W-wa Jeziorki: A proud moment

I've been taking photographs since the early 1980s, so over 40 years since I bought my first Nikon; over that time I have never entered any photographic contest - until this year.

One of the four photos I entered in the local konkurs fotograficzny won a distinction (fourth prize); I proudly claimed my diploma last week which shall be displayed on the wall in my działka. A sign of participation in the life of the local community.

The contest was organised by the Stowarzyszenie Przyjaciół Gminy Chynów, (Association of Friends of Chynów Municipality), and you can see all 57 entries on the association's Facebook page (scroll down a bit).

Each photo had to have in included in its file name the grid coordinates of where it was taken, to ensure that only genuine views photographed within the boundaries of the gmina would be included, and not generic shots of orchards snapped elsewhere.

As one of the conditions was that none of the photos could have been previously published (including online), this is the first time I'm showing my entries on the blog. Now, the photo which won the distinction (below) is similar, but from a slightly different angle to one I have already published (in this post) - not cheating!

Below: 'Spring - Cherry Orchard in Bloom, Jakubowizna.' The award-winning photo. No jiggery-pokery in Photoshop - just the use of a polarising filter to draw out the contrast between the sky, the blossom and the leaves.