Black and white landscapes

It can be hard to resist throwing a ton of different techniques at a black and white landscape, but this image proves that sometimes less really is more. It's a picture that doesn't grab you by the lapels with rich blacks, ice-white highs or extreme micro-contrast, but rather invites you in with its subtle mid-tones and delicate reading of light and shade. In less refined hands, the same view would have become grandiose and unsophisticated, rather than the quiet and reflective scene we have here. And you've got to admire that sky, too.

A simple but highly effective shot of the coastguard cottages at Shingle Street in Suffolk. The location lends itself to the minimalist, long exposure treatment, and the silky, comparatively restrained black and white conversion adds to the evocative mood. It would have been easy to go overboard here, dodging and burning the shingle and sky for dramatic effect, but the expanse of darkness on the left of the frame and the intense brightness of the cottages act as fitting counterpoints.

When it comes to Mongolia scenics, we're more accustomed to seeing pictures of sweeping grasslands dotted with a fistful of yurts than stark images like this. It's a refreshing change; a landscape shot that tells a story, owing as much to documentary sensibilities as it does scenic photography. There's a lot to like: the line of the fence directing the viewer to the horseback rider, the positioning of the animals, and the telegraph pole acting as a dose of reality.