Your Best Shot brings out some of the very best from the Flickr community every year and this year was no different. With the Your Best Shot group reaching almost 13,000 members submitting over 9.6K photos, the competition was friendly but tough. Flickr members had the opportunity to submit a single photo to one of these 5 categories: People and Portrait, Wildlife and Nature, Urban, Open and Through Her/Their Lens. And this year, that one extra special photo from the category winners was selected to win our special grand prize!
All 5 category winners were awarded a year of Flickr Pro and a gorgeous metal print of their choice. Our grand prize winner will be the owner of a brand-new camera with the option to choose their preferred camera from these great options:
- Sony A7 IV
- Canon EOS R6 Mark II
- Nikon Z7 II
- Fujifilm X-T5
Without further delay, let’s get to the big reveal. Meet this year’s Your Best Shot Contest winners!
Urban Category: ”Geometry of Loneliness” by Milan Cvijanovic
Meet the photographer: Photographer Milan Cvijanovic was born in Bosnia where he stayed until the mid 90’s. He says, ”At that time I wrote about film and photography, working as a journalist and curator of film events in Bosnia’s capital Sarajevo. Since 2002, I have lived in Montreal and I am recently retired. I have been taking photographs since childhood for almost 60 years.” Milan says he always has his camera with him, with his winning photo being taken with his favorite pocket camera, a Ricoh GR III. His real go to gear though is a digital mirrorless Nikon camera sporting one of his many vintage lenses. Milan explains his approach to photography, “I believe that beauty is not in technical perfection but what emerges from interaction between photographer, subject, observer and imperfections of vintage gear.”
About the winning photo: We asked Milan to tell us a little about his winning photo and he explains, “The photo is one in a series of photos I took at Montreal’s metro stations that share a common theme of loneliness in the architectural beauty. It is taken at Place Saint-Henri station. Light cropping and processing was done with Darktable software.
Open Category: “Power Nap” by Alex Krasnicki
Meet the photographer: Alex has enjoyed photography as a part-time hobby for many years, starting first with film compacts and then transitioning, in the digital era, to using a Canon EOS 300 SLR. He focuses on a variety of genres but settles mostly in photographing landscapes, nature, and animals. He says, “These days, I’m embracing a simpler approach – less about carrying multiple lenses and more about working creatively with what I have on hand while exploring.”
About the winning photo: Alex describes the setup for his winning photo, “I captured this scene on Samos Island in Greece. The arched window frames a lazy afternoon moment, with dramatic contrasts between the dark interior and the bright, hazy exterior that give it an almost painted quality. For me, it perfectly embodies the spirit of the Greek Islands – where life moves at its own unhurried pace and time seems to slow down. What really drew me to this moment was how all the elements came together – the composition with its clean proportions, the interplay of light and shadow, and that dreamy background view with a tree branch dancing at the edge. It felt like one of those scenes you just have to photograph.”
Through Her/Their Lens Category: “Safety Among Wishes” by Victoria Faye
Meet the photographer: Flickr member Victoria Faye has a gorgeous and thoughtful talent for capturing nature with the help of her Nikon, that this year’s Your Best Shot judges truly admired. Based in southern Ohio, Victoria calls herself an interdisciplinary visual artist.
About the winning photo: We asked Victoria for a little backstory on her winning photo and she says, “I’d only been shooting macro photography for a couple of months and was mostly shooting in my yard to practice. That particular day it had been raining off and on so I went out to see if I could find any cool looking plants covered in water droplets, and I came across a dandelion. It looked amazing, with its fluffy seeds no longer fluffy but trapped within big droplets of accumulated water. So I bent down to take a photo, handheld, balancing myself and my camera next to the flower. When I lifted the camera back up to check the shot and focus, I got the surprise of the spider! It was out of focus toward the back of the dandelion, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed it when I crouched down. So I walked to the other side where I could see it better, framed it up and took the shot I posted here. And it’s the photo I point to when I tell people how much I love macro photography, because it’s helped me see more of the world than I even realized was there. It also makes all my friends and family laugh, because I’m terrified of spiders. Anything for the shot though, right?”
Wildlife and Nature Category: “Moody mountains” by Carolin Juliane Krüger
Meet the photographer: Carolin is based in Halle, Germany and performs professionally in her city’s orchestra, Staatskapelle Halle, as their principal violist. Carolin says, “I love to balance my life of practicing and performing in confined spaces (as a musician) with spending my free time outdoors: hiking, cycling, kayaking, I love them all, and always have my camera by my side.”
About the winning photo: When asked how her winning photo came to be she explains, “I made this photograph the evening before a one-day hike in the Dolomites preceding an orchestral project that took part in Dobbiaco/Toblach, Italy. I’d arrived at the mountain hut that I was staying at for the night earlier than expected, so I had time to explore the surrounding area and take a walk around the famous Tre Cime di Lavaredo. When I had almost completed the tour, there was a thunderstorm creeping in from the opposite side of the valley and the light of the setting sun perfectly added to the dramatic mood. Luckily the thunderstorm didn’t come over to our side and the sky cleared up during the night, allowing me to take a couple of Milky Way shots later on.”
And for the top spot meet Portrait Category AND Grand Prize Winner:
“Her” by Oleksandr Honchar
Meet the photographer: Originally from Ukraine and currently based in Madrid, Spain, Oleksandr Honchar has had a camera in hand since his childhood. He remembers finding a passion for photography as early as 6 years old while taking snapshots on a film camera during a family trip, mushroom picking. From there he was hooked and a look through his Flickr site will show his passion for photography come to life in each beautiful, thoughtful photo. Oleksandr says, “I work with analog and digital cameras and also with Polaroid! I work as a photographer and videographer in the fashion field and in the field of events and weddings. In my free time I work with landscapes and more artistic style of photography and in experimental/abstract style as well.”
About the winning photo: He tells us the story behind his grand prize winning photo, “The picture was taken on the northern coast of Spain in the Galicia region, in the surroundings of the city A Coruña. I was riding on bikes with friends of mine by the local coast and we had very great luck to see a beautiful sunset at the end of a cloudy and windy day over there. The beauty of the landscapes, location, perfect sunlight and my talented beautiful friend Mariia Fedun (who is also talented director) were matching this perfect moment to take a photo of natural beauty and sincere happiness so we could make a very beautiful and magical memory about that day., That (moment), even through all the problems and challenges that we had in the past years: including the war in Ukraine, living in another country and integrating into local life, as we were living in very different regions of Spain, despite everything the friendship is still alive and when we are reunited we can create magical and inspiring things together!”
Thank you again to the Flickr community for another successful Your Best Shot Contest. Every year you show up with top notch photos that truly show some of the best of the best on Flickr.