Kodak Summer Competition 2024: The Top 20 Winners!

Summer is the perfect time to get out and shoot some film, and our annual Kodak competition is the ultimate motivation! ☀️ This year we put the spotlight on our best selling colour film: Kodak Gold! We were thrilled to welcome Andy Church from Kodak Alaris back to Analogue Wonderland to help us review the top 20 submissions for the Kodak Summer Competition 2024. If you haven’t seen it yet, don’t miss our YouTube video where Paul and Andy dive into their favourite entries and reveal the worthy winner!

Kodak Gold has long been a firm favourite among the film community, so we were very excited to see the incredible variety and versatility of images you all submitted. With a record-breaking 1,900+ entries, Andy faced the tough task of narrowing them down to a top 20. Film photographers from around the world were invited to showcase their shots using Kodak Gold in either 35mm or 120 format. This year, the top 5 selected photographers will be rewarded with their favourite Kodak films to fuel even more analogue adventures. Plus, all top 20 finalists will receive a stunning print of their winning image, courtesy of our in-house Wonderlab!

If you prefer reading about the images - or have already watched our video discussion - keep scrolling to discover Andy’s top picks from this year’s Kodak Gold submissions.

#1 Hannah Melching

Our first place winning image was shot by Hannah Melching on Gold 35mm. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “It’s shot in the salt desert of Uyuni, Bolivia, and it just gives you the vibe of dreaming, of childlike wonder, of disbelief that this is reality.”

What does Hannah enjoy about Kodak Gold? They said: “I just love the colours, love the vibe, love how easy it is to handle.” Congratulations, Hannah! 👏

#2 Tom McMillen

Our second place image was shot by Tom McMillen on Gold 35mm. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “The dress, the contrast, the silver, blue, skin tones and the brown background.”

What does Tom enjoy about Kodak Gold? They said: “The colours are like what you see in real life.”

#3 Tiffany Roubert

Our third place image was shot by Tiffany Roubert on Gold 35mm. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “For its simplicity, magnified by the colours of the film.”

What does Tiffany enjoy about Kodak Gold? They said: “The colour tones are second to none.”

#4 Sonja Venäläinen

Our fourth place image was shot by Sonja Venäläinen on Gold 35mm. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “This photo has three of my favourite subjects in it: clouds, sunsets and mountains. Plus, it's a double exposure and I really enjoy trying to line them up perfectly. It's one of my personal favourites I've ever taken.”

What does Sonja enjoy about Kodak Gold? They said: “I love the colour accuracy and the sharpness but most of all the magical way it reproduces the most gorgeous light of the day, just before sunset and right after sunrise.”

#5 Kers Darley

Our fifth place image was shot by Kers Darley on Gold 35mm. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “Even on cloudy days, this film still gives a dramatic look to photos.”

What does Kers enjoy about Kodak Gold? They said: “The warmth and versatility.”

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#6 Alex Ford

Our sixth place image was shot by Alex Ford on Gold 120. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “Love this part of Otley Chevin - long tree lined tunnels with old autumn leaves still carpeting the floor. It felt really magical.”

What does Alex enjoy about Kodak Gold? They said: “I love the way Gold captures the vivid colours and the warm tones even under deep green cover.”

#7 Wendy Chapman

Our seventh place image was shot by Wendy Chapman on Gold 35mm. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “This is the lovely wildflower meadow at Snowshill Lavender near Broadway in England. I used my Pentax 645n, one of my favourite film cameras. I chose Kodak Gold because it would show off the lovely vibrant and saturated colours of the wildflowers. Look at the reds and yellows! I like the photo because it is colourful, the central poppy stands out from the crowd, and it is a delight to photograph in such beautiful surroundings…”

What does Wendy enjoy about Kodak Gold? They said: “I like the contrast, richness and warmth of the tones.”

#8 Chuck Bird

Our eighth place image was shot by Chuck Bird on Gold 120. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “I like to think I really captured this man's character and the rich Kodak colours look great despite it being overcast that day.”

What does Chuck enjoy about Kodak Gold? They said: “It’s versatility.”

#9 Rebecca Ashcroft

Our ninth place image was shot by Rebecca Ashcroft on what looks like Gold 120. Unfortunately there was an error with our systems and we cannot locate the information to go with this image… So Rebecca, if you’re out there, please do get in touch with us!

#10 Mark Ellerby

Our tenth place image was shot by Mark Ellerby on Gold 120. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “It was taken on a Holga WPC (wide pinhole camera) with Kodak Gold 120. I like how I got all of the long weir in, and I love the dramatic lean of the Bamford Mill building due to the wide angle perspective. This along with the streaks of flowing water gives it a dynamic feel. The Gold has rendered the muted tones of the overcast day with a lovely warmth."

What does Wendy enjoy about Kodak Gold? They said: “Natural colours and good sharpness with the moderate grain.”

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#11 Oliver Vessey

Our 11th place image was shot by Oliver Vessey on Gold 35mm. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “The colours pop, the summer holiday vibes.”

What does Oliver enjoy about Kodak Gold? They said: “Sun and shadow.

#12 Teäna Grufferty

Our 12th place image was shot by Teäna Grufferty on Gold 35mm. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “I like that my subject is well centred in my image, and that the shallow depth of field blurs the background out so it isn't distracting. I also liked that the squirrel was eating out of my hand!”

What does Teäna enjoy about Kodak Gold? They said: “I'm quite new to film photography, and this was my first time using colour film. I love the way my photos have come out. I feel like the warmer colours created by the film really enhance them!”

#13 Stewart Miller

Our 13th place image was shot by Stuart Miller on Gold 120. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “Polariser giving an otherworldly effect on the blue sky and clouds and the reflection on the monument.”

What does Stewart enjoy about Kodak Gold? They said: “It’s retro vibe.”

#14 Natasha Winter

Our 14th place image was shot by Natasha Winter on Gold 120. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “This Spring I was determined to get a photo I was satisfied with of the sun flooding a bluebell forest with golden light. While this close up image is not that, it unexpectedly became my favourite image I took this bluebell season!"

#15 Raymond Dukes

Our 15th place image was shot by Raymond Dukes on Gold 35mm. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “I thought that the sunset itself was stunning, and I was happy with how the Gold film captured the moment.”

What does Raymond enjoy about Kodak Gold? They said: “It is pretty easy to work with, and the golden colours during sunset are quite fetching.”

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#16 Callum McCourt

Our 16th place image was shot by Callum McCourt on Gold 35mm. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “I just think it’s cute.”

What does Callum enjoy about Kodak Gold? They said: “It provides the truest representation of reality, or at the very least my memory of reality.”

#17 Jamie Smith

Our 17th place image was shot by Jamie Smith on Gold 120. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “Caught a rare sunny day in Edinburgh looking over Salisbury Crags from Arthur's Seat.”

What does Jamie enjoy about Kodak Gold? They said: “I really like how Gold catches light and warms up the scene. Also a really good price for 120 film!”

#18 Lea Mancuso

Our 18th place image was shot by Lea Mancuso on Gold 35mm. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “Because it was perfect timing, I had to run and load a new film super fast and then cross fingers until the development. I feel this is the essence of photography, sometimes scenes come to you and you have to capture it.”

What does Lea enjoy about Kodak Gold? “For me this is THE film effect, the warm tones capture scenes as if you were living it. This is my favourite film.”

#19 Danniella Phillips

Our 19th place image was shot by Danniella Phillips on Gold 35mm. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “It was taken as my partner and I waited for an urgent call from our vet regarding our 10 month old cat who we suspect had been hit by a car. (Hector lived to tell the tale, minus a leg).”

What does Danniella enjoy about Kodak Gold? “Gold has the perfect balance of vintage tone and media appropriate grain. It is also incredibly forgiving as I have accidently shot this at a too high an ISO far too many times!”

#20 Alex Woodhead

Our 20th place image was shot by Alex Woodhead on Gold 35mm. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “I took this close up of a Clematis flower this summer while playing with some extension tubes. This was my favourite from the roll. I love the detail captured in the structure of the flower along with the way the focus falls off.”

What does Alex enjoy about Kodak Gold? “A brilliant all round daylight emulsion, the colours are vibrant but very true to life and the grain structure adds great texture while maintaining detail. And as a bonus, it's great value!”

What's next?

That’s all for this year, folks! Our Kodak Summer Competition 2024 winners have been revealed and we hope their incredible images inspire you the next time you load up a roll of Gold. These photos are a great reminder that Kodak Gold isn’t just for sunny summer days - it’s a versatile film for all kinds of scenarios and seasons!

If you missed out on entering the competition, fear not! There’s plenty more in store. Andy will be back soon for our Kodak Winter Competition with yet another brilliant Kodak emulsion. What do you hope it'll be? Until then, explore our Kodak film collection and keep capturing and sharing your amazing analogue images! 📸