Collections

There were several images submitted with similar religious iconography but this one stands head and shoulders above the rest. Framed perfectly, with confident use of contrast and colour adjustment. I really enjoyed looking at this one. It is at once graphic and powerful, gentle and thoughtful. Nice job.

Sometimes the choice to render a digital image in black and white can, in my opinion, be a bit of a cop out, an admission of not understanding colour well or even an attempt to cover up poor photographic technique. Not however in this image. The sombre, even scary subject matter demands gravitas and a seriousness that black and white achieves in spades. The directional light coming from left of frame is soft but not too soft giving drama and shape. The image is nice and evenly sharp and just the right amount of contrast accentuates the texture of the skulls, shelves and the wall at the back. The numbers on the skulls are chilling and to my eye reminiscent of WW2 and the holocaust. Finally you notice the giant wound in the skull in the very center of the image. Truly scary. This is a very powerful image, perfectly framed and very well executed. Well done.

Very few images submitted for this competition included any people (or parts of people!). Showing a hand (your hand?) reaching for one of the records is like seeing our own hand reaching to pick one of the records up giving us a direct and very personal connection to the subject. The lighting is concise, clear and un-fussy and I like that too. You have succeeded in creating a personal narrative that wouldn't have been possible by just seeing the collection alone. Nice job.

This photograph of old coins, rendered in black and white does fit the brief of "collections" rather well, however the post processing treatment has, in my opinion, taken over and has become the focal point of the image instead of the coins. I understand (and rather enjoy!) the desire to create a sort of well worn or vintage aesthetic but the choice of such vibrant colours is distracting from and at odds with the message of the image. I might suggest having another go at it with either no overlay or one with more subtle colours. Having said all that I do very much applaud the attempt to do something out of the ordinary and different. Well, done, keep shooting!!

Although not one of the actual winners this is one of my favourite images submitted to this competition. OK, so the background is a little messy (I would have tidied that up a bit) and the framing is a little untidy too but there is so much humour and fun in this photograph. I absolutely love it. Real, genuine humour in photography isn't easy and you have succeeded in making me laugh out loud. The on-camera flash aesthetic only adds to the hilarious expressions on their faces! Well done and keep up the good work