City life

What I like about this photo is its sense of mystery and joy. The photographer clearly understands light in order to make a sunny day look mysterious like this. I love the hint of city and buildings in the background - without them this image would have been pushed out of the top ten. I'm a sucker for silhouettes, especially if they have moments, depth, and intriguing light, as this image does. Be careful with your crops as it seems the bottom left-hand corner has a little white space where you've missed, likely from adjusting the horizon.

I've been to this very market and may have shot this exact vendor! I like what you've done here, but it could be taken to the next level by waiting for the right moment and also time of day. When I shot this scene it was right at sunset and dusk. What that provided was an extra element of depth with the sky creating a contrast around the buildings in the background. What I also notice the focus isn't on the subject of this image, it's more front-focused on the woman in the foreground making a strange face. Always wait for a moment... I'd love to see him dishing up a plate of snails to a customer or some sort of interaction. Adding these different elements of moment, depth, light, etc. would bring the photo to the next level!

Living in New York City myself, I love the beautiful shafts of light and shadow that are created by the tall buildings. This image has a lot going for it, especially the mini-moments on the street below, from the businessmen crossing the street to the flock of birds in the sky making their way to a new perch. It also has great diagonal lines, depth, contrast and color. I like the height the image was captured from, an angle I don't see very often myself. Nicely captured and conceived.

Beautiful moment captured here. This is a photo I can stare at for a long time, inspecting the details of the shop. I like that it feels as though you're unnoticed and the man on the right is in deep thought. What would make this image a bit stronger would be if the image was captured more straight-on, so the subjects were centered within the frames of the doorway and window. I'd also crop in a hair on the top and right of the frame a bit to pull the viewer in a bit more. Great photo!

Very happy to see that you worked your angles and saw the puddle reflections! My suggestion would be to spend more time waiting for a true moment. While you caught his reflection very nicely, there's nothing special happening in this frame. I'm certain a lovely couple holding hands, maybe eating an ice cream cone, or if you're lucky giving each other a kiss might be walking through the exact spot. Sometimes we have to wait for that perfect moment to really capture that epic photo. Additionally (and I understand time may have prevented it) if this had been shot at dusk, just before the sky went completely dark, you would have added an extra dimension of colour and depth in the photo in both the sky and reflection that would have helped separate the buildings from the dark sky. Keep working those puddles!

I can completely relate to these three guys. Being based in both New York City and Barcelona, I take the subway very often. This picture perfectly captures the feeling of being trapped on a packed train with many others who feel the same way. The image has different layers - even the dirty window adds to the gloom and the sense of dread and anticipation of the train arriving at its destination. The framing of the man in the centre's head between his arms and the isolation of the studio headphones really captures how these riders are in their own worlds.

Having been to Varanasi and having experienced the rich culture and chaos of the city, this is a beautifully quiet moment full of colour and great creative photo devices: rule of thirds, framing, (quiet) moment, adding order to chaos, colour, lines...this one has a lot going for it. While the moment isn't full of action or feeling, sometimes it's difficult to have the perfect person in the contrasting red shirt be at peak stride exactly where you want him. Everything came together in this frame. Way to be there and ready to capture it.

This is a very solid image of a walk I've taken many times, but it's also an image I've seen many times. I'm not sure if it's a filter or poor compression, but the sky looks altered in a strange way...keep an eye on compression if that's the case. What I'd like to see from this image is something that makes this version of theBrooklyn Bridge walk different from all the others, whether it's the angle, a special moment, an epic sky, or all of the above.

Living in New York City and simply loving rooftops myself, I've had this exact experience a number of times. This photo captures a sense of joy and depth that you can look into for a long while. I often push photographers to not shoot centre-weighted images, because they're hit or miss, but this one is a hit. You have a sense of place, beautiful light, a peak moment, and there's no doubt the theme "City Life" comes through in this image. The photo makes me happy. Well done - I want to be there experiencing that roof and that view with you.

I'm always a sucker for framing and reflections shots like this one. I've travelled around the world and have seen many cityscapes out my window. I've also seen the London Eye a million times from just about every vantage point, but not this one. The framing and reflections give a sense of the surrounding buildings and living in the city far more than a beautiful postcard image of the wheel would. The darkness and pop of red windows make this image stand out. What's great is that I can't tell if the image of the wheel is taken as a reflection in the window shooting inside or shot through a window looking out. Nicely composed. .

What I really like about this photo is the fact that the photographer got close and simply made the image. I'm the same way and sometimes I get grief from others who see me taking the image. The photo makes me want to know more about this guy, his work, his journey. What would make it a little stronger would be to work on the angle, to better play off the depth of the background (raise the camera) and also the depth in the reflection in the glass behind the photographer. This would bring out dimension as well as add information.

I've been to this exact spot in Marrakech - in fact the cover of a little book I made was in this corridor. I like the slow shutter speed that gives a sense of the motion and chaos, but what's lacking is a solid moment that captures the viewer's attention. The main focus is on the guy with the brown coat, but he doesn't do much for me, nor do the tourists in the foreground. I know there are many locals wearing colourful clothes walking through there, as well as motorbikes that would make a great focal point. I'd be interested to see the other frames you took around this image.

I really like where you're going with this image... It's almost there! I love the depth of images that capture reflections, interiors, exteriors, and truly give a sense of place. You succeed there. What's missing in this photo is proper exposure and a true moment. Clearly we're looking into a coffee shop, but you're a bit overexposed. Based on the IPTC information provided, I think your ISO was too high and you could've brought it down a bit. Perhaps you were also not shooting in manual, but as a rule I tend to always slightly underexpose my images because when you blow out highlights, it's hard to bring them back down in post-production, even if you've shot raw. Also shooting under brings out saturation. Great job seeing the full picture, just work the scene a little longer for that special moment (maybe the two patrons look at each other, take a sip, or a passerby's reflection adds yet another dimension). Good job!

I'm a big fan of the scale in this image (once I noticed all the people in the bottom left!). There's great colour and composition, though I feel the image is more about the structure than about city life itself. While the people at the bottom do give the image massive scale, I wish there were fewer people, or even a lone person walking through the scene that would exaggerate the image even more. Perhaps you could have waited around a bit longer to see who came once the large group moved on. Nice capture.

I love the light and depth of this photo. It stands out because of how you saw the light. What's missing is any real context, moment or story. By looking at the image I can tell we're at a train station with a lot of people, but I don't know who or why or where. Clearly you understand light and that's why you exposed for the highlights and created this moody image. I'm just curious about these people... I wish there was a dominant subject of this image. I'd love to see if you could get as close as possible to the man's face in the foreground, perhaps filling the right side of the frame with his face, while keeping the same exposure which would add more context and depth. Loving the contrast and style. Keep up the good work!

I love Cuba and visited in 2008 for three weeks in Havana, so I know the beautiful light and culture... I also recognise the exact spot this was taken. The light is turning golden, that's great. You're using rule of thirds, that's great. What's missing from the photo is a moment or some action. My recommendation to improve on this image would be working your angles. Had you taken a step or two to the right and raised your camera a bit, the subjects of this photo would be framed nicely against the ocean without his head overlapping the wall in the background. This is a bit distracting for me. Also raising the camera a bit would add some context with all the people below. Additionally, watch your frame edges - I know from experience there's a great flag at the top left of the frame... I wish you had not cut it off as it adds depth and context to the image. Lastly I'd say wait for a moment with the subjects.... I wish they weren't both looking back into the frame, rather at each other or off to the left. That would give a sense of moment and also the light would be hitting their faces really nicely. Viva Cuba Libre!

I love the extreme angle of this photo as well as the contrast and lines. You've caught all three subjects in full stride; however, the image is lacking a moment or context that places it in a particular place or time. The perspective and infrastructrue certainly insinuate city life, don't get me wrong, but there's just not a particular moment that intrigues me beyond the angle it was shot from. Given the time of day I would love to have seen some more out of the shadows...even if there wasn't a person attached. Something tells me there might be a better frame in this batch if you were working it for a while. Nice shot nonetheless!

I'm a huge fan of finding great reflections in glass and puddles and I'm happy to see the photographer was trying to find a unique perspective. I do feel this particular attempt came out a little too chaotic and confusing. Photos like these make you want to look deep into them to figure out the context, but after spending time with the image, I'm still left with questions. It's hard to pre-visualise these sorts of photos and there's a certain amount of luck involved - you just have to spend the time making lots of photos until the subjects, reflections, backgrounds, and lighting all line up with the perfect moment. Keep working on these!