Cereals - Crops and Products

This charming portrait image was a late entry to my top ten, but once there it rose through the placing to second spot. It was a picture I kept being drawn back to, having been immediately drawn as soon as I first saw it. There is something rather intreguing and a little mysterious about the image, and I especially like the slight incongruence between the elaborate and delicate attire of the child, and the brash colours of the chunky cereal box. I like the composition, with the child positioned well over to the right, as it allows us to see something of her environment too. Some would find the backdrop a little too "busy", but for me it adds to the shot, as there is plenty for the eye to explore, and the lighting and colouring is such that the child remains the focal point. Super portrait, congratulations on your second place finish.

This beautiful image stood out as soon as I saw it. Whilst the subject is simple - a view of a field of wheat - the treatment it has been given has elevated it above being simply a photograph of a field and some crops. Composition works well, with the foreground wheat in the lower half of the image, and the more distant crop filling the rest of the frame. Depth of field has been well utilised, with the focus on the foreground, and the rest of the scene pleasingly out of focus. The real success of the image for me however is the bold processing used. I am not usually a fan of heavily processed images, but I think here it has been well done in sympathy with the subject, bringing to mind a warm field at the very end of a long and delightful summer evening in the freedom of the countryside. There is a lovely contrast of colours between the oranges and greens. My only slight niggle is the addition of the orange key-line around the image, which I personally do not think adds anything to the image, but it is small enough to just avoid being obtrusive. Beautiful work, congratulations on your winning image.

The relatively low viewpoint gives a nice persective to this image. The cereal crops fill over half the frame, and you have captured some great tones and textures in the wheat. The distant tree adds vital intetest to the composition, but is far enough away not to dominate. Your image description menions the use of a graduated filer, and I do wonder whether the sky is maybe a little too darkened and lacking a few highlight areas, but the lighting on the crops is lovely. A beautiful rural scene, well done on your top ten placing.

This image beautifully shows a scene being played out in many parts of the UK at the moment (and presumably many other countries too) as the crops are gathered in during the harvest. Well composed and captured at just the right moment, with the setting sun peeping through the passing harvesting machine. The image is full of atmosphere, a combination of shooting in the late golden hour, and the dust being released into the air, creating a misty softness. You have avoided any temptation to over edit the image and over-saturate the colours, instead the resulting image is beautifully golden and naturalistic. Great work, well done on your top ten finish.

This is a very elegant still life image, well composed and beautifully lit. The side lighting looks natural, which has nicely illuminted the subject, revealing detail, but retaining shape and form in the shadow areas too. I love the colouring across the entire frame, from the gently contrasting browns and greens of the cereals, to the harmonious colours of the table, containers and softly mottled backdrop. The set-up of the still-life has been very successfully executed too. Lovely image, well done on your top ten placing.

Many would have tried to avoid the presence of a pylon and electricity cables in a rural scene such as this. However instead of avoiding, you have chosen to make the pylon and cables a feature of the image, which has worked really well. I like the balance of the different points of interest, created from the use of a wide angle and low point of view amongst the crops. From the near foreground crops close to the ground, and the lines draw the eye through the image, and onto some attractive cloud detail. The conversion to black and white has worked well, with a good range of tones from black through to white. Great image, well done on your top ten placing.

Such a simple choice of subject, but different from so many entries which tended to show crops growing in the field, and a very well executed still-life shot. Focus is sharp throughout, allowing super detail to be seen on the flakes of wheat and the surface of the flour. It can be surprisingly difficult to achieve a successful composition with a subject and set up such as this, but I think you have it spot on - more-or-less a half and half split, with some flakes straying onto the opposite side. White balance looks accurate, to have achieved some lovely natural colours. An obviously identifiable subject, but I love the abstract feel you have created with the image. Great work, well done on your top ten placing.

I like the naturalness and the beauty of the simple agricultual landscape that you have managd to convey here. Often with a setting sun and the resulting colourful sky, there is temptation to over-do the processing to end up with a rather garish and unnatural shot. You have not been tempted to do that here, and instead are left with a scene which is very pleasing to view. Many images in similar settings have a sky which has clearly been added afterwards in processing, and while I do not have an issue with that if it has been done well, all too often there is a large imbalance between the lighting of the ground and the lighting in the sky. Here however, the lighting is harmonious, with the golden magenta light across the entire scene. A lovely late evening rural scene, well done on your top ten finish.

A delightful silhouette image, capturing some simple and identifiable shapes in a lovely composition. I am unsure whether this image is as captured, or whether the silhouette lighting effect has been added afterwards, but it matters not, as however achieved, whether "in the field" (literally!) or with post-work, it is a stunning image. Your capture of the fur and whiskers of the tiny mouse has been superbly done, with sharp focus bringinging out every detail in the silhouette. Being picky, it would have been great if the top of the wheat was not slightly cropped off the top, but I fully appreciate that it is more important to catch the chaming little mouse than a tiny blade of wheat! Great work, well done on your top ten placing.

This is lovely image of some ripened barley, beautifully lit and full of detail. The wide perture has optimised the depth of field; the ears of the barley are sharply focused, and the crops in the backgroud fall nicely out of focus. Despite the very limited colour palette, there is good definition and plenty of details and textures for the eye to explore. A beautiful image with a lovely warm, summery feel. Congratulations on your third place finish.