Cutlery

I expected to see at least a couple of shots of cutlery in the bottom of a sink (- after all, isn’t that where they often disappear to ?-) but I think this was the only one. When I read the title (I read them all) I had to smile. Some take snaps of holiday locations, others of household chores. Credible or not, it made me chuckle, and worthy of commendation. Perhaps you need to get out more?

A spoon left in the bottom of the sink is not an uncommon experience but, by placing one on the draining board instead, we gain a much more interesting backdrop. The reflections have added considerable interest, something that is difficult to achieve when photographing stainless steel. An excellent study of an everyday item. Well done.

This is a striking image. Simple, yet captivating. The barely visible outlines draw the eye to investigate more and, as you do so, discover what is actually in the image. This has not been thrown together, but carefully considered in both the placement of items and post-production. It certainly worked for me!

I was so pleased to see this image in my “Cutlery” contest. It reminds me of adventure and picnics (and a similarly little-used hamper that’s almost as pristine as the day I was given it). I do hope that there are some glasses provided in the lower half, so as not to waste the provision of a cork screw. Summer is coming and picnic season is just around the corner. I must get my hamper ready.

This has been a great contest and I’d like to thank all those who submitted an image for me. My favourite is this remarkable composition. An excellent piece of work and a pleasing interlude between the many variations of intertwined forks. This stood out, not only for being different, but also for the detail contained within the image. The careful assembly of components to achieve a suitable reflection in the spoon and addition of ‘steam’ will have required considerable skill and patience. No doubt the title was inspired during this complex and lengthy task by a growing desire for Caffeine.

Why on earth would you try to gather honey on a fork? The answer appears to be to create an inspired image such as this. It must have required patience to capture the drops of honey at the critical moment, having attended to the placement of the fork and direction of the light. Such care has been rewarded with an eye-catching image with more interest than would have been generated if a spoon had been used!

I note that this was an early contribution to my contest and hope that you were not mislead by the typo in the initial contest brief where “Cutlery” was mis-spelt as “Curlery”. Goodness knows how that passed the spell-checker but it was swiftly corrected once I had noticed it. I like the image you have submitted. Not only is it different but I like the surreal presentation of the cutlery “swimming” around like tadploes.

Titles are important to me and this one tipped the balance. Most people have a cutlery drawer and, for many, it might be just like this, although this one does seem to have been tidied for photographic purposes. The image introduces a story and make me wonder why we choose to place things other than cutlery in such drawers? It seems that anything that has no other obvious storage location often ends up in the cutlery tray. It’s no wonder that spoons go missing…

Cutlery is what we use to eat food with, so this image of delightfully wrapped place settings is exactly the type of shot I was hoping to see. For me, I’d have turned this by 90°, being aware that judging takes place on a horizontal screen and there is no need to present this image in portrait mode. The fact that I was unable to enjoy the pixels to the full did not stop me from placing it in my top ten, however. Well done!

I loved this striking presentation of forks lying on their sides. I like the way the light has been used to catch the forks and enhance the elegant lines of their side-view. This arrangement, alone, would make a pleasing image but the addition of the spheres is inspired, as is its title.

I liked this casual interpretation of a place setting. It’s a simple, factual shot and probably more representative of an everyday setting than when cutlery is formally laid out around a plate. I like the lighting and subdued colour tones. A credible place setting that stuck to the brief.

If anything deserves to do well in a contest entitled “Cutlery”, this has to be a strong contender. There is a fascinating number (I haven’t counted them) of knives and forks to compare and contrast. A terrible picture for a jigsaw puzzle, perhaps, but a satisfying blend of colour tones, thanks to the different handles. I might play around with the cropping a bit to see if it works better with less of the dark background but, otherwise, this is a job well done.

I love the idea of this family outing. Quite why they should wish to polish themselves up on such a drab day is beyond me but the background hints of it all being a (rather clever) dream. This is an original and imaginative composition. It’s so different that it could not possibly avoid my top ten. Well done and thanks for all the effort that must’ve gone into this.

I like this macro shot for the eerie bokeh (- could this be some food’s eye view of its final moment ?-) Not only does the image introduce mystery but, somehow, there is also an interesting hint of colour from somewhere. The minimal content gives this shot impact. Indeed, sufficient to gain entry to my top ten choices.

This is a wonderful shot of a "Chad-like" figure looking over the edge of something. The light catches the tines of the forks to focus the eye on the creation, carefully placed according to the rule of thirds rather than bang in the centre. To employ a fuller set of cutlery, I’d try to incorporate a knife for the spoon to peer over but, more importantly, give this delightful image a title.

This wonderful image looks so life-like! I love the way you’ve managed to create such an interesting image out of a comparatively mundane subject. The addition of the Raspberry provides colour and central focus, all cleverly reflected in the spoon itself. It’s not easy to capture stainless steel in an interesting way but this simple image does so beautifully.