Winners of the Monochrome Photo Challenge!

Hi everyone, I'm pleased to announce the winners of the Monochrome Photo Challenge. We had an amazing collection of submissions, and as usual, it was difficult to pick our favorite top 10 images. As a reminder, the theme for this challenge was "Monochrome," either color or black & white. "Monochrome" as technically defined means that the photo has varying shades of only one color. We broadened the definition a bit to make it more inclusive for color photographers, so we allowed color images that had a strong dominant color. That said, most of the photos submitted were black and white, although we did have a few color images—and as it turns out, a color monochrome image was our overall top pick!

First prize goes to Rocky LaRose, who submitted this gorgeous photo of a running horse. The photo is dominated by varying shades of the color brown, and has a dynamic composition as well as lots of mood. Rocky will receive a $25 gift card from Hunt's Photo and a choice between a Tamron 20mm f/2.8 lens for Sony cameras or a SlickPic one-year Do It Yourself Pro Plan.

If you want to see the rest of our top 10 picks, and our thoughts on why each image was special and some helpful suggestions for improving your own photography, watch the announcement video below.

Thank you everyone for your amazing submissions. Taya and I look forward to seeing what else you have for us in the next challenge!