Ladies and Gentlemen- After many weeks of going through and voting on images, we have our Grand Prize winner. Prepare to be a little shocked, I am wondering if we may have a photographic prodigy on our hands here: She is a 16 year old (!!), non-pro from Romania. Her name is Fely Simion. She mostly shoots with an XTi and I am very proud and excited to announce her as this years Michael The Maven 2010 Grand Prize winner!!
I have her brand new Canon 7D with Kit Lens here and will be sending it to her shortly. If you get a chance, please check out her website, it is stunningly awesome. Again....serious skills here for a 16yr old non-pro:
Fely Simion's Photo Website
Fely, I am so absolutely proud of you for submitting your image and winning this contest- it is an amazing accomplishment! We are all very happy and excited for you and are very much looking forward to seeing more of your work. YOU ARE AWESOME! Please continue your dream of art and photography!
I only learned about Fely a couple days ago, she is amazingly humble and describes very well what I think we all go through (self doubt) - I hope she doesnt mind me sharing here.
She writes about the image:
It was the end of August when Aisii (the model) and her husband came to my town for a collaboration we had established a few months before. I was not quite sure about the location, but we decided to peer at the botanical garden. Although the scorching sun was not helping us too much, we managed to find the right place through all those viny summery trees. I took the photograph with Aisii's husband's camera, Canon 5D Mark II, and was blown away, as it was the first time I ever used professional equipment. It was a quick photo session, but I felt delighted with the results, which makes me be for ever grateful to them.
As for myself, I am just a 16-year-old dreamer beyond remedy who has been fascinated by the art of photography since 13, and whose goal is to somewhere, somehow, remain part of history....It has been such a difficult year, while I struggled with all the possible emotions, not trusting myself, not having faith in what I do, and hearing this from you just makes me want to hug my camera and go back to work (play)...I still consider myself a beginner, a mad amateur or something, and I think I will forever be likewise. Sure, I hope to learn many things along the way, but there will always be more to discover, which I don't mind at all (I'm pretty much an avid quirk)..
Thank you, Michael, for the opportunity to be part of your wonderful contest, among so many talented artists.
A huge big Congratulations FELY!! :)
