Angles and curves

This photo leapt out from the rest. Really striking - full of texture and colour and detail, and a bit fun. You can really see the textures of the wool and the zip. It's a nice unusual subject. The composition works very well, with the curve going off into the distance. And the critical focus makes it - a lovely byproduct of macro - but without it, the eye wouldn't follow the path of the zip, from the sharp area to the blurred area. Nice. I notice that the public vote on this wasn't great. It just goes to show that judging is so subjective!

There were a lot of symmetrical church interiors entered, as indeed there were a lot of staircases. With their beautiful ornate ceilings and symmetry and grandeur, churches make great subjects. The trouble is that it's become too common a subject, so they don't stand out in the sea of imagery. I'm not condemning shots like this - in fact I did a shoot in Durham Cathedral recently and many of the shots were symmetrical. But to stand out in a photography competition, try doing something that everyone else isn't doing.

You can't beat night shots of architecture, and tall buildings add even more drama and impact. You say you wished you had a wider angle lens - yes, wide angle lenses are fundamental for architectural work. But I see you used an 18mm on an aps sized sensor, which is the focal length I use more than any other for architectural work - however, this is a very tall building and there's a limit to how far back you can get. Still, I think you've done pretty well to get a nice composition considering all the restrictions, and you've handled the HDR well. I do think that you could have given yourself less HDR work to do if you'd shot it earlier, because the contrast between the light and dark would have been less. Night shots are hard - the timing changes every day, and is also affected by cloud cover. I personally like blue skies at night, which is possible if you shoot soon after sunset.

This is a nice graphic, the building is a wonderful shape and you've got the viewpoint just right. And people are always great for adding scale and interest. I wonder if it's a Calatrava building ? The black and white treatment is nicely executed. What troubles me is the photoshopping. The building looks real with the people, but the cut-out element takes it out of reality. And out of reality, the people don't fit. I appreciate the sky was probably cluttered with other buildings or whatever and by cutting it out, the focus of the photo is all about the shape of the building. I think this is a nice idea but could be developed a bit more, perhaps by looking at the crop or what else is included apart from the structure or patterns.

It's a testament to the quality of entries in this competition and the subjectivity of judging that this shot didn't get an award. The standard was very high and it was hard to make final choices. This shot has got something about it and is a place I know and love - glorious Teesside, with the Transporter Bridge and Anish Kapoor's sculpture. It's a nice shot, nicely seen and timed and executed. I wonder if you planned the sunset or whether you were lucky. A bit over HDR'd for my liking but that's just a matter of taste. There were a lot of HDR'd images entered, it's a very fashionable execution at the moment. I don't like the falseness of it but I know I'm in a minority with that opinion.

This is lovely composition and viewpoint and the exposure's been handled nicely. I wonder if you took any more shots with the car in a different position, or the people in the window ? I know it's difficult sometimes, you may have only had a split second to shoot for whatever reason. But it always pays to take a couple of exposures, and even better if you can, wait for the right moment to happen, however long it takes! With the right moment, this would have been a winner.

I absolutely love this shot. It such a lovely moment in time. The sky and reflection obviously help to make it eye-catching, but the viewpoint helps too, and the composition is good too considering you're lying down getting wet! The stance of your wife is natural and that's great - it really makes it feel like a moment in time rather than a constructed one. The sand on the feet adds to that feeling. Well done. Lie down more often! However, I'm struggling to see how it fits the brief. There's a bit of a curve I suppose in her dress but it doesn't really answer the brief - that's why it's not in my top 10.

This is a powerful image. It's striking and strong, with nice composition. The photographer hasn't said how they did it - I think they've mirror-imaged it in Photoshop or perhaps it was a handy reflection in something on the shoot. The distortion of the corridor is Photoshopped, I think, but it could be some attachment on the end of the lens. Putting bits of glass, any shape, or clear sweet wrappers - things which distort and mess with the image - can be really effective. However this image has been achieved, however, it's striking and because of the lone figure, it's also interesting. My only ask would be that the figure be off centre, as this might have made the composition stronger. The fabulous James Bond eye is the centre, so it may have been better to mix it up with the figure in another area of the image.

I like this. I wonder if you've been inspired by the Bechers? It makes a nice pattern, and I like the utilitarian subject matter. It's more interesting than a fancy staircase. (Staircases are the new sunsets when it comes to the most commonly photographed things!) But I wonder whether if you simplified it, it would have more impact? You may have done this already, and this may be the best layout, but have a go at changing how many shots you use - I'd recommend fewer - and have a go at making the dimensions more uniform. I think it's worth a fiddle, and often less is more.

This is a lovely shot. Stunning in fact. You said you worked hard at getting the tide and conditions right and you cracked it. The long exposure makes it beautiful, soft and striking at the same time which is a winning combination. At first, as a thumbnail, I thought they were rows of cars or something, an advertising shot. But they're flood defences. What a brilliant location! Technique is great all round on this image. I think you could teach me a thing or two about processing black and white. But there was such a high standard in this competition - to be honest, I considered all my top 6 for first position - and I had to make some very hard decisions in the end. My instinct, which may be wrong, is to want to see more of what's going on to the left of the photo. Or maybe less. Maybe there's a better, higher, lefter, righter image there. I think it's worth reshooting - you can improve on perfection! Best of luck.

There were loads of symmetrical church interiors entered, this one being the best in my humble opinion. The photographer said they worked hard at getting bang in the middle of the ceiling. It was worth the effort. For a shot about symmetry and pattern, getting the viewpoint absolutely central is critical. Here the symmetry is perfect and precise, so the image is all about the grandeur and spectacle and pattern. It's got wow factor. The exposure is good - with stained glass I think it's important to see white or almost white, rather than the muddy grey that HDR can sometimes bring. The balance of light and dark is perfect. Well done!

This is nice and striking, and has enough interest to keep me looking. It's interesting that there were a lot of similar entries - architectural symmetrical patterns, some shot symmetrically, some done in photoshop. They are all pretty good but if you're going to do symmetry - get it bang on, not 90%, but 100%. This shot is 100% symmetrical, and like I said is a great abstract but also interesting close up. The bird poo and the cable boxes help with the story. Nicely seen.

This is stunning, a picture full of drama and pattern and power and colour. The isolated colour of the stained glass constrasts really well with the black and white stone work. I can almost hear the choir and feel the cool chill - it takes me there, which I think is a good thing for a photo to do. It didn't make the top 10 though because it's too flat, not contrasty enough - it's been HDR murdered. It's every photographer's challenge on every shot - the balance of shadows and highlights. You've dragged the highlights back so far they've gone grey. And compositionally, I find the two flags in the foreground distracting, mainly because they highlight the assymmetry of this symmetrical shot. Sorry - I think this picture is really good but it could be fantastic!

I like this. It oozes James Bond/Madmen/1960s style. It's fashion, editorial, advertising photography. It tells a story, makes you think, with an element of class and humour. I assume the floor lamp in shot was intentional, because it's what turns this photo from an ordinary one into a great one - like something out of Picture Post magazine in the '60s. It's not great quality because it was taken on a mobile phone. But that's the brilliant thing about mobile phones and their cameras, we've got them with us all the time so we can seize the moment really easily!

There were a lot of staircase shots entered (I think they've become the new sunset, in terms of favourite subjects to photograph). Anyway, I chose this one - it's doing a bit more than just being a staircase, with the people. Nice composition and light. The people give a sense of movement, which goes with the spiral movement of the architecture, and they also help with that old chestnut, capturing of a moment in time. They're nicely placed for the composition. I like the black and white and I like the grain, it could be film from the last century. Just my opinion, but I'd retouch the bits of litter out, so you look at the people and aren't distracted.

I love this. It's clean, graphic, interesting, and screams 'angles and curves'. Sometimes less is more, and this is a great example of that. There isn't much detail, which is fine - the high contrast brings out the cable lines and the shape of the tree and the hill curve. The composition is nice, and completely follows the golden section rule - that points of interest should follow the two thirds rule. The tree, where the cables enter and exit the photo, and the hill line, are all in the golden section. One thing - I'm a bit OCD with such things, and I just want to rotate it a few degrees, so the tree's straight.