Freezing movement

Here is a photo with a great combination of drama and gentleness. I love the soft and soothing tones in this black and white frame, which are in contrast with the energy of the child – so happy and carefree as she is captured in mid-air running along the seafront. What I also love is the element of mystery. The subject is obviously in an excitable rush to get from A to B, but why? Where is she running from? Where is she running to? A great photo that tells an intriguing and unfinished story.

There is a nice reportage feel to this image, with many different little stories being told in a single frame. The use of a long lens makes a nice, compact and graphic image. The woman jumping over the puddle makes one think of Cartier Bresson's famous image 'Behind the Gare St. Lazare'. I also like how the small bursts of colour – blue, green, pink – help draw your attention to the various different subjects, each on their own journeys through the rain.

I really like this – it makes me feel curious and leaves me wanting to see the landing. What happens next?! There are some nice colours, too, with the pink helmet and blue gloves and wheel really popping out of the soothing green background to focus your attention on the subject. Perhaps some work could be done on the edges of the frame. The right side might benefit from the darkening or removal of the foliage, and on the left side you could remove the tree trunk right at the edge of the frame. This would bring the viewer's attention to the bike/cyclist even more.

Shooting into the sun can pose all sorts of hazards, not least a result of under-exposure of the subject(s). Good use of the flash is always a popular way to counter this and here it's been done excellently, popping out the vibrant colours in the skier's clothes and skis. The composition is very well balanced, too, with the skier toward the top left of the frame and the sun toward the top right. The spectacular display of athleticism speaks for itself! Excellent shot.

This really captures the moment and is a perfect example of how a still shot can reveal so much more than what you'd get from watching a video of the same event. There's a lot of intensity on show here: the huge spray of mud, the complete focus in the rider's eyes. The crop here is very tight, perhaps vertically a little too tight, but it does succeed to pack the frame from edge-to-edge with energy and excitement. Well done.

We're used to seeing cute and fluffy dog pics, but this one looks pretty powerful as it enjoys playing in the sea! The result is an excellent frozen frame which is a little surreal and almost scary, but of course in a good way. The nice saturated colours really give the image that eerie effect which works so well with the strong position and movement of the dog. The shallow depth of field does its job well to really bring your focus onto the main subject. Nice work.

What a photo – it shows such fantastic drama! The surfer is a fast-moving subject but the moment is captured in a perfectly frozen frame, which is what this challenge is all about. I love the expression of concentration on the surfer's face – it only adds to the overall intensity of the shot. The colours are aesthetically pleasing too; the soft, muted colour palette combines well with the subtle use of a vignette in the sky, which helps to successfully focus your attention on the centre of the frame. 1st place – excellent work!

This is a very strong subject and the photographer has done a great job of freezing fast movement, which is the whole purpose of the assignment! I like how it captures the strength and poise of the rugby player, and the inclusion of the crowd puts the player in a useful context. I think the highlights are too blown out and need to be brought back a little, with a little more added in the mid-tones and darker shades. Good shot, though.

So much fun and happiness – it just instantly puts a smile on your face. Capturing a moment as perfectly as this makes the difference between a very good photo and an exceptional one, and this shot is certainly brilliant. I really love how the six young boys have been frozen in a frame that is otherwise filled by a deluge of flowing water, and the expressions on their faces are just priceless! This photo deserves the recognition it has got.

Wow! A perfectly frozen moment, a totally 'in-your-face' shot. The post-processing work that's been done on the clouds to create the zoom-burst effect works brilliantly to focus the viewer's attention on the mountain biker in the centre of the frame, and the fact that the bike is fully in mid-air is an even more impressive achievement from both the photographer and the biker! This completely fits the brief – the photographer has frozen the movement to capture some fantastic energy and drama.

This is a classic way of demonstrating how fast shutter speeds can truly freeze a moment. It harks back to the earliest demonstrations of strobe flash by Harold Edgerton (see his 'bullet through a banana shot' to see for yourself!). It's great that these shots exist as they show us something fascinating that the human eye would never be able to see on its own. Next time, maybe try lighting the scene from behind the subject, but generally speaking this is a great capture.

This is intriguing and different. The subject matter is nothing extraordinary but the image definitely succeeds in catching the viewer's attention. It has an other-worldly, constructed feel to what is otherwise a seemingly everyday theme. It almost seems to be computer generated! On closer inspection, some pretty heavy-handed post-processing techniques were revealed. It is a shame as this has detracted from the strength of the shot. That said, it is always encouraging and positive to see photographers try out new and original ideas.

I love how the man and his bike are equals in this image. What's really great is how at 1/400 the body of the motorbike is perfectly frozen but the wheels are still moving, which means you never forget the pace at which the shot was taken and the stunt was performed. The shutter speed may also suggest that the photographer was panning the subject as the action took place – this would definitely be interesting to know! Great capture.

Here's another shot where the photographer has conquered the challenge of shooting into the sun. This photo has fantastic composition – having the cyclist positioned at the bottom of the frame is definitely a difficult thing to pull off, but with this image it works so well thanks to the sunburst effect filling the top half of the frame. The subject is brilliantly lit, too, with the bright yellow of the bike frame really popping out of the image. Excellent photo.

This is a less obvious type of shot, using the strength of the sun to deliberately under expose the scene and silhouette the rider who is perfectly positioned in front of the sun. The vignette has worked very well here – the viewer's focus is really attracted to the rider. I also like the graffiti which fills the bottom left corner of the frame and provides balance whilst not distracting you from the main subject. Good work – keep it up!