Himalayas through Storm Clouds by Sergiy Kadulin

During a trek through Eastern Sikkim in October 2010, the photographer navigated the rainy, cloud-covered ascent toward the mountain village of Tshoka. Pausing while the rest of the group moved ahead, he looked back to witness a dramatic atmospheric shift. The grey clouds parted to reveal the majestic Himalayas, framed in a unique, eye-like formation. This serendipitous moment, captured through a lens of quiet observation, highlights the raw beauty of the high-altitude landscape. The image is award-worthy for its evocative composition and the photographer's ability to seize a fleeting, ethereal connection between the earth and the sky.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II with EF 24-70 f/2.8L
Exposure 1/125sec @ f/4 | ISO 100 | Focal Length 70mm

Light & Composition Photo of the Day

Sergiy Kadulin

REGISTERED PHOTOGRAPHER

Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 1967, Sergiy Kadulin is an accomplished professional with a background in avionics engineering and information technology. Despite a successful corporate career, he has nurtured a lifelong passion for photography, evolving from early experiences with vintage film cameras to a sophisticated digital workflow. A graduate of the Kyiv School of Photography and the New York Institute of Photography, Kadulin specializes in travel and landscape imagery. He views photography as a profound medium for personal growth and a way to share his deep appreciation for the natural world with an international audience.

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Award Winner Photo of the Day

Award Date April 27, 2013

66.0

AWARD SCORE

Value 13.0

Clarity 12.0

Composition 16.0

Style 11.0

Skill 14.0

Photograph Location

Tshoka village, Eastern Sikkim, India

AWARD SEGMENT | TAGS

Landscape Photography

Sergiy Kadulin Photography

Resonance Score Breakdown

Transparency in Award Scoring

Transparency Note: The resonance score (13.8/20) is calculated based on social engagement metrics collected before the award announcement.

Social Shares

5.0/5 points

1,612/1,000 Social Share

Page Views

5.0/5 points

14,151/2,500 Page View

Reviews

0.0/5 points

0/100 Review

Submissions

3.8/5 points

377/500 Submission

Jury Score: 66.0/80

Resonance Score: 13.8/20

Total Award Score: 79.8/100

Expert Photography Reviews · 4

Eleanor Voss Composition & Visual Structure Expert Review

The frame’s aperture-like clouds create a precarious fulcrum. It’s a rigid geometry that forces the eye toward the peaks, yet the negative space feels underdeveloped. The weight of the grey mass threatens to collapse the composition entirely. I’m genuinely unsettled by how the mountain’s peak barely anchors the center. It doesn't quite hold the tension required for a landscape of this scale. The structure is fragile, barely surviving the atmospheric chaos it attempts to contain.

Lena Brandstrom Macro Photography, Optics & the Science of the Seen Expert Review

At f/4, the 24-70mm lens avoids the diffraction limit, preserving the crisp micro-contrast of those jagged Himalayan ridges. The focal plane is perfectly anchored, yet it’s the atmospheric scattering through the cloud-gate that truly moves me; it’s a rare, visceral collision of optics and geology. I’ve spent years studying how glass renders light, but seeing the mountain’s texture emerge through that vaporous, eye-like aperture feels like watching the earth breathe. It’s hauntingly, physically precise.

Clara Whitfield Award Criteria, Legacy & What Makes an Image Endure Expert Review

Most mountain photography is just a postcard, but this frame earns its place. The way the clouds pinch into an eye around the peaks creates a tension that’s rare; it’s not just a landscape, it’s a confrontation. I’ve stared at thousands of summits, yet this one makes me feel small in a way that’s actually comforting. It’s the restraint in the exposure that saves it. It’ll still hold that same weight thirty years from now.

Dmitri Kasakov Contrast, Shadow Drama & the Metaphysics of Light Expert Review

The mountains don’t reveal themselves; they allow us a glimpse of their indifference. Kadulin’s frame captures that suffocating grey, where the peaks emerge like ghosts from a shroud. It’s a cold, heavy silence. I’ve stared at these clouds for an hour, and I feel a genuine, sharp ache in my chest—the loneliness of being small. The light here isn’t illuminating; it’s merely carving out a space for the void to breathe. It’s haunting.

Reflections on this Photograph

By Sven Lindqvist

The Weight of Silence

The mountain does not care if we are watching. It exists in a state of permanent indifference, rising above the clouds that try to hide it.

Read the reflection →

By Clara Menezes

The Breath of Stone

We often mistake silence for an absence, a hollow space where nothing happens. But the mountains know better. They are the earth’s slow, heavy breathing, exhaling mist and inhaling the centuries.

Read the reflection →

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Sergiy Kadulin

AWARD SEGMENT | TAGS

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