. . . disbelief, shock and EXCITEMENT all describe the feelings I had when I opened an email indicating that one of my images has been chosen as one of 150 winners of the Fresh M.I.L.K. International Photography competition.  I entered a few images on a whim, just before the deadline closed, and never thought twice about it after that moment.  To read now that there were nearly THIRTY FIVE THOUSAND entries from 112 countries, well, um, the feelings I mentioned a second ago are multiplied several times over (please add giddy, smiley and humbled to the list).  The contest called for entries which captured spontaneous and emotive moments, shared between friends, families and lovers around the world.  The gesture in the image below, surely shows that, and represents a brotherly bond which will likely last a lifetime.

The Press Release about the contest is below, and you can see more on the web at Fresh M.I.L.K. Be sure to check out the grand-prize winning picture, it’s very cute

The winners of the Fresh M.I.L.K. international photography
competition were announced today by publisher PQ Blackwell Ltd.
After receiving nearly 35,000 entries from photographers in 112
countries, a judging panel has selected 150 general winners, and
eminent Magnum photographer and Chief Judge Elliott Erwitt has
selected the Grand Prize winner.
Fresh M.I.L.K. was a US$125,000 online competition that challenged
photographers to capture spontaneous and emotive moments shared
between friends, families and lovers around the world. Fresh M.I.L.K.
marks the tenth anniversary of the original M.I.L.K. (Moments of
Intimacy, Laughter and Kinship) competition, which ran worldwide
in 1999. The highly acclaimed winning images were exhibited at venues
around the world including New York’s Grand Central Terminal,
Sydney’s Opera House and London’s Science Museum, and the M.I.L.K.
books have sold more than three million copies in ten languages.

M.I.L.K. creator Geoff Blackwell commented, “We announced the
Fresh M.I.L.K. competition in August 2008, and in contrast to the
original competition we conducted it entirely via the World Wide Web.
Having been almost ten years since we first launched M.I.L.K., it was
with considerable anticipation that we downloaded the fi rst batch of
images in January 2009, and began the judging process. Unlike the
entries received a decade ago, there could be no lovingly stitched cloth
packages and extraordinary stamps from diverse parts of the planet.
But they came to us packaged in different ways, wrapped in words,
seeming to carry with them the subtle fragrance of people and places
close by and far away.”Geoff Blackwell
Elliott Erwitt

hc | super duper excited award-winning photographer

. . . her exuberant cheer this morning, not mine, but clearly has quite the underlying message.  On a day when resolutions, promises to return to the gym, and all sorts of other “improvements” are on the tips of everyone’s tongues, leave it to a 2 year old to call it like she sees it.

Hope it’s a great day for you and your family

(yes Mom, I know I posted a Happy New Year message yesterday, and yes it’s obvious to me too that my child desperately needs a haircut, and yes, I can see that this image is terribly slightly out of focus, but I always see perfection in that smile regardless of the imperfection in the image quality, so forgive me)

hc | child photographer

. . . It’s caption contest time! I’m working hard on this session and there was just no way I could keep this image to myself! I know their Mom will be excited to see images of their actual faces, but in the meantime, since I’ve had many-a-late-night in front of this keyboard and screen, we’ll make the most of their tiny little parts and a little caption contest will keep me (and you) entertained. Hmmm…what should the prize be….how about a $25 Target gift card? I have at least two readers who I know will seriously stand on their heads and sing the theme song from Madagascar for the idea of a Target gift card, so they better come up with something good! Contest ends Friday at 9pm EST. To play, simply leave a comment below with your caption. Fun

(and a little hug & a kiss for baby B tomorrow)

hc | annapolis photographer

. . . yup…another set of twins!  This time girls!  I know you’re wondering where more shots of those sweet little boys are, but I’ve been waiting to photograph THIS session, so that I can display images of BOTH sets at the same time.  Why?  Well, because they are first COUSINS!  I’m not kidding.  More images and their whole story coming soon…but in the meantime, since I think this Mom is, well, a “little” excited to see just one, here you go.  I can wait for these sisters to see ALL of their children’s beautiful images!

hc | maryland photographer