City life

The sheer joy of this image is what instantly captured our judges' attention. Tabloid papers in the UK often encourage us to judge young women, but here, the photographer takes a kinder approach, and invites us to smile and join in the laughter. We particularly like the contrast between the boisterousness of the three women and the gloomily dressed men in the background. One to look back on with pleasure in years to come.

We're often told to look out for triangles in the 'rules' of composition. This is what the photographer has done here, to great effect. The triangle created by the man in the doorway, the woman on the steps and the cow in the bottom right of the frame takes our eye around the scene and ensures it never drifts out. The red of the door frame, the window shutters and the cow's horns does the same thing. A great shot that makes the viewer want to know the story of what's contained within it.

This shot, being more than a little voyeuristic, made us feel slightly uncomfortable, but sometimes that's what effective photography has to do. The repetition of the squares, the concrete walls, the uplighting and the style of chair keeps everything simple in what could be an over-complicated scene. And needless to say, we are left conjuring up our own stories of what is going on behind those windows. Its cinematic quality is reminiscent of a scene from Wong Kar-wai's In The Mood For Love.

If ever an image summed up the sheer scale and claustrophobia that can be experienced in many cities the world over, it's this one. The composition is extremely bold, and filling three-quarters of the screen with the imposing building, and placing the silhouetted figure way down in the bottom left of the frame adds to the sense of scale and oppression. The negative space is superb, as is the precision of the gap between the two buildings. Finally, converting it to black and white seals the deal. An obvious winner.