NATURE PHOTO CONTEST WEEK #3
MOUNTAINS MONDAY WINNERS!
Thank you for your awesome submissions to the Mountains Monday Nature Photo Contest! The entries were evaluated by Brian Guiney(
Hive account@fivealive55). "I started off as an urbex photographer from MN taking pictures of abandoned places, underground spaces, and rooftops around the midwest. In 2013 I was having a bit of a quarter life crisis and made the radical decision to sell everything, buy a truck camper, and head west. I had no idea what was going to happen, that I would still be on the road after 5 years, or that I would fall in love with the beauty of nature and transition into to a landscape photographer, but that is what happened." - Brian
"This was a very interesting experience for me, as I have never judged a photo contest before. It’s not an easy thing to do as it comes down to personal preference. The top 2 shots were pretty much a tie for first in my mind but I was forced to place one ahead of the other. I ended up selecting 
Hive account@dmytrokorol's shot because I really like moody fog shots. 
Hive account@weberh8’s shot is textbook though; the shot was taken at a very good moment providing a touch of golden hour light on the trees, the water was glass, and his composition is near perfect for the scene. If it wasn’t for my love of fog this shot would have gotten first place. 
Hive account@caseygrimley's shot was another one that stood out to me in terms of quality, it was taken at a great moment, framed perfectly, exposed and focused perfectly, and I appreciated how the mountain was the only object in the shot. This was a very strong submission but I ended up knocking it down a bit when I noticed there was only a two word description, I know this is a photography contest not a writing contest but I decided the top 3 needs to have at least a full sentence for a description. The third place pick was not an easy one but I ended up going with 
Hive account@melinda's shot because of the mood and emotion that it conveys with the great lighting and fog. For me personally, timing is everything with my shots. I have always prioritized the when over the where or what for landscape photography and I try to focus on capturing moments not places. I think timing is what really separates a serious photographer from a tourist when they are taking shots of the same location. Melinda’s shot is a very good example of this, the scene is not as impressive as some of the other submissions, but the moment was better. 
Hive account@vinceboisgard and 
Hive account@ctdots entries were good examples of the exception, when a location is so epic that it just doesn’t matter, even in mid-day with bad light those shots still look good. " ~ Brian
FIRST PLACE (20% of this post's SBD at payout): Hive account@dmytrokorol
“Fishing house on the coast of Agvatnet near village A, Lofoten Islands, Norway.”
SECOND PLACE (12% of this post's SBD at payout): Hive account@weberh8
“Reflection from Slovenia. Been photographing this place so many times, one of my favourite place to take my camera and do some photos.”
THIRD PLACE (7% of this post's SBD at payout): 
Hive account@melinda010100
“This is an early.morning view of the mountains in Colorado, taken while sitting on the deck at a cousins house in Estes Park waiting for the sunrise. Drinking coffee and shivering, but it was far too beautiful to miss all the splendor that was happening!”
HONORABLE MENTIONS (3% each of this post's SBD at payout)
Hive account@jamesqube
“This photo was taken in port of little town Brunnen in Switzerland. It was very cold and rainy.”
Hive account@piyushpathak
“Captured at Shimla, India. What a day it was, pleasent is the right word I would say, hope the photograph communicate the feels, winter just ending and signs of spring.. Happiness all the way.”
Hive account@caseygrimley
“Grand Teton”
Hive account@viverridae
“Sunrise view from Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo. Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain in Malaysia and one of the main tourism product in Sabah. Picture taken with smartphone.”
Hive account@mrprofessor
“This is the best day, I'm so inspired by mountains. My entry is the great Fitz Roy in Argentina. In summer 2016 I did a 10.000 km hitchhiking trip around Patagônia and one of the places I've enjoyed the most was El Chaltén. I've spent 7 days on the mountains walking from trail to trail and camping in different locations to visit Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy. Fitz Roy was once called Chaltén, in tehuelche means "smoking mountain", as the original people from that region believed the mountain or peak was a volcano due to it's top being always covered by clouds. It's pretty rare to see Fitz Roy without clouds but for those who are persistent and patience everything is possible. First day at the Poincenot campsite it was cloudy, so my friend and I decided to stay there one more day to try again. Second day it was raining, many people left the campsite that day to go back to the city, but we were persistent. We've spent most of the day doing nothing but drinking wine and waiting. By the end of day the rain had stopped and the sky started to clear. I had left the woods to collect water on the river and "WOW", Fitz Roy was uncovered. Third day we woke up at 4 in the morning to do the 1 hr uphill trail to see the old Fitz up close, amazing day!”
Hive account@vinceboisgard
“Have ever felt very small and insignificant? Yes I did!!! While trekking in the Himalaya I came to realize how fragile we are. In the wild mankind is almost hopeless and we can not do anything on our own to survive nature. This picture illustrate very well the thought of being small and insignificant...”
Hive account@ninahaskin
“This is one of the photos I took while I was taking in all of the unforgettable views at Yosemite National Park. The bedrock geology of the park consists almost entirely of granite rocks and the mountains are truly remarkable to witness in person!”
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS!
See also these stunning photo galleries featuring previous winners! Your upvotes and resteems will bring the talented photographers a better reward, so show them some love! :)
Mountains Monday Winners Week 2
Trees Tuesday Winners Week 2
Water Wednesday Winners Week 2
Time Lapse Thursday Winners Week 2
Flora and Fauna Friday Winners Week 2
Simple Sunday Winners Week 2
DAILY THEMES and judges for Week #3 (March 12 - 18)
Mountains Monday: Hive account@fivealive55
Trees Tuesday: 
Hive account@alevaskye
Water Wednesday: 
Hive account@scottshots
Textures Thursday: 
Hive account@markangeltrueman
Flora and Fauna Friday: 
Hive account@artizm
Simple Sunday: 
Hive account@jfolkmann
