A huge thank you to everyone who entered our recent photography competition. We’ve received some absolutely phenomenal photos, and I’m thrilled to open up voting for you to choose your favourite! Read on to view the images, and find out how to choose the winner.
The Voting Process
We’ve gone through all the submissions received, and picked around 150 that we feel are worthy of putting to a reader vote. If yours wasn’t included, we hope you won’t be discouraged and will try again next time!
Voting will take place in three parts of around 50 images each, with the 10 highest rated photos of these three rounds going into a “final”.
This is the first round, and the next two will be published over the coming two weeks. If you don’t see your photo here today, don’t worry – it’s probably coming up in round two or three.
Spend some time looking over the following photos and, when you’ve decided which you’d like to win, scroll to the bottom of the page to cast your vote! You’ll be able to vote once for each round, and again in the final!
The Competition Finalists – Round 1 of 3
Entry Number: 1
This little guy wasn’t very happy about being woken up from his afternoon nap. It only took a few minutes of bonding with his dad to get him happy, smiling and ready for his very first birthday party. For many of us, we don’t remember our first birthday party or many of our first celebrations. The family, friends and of course the Dads never forget these little happy memories.
Entry Number: 2
Although I still read Mickey Mouse, but those old black and white ones reminds me of my childhood, the ones you see in the picture are around 14 years old.
Entry Number: 3
I took this photo on a walk with my daughter and fiance on a beautiful spring day 3 years ago. It is uploaded as shot, completely unedited. This photo represents two sets of memories for me – of my own childhood and the time I was able to spend with my daughter that spring and summer.
Entry Number: 4
This photograph of a worn, wrinkled cricket ball rekindles many different memories for me, family and friends. Shot with the addition my father’s 1970’s Tamron lens fitted to my DSLR, I have and will continue to capture my teenage events through the same lens as he did when he was a teenager. From my father’s point of view, this picture represents the passing of a hobby – photography – to the next generation of his family. From my mothers point of view, it is not the mechanics behind the image but the subject – the cricket ball which was used by her, her siblings and their friends.
It rekindles the enjoyment they had playing cricket together during the summer. For me, the photograph represents memories which I have not seen, but have heard about. In the summer, I play cricket with my siblings and friends, sometimes using this ball, again bringing down a hobby to to the next generation of my family. I feel that the vividness of the red in the ball shows that it still has some life left in it and it will be used further in the future generations
Entry Number: 5
Entry Number: 6
Entry Number: 7
Memories, it can be anything. Starting from a small significant thing, music and other. Some time it takes us to our childhood or even takes part in memories about our first love. The fragment space of full memory is reflected on my photo, but there are no things that could remind of something, there are only the trails of those things.
Entry Number: 8
I took this photo at a Civil War Living History Event. How appropriate for an assignment on memories is an event that brings the past alive? This woman reminds me a bit of my grandmother who used to knit caps for me when I was very young.
More than that, it looks as if the knitter was thinking about something very pleasant that happened in her past. The blurred background is like some distance place that remains only in her memories.
Entry Number: 9
Dad hosing the backyard. A tipical new year holiday afternoon. It is summer here in South America, and it reminds me of my childhood in the brazilian countryside.
Entry Number: 10
In this picture a kid his enjoying a sweet right to the end…. reminds me of how I enjoyed those chocolates given to me by my mother as a reward for working hard at school (Even though i hardly worked 
) A child has the innocence that would take you years back in the past and make you remember all those incredible small moments that you would usually forget….
Entry Number: 11
I captured this image of my two sons during their first beach trip. What’s better than sun, sand, and water to play in. They were a little afraid of the ocean, so we setup a small pool on the beach and let them play with their sailboats and shovels. I will never forget their reaction to their first beach experience, and this photo sums all that up.
Entry Number: 12
A moment taken to indulge in a forgotten childhood, a playground brings out any inner child. It is an intrinsic memory, kept within as your body instinctively reaches for that swing.
You stop as you realise it is a memory resurfacing, taking over for that brief moment. You realise and sit, laughing at the child you so briefly let out.
Entry Number: 13
I have always been fascinated by the sneakers you might see hanging on the telephone lines around various cities. Although the meaning of the sneakers is debatable, no matter which meaning you believe is true they all somehow invoke a moment or memory.
A large moment or memory I have is of course, film. The look and feel is really something that is hard to replicate, especially in print. The natural nostalgia that the grain has is something I miss at times and my goal was to get a personal feeling back in a digital format.
I hope you enjoy the image as much as I enjoyed making it.
Entry Number: 14
This is a training for the Ames Fire Department. When I was a boy I wanted to be a fire fighter. When I grew up I became an Emergency Medical Technician and now I am in college to be a police officer. You could say this picture created all my dreams.
Entry Number: 15
One thing I hope a never forget is playing this game with the master at it (aka, my dad). The game is an old one called Acquire and is the best strategy game out there. Period.
When I first started playing this game, I was, understandably, terrible at it. Over the next few years, I got better, even to the point where I could win the occasional game, but I don’t think I’ve ever been able to match the level of skill my dad plays at.
I hope I never forget all the fun times I had playing this with my dad. Maybe some day when I have kids I’ll be able to pass it along to them.
Entry Number: 16
This photo means to me that we have to remember about those we love and communicate with them as often as we can, especially now when it’s so easy to do. And we also have to keep them in memory when they leave us, cause memories are the only things we leave after.
Entry Number: 17
They say that “The eyes are the window to the soul”. I can’t think of a truer description of my wife, Tanya, or this photo of her. She has the most gorgeous eyes I have ever seen. Beyond their stunning blue color and clarity, they reflect a much deeper inner beauty. She is as kind as the day is long, quick to offer a smile and an encouraging word, and always seems to offer something that will make you laugh and forget the troubles of the moment.
On this day, we were visiting Seneca Lake, located in New York state’s gorgeous wine country. We lazily made our way to each of the vineyards, sipping wine, talking, laughing, and simply enjoying life. I happened to catch Tanya glancing wistfully at the beauty of our surroundings and snap this picture. Despite the thousands of photos I have taken of Tanya over the years, this one seemed to capture her beauty better than any other.
Entry Number: 18
This photo reminds me of how simple the times were back when i had not a care in the world, being at a very young age then.
Although I didn’t have much money to spend to take great quality photos with a SLR or anything, I still had the passion to capture the moment. Regardless of the digital quality, I still felt the moment had to be captured somehow to express how I seen it
Entry Number: 19
Eternal memory was left to us by our grandfathers who were at war for the Native land, for the future generation, in the Second World War. We cannot feel all their pains and sufferings, but we can store memoirs on them and be proud of their courage. War, in which practically in each family somebody has lost, forever remains in memory of generations.
Entry Number: 20
Two quotes come to mind whenever I see this picture I took during a church organized mission trip to Selangau indigenous longhouse.
“Children have neither a past nor a future. Thus they enjoy the present – which seldom happens to us.” Jean de la Bruyere
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” Pablo Picasso
The children were coloring the eggs for easter which was the message we wanted to send across to the people during this mission trip. I do like to think we did a good job seeing how happy they were from this picture.
Entry Number: 21
In India, I saw this old man sitting on the corner of road alone. I stopped my Motor Cycle and went near to him asked him ” can i take a snap of you”. He replied “me?”. I said “yes,sir! i want to take a photograph of you… smiling sir.”
“My smile and happiness gone along with my Late wife… my son have sleeping disease which doctors told cannot able to cure. My daughter not accepting me and she think I’m a burden for her. Only My Daughter-in-law is only going for work and earning money but its not enough for spending my sick son and for her expenses so i don’t want to be a burden for them at home so, I will be sitting here and spending my life by thinking about my wife and the good memories we had together”.
He continued “I want to die but I fear of pain because i think enough of pain in my life at least i don’t want to die with Pain, Death – Where are you ? take me with you without pain.”
I never expected this answer from him.. but i got an opportunity to meet a man living only with his memories. So much pain in this world.
Entry Number: 22
Today’s Joy, Tomorrow’s Memories! – My title says it all… I agree not only joy and rejoicing last forever but we never wait for a sorrows to sit in our head. In this picture I want bring out the memories of each and everyone’s childhood period. A time where full of happiness and joy which never comes back for us, but I’m happy that I have captured this movement for 6 children.
Entry Number: 23
This frame was just a quick moment, but always reminds me of a insignificant yet important childhood memory. Sometimes the most powerful memories we have are more represented by feelings than actual events. The feeling of comfort, warmth or home may have come from just a moment on your mothers lap, but can last a lifetime. Although there is a good deal of DOF here, there’s a fake tilt-shift added which brings the focus even more onto the girls face, and makes the frame just a little dreamy.
Entry Number: 24
This picture was taken on my uncle’s farm in the Free State, South Africa on my Gran’s 90th birthday. Her 88 year old sister is sitting next to her. She had a stroke 3 days later and passed away 3 months after that.
This will forever be the memory I have of my fantastic Granny who always had time for any of us, age 1 or 11 or 17 or 30. She was an amazing woman. And now, memories are all we have left.
Entry Number: 25
These are all the kicks and shoes that don’t fit my daughter anymore. They grow fast.
Entry Number: 26
I enjoy the fact that someone took the the time to collect all these items from so many places.
Entry Number: 27
As a child, I went on quite a few family vacations to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. I developed a major love of Disney World and still consider it one of my favorite places to visit, despite being “just a theme park” to some.
Whenever I go, I have an immediate sense of nostalgia just remembering the good times my family and I have had there. Recently I went back – without my family – and was struck by how much I missed being a kid. The autograph books, the mouse ear hats (oh, well I did rock the mouse ears), the balloons… I realized that just because I am an adult now, that doesn’t mean I can’t relive my childhood whenever I go back to Disney World.
Entry Number: 28
When my boyfriend and I went to Florida last September, I had no idea that he was counting on me to wake up to photograph the sunrise one morning. I love sunrises and make it a point on most vacations to wake up for at least one. Long story short, he knew me well enough to secretly plan his proposal for whichever morning I’d decide to roll us out of bed to head for the beach.
After the sun had risen about 45 minutes later, I started to pack my camera equipment away, ready to hit the shower and eat breakfast back at the hotel. But instead, Jon proposed.
It was even more incredible than I’d have imagined that moment to be. I wanted to document it somehow, but in the true essence of early morning photography, I was still in my pajamas… and don’t even get me started on my hair. I snapped a few self portraits of us, but I wanted something that we could frame and look at forever, to preserve the memory of that special morning.
I set my tripod back up and adjusted the settings to create a silhouette of the two of us, backlit by the sunrise. I am so happy with the way this picture turned out. It brings us right back to that September morning in Florida: sand between our toes, waves washing around our ankles, and a ring upon my finger.
Entry Number: 29
Washed and nostalgic memories looking at a little girl trying to make her kite fly.
Entry Number: 30
Washed and nostalgic memories looking at a little girl trying to make her kite fly.
Entry Number: 31
A picture of a little girl playing by the river can make one recall memories of themselves when they were once a little kid playing by the water. There is nothing better than throwing rocks at the water and just reminds me of the life when we were kids as life was so simple and enjoying without the stress and pressures of an adult life.
Entry Number: 32
Being read to as a baby is something that all babies have the experience of. Although most of us would not remember the actual instances, when we see it happen, we know we have been in that role before and its nice to continue the cycle of life and read and educate to the next generation.
Entry Number: 33
This photo is the literal act of memory. It was taken with the purpose of reminding me, if I ever forgot, about where I had been and where I was going. As the photo was being taken (with the self-timer, an act of creating memory pre-emptively) I was mulling everything I had been through over in my head. When I look at this photo, I literally remember remembering and remember remembering to remember and I remember what I am to remember. It is deliberate, like the art of memory, and accidental like the fact of memory.
Entry Number: 34
This is Víctor David Finol Arraiz, my firstborn son, three weeks after he was born. A few days before taking this picture I dropped one of my vintage lenses, and its mechanism got stuck. I disarmed it and looking through it I got the idea for this photo. The effect is real, it is not edited. It was taken with an old 50mm Pentax manual lens, through an old 50mmChinon lens. It’s memorable to me, to my family, because the lens in the picture was the first lens I bought (fist one I ever broke, too) and used on my first DSLR ever, taken within the first month of living in my first apartment, and the subject is my parents first grandson. I have gotten many complements on this picture, and I think it is one my son will proudly hang on his wall when he is a man.
Entry Number: 35
Traveling was one of the most incredible parts of living in China. Life in the Chinese countryside was far different from anything I had ever seen in America, and even anything in Beijing. This picture was taken in Yunnan, China after a long walk through the Chinese countryside. We arrived at an overlook and stopped to watch the sun set. The mountains around us were terraced for miles without the help of modern machinery. The water-filled rice paddies reflected the sun up the canyon, creating a dream-like effect. This picture reminds me of that incredible sunset, but also of all the other incredible things I saw traveling.
Entry Number: 36
This picture was taken in an art district called M50 in Shanghai, China. My American parents had come to visit me over Christmas break and some of their old friends were showing us around Shanghai (they are the silhouettes in this picture). This picture reminds me of the confusion I felt when they came: my American life and my Chinese life were overlapping and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It was a taste of what life would be like returning to the States.
Entry Number: 37
Memories are heartbeats
Sounding through the years
Echoes never fading
Of our smiles and our tears.
Moments that are captured
Sometimes unaware
Pictured in an album
Or a lock of hair.
Images that linger
Deep within the mind
Bit of verse we cherished
Once upon a time.
Through the musty hallways
Of the days we knew
Ever comes the vision
Beautiful and true.
Memories are roses
Blooming evermore
Full of fragrant sweetness
Never known before.
Life must have a meaning
Goals for which to strive
Memories are lights that burn
To keep the heart alive
Entry Number: 38
Entry Number: 39
This photo was taken in January of this year during a visit in LA to surprise my friend on her birthday, and is probably my favorite photograph I’ve taken in the 6 years or so I’ve been pursuing photography as a hobby. The photo was taken during lunch at the same restaurant we all ate lunch at after we met for the first time. This place serves to remind me of what was essentially the starting point of my relationship with my two best friends, who unfortunately now live 4 hours away.
Every time I see this photo, it instantly transports me back to LA, back to this booth, in this restaurant, with my best friends, and the incredible memories I’ve had with them come rushing back into my mind. Whenever I am having a bad day, something isn’t going right, or I just need a reminder of some of the greatest moments I’ve had in my life, I pull out a creased, wrinkled copy of this photo from my wallet; when I unfold it, I can feel me fear, worries, and anxieties !
fading away, and I know that all will be right in the world.
Entry Number: 40
My little brother on learning to ride a bycicle. My papa is seen in the background, helping him hold balance. This picture was taken during the summer, at our summerhouse.
Learning to ride a bycicle is an important thing in Denmark, and is a skill you will need the rest of your life. To me, this event was fun to document. I hope to pass print of it on to my brother, once he grows old enough to appreciate it.
Entry Number: 41
I took the day off to photograph what I anticipated would be a very interesting day of protest marches through the streets of Pittsburgh, during the G-20 Summit. There were some very tense moments between police and protesters the day before the march and during it as well. The police were clearly out in force and clearly were going to safeguard the property of the city and its citizens.
Amidst the crowds, many of which were clearly angry and expressing a great deal of frustrations with the G-20 Summit leaders who in habited Pittsburgh’s Convention Center, I found this beautiful young lady. She was dancing through the streets with some of her fellow theater students from Carnegie Mellon University. I didn’t catch her name, but affectionately dubbed her, “Sister Moon Child”, due to her expressive eyes and playful nature.
She was a real delight, signing, chanting, and dancing for approximately three miles through the streets of downtown Pittsburgh. Her expressive eyes and facial expressions reminded me of Annie Lennox quite a bit. Of all the people that marched that day, she and her colleagues surely got the most exercise! She seemed to have no ax to grind, but was simply there to express her artistic talents and provide a bit of joy and levity in a somewhat tense environment.
Seven months after posting her photo on my flickr site, I was surprised to see a note from her on one of her photos. She had apparently found the photos I took of her and provided her name and website links. I was pleased to finally find the true identity of the beautiful and talented lady I first called “Sister Moon Child”.
Entry Number: 42
Me and some friends went down to the water and took some photos, i kinda like this one. How he sits there, memories.
Entry Number: 43
The photo was taken in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, on 9 of May, which is the official Victory day in Kazakhstan. The man was staying in front of the scene and stared at actors performed period of WW-II. Alone man with no motion, no emotion in crowd around even when performance ended.
Entry Number: 44
This picture i shot when i went to countryside, at the evening children of this village usually come to the river and jump from the bridge, this scene made me remember about my childhood when i was the same age.
Entry Number: 45
This is a really poor boy from Brazil, that lives in a really poor house, with not even a TV, with his parents and 9 siblings.
You can see the memory in his eyes, from a life of pain and effort to help his parents bring the food home and keep him and his siblings safe from hunger.
Entry Number: 46
Memories. Those moments where you know it will be embedded into your mind forever. It could be the simplest of day or the most emotional night where you know that you captured a moment. Memories are those things that when you are taking a stroll in the park or a cruise in the car you begin to reflect back on. I want the memories that will bring back the simplicity and natural connection. You can always find a memory between the love of two.
Entry Number: 47
This picture is my cousin. She lives in peru. She is always serious – maybe because she lives in a poor community. She’s strong, taking care of her brother and her sister. When she looks at you sometimes you can see her love and sadness. She goes on strong one step at the time. I call this photo “Into Your Eyes”
Entry Number: 48
Shells thrown into the sea travel far to the horizons and after years, I still come back every evening, in hope of finding the shell I have thrown into the sea , so to revive the old memories of mine!
Entry Number: 49
A picture of my father from New Year’s Eve, a couple of years ago. In that time I was staying with my parents, but now I’ve moved some hundred miles away and I can’t see them as often as I wanted too. This reminds me of celebrating New Year’s Eve with all the family, having a nice meal together.
Entry Number: 50
This photo was taken on one of the last mornings of my family’s vacation in Hughada, Egypt. We had a two-week stay at a wonderful resort that was right on the Red Sea. Every morning we would get up at around 5:30am to go down to the beach and watch the beautiful sunrise. This photo shows just a piece of the joy that we experienced.
The Red Sea has such beautiful and calm mornings that we enjoyed every day. We had a great time with friends and each other. It was one of the best vacations I’ve ever had. It’s also one of my last with my family, as I will be going away to college this next year. That fact makes it all the more special to me personally. I want to keep the memory brought out by this photo for many years to come.
Cast Your Vote
Which image did you like best in this round?survey software
Coming up Next…
Stay tuned to the site, because we’ll be posting up the second round of voting later this week. Best of luck to all our photographers!