Flat Lay Still Life (no flowers)

I am often not a great fan of images where text has been included in the composition, either digitally added or as part of the subject as we have here. This image however really works for me, as the words do not dominate the other subjects, instead providing a subtle narrative to the story-telling of the rest of the gathered items. The title for your image is very apt and whilst I obviously do not know if the subjects are really "you", it creates a lovely story and shows that a portrait can be captured to reveal a sense of the person without showing any part of the person in the image. I love the lighting and the harmony of the colour palette which adds to the mood of the shot. Congratulations on your third place finish.

A wonderfully creative image, making the most of the fascinating shadows created by sunlight shining through the coloured glass of the bottles. Through careful composition and angle of view, the way the shadows are cast we are more or less treated to a flat lay and a regular side-on shot all in one. There also looks to have been considered selection and placement of the bottles to enable the individual shapes of the shadows to stand out and not blend into one indistinguishable block. Exposure of the image is great, which brings a lovely rich depth to the colours. Congratulations on your second place finish.

A simple subject, but full of interesting colours and textures in the paints and the holder, which gives plenty for the eye to explore. Composition and framing is spot on, and the subject looks to be comletely perpendicular to the camera, so all verticals and horizontals are level. There are some lovely rich tones, aided by the overall darkened look of the capture, which makes the colours stand out without being over-saturated. Great image, well done on your top ten placing.

This type of abstract image may not appeal to everyone, but it immediately caught my eye as soon as I saw it and is an ideal subject choice for this contest. Carefully constructed, with the crackers being aligned without looking over-perfect, and despite the smashed pieces you have been able to avoid (or remove) any distracting traces of crumbs. I imagine this is the type of image you may have thought seemed like a good idea at the time, but once trying to set up and capture the scene as you had maybe visualised, I imagine you may have possibly questioned your ambition! The result however was worth what I imagine took a lot of patience and trial and error. Great work, well done on your top ten placing.

This vividly coloured still life image perfectly captures a mood of lazy summer days. There are enough objects selected for the composition to be interesting without being cluttered, and everything works well together with nothing incongruous included. It is often difficult to make the decision of how to frame a shot such as this, without the scene looking too structured or too cropped, but I think you have the balance right here. Everything is in sharp focus, revealing some great textures, especially on the light summer hat. Great work, well done on your top ten placing.

A lovely reminder of times past, and probably a thing of puzzlement for those born in a digital age! The subject perfectly suits being captured from directly overhead with a range of shapes for the eye to explore, and the accompanying objects positioned casually around the typewriter are appropriate and to be included. It may have been a temptation to convert the image to black and white as the set-up is virtually monochrome anyway, but I think by retaining the hints of colour the image looks more natural, and the subtle colours on different parts of the typewriter lift the image. Great image, well done on your top ten placing.

The lovely light airy feel of this image drew my attention initially, along with the beautiful colour contrasts of the shades of brown and the delicate aqua. Composition and set up is simple and uncluttered, and the partially nibbled biscuit and waiting drink add an element of storytelling to a static shot. Lighting of the image is good and looks very natural, wih soft shadows to show depth but avoiding any harshness, and there is no ugly colour-cast so often found on photographs of food. Instead we have an inviting selction of sweet treats displayed in a beautiful flat-lay still-life. Great image, well done on your top ten placing.

For me, a key element of food photography is to produce an image that makes the food look tempting and good enough to eat, yet many are less than successful and manage to capture a shot which makes the food look rather revolting. Here however, despite the fact that I do not like custard, this looks absolutely delicious! A simple uncluttered set-up of the main bake, the served portion and the spoon for scoffing down the pud, all well placed within the frame and captured in natural looking light, with the right amount of shadow and highlights to make the food look natural and inviting, especially the glints of light on the creamy custard and the syrupy fruit juices in the baking dish. Great image, well done on your top ten placing.

This was an image I kept coming back to in my judging, as there is something about it that draws me in. Once in the top ten, it gradually rose through the placings to reach the top spot. Your capture of the textures is great, and the overall effect of the image and processing perfectly conveys the chalky nature of the subject. The colours are gorgeous, in subtly varying greys and peachy pastel hues. The slightly HDR style processing makes the subject very tangible, and how the subject would feel to the touch, and even the sounds the chalks would make if rummaged through, requires no imagination as it is all wonderfully captured and on clear display. Congratulations on your winning image.