Drums (percussion instruments)

I love this capture of a pristine military drum. The trombone and abstracts of uniform help to complete the scene: a parade of some sort is about to take (or has just taken) place. I feel that the drum could be a little more central (by cropping some of the extreme left, which is not adding value) but the focus is clearly on the drum, which does not have to be in the middle. An invigorating image.

There’s nothing like a big bass drum to get the heart pounding and, here, we have several in line. A good shot should tell a story but does not need to show it all at once. There’s a hint of a bagpipe in front and enough information for me to anticipate the preparation of some stirring music from a rousing mass band. I like the way that the focus is kept on the Huntley & District drum with the others becoming lost in the bokeh. It leaves the actual size of this throng to be left to one’s own imagination.

This, my winning choice, is a perfectly balanced composition of a drummer in action. I know little about drumming but it appears to have captured a delicate moment as the percussionist is about to touch the drum skin. You may note that the majority of my choices are of drums rather than the drummers. Here we have all the important elements without any distraction (such as uniform or the location). Even the background is nicely out of focus. A perfect drum shot for a “Drums” contest. I only wish I understood more about drumming (and, perhaps, this enjoyed a more informative title).

This is a great shot of a diminutive drum being played. The image is nicely cropped to focus on the drum rather than the drummer or their surroundings, which is what I was hoping for in this “Drums” contest. The red strands of cord catch the eye and cleverly guide it around the image to explore its finer details.

I like the well-placed drum, in the centre of this image. Also the lovely balance of blue tones, not only in the drum and drum sticks, but also of the clothing of the seated gentlemen. There is much detail to admire in the tensioning of the skin and the various decorations. I’m not sure if the extra sticks are spare or if the drum would be played by two drummers, together, but I find the whole image rather pleasing.

I would normally consider this shot to be of a band, rather than a drum, but there is one bang in the middle (Boom-Boom). The image is perfectly composed and the attractive uniform of the guards helps to lift the occasion. I can almost ‘hear’ their rousing music as they march past! It’s a shame that the security officer was caught within frame but you don’t get second chances at times like this and who’d want to argue with one of those?

These two lads are most endearing. I wonder whether they will aspire to beating a real drum in future? Full marks for an imaginative title. The verticals are vertical and I like the way they are looking out of shot, rather than performing to the camera. I’d have preferred their begging bowl to have been completely in shot.

I liked this abstract of jolly jesters. It’s colourful and joyous, as I suspect is their music. By ignoring their heads, the viewer is left to consider the decoration of the drums and their sizes (they’re not all the same). I find the title a little more imaginative than many, as well as the composition, and that helped it to stand out.

This is the only image of just a drum to reach my top ten - but there are four of them! Being military, they have been polished into pristine condition and their eye-catching colour makes them even more attractive. This is a lovely contribution to my “Drums” contest. Cropping has been performed evenly and sympathetically, to exclude unnecessary distractions. I imagine a burly Sgt Major standing guard close-by, although I’m surprised that he allowed these beloved instruments to be placed on a potentially unclean surface. If unguarded, however, I’d have been tempted to turn them upright and re-arrange them into a more interesting formation!

This is a wonderful image, meeting the brief spot on. My requirement was to have images of drums with the option of the presence of a drummer. The drummer, here, does not dominate but introduces the viewer to the drum skin. My only reservation is the red fringing which appears on the right-hand side, presumably from lighting intended to add drama to the occasion. It may not have been possible to avoid this but it otherwise serves as an important reminder to check the captured image whilst there is still time to try another angle.

This is a super shot of a Timpanist concentrating on producing a delicate sound from his drum set. Clearly, there’s more to playing these things than just bashing them than you might think! I’m also intrigued to know what a musical score for a drum might contain. Good photos can provoke you to see more than what’s in the picture and this one has aroused my interest in drums considerably.

I love the energy in this image. The drummer appears to be enjoying the beat and putting-in some considerable effort. I like the ‘swing’ that’s captured here, so much that I can almost sense the beat. I feel that there is too much of the background at the top of the image, however, and some judicious cropping of that area might improve the ‘swing’ even more.

If you want to make noise, you need a big loud drum to keep the tempo and, in this case, be heard above the whine of a company of bag pipes! This lovely drum is in perfect focus, whilst the background reveals the tartans and pipes to go with it. I don’t mind that the whole of the drum is not present – that’s almost unnoticeable and the magnificent drum gets to fill more of the frame as a consequence.

I love a good pun and the title of this image made me smile. A bass drum is, indeed, there to emphasise the beat but then I noticed that it is represented by the Police! Aside from the amusement, the image is also a good one. The drum is nicely central and there are few distractions from the drum (are there as many as six of them, I wonder?). Pipes become visible in the background, whilst the blue tones reinforce the colour of the perfectly framed drum.

This is an exceptional shot but, the more I have studied it, the more I have been transfixed by the drummer’s eyes and then by the sticks, leading me away from the drum. I feel that the subject is more of the drummer than the drum and thus misses the intended brief. Even the title refers to the drummer, rather than the instrument, but thanks for entering this stunning shot and adding quality and interest to my “Drums” contest.

At first glance, I was bemused by the title given to this image. It occurred to me that some parent had decided to confiscate an undesirable present, given to one of their offspring. Instead, it appears that the attractive colours of this drum caught the photographer’s attention. You did well to avoid unwanted reflections from the window glass, yet it appears to have contributed some interesting highlights on the drum body itself. I feel that this striking image would have greater interest if the cropping had not been so tight.