April 2023 Photo Contest Winners
Our mission at Potography is to foster a community that celebrates the art of cannabis photography. It all started with our April 2020 photo contest, so this month, April 2023, marks an important milestone in our exciting 3-year journey!
The April 2023 contest was particularly fun for us because it turned into a two-way competition between myself and @the_chronickk (we had some other entries, but we’ve been raising the quality standard and they didn’t make the cut, sadly).
As such, we decided to take this opportunity to see, once and for all, which ‘Potographer’ could snap the best photo: Sam or Nick.
Along with the usual hemp prints for prizes, Nick and I also agreed (sort of) that the winner of this particular contest will get bragging rights for life. Since this is our contest and we make the rules, we figured this just made sense.
So, without further ado, let’s get into our April 2023 photo contest results!
Third Place: @sammcblaze
“Chemdog 2017, Top Dawg Seeds“
As one of the founders behind Potography, I’ve had the joy of bringing together my love for cannabis cultivation and photography in one place. This month, I joined my own contest (ha!) for the second time ever and was fortunate enough to land in the third spot with a photo from my very own cannabis garden.
The third place photo captures the strain “Chemdog 2017,” bred by Top Dawg Seeds, right at harvest time. To capture the shot, I set up a small area outside my grow room where I could photograph my plants as they were being harvested. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while now, but I never had the space or patience to incorporate photo shoots into my harvest workflow. That said, I’m happy I finally did and even happier with how the shots came out!
This particular photo emphasizes the massive colas and vibrant green colors found in strains descending from the almighty Chemdog, one of my favorite cannabis strains of all time. This plant was an absolute pleasure to grow and photograph, and she’s definitely earned a permanent spot in my mother tent (unless and until I find another Chem to replace her, of course).
Moving on to the second spot…
Second Place: @sammcblaze
“Rainbow Zkittlez, Greenline Organics“
The second spot is also held by yours truly, with my photograph of the “Rainbow Zkittlez” strain bred by Greenline Organics. These seeds sat in my fridge for more than 6 years before I finally had the chance to plant them in 2022.
As you can see from the photo, the strain really lives up to the “rainbow” part of its name, and it’s one of the most colorful plants I’ve ever grown. The photo captures the plant in macro detail, highlighting the various hues of green and purple and the intricate layering of trichomes that extends to the tips of the plant’s sugar leaves. This is another plant I don’t plan on letting go any time soon: an absolute joy to grow and photograph.
And now, for the moment we’ve all been waiting for…
First Place: @sammcblaze
“Purple Dawg Bubs, CSI Humboldt“
The top spot goes to my shot of the “Purple Dawg Bubs” strain bred by CSI: Humboldt. As a cultivator, the main purpose for taking photos is to document the strains I grow: I aim to highlight the unique characteristics of each strain through my photos so I can remember what about each strain I found to be special.
This photograph highlights the rich purple hues and high trichome content of the Purple Dawg Bubs strain, which are definitely two of its more notable characteristics. And, believe it or not, this phenotype was not even the most purple or most heavily coated in trichomes out of the bunch.
Some of the other phenotypes had even darker purple hues and even more pronounced resin tacos. But this one, the one I chose to keep, has the best nose, and she doesn’t leave much to be desired visually, either.
All in all, I’m happy this photo represented the strain well enough to earn the top spot in this month’s contest, and I look forward to capturing more photos of her on future runs.
Closing Thoughts
While I’m honored to have earned all three spots this month, it’s important to note that @the_chronickk has outdone me on many occasions during our three-year contest history. That said, none of the contests he won came with lifetime bragging rights…
I joke, I kid.
We like to poke fun over here at Potography, but I have no doubt Nick will be back in the spotlight soon! And, since we make the rules, maybe we can put the lifetime bragging rights back on the table next time we go head-to-head… maybe.
A massive thank you to everyone who has been a part of our contests over the years. We stay inspired by the creativity and talent within our community, and we eagerly look forward to what you’ll bring to the table in future contests.
Be sure to check the live contest page, follow us on Instagram, and subscribe to our newsletter for the latest contest updates.
See you next month!
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