Your guide to the region's top events, mixed with some commentary about life, media, gossip and politics in Washington, DC.

August Photo-Contest Finalists

The top photos in our trash-and-treasure-themed photo contest have been chosen. Read on to see our picks and vote for your favorite.

NOTE: Voting in this contest is now closed; scroll down to see the winner. The theme for next month's contest will be announced on September 1. Stay tuned!

We pored over the submissions for our trash-and-treasure-themed contest and selected our favorites to advance to the finals. Now we need you to weigh in. Scroll down to see the finalists, then take the poll at the bottom of the page to vote for your favorite. The photo with the most votes at noon on August 31 will be declared the winner. It’ll run in the October issue of The Washingtonian.

As always, it’s one vote per person. If we notice voting irregularities with any one photograph, The Washingtonian reserves the right to disqualify it from the contest.

Don’t forget to check out our winners’ gallery to see all the past photo-contest winners. Check back on Tuesday, September 1, for next month’s theme and how to enter.

"Broken Jewels" by Annie Riker of Arlington

Who knew bits of broken window glass could be so lovely?

"Pop of Pink" by Allie Carroll of Arlington

Georgetown cupcake spot Baked & Wired repurposed an old bicycle and added a whimsical touch to its storefront.

"Maternity Ward" by Alan G. Carroll of Silver Spring

A robin turned a rusty piece of farm equipment into an unlikely—yet cozy—home.

"Restoration Hardware" by David Kay of Leesburg

The photographer found a construction crew hard at work restoring this old house in St. Michaels to its former glory.

“Beauty in the Bin” by Floyd Yarmuth of Annapolis

The photographer found a worthy subject in a discarded traffic cone in Dupont Circle. "I was struck by the bright colors," he says.

Vote here!

*To help keep this contest fair, we've elected to use an IP address-based poll. This means that if you are voting from an office or network setting, not everybody will be able to vote. We apologize for the inconvenience, but we hope you'll encourage coworkers to vote from their home computers.

More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Party Photos

Category Tags: Photo Contest

Comments

Symbolic Realism in The Moment

Posted by: Floyd Yarmuth, Aug 30, 2009 08:25:14 AM

I agree with the Broken Jewels! As far as the theme, I think it captures the treasure the best. I’d love to have it hanging on my wall, too. Well done!

Posted by: Christy M, Aug 28, 2009 09:56:32 AM

I love the first pic, that really captures "trash and treasure" theme. Basically, you find that beauty in broken glass pieces. Even when it is trash, you still find treasure in it. wonderful! Personally I don’t get "restoration hardware" and "beauty in the bin." It could be just me but I kinda like that pink bike(who wouldn’t love pop of color like that?) but seriously woman behind it ruins the whole image for me. So posy. and not even with nice fashion pose. Bare wall or even some graffiti would have worked for me.

Posted by: Babyboo, Aug 28, 2009 09:45:53 AM

@anonymous - Anyone may enter our photo contests. Several professional photographers have won in past contests.

Posted by: Emily at Washingtonian.com, Aug 24, 2009 02:01:05 PM

Pop of Pink shows originality above the others.
The selection of viewpoint was critical to its success.

Posted by: Betty Warner, Aug 21, 2009 02:42:23 PM

I the the broken glass is most artistic. The maternity photo is brilliant urban renewal.

Posted by: gmw, Aug 21, 2009 07:39:49 AM

I can see how "Maternity Ward" is used to interpret the trash/treasure theme, but taken alone, this photo is kind of a bland snapshot. I would have rather seen a creative angle or framing. I think "Beauty in the Bin" can actually stand alone as an artistic photo, in addition to applying to the theme. Well done.

Posted by: Erika, Aug 21, 2009 06:37:01 AM

Do the rules exclude professional photogs? These are all fairly marginal...

Posted by: anonymous, Aug 20, 2009 04:00:38 PM

@DVS - We didn’t forget! Just no runners-up this time around. Check back next month. Thanks!

Posted by: Emily at Washingtonian.com, Aug 20, 2009 01:23:45 PM

I happen to think that "Pop of Pink" shows the most creativity and character. The angle that the photographer used was nothing less than fabulous. True talent. That is all I can say!

Posted by: EFab, Aug 20, 2009 12:12:09 PM

Maternity Ward shows an interesting tension between the mechanical and the organic. We tend to think of humanity’s cleverness in coming up with mechanical devices, but here we see that our cleverness ends as neglected and rusting hulks while life miraculously renews itself -- even in the cold hardness of rusting metal.

Posted by: Dale Lowery, Aug 20, 2009 11:23:06 AM

What happened to the runners-up section?

Posted by: DVS, Aug 20, 2009 10:27:16 AM

Maternity Ward: Both very innovative - the bird and the photographer - who is looking for a winner under a junk of steel?

Posted by: jnelson, Aug 20, 2009 10:10:53 AM

"Maternity Ward" offers the incredible contrast of the place run down by time which is the same that now protects new life. Balance. Old & new. Very nice.

Posted by: Antonio Echavarria, Aug 20, 2009 08:01:28 AM

Pop Of Pink is truly awesome. It is the type of photo one would see in a an art gallery interpreting the mystique of PInk through objects and subjects. It allows each viewer a different perspective and a different opinion of the true meaning of the scene. It gives each viewer an individual approach which is truly the essence of art

Posted by: jwv, Aug 20, 2009 05:06:49 AM

What is special about "Pop of Pink"? I’ve seen many pictures of that bike, as it’s incredibly easy to snap a shot of it and end up with a cute picture. Overdone and uninteresting!

I’m most impressed by the first one-- broken glass is a difficult subject to photograph! Also, "Maternity Ward" is an interesting subject and a clever interpretation of the theme.

Posted by: photogirl, Aug 19, 2009 09:22:09 AM

Posted by: photogirl, Aug 19, 2009 09:21:02 AM

You know what? When you are "struck by the bright colors" there is realy no choice. Nice pic.

Posted by: GP, Aug 19, 2009 07:04:59 AM

I voted for Pop of Pink that photographer is very talented.

Posted by: Topher , Aug 18, 2009 02:15:05 PM

I voted for Pop of Pink...awesome shot...but have to say Maternity Ward is a close second imho.

Posted by: dcjeff, Aug 18, 2009 10:06:41 AM

Great contest. Glad to know about it. Good luck to all the contestants - especially Annie.

Posted by: Alicia Nordquist, Aug 18, 2009 08:41:18 AM

Lovely

Posted by: Monica Rohrer, Aug 17, 2009 03:14:45 PM