A View Through A Bridge

I love the multiplicity of bridges viewed through bridges here. It makes for a very striking image. As well as taking the viewer's eye under and through the bridges and providing interest there, the excellent cropping of the photograph also makes for a pleasing overall image in itself. Congratulations on a well spotted and well recorded photo opportunity.

Before I comment on individual photographs, may I thank you all for the high standard of entries received. It has made the job of judging your photographs, incredibly challenging. Because of this, I have had to be particular, in choosing images which I felt fully met the brief. This means that some excellent pictures of bridges were not considered in the judging, in favour of images which depicted a 'view through the bridge', as was requested in the brief.

First Place; I chose this picture as the winner, because it consistently caught my eye during the judging process. The understructure of the bridge acted as leading lines, taking my eye across to the far bank of the river and through the bridge, to the buildings on the far shoreline. The image is very sharp and clear, which is technically difficult with a nighttime shot, and has just the right amount of exposure to bring out the reflections in the water, without over saturating the lighting. Congratulations on a worthy winner.

I love the impressionistic feel of this picture, even though it is not a european venue and the figures are modern. The reflection of the umbrellas in the water also adds atmosphere to the scene. Unfortunately it didn't quite make my top ten, in a very close contest, but congratulations on a great image.

Not surprisingly, there were many entries picturing trains and indeed canal boats, passing under bridges. I have chosen this photograph in particular, because I like the position taken up by the photographer and also the way that the railway track leads the eye under the bridge, towards the oncoming train. The overall hue of the image is also pleasing and is not too saturated. It is important to note that the train is on the far side of the bridge and hence we are looking through the bridge to view it. This was unfortunately, not the case with some of the images reviewed, which led to them being judged as, Not on brief. Congratulations on an excellent photograph.

The structure and excellent framing of this photograph caught my eye. Many entries showed images along the underside of a bridge, but I chose this particular image, because the eye is led through the bridge, to activity at the far end. There is a story of interest there, which is intriguing. The colours are also nicely muted and the ripples, reflected on the bridge, stand out without being over exposed. An excellent image, congratulations.

Another excellent image of bridges viewed through bridges. The profusion of bicycles here is so typical of the Netherlands, and the image captures a vibrant bankside scene as well as a boat making its way under the arches. The image is nicely framed and there is interest to draw the eye down and through each bridge. A great capture.

There were many excellent black and white submissions in the contest, but this one stood out for me. The gray scale is very good and the image is nice and sharp. The bridge fills the foreground of the frame and so leads your eye naturally under and through the bridge. The reflections on the water are clear without overexposure of the image and the runner gives dynamic interest to the scene. At first I thought the runner was carrying a flashlight, but the submission advises that it is a 'starburst' of reflected light, under the runners arm, that was opportunistically created. Congratulations on an excellent capture.