Hizzah and many w00ts to Nik Fletcher and his spectacular summertime shot. Along with winning the first Mostly Lisa Photography Contest, he has won a super fun prize!

Special mentions go to Rob & Lauren and Scott Bradley who gave Nik a run for his money with their awesome shots.

I am always interested to know the story behind a great photo, so I asked Nik to share the story of “The Anonymous Surfer”:

‘The Anonymous Surfer’ was taken on the last night of my stay in San Diego in September. The previous evening, I’d witnessed a gorgeous sunset – one that had disappeared by the time I had run back to the hotel, grabbed my camera bag, and made it back to Pacific Beach.

So for the time it came to the last evening in town, I took the camera bag with me to dinner, and waited. Because of the lens I primarily shoot with (10-20mm) I dropped down onto the beach, and quite by chance this surfer was about to pass me by. With the sunset in the background, and after a week of my own attempts to body-board, it seemed like a fitting photo to end the holiday.

Technical Details: Nikon D80, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 HSM EX lens, 10mm focal length, 1/40 sec @ f/4. The shot was deliberately underexposed on the camera, only modification in Aperture being to ensure the horizon was perfectly level.

Thanks Nik! And a hi-5 to all the people who entered the contest. It’s never easy to have your photos judged, but I think it’s really important to share your photos with others and see what other people are creating. It’s also a great feeling to receive comments and encouragement from other enthusiastic photographers.

And with that I present the next Mostly Lisa Photography Contest: Portraits!

Submissions:
Add your best portrait (as in ONE image) to the Mostly Lisa Photo Competition Group on Flickr

The portrait can be of anything with a face, i.e. person, animal, teddy bear, etc.

Deadline:
Thursday November 10th.

Now show me some awesome portraits!