Fantasy Landscapes

A difficult contest to judge was this as there were many beautiful landscapes submitted which hadn’t been manipulated into fantasy-scapes as requested in the brief.

There were also a good many excellent composite images submitted which could only marginally be described as landscapes.

I therefore decided to be quite lenient in my judging and have hopefully given recognition to those images which fell into the “grey” area between pure landscapes and non-landscape composites as well as those images which more fully met the brief.

This, my first placed image, really surprised me as I was expecting the top placed entries to be heavily manipulated but having read the photographer’s description this isn’t even a composite.

It’s a marvellous image, a beautiful fantasy landscape but above all a triumph of creativity, composition and lighting.

I’m almost, but not quite, tempted to throw my copy of Photoshop away!!

Congratulations on your top spot.

What a great composite ….. love the vibrancy, the composition and the shadow you’ve added to give the image depth and realism.

What a fab dinosaur that is, I wish you’d included a few notes to describe how you put the image together.

Well done n a top ten placing ……

Again, simplicity is the key to success here.

Just the steps leading up to the figure, the archway and the Northern Lights beyond.

It’s a well worked and great looking image though and well worthy of a top ten placement.

The second African inspired landscape in my top ten and this could almost be a companion piece to the fourth placed entry ….. day and night on the African plains.

Another beautifully worked composite with a nice reference to one of my favourite Toto songs.

Congratulations on your top ten placing.

Simplicity is the key here, just three composited images but the result really does pack a visual punch. I’m not usually a fan of portrait format landscape images but it works well here and complements the composition and content.

A fine image indeed and well worthy of a top ten placing.

Oh but I love this image.

At first glance it has a real simplicity, almost naivety about it, but as you look more deeply you realise how cleverly put together it is.

I really do like the bright colours and the way that the underlying landscape is a mirrored image but with the various landscape features added to break the symmetry. The addition of the cyclists too is a clever touch as they beg the viewer to keep looking around the image to find more of them.

I’m sure that the Dorset Tourist Board would love this picture …… well done.