Aromas and Odours

Who does not love the smell of freshly squeezed orange juice? This is a super shot of the juice seller along with the fruit prepared to use. The slightly angled viewpoint and close in crop add a great dynamic to this environmental portrait shot. The lovely colour contrasts between the orange and aqua give a beautiful feel to the image. Great work, well done on your top ten placing.

I love the mood this image has captured, with the air heavy with scented smoke, and the figures in virtual silhouette against the lighter backdrop. Whilst the scent from the juniper smoke is no doubt pleasant, I can also feel the stinging of the eyes and throat from breathing in the smoke-heavy air. Although there are good contrasts from shooting into the light, I also like the softer tones, which suits the subject. Great storytelling too. Well done on your top ten placing.

There were understandibly quite a number of coffee-themed entries in this contest, but this one captured my attention. I think what really helps convey the aroma of freshly brewed coffee is that we are witnessing the coffee as it is first being dribbled into tbe cup from the coffee machine, at the point when the aromas start to rise. The wide aperture of the lens has been used to good effect, creating a shallow depth of field that focuses the attention on the pouring coffee. The viewpoint and framing works well too. Great image, well done on your top ten placing.

One of the keys to great food photography is the ability to make the food look tempting and delicious, and you have managed to do that here. Also conveyed is the smell and I can especially imagine the aroma of the bacon and tomatoes. Lighting is good, with some nice highlights on the food and the plate, giving good depth and tones to the shot. Also helping the realism is the accurate colour balance, with everything looking natural. Great contrast between the reds and the greens too, set against the lovely blue of the plate. Congratulations on your third place finish.

The fact that I am so repulsed by this image means it is really rather good!! The smell of used cigarette stubs and stale smoke comes to my senses rather too quickly, and the imagination of the smell is so powerful I do not want to look at the image for too long! Focus on the cigarette butts is good, revealing a lot of textures, and the colouring is realistic. There is some strange haloing around the ashtray and cigarette that is a little distracting, but otherwise a great shot, and perfectly on brief for this contest. Well done on your top ten placing.

The bold colours in this image initially drew my attention. Whilst the colour of the chair in the background is bright, due to the use of a wide aperture, the resulting shallow depth of field means it does not overtake as the subject. The steaming plate of food is by contrast in sharp focus, making it stand out from the surroundings, which are still identifiable in the soft focus to give context. Everything looks realistic which helps convey the delicious aroma of the bowl of noodles. Congratulations on your second place finish.

What a great image. I really can imagine the aromas of baking and hot berries wafting up from the baking tray. It is often difficult to know how to frame a shot such as this, but I think you have got it just right here to show off the subject. Some would have felt the temptation to clear off or clone out the little drips of cake mixture from the tray, but those little blobs of sponge add a real sense of authencity for me and create a feeling that these muffins are warm and fresh out the oven, with their accociated tempting aroma wafting up. Photographically great with regard to lighting, focus, white balance etc. Congratulations on your winning image.

It is not often a top ten image can receive a comment saying "this image stinks"!! but if anyone has had oppertunity to visit such a location, they will no doubt be able to easily bring to mind the sulphur stench associated with these geothermal features. Composition and framing works well, with good depth to the landscape from the foreground cracked surface, to the large mud pools and then the more distant landscape stretching out beyond. Colouring looks realistic, and the capture of the rising steam looks natural and not overdone. Well done on your top ten placing.

The smell of wild garlic in damp and shady woodland is well conveyed in this image, and that lovely, fresh scent was easily brought to mind from looking at the photo. A simple composition, but with the suject nicely filling the frame, we have a limited colour palette of greens and browns, with the touches of white in the flowers, which further convey the freshness of the scene. Well done on your top ten placing.