgeous edibles and photography that bursts with rustic charm. She has a love for old movies, vintage mystery radio, and taking photos of all things food. It's downright impossible to peruse her work without wanting to plop down at her table =p.





OVERALL WINNERS:

After careful evaluation of all 55 entries this month, the judges scored each photo according to edibility, originality, and aesthetics. The entries with the 3 highest scores when all categories were combined were chosen as the overall winners.

Citrus from my garden

First Place: Citrus from my garden by Edda of Un déjeuner de soleil. Taken with a Pentax K-m and 50 mm f 1.4 lens.

Comments
“I'm absolutely captivated with the play of light in this. The colors are natural yet wonderfully vibrant, and the styling of the stems/leaves adds just the right amount of playfulness.”

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Brunch Bruschetta

Second Place: Brunch Bruschetta by Asha Pagdiwalla of Fork Spoon Knife. Taken with a Nikon D5000.

Comments
“Love the gloss on those egg yolks! I almost feel like I could grab one right out of the screen and take a bite.”

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Crepes with apple and raspberries

Third Place: Crepes with apple and raspberries by Pamela Rodríguez in Bilbao, Vizcaya, Spain, of Uno de Dos. Taken with a Canon EOS 350D and 50 mm f/1.8 lens.

Comments
“Beautiful styling.”
“So beautiful, almost ethereal.”

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY WINNERS:

Excluding the overall winners, these are the highest scoring photos for each category.

Chocolate Cupcakes

Edibility Category Winner (TIE): Chocolate Cupcakes by Asri of Food and Story. Taken with a Nikon D700.

Comments
“Nice color theme.”

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Raspberry and Pistachio Baked Cheesecake

Edibility Category Winner (TIE): Raspberry and Pistachio Baked Cheesecake by Emma of Poires au Chocolat. Taken with a Sony Alpha A580 and 2.8/50mm Macro lens.

Comments
“Nice use of complimentary colors. Those glossy raspberries are really mouth-watering!”

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 Mac-candy apple in the snow

Originality Category Winner: Mac-candy apple in the snow by Mardi Michels of eat. live. travel. write. Taken with a Nikon D40 and 40mm lens, ISO 200, f/6.3, 1/160.

Comments
“Quirky and fun shot.”

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Chicken salad (tonno di cappone)

Aesthetics Category Winner: Chicken salad (tonno di cappone) by Virginia Spilucchino of Lo Spilucchino. Taken with a Canon EOS 500D and 60mm lens.

Comments
“Nice styling and choice of depth of field and textured background.”
“Lovely styling including the basket, folded cloth, and placement of the utensils.”

HOST'S AWARD:

As the host this month, I'm allowed to choose one winner that I think deserves an award but was not named winner in the other categories.

The art of Vietnamese coffee

The art of Vietnamese coffee by Anh of A Food Lover's Journey. Taken with a Canon 30D and kit lens.

Comments
“Lovely capture of the human element.”
“I like the unique setting that includes prominent human presence but still keeps the focus on the drinks. It creates a lovely sense of human connection.”

THANKS FOR ENTERING!

You all were the ones who made this event a feast for the eyes and a joy to take part in. We only wish there were more awards to give out to the many beautiful photos we saw this month. Please do check out all the wonderful entries in this month's gallery!

The April 2011 edition of DMBLGIT will be hosted by Magpie of Magpies Recipes. If anyone is interested in hosting a future edition of DMBLGiT, please email Andrew with "DMBLGIT Host" as the subject.

33 comments:

  1. All of these photos are absolutely gorgeous. Looking at them is so inspirational! I love the Chicken Salad and the Candy Apple, so classic and fun!

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  2. ohhhh thank you!!! :)) All the winners are well deserved!

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  3. wow, love this pics. Especially the first one of the mandarins. it's magical.

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  4. Thank you!! I really didn't think I had a chance against such strong competition this month! Well done to everyone and thank you again to the judges :)

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  5. Thank you very much for the award.
    Thanks also to the judges for their hard work.

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  6. What beautiful entries! I remember judging it a while back and thinking what stunning photographs there were :)

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  7. Thanks a lot! Congratulations to all the winners, the photos are really amazing.
    Have a nice day

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  8. Thank you SO MUCH! I always look at the winners each month and think "I am not worthy" so to be chosen this month was a surprise and an honour. In such great company!

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  9. WOOHOOO!!! Thanks so much!! :)) Congratulations to all the winner!! :))))

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  10. Xiaolu, thanks for putting up Kris's photo! I finally see the man behind his gorgeous blog!! :)) Salut Kris!

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  11. Congratulatins to the winners! It was such a joy to judge this DMBLGIT! X, thanks for hosting <3

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  12. Such beautiful images! So nice to see my bloggy friend, Kris:) The two of you know beautiful, artistic photos when you see them, being such phenomenal photographers yourselves!

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  13. I don't know anything about DMBLGIT. But it sounds like a fun event, and all the photographs are gorgeous. Great job to all the photographs and judges :)

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  14. All of these are so inspirational! They make me want to improve my photography skills times a thousand!

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  15. Congratulations to all the winners! It was wonderful being a judge, thanks for considering me for the job, Xiaolu!
    xx

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  16. Such beautiful photography! Congratulations to all the winners and participants :)

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  17. All well deserved! I have never participated and feels like such a shame. Should do for April?

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  18. WOW! Absolutely Inspirational!!! Loving these great shots. Congratulations to THE WINNERS!

    BRAVO! BRAVO! Great job :)

    Aldy.

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  19. Congratulations to all the winners! Beautiful shots!

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  20. I am in love with these pictures! The best part of it though, is that you have their camera's listed.

    I adore being stunned by such beautiful food photography.

    Laura

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  21. Wonderful, wonderful pictures. The foods look amazing and also delicious. I am a new food blogger, please visit my blog Picky Eater Solutions and leave any tips or suggestions. Thanks. www.pickyeatersolutions.blogspot.com

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  23. Thank you Judges for this chance, I am honored :).
    Thanks to Xialou for being wonderful host of this month. And congratulation to all winners

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  24. i had so much fun looking thru the photo album! so inspiring...def inspired me to improve my photography skills and join in this fun in the future :)

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  25. Those are really captivating and amazing photos, just like your beautiful photos too. :)

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  27. I couldn't agree more with you, Xiaolu. Anh's The Art of Vietnamese Coffee did reserved an award. It is very well captured, shows the interaction between people who are bound by the coffee culture itself. Truly the art. Well done, Anh!

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  28. Stunning and delicious photos, indeed! Congrats to the winners!

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  29. Gosh, these images are superb - wonderful, what talent out there, its very inspiring.

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I love hearing from you all! Please leave me a message if you have questions, advice, or just to let me know you stopped by. Your feedback is always very much appreciated. Thanks! <3 Xiaolu