ToyArt Photography Competition 2022 WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Text by Li Shiqing, Edited by Melody Tan
Image: Attendees from the ToyArt Series II Outing hosted by Ourshutterjourney Photography Academy
09th September 2022, Singapore – The ToyArt Photo Competition 2022 “In Action” was organized by Ourshutterjourney.com, Chronicles Inc (with Genesis Frontier), Cathay Photo & supported by Ourshutterjourney Photography Academy.
Congratulations to ALL the WINNERS!
We have included Special Mentions section too.
(Winners list after the jump)
Auditing
– Submission CLOSED on 24th August 2022 at SGT 23:59 hours.
– Total Submission: 297
– Accepted: 127
– Rejected: 170
Breakdown
– Rejected (Blur/Out of Focus): 38
– Rejected (Wrong Orientation/Square/Portrait): 59
– Rejected (Submitted with No Caption/Too Much Caption): 36
– Rejected (Multiple Submission/Excessive Submission): 23
– Rejected (Sent Raw): 11
– Rejected (Corrupted): 3
Image: Attendees from the ToyArt Series I Outing hosted by Ourshutterjourney Photography Academy
Judges:
– Cathay Photo Store.
– Chronicles Inc
– Ourshutterjourney.com
*All decisions made by the Judges are final.
Theme: In Action
The theme “In Action” was selected because toys are motionless and are mostly limited in poses, this created a challenge for photographers to bring “life” to the toys by depicting the figurines in a story or make-believe that the toys are actually moving or playing out a story. Using clever & creative ways to compose their entries, the crossing of fiction and blending into reality is indeed a test of each photographer’s creativity, technical knowledge and skills.
Are You Ready to View the Winners’ works?
We have included the Judges’ Notes below too!
The Winning Entries! (with Judges Notes)
1st Prize – Entry 28
Photographer: Richard Chia
Caption: “Snip..Snip.. RX-78-2 Gundam”
Judges’ Notes: The RX-78-2 Gundam Mobile Suit is one of the most iconic model kit from the Gundam brand. Richard cleverly depicted and framed this shot against a cloud background giving the mobile suit the “above the clouds” feel which is correctly depicted in the animation series. Interesting and well executed.
2nd Prize – Entry 40
Name : Loh Chiueh Eyen
Caption: “For the spirit of wushu, this will be the ULTIMATE DUEL, we will fight from dawn to dusk, rain or shine, to determine the Ultimate true warrior and Champion”
Judges’ Notes: These figurines of monks had been around for as long as we can all remember. But using these figurines, posed them, and dropped leaves at the background and shooting them on a rocky surface with the skyline at the back – this becomes a scene from a movie. Creatively done and nicely executed!
3rd Prize – Entry 125
Name : Loke Man Kai
Caption: “Check your gears and ready for action !!!
Judges Notes: These are not your regular dolls. Dolls photographers will know the pain in getting the accessories “right” and in this submission by Loke, there were 2 dolls in action, 1 doing a selfie and another is posing with a camera with a telephoto lens. Many didn’t even notice the 2nd doll. The scale management is excellent and although the dolls are just toys, everything is so right in this image. Well Done.
Consolations Prizes (Not in any particular order)
Consolation Prize 1 – Entry 19
Photographer: Serene Ong
Caption: let’s go anywhere
Judges Notes: Simple but clever use of same scale figurines and using reflections to create this interesting image. For a moment, we all thought this was a screengrab directly from the animation series – but it is too real to be fake and too fictional to be real at the same time. Simple idea but an image with impact. Good job!
Consolation Prize 2 – Entry 43
Photographer: Ken Loh
Caption: The multi-verse of madness gets madder!
Judges Notes: Scooby Doo & Shaggy driving a van, Spider man recreating a scene from the cruise ship incident, Tin Tin’s dog. Now this is a messed up story here, so Spiderman is trying to prevent Tintin’s dog from getting ran over by the Scooby van. This image took the judging panel a while to fully understand, which is exciting & interesting. In addition, Ken put in much effort to recreate scenes – you can check out his other entries. Thanks Ken for sharing such an interesting shot with us & everyone!
Consolation Prize 3 – Entry 62
Photographer: Jolyn Goh
Caption: Caption: Let’s fight for it! Moving forward is never easy! You fight to Hold On! Always fight for what you want!
Judges Notes: The judging panel took a while to relate this shot to the competition theme. In deep thoughts while grinning at infinity is indeed a form of action and in this case, several notable points were observed, from the clever use of plants, flare from the sun (or torchlight we don’t know) and the placement of Luffy (the figurine), everything adds up to a great shot! Good job Jolyn!
Special Mentions!
– these are the submissions that had scored high points but falling short of a few points from the winning entries!
Special Mentions – Entry 22
Photographer: Kenneth Chui
Caption: Street Scene – Newspaper & Magazine Stall
Judges Notes: Shooting miniatures involves several important factors. First the figurines must be well-detailed and painted, secondly, the photographer must know the best angle to shoot. Kenneth picked this angle that showcased the entire store with its surroundings which is important for this image. from the roller shutter, the lottery ticket table, the displays of newspapers and magazine, did anyone spotted the cat too? Lifelike and bringing us into another world using a carefully captured angle, well done Kenneth!
Special Mentions – Entry 115
Photographer: Kelvin Won
Caption: Anata, Aishiteru~
Judges Notes: Shooting toys or dolls in this case of Kelvin’s entry, one of the challenges is to manage the scale of the figurines and carefully blend them into our world. Kelvin had picked a spot to set up these dolls which the end results are lifelike and scaled closely from their world to our world. So this shot also serves to remind everyone that its not about how expensive or how detailed is your toys, it is about how much you know how to manage their scales and create realistic shots with it. We love this image Kelvin, thank you!
Special Mentions – Entry 127
Photographer: Lee Siew Ni
Caption: LOVE warms more than a thousand fires.
Judges Notes: Siew Ni’s submission really defines the use of “less is more” logic when shooting toys. Using a simple background with vegetations, and using the sun light that pierced through the trees, this is a simple & clean shot of a pair of lovers. We love it due to its simplicity and how it matches the captions which is simple, innocent and its all about love. Good job Siew Ni!
The Prizes!
(All Winners had been contacted for Prize Collection – we will be back with photos!)
1st Prize: Winner Richard Chia
– JOBY Gorillapod 3K Pro Kit (worth S$179) by Cathay Photo Store Pte Ltd
– Phat Company, SSSS.Gridman Akane Shinjo Figure (Worth $227) by Chronicles Inc – In collaboration with Genesis Frontier
2nd Prize: Winner Loh Chiueh Eyen
– JOBY Gorillapod 3K Kit (worth S$108)
– Good Smile Company, Fate Grand Order Saber/Altria Pendragon: Heroic Spirit Formal Dress Version Figure (Worth $154) by Chronicles Inc – In collaboration with Genesis Frontier
3rd Prize: Winner Loke Man Kai
– JOBY Podzilla Large Kit (worth S$79) by Cathay Photo Store Pte Ltd
– Toytec, Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & Secret Hideout Nendoroid No. 1543 Ryza (Worth $103)
03 x Consolation Prizes: Winners Serene Ong, Ken Loh & Jolyn Goh
– JOBY Podzilla Medium Kit (worth S$64) by Cathay Photo Store Pte Ltd
– Re Zero Rem in Circus SSS Figure, Furyu Demon Slayer Toonize Tanjiro x 2. (Worth $27 each) by Chronicles Inc – In collaboration with Genesis
View all the Accepted Entries here!
Closing Note from Judges:
This is the first post-covid photo competition and we are pleased to receive so many great entries. Many had put in lots of effort to create the story in their images and how we wish everyone can win. We were also humbled by how far some of the photographers took to painfully build up a background scene just to take a single shot. It simply amazed us that Toy Photography is still going on so strongly and we hope this movement will continue, so that we all may continue to enjoy these amazing images from all of you. Thank you Everyone, we hope everyone had fun & keep shooting!
– Judging Panelists
(Cathay Photo / Chronicles Inc / Ourshutterjourney)
Open Photo Critique Session (Free)
Ourshutterjourney Photography Academy is conducting an Open Photo Critique for the competition entries and all Photographers who had submitted successfully are encouraged to join. The session will be hosted by one of the Judges – Allan Lee, Principal Trainer of Ourshutterjourney Photography Academy on
Date: 13th September 2022
Time: 7.30pm-9.30pm
At: 10 Anson Road, #03-54, International Plaza, Singapore 079903
To Register for this Free Session, you are required to RSVP
– via Whatapps to +65 8388 8135
– or email to editorial_ourshutterjourney@hotmail.com
– See You there!
=========================
Contributing Editor – Melody Tan
Loves quiet walks along beaches, has a mind of her own and decides everything in life in either black or white with nothing in between. Her priority these days revolves around her 2 lovely kids & teaching them music or photography. A lover of yoga and an avid traveler, Melody aims to visit at least 30 countries before she reach 40 years old – from what we know, she had completed 27 as of 2018.
=========================
Contributing Editor – Lee Shi Qing
A firm believer of Self-Sufficient living and gives no f**k to anyone getting in her way to reaching her goals in life. Kind in nature & Dangerous when provoked. Loves Mcdonald’s Fries and hates all the burgers there. While she helps out in gear reviews, Qing is currently serving as an Online Administrator for Ourshutterjourney.com Facebook Groups and Online Shop.
========================
About Ourshutterjourney.com
Visit Our Online Store
Join Our Membership.
=========================
