12 Inches/30 Centimetres

The most obvious solution to a twelve inch challenge is a person’s large foot which is why I deliberately refrained from calling this competition ‘One Foot’. Nevertheless I knew there’d be many such entries so I looked for the most original foot composition. The distorted photograph of your extended foot shot through water met my expectations but with an extra bit of uniqueness and originality.

There were many animal photos entered into this challenge but no way of knowing if they measured twelve inches or not. Using a twelve inch ruler to balance a chameleon is an extremely clever idea. Including a human hand to hold up the plastic measure gives your composition a genuine sense of proportion lacking in most of the other animal entries. The crème de la crème of your photo is that the chameleon has naturally camouflaged to the colour of its immediate surrounding. Pure genius - I’m green with envy. Well done.

As soon as I saw this odd-shaped carrot I thought it resembled Xenomorph - the monster from the 1979 film ‘Alien’. Just like the horrific extraterrestrial bursting from John Hurt’s chest it stopped me dead in my tracks. This is a well-executed (pardon the pun) sharp photograph sitting comfortably within an equally balanced black background. Well done for entering a beautiful photo of your very ugly head-to-tail still life.

You’ve named your photograph ‘The Key’ but it’s the key’s elongated shadow that deserves the kudos. The twelve inch umbra cast by the key is a unique interpretation of the brief. I asked for something unusual and you’ve definitely submitted something unusual. You’ve caught your object’s shadow against the wooden shed door to give your composition a satisfying sense of diagonal balance. I don’t know if a shadow is animate or inanimate but I was certainly animated as soon as I saw your entry.

I love that you’ve picked up on my definition of a foot being the length between the wrist and the elbow. You’ve cleverly demonstrated the size of the cute little lapdog by photographing it cradled in a pair of folded manly arms. As much as I love your photograph for me its spoilt by the inclusion of the black wristwatch which takes the eye away from the intended subject. Nonetheless I’m happy to give your clever photo a top ten position for your very measured use of a chihuahua.

Most circular items entered to this challenge were vinyl albums but you cleverly chose to record a unique food subject. The twelve inch cutting board is the obvious background for your sourdough loaf and serrated breadknife which also looks the right length for this photo challenge. The colours of your crusty baked bread echo the colours of the breadboard perfectly and every inch of your tasty-looking still life looks good enough to eat - right down to the breadcrumbs.

I like this rendition on the theme of the twelve inch record album. Rather than a straight shot of a long player you’ve presented them stacked creatively against one another on a white shelf. You haven’t bothered to try and arrange them neatly with all the spines facing the same way but left them disheveled for a very realistic looking still life. As a record collector I love sifting through other people’s albums and I was immediately drawn to the fact that you have two copies by Duke Ellington together. Pity you aren’t allowed to duplicate your entry in the same way otherwise you might of had two photos in the top ten.

There’s no need for a ruler to measure the width of this tattooed forearm as it spans twelve inches from wrist to elbow. This is a very original interpretation of the brief. The use of the grey knitted background allows the black illustration to stand out against the man’s flesh colour. The photo could have been sharper but I hope that your son Riley and his partner Ella are chuffed to see their branded names do so well in a photo competition.

If there was any doubt that the circumference of the cheese and tomato pizza was twelve inches you’ve cleverly placed it on a graduated measured background to prove its size. The complementary colours work really well and I like the ruggedness of the food against the daintiness of the numbers on the flat surface. Compositionally you were wise to crop the pizza at the top and I’m glad you managed to curb your hunger by taking a bite out of your tasty looking margherita.

Not only does your photo show a lion’s wide open mouth but also it’s tongue which are both probably twelve inches long and deep. Your photo’s horizontal banding (which I rather like) shows you were protected from the animal’s bite behind the safety of a glass window. Your camera is set for a dark corner of the zoo so you did very well to capture such a sharp shot under the circumstances. If there was any doubt about the size of the lion’s mouth I certainly wouldn’t want to be the one to go in and check the measure of your photo’s roaring success.