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Bloemenveld, Holland

Yvonne Denman

United States of America

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At this Buddhist temple, I was hoping to spy a  Kongōrikish statue, fierce protectors placed at temple gates. I never saw one at this temple - until I began editing the third image in this series, and saw a flash of blue. To my surprise, the protector had chosen to remain hidden until a later time.

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Nominee

The Kongōrikishi of Kannon-Ji Temple, Japan

In this monochromatic blue landscape image, a solitary swan glides across Lake Hakone with Mt. Fuji as the backdrop, its majesty softened by haze. As I captured this scene with my camera, I was struck by the swan's elegance—as graceful as a ballerina.

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Swan Lake, Japan

The boat entrance of Villa del Balbianello, surrounded by a tree canopy, produced beautiful filtered light on the lake below and shone a spotlight on the four vintage water taxis approaching the rendevous point. Zoom in to view the boat captains expertly coordinating their arrival.

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The Rendezvous Point, Lake Como, Italy

At Palazzo Borromeo, I spied a French door that provided a picture frame view of Isola dei Pescatori, one of the three pearls of Lago Maggiore, Italy.

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A Picture-Frame View, Lago Maggiore, Italy

This series reimagines Holland's tulip fields as vibrant, painterly landscapes of motion, light, and hue. Using ICM and selective focus techniques, the series embraces the emotional qualities of the floral expanse, transforming linear rows of tulips into dreamlike fields of color and texture.

Bronze

This image captures the bold geometry of Rotterdam’s iconic yellow Cube Houses in stark contrast against a deep, uninterrupted blue sky.  This composition emphasizes clean lines, sharp angles, and the surreal balance of form and color.

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Honorable Mention

Cube Houses, Rotterdam

A field of red tulips stretches in angled, uniform rows toward the horizon, where a stark line of trees interrupts the meeting of land and sky. Photographed in Holland, the image distills the landscape to its essentials: red, blue, green, line, and space.