Winning was hard but not as hard as judging - I will try to be honest. I did not have any preconceptions on this, I have had two occasions to learn who my friends are, hence the theme. Some of the entrants were honestly just snaps but it was great to see all of them.
neko girl - Sadly very green/red speckled, it is a snap of a great memory and fits the theme but the speckles knock it down.
flosseR - Great moment in time, I love your photos - this one is just a little tight a crop on the left and the kid in the water distracts from an otherwise very entertaining picture. As a father myself I know how difficult these shots are.
Patriks7 - This speaks of friends and I love a bit of contrast of the pigeons who are not buddies but reflect the two old chaps who are. I like it - love the motion blur as one man explains something to the other.
AxisOfBeagles - Love the thought and concentration as they stare at this - wish I could see more of what was so fascinating to them - great colours.
Love - I like this, however, I wish we could see a larger version in which the dog was a less obscured by rock. I also found the shadows on the right and on the centre rock distracting. So a cropped version would have been better for me.
jake.f - something different, though I suspect they're more than just friends. Nice shot. The birds compliment each other well. I take it you used the 55-250 zoom.
fcortese - as an ardent photographer of my own son - these three are very cute - back ground crowded - I'd have cropped it down a bit to put that bit more focus on them.
acearchie - well taken - I like these instant moments. Wish I could see just a bit more of the blondes profile.
swano - a buddies photo for sure - wish it had a bit more adventure, maybe of them snow boarding together.
AoxomoxoA - Cute shot - though I'd crop it tighter to the subjects. What camera did you use?
reby - I like kids photos but the flash is the big killer here with the distracting background. Happy memories and good to see your boy looking healthy here, is he OK now?
techie4life - nicely taken, caught at just the right moment, this one is growing on me.
Funkatronic - A nice happy photo of two cheerful friends, there is lots of character with these guys. Looked at your Flickr page - I'd have chosen this one as one friend seems to providing support to the other in the background.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/5438962002_5a34a45f35_b.jpg
So the results are
Joint third jake.f and acearchie. Didn't want a joint placing but thats life.
second : flosseR - the slight distractions mentioned knock it down - difficult choice.
First : Patriks7 - Captures a moment in time and I like that, impressionistic and full of feeling.
Over to you Patriks7 - you have 48 hours to start the next contest.
Congratulations.
