Empty Goals With No People

What an atmospheric photo this is. You’ve caught the football pitch covered in a thick blanket of fog so that one can barely see the lines of your two subjects. Out of the blurred foliage colours one can just about make out that there are white goalpost at both ends of the field. I love that your minimalistic entry makes the viewer linger longer trying to work out exactly what it is they’re looking at.

What a delightful abstract - the kind of wall I often see on my travels and always stop to photograph. The subtle charm of your composition is the inclusion of the crudely-painted goalmouth in the coordinated colours of the ground where the wall is standing. Although my brief requested no people ... I’ll overlook the fact that I can see the back of a goalkeeper failing to catch the football (laying in the bottom right of the goal) having been shot by the penalty taker in the top left-hand corner of the goal. Weird what one’s imagination can see in an abstract photo.

This is one of the most unusual leading line photos I’ve seen in a long while. The use of a wheel line marking-machine transferring white latex-based paint onto the the pitch has worked incredibly well for you. You’ve made good use of the rule of thirds for the horizontal sky and land as well as placing the rugby goal on the vertical third. There’s even a couple of tiny football goals in the back sports field - you’ve pitched your entry just right.

The best way to grab a judge’s attention is to enter a photo that is uniquely different from other competitors. Your entry of an empty goalmouth shot during a night snowfall fits that criteria perfectly. Your goal seems to be suspended amongst the planets of a distant solar system. I can imagine astronauts in white space suits playing a game of floaty football in your beautifully-weightless microgravity photo.

This photo of a deserted football ground in the Czech Republic is reminiscent of the iconic bumper car photo taken at the abandoned Chernobyl funfair site. Both disquieting photos taken in the Eastern block have a haunting eeriness about them. The inclusion of decaying billboard posters beneath the overgrown seats and ever-present tags found on all deserted walls are testimony to your creatively shot end-of-a-legend football stadium.

This silhouette of a lone football goal against the backdrop of a sunrise sky works a treat. The hoar-frosted ground suggests a very cold morning waiting in anticipation for the day to warm up bringing with it the excitement of footballers and spectators about to enjoy the beautiful game. Judging by your photo you have obvious compositional skills but what amazes me is that the shot wasn’t taken with a high end camera but with a mobile phone. Mind you, with the price of mobile phones they should be comparable to the output of a good camera.

This is absolutely brilliant. Your forward thinking of framing Antony Gormey’s giant ‘Angel of the North’ sculpture within the goalposts of a nearby football field is a compositional stroke of genius. In your hands the angel’s wings have become a goalkeeper’s outstretched arms positioned to stop any football getting past. Simple idea - cleverly executed.

The upward trajectory of this photo makes it look like a sculptural trophy awarded to the winners of a basketball tournament. The outstretched arms of the backboard held up by the stand resemble a basketball player with a hoop net crowned head. Centred within a minimalistic square frame gives your composition a fine art feel which I didn't think possible with this subject. Thank you for surprising me.