Barns, Huts and Sheds (exteriors)

What a wonderful image to capture the chill of winter, and in all likelihood the wait at the bus stop will be a long one. I love the composition of the shot, and although the largest subject of the hut is central, it does not look forced or unnatural as it is balanced by the tilting bus stop post in the foreground, placed to the right of the frame. The image has taken on a virtually monochrome look with a predominance of chilly blues and greys. The lighting also adds mood, and I wonder if the shot was captured in the half light of extreme northern areas where the sun rarely makes it above the horozon in the colder months. Super image, well done on your top ten placing.

What a beautifully natural image, a simple uncluttered coastal landscape captured and processed expertly. There is a lovely mood of calm about the image, which I think is contributed to by the balance of the composition, with the gentle curving shape created by the water and vegetation in the foreground, leading the eye from left to right to the shabby boat, and curving back round to the wooden shed. The eye then picks up on the highlight of the line of water heading into the distance and the beautiful backdrop sky. Colouring is rich but natural, giving a glow of warmth to the shot despite the winter season. I love everything about it. Congratulations on your winning image.

Not only is this a well exectuted image photographically, it tells a poignant tale of hope in these difficult times and the pleasure that can be gained from such simple delights as venturing out to the garden shed with a cup of coffee and a loved one. The portrait is obviously posed, but you are both captured in a warm and gentle way, which brings a lovely mood to the image that is not always easy when using a self-timer and waiting in position for what can seem an eternity for the shutter to fire. Lighting has been especially well controlled, as all parts of the scene are nicely lit with good tones and a natural feel. It is great that we get a little peep into the shed too, with the orange glow inviting the viewer in. Beautiful image, congratulations on your second place finish.

An unusual but interesting image, creatively processed to add impact to the shot. The brightly coloured boats in the foreground lead the eye to the hut in the mid-distance and the gloomy landscape beyond. The bold colouring and brighter light on the kayaks/canoes adds a real pop to the image, and the golden hues contrast nicely with the duller bluey-greys of the scene. The fairly low viewpoint also adds drama to the image. Great work, well done on your top ten placing.

I love this image, featuring simple but attractive garden shed, blending into the landscape of the garden. There is so much to look at in the image, from the hanging washing, the pots and plants, and the shed itself, along with many other little features, and what could be a confusing image lacking any focal point instead becomes an image which is a joy to explore. The limited colour palette of greens and blues, with a little pop of earthy red from the pots works really well and creates a lovely gentle mood to the shot. Well done on your top ten placing.

A delightful rural scene, brought to life in this beautiful image, looking to have been captured as the season starts its slide from summer into autumn. I find landscape images without sky to be very appealing, and this is a great example. All too often a photographer will look for drama in the sky, or use a long exposure effect to falsely blur the clouds etc, but that is often a distraction from the glorious scenery below. Here instead the frame is filled with varying shades of green, retaining a naturalness which can often be difficult to achieve with that colour. The all-important barn acts as an initial focal point, before the eye wanders down into the valley, and beyond, to explore. Great work, well done on your top ten placing.

A simple rural winter scene, but one which has been composed in such a way to make the most of the grassy fence line which leads the eye to the barn in the mid-distance. Black and white suits the subject, as there would most likely have been little colour saturation in the scene anyway. The exposure has been well controlled to ensure the snow is white instead of grey, but has avoided being overbright. The square crop works well too. Well done on your top ten placing.

I really love the composition of this image. The frame is virtually divided in two by the beach huts on one side and the beach and sea on the other, with the huts a dominant foreground feature, and the beach and sea stretching out into the distance, with the pier in background. It is often difficult when encountering something as photogenic as beach huts, as you know there is a great shot somewhere to be had, but finding it can be the challenge. You have done well here though, as there is a good balance between the huts and the landscape. Just one tiny critisism you may wish to adjust, is the slither of white on the bottom of the image, presumably a remnant of crop/straightening, which will be easy to remove with a slight re-crop. Congratulations on your third place finish.

I think the decision to convert this image to black and white was the right one, as in doing so, although we get the same view of an old shed as we would in colour, we somehow seem to get the additional bonus of shapes, lines and textures which may not be so impactful otherwise. The sunlight looks strong, which increases the contrasts nicely. The conversion to black and white has been done especially well, with a good range of tones from black through to white. When converting to monochrome, so many seem to just desaturate the image, but by just removing colour the image is then usually a flat grey and grey, but that is certainly not the case here in this great image. Well done on your top ten placing.

Something about this close-in capture of an old stone barn drew my attention during initial image reviews, and it was always in my top ten. Lighting conditions look to have been fairly challenging, as much of the subject is in shade, but balancing this with the brighter areas has been well handled as none of the scene is either too dark or too bright. You have retained plenty of detail in the shadows too. I especially like the pop of golden yellows of the foliage over the wall, and the little pool of sunlight on the ground which gives a feeling of warmth to the image. Great image, well done on your top ten placing.