Blue Skies
Komeshwar Dewangan

Blue Skies

June 2022

Not usually an image that I'd choose but the bold colours and mad composition really grabbed me. I still can't get my head around the architecture, which I guess is part of the appeal. It's got a nice balance to it despite appearing totally random!

I like this a lot, only very narrowly missing out on the top 10. I feel like the white balance is a little too cool, the sky and water are very blue but the cool cast continues over the mountains too. I think warming it up a tad would make a huge difference to the image! I know what you mean about waiting for the right conditions there though, it's not an easy place to get a clean shot so you've gotta make the most of it while you can!

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I like this image a lot, I've tried to take this a couple of times but at the time of year I go (October) there's never enough water to get a decent reflection! Lovely colors, and the clouds coming off the mountains look great. I do wonder if you'd have maybe got a bit more of a reflection if you got a tiny bit lower down but that's just a minor point in an otherwise fantastic image.

Expert
winner

This photo stood out for me as soon as I saw it, it's really beautiful. I love the composition and the light across the Sassolungo is spectacular. Snowfall in Autumn is great as the contrast between the colors and the fresh snow looks awesome. Well done, number one from 4500 photos is definitely something to be celebrated!

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Sassolungo is the best looking mountain range in the dolomites in my opinion, it looks great from all angles. I appreciate the effort you put in to get your long exposure, it shows you pay attention to your craft and know how to get the results you want. Compositionally, it's lovely. nicely balanced and it's exposed really well. Overall it's a really nice image. Well done.

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This is fantastic, I love how simple it is but it still works really well. The colours are bold and there's no messing about with the composition. If I was to be super critical, I'd maybe have cloned out the little tuft of grass under the wing to have a super clean green line but aside from that I really like it. Nicely done.

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I really like this, it's a simple but effective composition. The colours are nice and fresh and you've clearly thought the photo out. I like the juxtaposition between old and new too. Really well done, It's definitely a stand out image :)

4,472 Images entered

1,512 Photographers

142,414 Ratings

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I've not seen many photos from this area of Derwentwater but seeing this has made me want to go and take some from here. It looks great, you've caught it in some beautiful conditions! Lovely still reflections and really warm light. I really love this image, well done :)

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Simple, bold, and effective. There's not a lot to this image but it works nicely. Compositionally it's laid out well and the camel walking into a negative space looks so much better than if it was walking out of it.

Brief

See more contest details

For many, blue skies still rule when it comes to taking jaw-dropping photos with maximum impact. That rich blue, often boosted with the cunning use of a polarising filter, and the accompanying direct sunlight that can bring a scene to life in a burst of colour and contrast. We’re not just looking for blue skies in landscapes. They’re present in many genres of photography, but for this contest let’s make them a key feature of the scene, and not too incidental.

Meet the expert judge

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A lovely image with great reflections, and it's composed really well too. I feel like it could do with a boost in the warmth by upping the white balance a little, and it needs a touch of clockwise rotation to level the water out :)

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This is a really beautiful photograph, the light catching the top of Skiddaw really makes it. Pre-dawn colours are often the best of all and this is a lovely example of it. If I had to guess I'd say you took this from Ashness Jetty? My only criticism is that you've either used a grad filter when it wasn't necessarily needed or you've darkened the sky a little too much. The sky isn't really ever darker than the reflection of itself, so to my eye, the image looks almost upside down. Hopefully you see what I mean!

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This is on my bucket list of places to visit, it just looks spectacular. I really like this image, I've a couple of small critiques if that's ok? The blues are very strong, I'd maybe look at reducing the saturation in them by around 10%. The only other thing is that there's a twig on the left that's catching the light but it draws the eye away from the mountains. If you clone this out it'll help the composition hugely :)

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