Many of you submitted only AFTER photos in our Photo Editing contest. You must submit both versions of your photo so the judge can see the changes you made, and compare the condition of the original photo with the work you did on it.

When you submit your BEFORE images, just put a note in parentheses under your caption that tells me you have already submitted. I'll match them up before I post them.

Thanks!

I just finished editing a bunch of photos I shot at a friend's daughter's Confirmation and my niece's wedding shower, and I realized how important photo editing is to presenting your family, friends, and potential buyers with nice pictures they can enjoy for years.

Lauren of Whitman (Second Place) and Mark of Chelmsford (Third Place): I need your home addresses so I can send you your gift card prizes. Please write to me at raw@boston.com. Thanks.

I think judge Michael Cevoli had a good time looking through your April "Humor" entries. How could he not? They were clever, silly, and even laugh-out-loud funny. Glad you had some fun.

Here are Michael's thoughts on the overall field, followed by his Top 10 winners:

Michael Cevoli is a Providence-based photographer and educator.

After the hard work you all did on the Scavenger Hunt and trying to get provocative shots of the human body, let's relax and indulge ourselves a bit. We want photos that make us laugh (after all, it's April Fool's Day).

But remember: This contest is always about skill and creativity, so while you're taking your funny photo, make sure the composition, lighting, framing, etc. are top-notch.

You must take the photo this month. One photo per person.

We'll go back to using our internal gallery; here's the link to the gallery.

Meanwhile, post any questions below.

The top three winners of this month's contest contain story lines, some mystery, and even a bit of history -- and the seven Honorable Mentions are just as intriguing, in the judgment of professional photographer Stephan Jacobs. Here are the top three finishers, with a link to a full-screen gallery of all 10 winners.

Our judge, Stephan Jacobs, writes:

"My review of the submissions was guided by the parameters determined for April's selection. I was looking for images that successfully communicated, whether concrete or abstract, interpretations of a portal, a passageway, a doorway as an opening to a space or idea beyond. My initial selection is an edit of photographs I believe express these ideas with a heightened rendering of light, color, spatial balance, and conceptual dexterity.

"In general, the entries were quite interesting, with many photos displaying creativity, good composition, and nice use of light. If I could offer a critique to help the RAW photographers improve, I would say that some submissions lacked visual complexity, in that they depicted portals with no clear destination or focus beyond. My advice is to consider each photograph as some part of a narrative, large or small. The visual language within each photograph should be clear; give key elements their due space in relation to the whole of the composition. Take risks: simple sentimentality and visual cliché can detract from the power of an image.

"Good photography is not about gear. Look up, and down, and inward.

"Be informed and self-critical; your imagery will strengthen.

"Most importantly, keep making photographs: they will show you the way."

Here's the gallery of the April "Doorways" Final 50.

We'll publish the Top 10 winners on Monday. Meanwhile, please enter the May contest, which has a simple theme: Landscapes.

Stephan Jacobs, our judge for the April "Doorways" contest, has a varied and impressive background.

We're done building all five galleries, containing nearly 230 eligible photos. A couple of photos were uploaded after the deadline, and somebody submitted two photos instead of just one, so none of those are included.

Gallery 1 | Gallery 2 | Gallery 3 | Gallery 4 | Gallery 5

If you don't see your photo in this Flickr tags search, write to us at raw@boston.com ASAP.

Don't forget to enter the May "Landscapes" contest, open until midnight May 31.

We've all heard the English proverb that the eyes are the doorway to the soul; this month, let's use our eyes and photographic talent to examine doorways, passages, and portals of all types as a transition point between two places.

FIRST PLACE - $100

Judge Isa Leshko's comments:
"This image is all about breaking the rules of conventional photography and, in fact, feels more like a painting than a photograph. By not treating the subject matter too literally, the photographer created an atmospheric and moody image. This image reminds me of the work of Mark Yankus, who created impressionistic images of New York City at twilight.

"You might also be inspired by the work of Jeri Eisenberg, who is represented by Lanoue Fine Art on Newbury Street in Boston, and Nicholas Hughes' Verse 1 series of images.

"I encourage this photographer to continue experimenting with this approach to image-making. But I also want to offer a word of caution: Like any technique or photographic process, the use of blur can become a gimmick. Ask yourself when editing your work whether the image is dramatic purely because it's blurry. If the answer is yes, push yourself harder. Mind you, I grapple with this very issue when making images with toy cameras, which create very distinctive visual artifacts."

SECOND PLACE - $50

Isa's comments:
"This image is charming and quirky without being cute, and certainly captures a moment. I like the uniformity of the umbrellas, which causes the two different ones to particularly stand out. Perhaps a rumination on the herd mentality that frequently occurs in tourists? Without showing a single face, the image compels us to relate to the people inside the boat and their very human impulse to huddle together against the elements."

THIRD PLACE - $25

Isa's comments:
"There were several images of wet flora that were submitted to this contest, and this image was my favorite from this category. The placement of the droplets in this composition skillfully draws my eye deeper and deeper into this image. I like the use of shallow depth of field to draw attention to the few sharp droplets. Each of these sharp droplets is a small world inside which I can get lost. (My only wish is that these droplets were a bit sharper in focus to enhance this effect.) This image is a contemplation on the beauty that is all too often overlooked during the hustle and bustle of daily life."

Here's a gallery of all the Top 10 finalists, including the seven Honorable Mentions. Congratulations to all for another strong contest.

There's still time to enter the May contest.

Our April judge, Isa Leshko, has narrowed her choices of your best "April showers" photos to the Final 50. Her thoughts on your entries:

Our judge for the April Showers contest is Isa Leshko, a former software engineer who left the online world to pursue photography full-time. We will post the Final 50 gallery and the Voting Machine Monday morning.

Her bio:

This was a challenging contest for you, which is good! It's not easy capturing great shots that involve rain, but I hope the attempt improved your shooting skills. We have fewer than 150 photos; in contrast, we already have more than 90 for the May flowers theme.

Here are all three galleries of your entries: Gallery 1 / Gallery 2 / Gallery 3

I'll introduce our judge for the April contest in a bit; she's looking over your entries this evening and choosing the Final 50. I'll post that gallery tomorrow and open the Voting Machine. Good luck to everybody ...

You voted for "April showers" as the theme for this month, and it looks like Mother Nature heard you -- it's pouring outside today!