Flowers in Black and White

There is so much to like about this image: the details, the delicacy, the tones and the composition to name just a few. The centre of the flower contains much detail that draws the eye down into the flower, yet the outer petails have much gentler focus, conveying the softness and delicacy of the bloom. The black and white conversion has been kept relatively low contrast; enough to reveal shape and form in the petals, but not so much as to be too harsh. The off-centre composition works well too. Congratulations on your winning image.

I love the soft dreaminess of this image. Captured with a soft high-key look, there are only small areas of darker tones, which are just enough to describe the shape and form of the petals. The detail in the centre of the flower is lovely, where all the petals are still furled, waiting to burst open into a wider more showy bloom. Whilst the image is well focused, everything has been kept soft which really accentuates the nature of the subject beautifully. Congratulations on your third place finish.

A beautiful still life composition, perfectly set up and perfectly photographed. The whole composition has good balance; I am unsure whether you will have spent an age arranging the tulips just-so, or whether they were just thrown into the vase and landed this way as a happy accident, but whichever, it works really well. Tones are gorgeous, and nothing has been lost buy conversion to black and white, as the flowers look natural and beautiful. The fabric/scarf added to the tabletop helps "dress" the scene, to avoid the bottom of the set-up looking bare, but does not distract from the main subject. Beautiful image, well done on your top ten placing.

Although there is no obvious focal point, that does not matter with a subject such as this, where the strength of the composition is the multitude of beautiful flowers filling the frame. Details captured in each individual flower is lovely, and the contrasts and tones work well, with darker tones retained deeper into the mass of flowers, allowing the nearer blooms to stand out well against the background. Nothing has been lost by removal of colour, as the flowers still look striking and beautiful. Congratulations on your second place finish.

This is just the type of image I was hoping to see in this contest, where converting to black and white removes any distraction colours can bring, instead forcing the eye to focus of the dramatic shapes of this stunning flower. The composition and set-up is straightforward, allowing contrast between the smooth curves of the petals and the harsher pointy shapes of the stamens and pistil to be highlighted. Lovely textures captured on the petals too. Well done on your top ten placing.