Spring 2022 Competition Winner
More than any other season, Spring provides an incredible opportunity for photographers to shoot a wide variety of images, and this was no doubt reflected in our recent Instagram competition. As the continent emerged from the cold of winter, photographers from every corner of Europe photographed the changing landscape, new growth and emergence of wildlife, not to mention people at work and play.
As usual, we received thousands of entries and picking the overall winner was no easy task. For the overall winner, we decided upon an image taken by Romanian photographer, Cornelia Fotescu.
© Cornelia Fotescu | Sony α7 II + E 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 | 1/320s @ f/8.0, ISO 100
Every season has something magical, but spring is my favourite,” says Cornelia, “blossom trees, dandelions, colourful fields, newborn chicks ... everything delights our eyes and soul. It inspires us and our passion for photography.”
The winning image is simple in its beauty and execution, a shot of a dandelion against a vivid sunset, a combination that we can all relate to.
“I love the warm sunset light, and Spring is my favourite season,” says Cornelia. “In this photo, I tried to bring them together. I went to my favourite spot on the lake to watch and photograph the sunset, but this dandelion got in my way! Only for it to inspire me to take this photo. I photographed several images waiting for a perfect match of the dandelion with the setting sun. You can have all kinds of surprises when you shoot in natural light.”
“I shoot with the Sony Alpha 7 II. The camera is my best friend, and we set out together to discover the beauty of this world, from small to large.”
Cornelia now has a new lens to shoot with, the Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM lens, which was her prize for winning the Alpha Spring competition. “I can’t wait to use it to photograph landscapes and street photography, and I’ll also use it to take some creative portraits!” says Cornelia. Make sure you follow @black_sea_shores to see how Cornelia gets on with her new lens.
Runners up
In second place in the competition was Daryl Oeben (@laak10fotografie) from The Netherlands, who’s inspiration came from the classic images of tulip fields taken by fellow photographers.
I'm driven by the desire to capture natural beauty by making sure I'm in the right place at the right time. I hoped to combine my knowledge, equipment and creativity in this final image to show the world.”
© Daryl Oeben | Sony α7 III + FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS | 10s @ f/8.0, ISO 100
Daryl took the shot of the tulip field in Flevoland, The Netherlands, “I put my camera right between the magenta and white tulips at the 16mm focal length of my lens. I set my tripod as high as possible to get a bit of a birds-eye view and to divide the shot into two, or even four parts with the two tulips fields, the clouds and the ray of light.”
And finally, in third place was Nathan Vink’s (@meesvinkfotografie) image of a female Black Redstart grabbing an insect.
© Nathan Vink | Sony α7 III + FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS | 1/1250s @ f/6.3, ISO 1600
I got the idea to photograph the Redstart on a patch of grass with chives growing in it. Early on a Sunday morning, I arrived at the spot and found this butterfly on one of the chives. I waited for the Redstart, hoping I could catch it in flight, which I did.”
A huge thank you to everyone who entered our Alpha Spring competition and congratulations to all winners. If you want to be in with a chance of winning some new Sony kit, make sure you follow @alphauniversebysony.eu on Instagram and keep up to date with all the latest from Sony Alpha.
