Black and White Abstracts

It's the fun and surreal quality that elevated this photograph above many others. It relies on the photographers skill to make an incredible image out of something so simple. The light is wonderful and I get the feeling the photographer was fully in charge when this image was constructed. many images are just seen and rely on the camera to make a great image, this is all about the photographers imagination and skill in rendering what they had in their mind and bringing that alive on the screen. It's like the scissors are dancing. Wonderful.

I don't mind saying - the quality of all the entries into this competition was the best I've ever seen. I could have done a top 100 and I could have picked multiple winners. So why is this picture in such amazing company? The simple answer is this fantastic image stood out. It is unique in its subject matter and its treatment of the subject. The quality and detail on the wings are sublime. The right wing look like a silhouette of the left wing and its this deceptive quality along with the subject matter that just made this image stand out from many other superb images. really well done this was a great competition to win.

The description tells me what I'm looking at but it could also be an eclipse or an eye. The technique is flawless, the shadows against the highlights are perfectly controlled with lots of details. Many similar images were presented in this competition but it's the clarity of image and clean visual lines that sets this picture above the rest. The symmetry is perfect and draws us in. Precise and beautiful to look at.

This was one of many examples of staircases but this gives the added story of what the camera reveals with clever placement by the photographer - The tear or droplet cascading down from the top of the photograh. Add in the superb exposure. It would have been easy to lose the shadow details with such a bright aspect as the camera pointed upwards so the photographer has been careful to get this correct. This is so much more than an interior and as such deserves its place in the top 10.

This is so abstract that I'm not quite sure what it is I'm looking at Is the football over the edge of a cliff or is it lost as sea? Either way it's wonderful and this dot of light works so well against the darkened background.. The composition works well with the ball off centre and as I stated before the intrigue in not knowing what we are actually looking at is a real positive and could lead to many an argument amongst photographers. Just for me - I hope it's lost at sea.

This really stood out because it is both familiar and different at the same time. The treatment the photographer has given to this picture elevates it from the crowd. The high contrast of the building against the shadow of the figure is sublime and the way the coat just swirls to the left is really a nice feature. I was taken by the flatness of the solid shape against the space behind. An image I could live with on my wall. Well done.

Another image that really stood out from the crowd. It's fun and it's clever. The photographer has had to make this photograph, to think about the idea and then make it work. The use of a single light at the same level as the tiny figure creates this larger than life and surreal photograph. Taking maybe a childs toy and turning it into a wonderful abstract works so well and it also takes us back to our own childhood when our imagination could run wild. Super Photograph.

The open road is the classic from which many great photographers have tried to make pictures from Robert Frank to Elliot Erwitt. This is image is up their with the best of them. The single car with its headlights on gives us the viewer the sense of space, the darkened areas off the road leads our eye straight down the track. How long did the photographer have to wait to get a car in shot or decide when was the prefect time to press the shutter. A classic of its type.

At first galnce this image seems flat but on closer inspection the eye really does pop out at the viewer. The brightness of the face against the slighly darker tones of the body work really well as does the decision to move the face off centre as this gives the image its abstract quality. To get so close means a long focal length which makes it harder to compose. This is a well constructed image of a familiar subject. Well done.

Sometimes you don't have to go far for inspiration but that does not mean making the image is any easier to do. This is a superb example of taking something simple and creating a fine photograph. The attention to detail and the quality of light really makes this photograph stand out. The darkening around the frame takes our eye into the centre which works very well, as does the detailing on the fingers. Super image that stood out from the pack.

I did expect more close ups of the body. This is one of few examples but it is a reall beauty. The contrast between the smoothness of the skin and the hand against the slighlty crumpled backdrop works so well and offers a lovely contrast. The pose of the droped down hand seems so effortless and natural that we cant stop looking at it. The grey tonal range works very well with the soft subject matter. A very well constructed and considered photograph.

Great architecture needs scale and one of the best ways to show that is against something we know the size of. The single figure placed in the bottom left corner gives us our scale. It also adds an extra visual delight within this frame. The pose of the person is perfect in the way they make their way across the space, The silhouette works well against the ligher tones of the lines of the building and really makes this photograph stand out form the many examples of buildings submitted.

Some photographs just have to be taken. A view in front of us whilst on holiday or a scene that presents itself. The hard ones to take are the ones we see daily but never consider them worthy of our time. This is what made this photograph stand out to me. The handles on a draw. So simple but with the right light coming in from a window become transformed.. They become so complex that it takes on a different idea. The symmetry in this image is lovely as is the tonal range and composition. Simple and very well seen. Keep looking at the everyday.

This takes me back to Fox Talbot and the pencil of nature. The overlays work so well and never get filled in. The subtle and gentle compositions which take our eye across the screen is clever and the frames within frames creates depth on what would otherwise lack dimension. The leaves really stand out and their stems offer that darkness that the image needed. Just very lovely to look at for a long time and appreciate its beauty.