Domestic chores & housework

A bold image, which captures attention due to use of a high-key effect to obliterate all detail other than the lady, her small child and a few objects around her on the earth bank. Captured just at the right moment as she prepares to swing the stick down to beat the cloth, your choice of a low viewpoint is excellent, as we see the scene from her level, and it is just right to get the face of the tiny child popping up above the large container. Her expressions gives an indication of the physically hard and tedious nature of her daily chores. Great work, well done on your top three placing.

This image was in and out of my placings a few times, but in the end I decided it should be placed. An ordinary everyday scene of washing being hung out to dry - the lady may be leaning a little precariously out of the window, but I imagine she is well-practiced! The shot works well in black & white as it seems to more clearly show the shapes of the windows, drainpipe and washing without the distraction of colour, and your conversion has been well done to pick out the different tones in the bricks. The completely blackened open window is essential to allow the figure to stand out against it, otherwise she would have become rather lost. Well seen, well captured, well done on your top ten placing.

I was initially not certain about the matte-type processing on this shot, but the more I looked, I feel it rather suits the image. What I especially like about the shot is your composition, with the laundry on the ground and the diagonal edge of the riverbank leading into the image to the main focus - of the man carrying out his domestic laundry routine . A simple scene, caught at the right moment as he sprinkles the water onto the cloth, all well exposed and in clear focus. Well done on your top ten finish.

This image crept up through the placings during my review, until it reached second spot. The photographic skill you have used to capture this image is excellent. A wonderfully simple, relaxed and well-composed scene, but the key for me is the incredible clarity and perfect depth of field you have achieved through your choice of aperture. The background elements have become slightly softened (not too much though, as important details are still visible) which allow the figures and foreground objects to pop out of the image - almost as if 3-dimensional. Lovely natural colouring, shot, I suspect, in wonderful soft light with no harsh shadows or contrasts. Beautiful image, well done on your second place.

This great image so wonderfully captures the delicacy of the moment as a fire is teased into life. The close crop brings all the focus onto the face of the Maasi and the gentle, well practiced breath into the smoking tinder. Good to have captured the tools of the hand-drill fire lighting too, which all add to the story. Being slightly picky, the blurry object on the top left of the shot is a little distracting for me - I may have been tempted to darken that section down a little more to bring even more focus to the centre and the face, but still a fabulous image, well deserving its top ten placing.

I like this a lot, and for me it stood out as being quite different from a lot of the other entries. I like the tight crop, with just enough contained in the frame, but nothing to distract. Well lit (? flash) - nice and bright at the point of the action ie. the polishing of the boot (although maybe could be improved if the dark triangular shadow just above the boot on the tee-shirt could somehow have been avoided by slightly altering position?). I like your choice of the bright green polishing cloth, which adds a spot of colour contrast to the scene. Great image, well done.

This is great. I love the informality of the scene, and would love to know the story of what just happened - the lady on the left and the man crouching beside the smoke look to be amused by something, whilst everyone else casually looks on as the fire is lit, presumably just after a hunt for food.. Great focus on the group, gorgeous rich colours, a wonderful domestic scene with plenty of detail and interest. Great work.

Another image with no shooting information attached, but I imagine this was shot with a wide angle lens, and it is the distortion and wonky uprights this has created which attracted me and adds to the success of the shot. Great lighting giving a lovely softness and rich colours, captured just before the cow left the frame (or ran the photographer over!) May turn out not to be an obvious crowd choice, but for me well deserving of a place in the top ten. Well done.

I love the action you have captured in this scene. With no camera shooting information attached, I cannot know exactly what shutter speed you have used, but whatever it was, it is spot on - the lady in the centre and all static items are adequately sharp, but your shutter was sufficiently slow to get the movement of her arms as she dunks and lifts the cloth in the bowl. I can't decide whether the figure on the right adds to the shot, but she certainly doesn't distract. I also love the gritty details you have captured on the floor and the walls which add to the story being told. Lovely rich colouring, a superb documentary image. Congratulations on your win.

A shot which has been captured at the perfect moment - the woman's expression is lovely, and the water spreading across the image as she empties her container. I like the limited colour pallate, but may have been tempted to slightly tone down the brightness of the yellow in the lower centre of the image, as it tended to hold my eye once I had spotted it. All well exposed, good focus on her face, and just enough blur on the water to show its movement. Well captured scene, which reminds those of us who get out water from a tap in the kitchen how lucky we are. Great work.