I would like to thank all of the people from the 2011 Global Focus Photography Competition for the award of 1st place for my submission.  It is always a great thrill to have an image recognized, and it is an honor to have taken first place in this competition.  This year there were many other great images submitted to the competition which makes this award that much more meaningful.

Some background on this image:

This image was shot on the eve of a first DOCTRID conference in Dublin Ireland in October of 2010.  I was actually there to film a small documentary about the conference.  The night before the conference I took a long walk around the beautiful gardens and golf course at The Carton House, in Maynooth which was hosting the conference.  This boat house was sitting on the water of one of the last holes on the course.  The light was striking and so I setup as still as I could (since I had no tripod along) and grabbed this shot hand-held as the light dimmed.  I stayed here and worked the boat house for as long as the light would allow, and I was very pleased with the image I was able to walk away with.

In addition to taking first place this year, I also had another entry of mine receive an honorable mention.

This image was shot in a strange tide pool in Saint Malo France.  I was passing through the town after spending some time exploring the ruins and majestic castle of Mont Saint Michele the night before.  While we were walking from the dock out to the small fort situated on the tide pool (only walkable during low tide) we spotted a newlywed couple getting their picture taken on this rocky outcrop.  I loved the juxtaposition of the stormy weather and gritty background set against the couples modern and fancy attire.

I would also like to congratulate a close friend of mine and fellow photographer Brunno Moretti for his second place finish in the Global Focus Photography Competition.  Well done!

To see a list of all the current 2011 winners, checkout the competitions website Global Focus Photography Competition

Thanks again to everyone involved, and I look forward to entering the competition again next year.