Ancient historic & prehistoric remains

There were many images of Castlerigg Stone Circle in this contest, but this one stood out for me from the start. I don't know how many times you visited at daybreak before the day you took this shot (if it was just this once, I am jealous of your good luck!), but you have been rewarded for venturing out on a cold and frosty morning, as you have beautifully captured the scene. Soft pastel colours bring a lovely peaceful gentleness to a site which is often shown in a far more dark and brooding way, and the slight haze enable the stones to stand out clearly against the mountain backdrop. Beautifully presented image, well done.

This for me has the "wow" factor and is a perfect way to show the nature of Stonehenge in addition to just a circle of stones. Your early morning venture upwards was essential to capture the scene as you have - soft golden light, raking across the land, to pick out the mounds and ditches of the earthworks, and to create the long shadows of the stones, which accentuates their height. Close to my top spot, a well deserved second placing.

A late addition to my top ten, but one I feel deserves a placing. Your extreme wide angle shows the scale of the interior of the Colosseum, and any distortion created by the lens does no harm to the scene. This is the perfect shot to show someone who has not been inside the Colosseum, as it gives a great overview of what it is like and what there is to see. You picked a great spot to stand, looking up the central lower aisle, and whilst there are a few small dots of people, they don't spoil the scene. Well done.

Your efforts on the trek and stitching together so many images is rewarded here in this wonderful shot. I am not familiar with this site, but you have managed to show it off with great detail. You have done well to control the light, as the sun looks to have been very bright, with potential for harsh shadows and highlights, which you have avoided. No fancy processing, just a superb presentation of a very realistic looking scene. Fabulous image, well done.

Unless someone has attempted a shot like this, it cannot be appreciated how difficult it is to get right. Our eyes are able to see details in deep shade and bright light, but the camera will always struggle with this, instead giving big areas of black shadow and blown highlights. I am unsure whether you have blended a couple of differently exposed shots, or more likely worked on the exposure on one image, but whichever you have done, you have done very well. Composition is great too, allowing us to peer through the stone recess to the warmly lit columns in the courtyard beyond. Great work.

There were numerous images of Castlerigg entered into this contest, and this stood out as being a little different to most. I imagine you possibly stitched together a few shots to capture the full scene here, but it creates a beautiful image. Gentle colours created by the low sunlight, underneath a beautiful sky. Luckily there was no-one else there to spoil your perfect view! Well done.

The brief for this contest asked to see images of remains over 1000 years old. As far as I am aware, being constructed in around 1450 makes Machu Piccu less than 570 years old. Of all the Machu Picchu images entered, this was one of my favorites, but as it does not meet my brief for this contest, unfortunately cannot be awarded.

I like monochrome images, and surprisingly for me, this was the only one to make my top ten. Your composition is great, and gives emphasis to the hard solidity of the stones, standing tall above the landscape. You have carried out the monochrome conversion with skill, giving a full range of tones from black through to white. Well placed vignette drawing attention to the subject. Great shot, well done.

I found this image attractive from the start. I think the main thing which appeals is the colouring - one colour across the entire image, in a range of shades. We can see good detail in the carving and the stones, and I like your central composition of the horse sculpture. A pleasing image which kept popping in and out of my top ten, but I feel it deserves to be placed. Well done.

The brief for this contest asked to see images of remains over 1000 years old. As far as I am aware, being constructed in the early 1900's makes the initiation well at Sintra only just over 100 years old. This is a fascinating, well taken image, but as it does not meet my brief for this contest, unfortunately cannot be awarded.

This is possibly the most interesting shot I have seen of Silbury Hill - usually all we see in pictures is a rounded lump and some flat land with no riverside or trees to complement the scene. The lens you have used gives a lovely diffused feel to the image, which suits the warm autumn colours perfectly. The lighting is beautiful, and your composition, using the tree branches to frame the subject, works really well. Fabulous image.

The brief for this contest asked to see images of remains over 1000 years old. As far as I am aware, being constructed in around 1450 makes Machu Piccu less than 570 years old. Of all the Machu Picchu images entered, this was one of my favorites, but as it does not meet my brief for this contest, unfortunately cannot be awarded.