Fruit and Vegetables

There is a lovely clarity to this image, showing a variety of different colours and shapes of squash. I like the colour contrasts between the different orangy-yellows and the greens, which make for a very appealing image. The lighting looks to be quite diffuse, which gives the image a lovely softness, and enables the form of these fruits to be nicely revealed. Great work, well done on your top ten placing.

One of the things I find especially attractive about this image is the simplicity of the set-up, with only mushrooms in the shot Quite a number of entries had some rather incongruous items appearing alongside the fruit and veg, or what I find to be rather odd fake water reflections added to an image to make it look, for some strange reason, like the food is standing in some rippled water. None of those gimicks here however! I find the tones and limited colour palette very pleasing to the eye. The mushrooms themselves are not perfect specimens, but that for me enhances the image as we can explore the shapes and textures on the edges and surface of the fungi. Lovely lighting creates a very naturalistic food image. A stunning still-life shot, congratulations on your winning image.

This close-up image of a stack of apples looks to have had a digitally applied paint effect. I am not usually a great fan of such paint effects, but here I think it works exceptionally well with the subject. I love the lighting and tones, with some lovely rich and natural colours, bold but not oversaturated. The painterly look really compliments the texture of the skin of this type of apple, with its slightly rougher patches. I also like that you have not tried to eliminate any of the imperfections on the skins, which helps prevent them looking too perfect. Lovely image, congratulations on your third place finish.

A great shot showing a variety of tomatos. The composition works well, with the lines of the tomato display on a diagonal across the frame. I love the lighting, which looks to be natural, and the bright highlights on each fruit help make them look fresh and delicious. The colours, whilst bold and bright, look very realistic and make for a colourful image. I would however have preferred the image without the digital signature, which is a little distracting. Well done on your top ten placing.

This is a beautifully lit study of some oranges, and was an image I kept coming back to. The wide aperture has created some soft bokeh in the background which enables the subject to stand out. The colouring across the image is lovely, with a simple colour palette predominantely of orange, green and gentle creams. The set-up works really well, with height obtained by the stack of fruit in the dish, and the stray orange and leaf on the table giving balance. Super image, well done on your top ten placing.

This still-life of a bunch of beetroot stood out from when I first saw it during the initial reviews. It is quite different from most of the other still-life compositions entered, many of which opted for a black surround, and has been very well photographed. A simple scene and set-up, but it looks like great care has gone into producing the shot. The rough plaster work and the wooden shelf suit the slightly shabby bunch of beetroot, so everything is harmonious and works well together. Natural looking colours, well exposed and focused. Congratulations on your second place finish.

I love this rather abstract type of image, which offers no specific focal point, but instead provides a wealth of interesting shapes and patterns for the eye to explore. The image reminds me of one of those "impossible" jigsaw puzzels, which seem like they will be a fun challenge to complete until it is actually attempted! The shot has been very well executed from a photographic point of view, with exposure, focus and white balance all successfully managed, creating a detailed and very realistic image. I especially like your capture of the textures and the colours. Great image, well done on your top ten placing.

The lighting used for this image is lovely, and illuminates the subject just enough to reveal detail, shape and form. I really like the tight framing, which for me works very well - it is often very difficult to know exactly how much of the subjects to include in the composition, but this seems about right. The colouring of the tomato skins give an almost painterly look to the image, which is very attractive. Beautiful image, well done on your top ten placing.

I like this image a lot, but for me the addition of such a large digital frame is a distraction and keeps the image out of the awards. The area taken up by the frame is virtually the same as the actual photograph, so were I to award the image I would be just as much awarding a white frame as a creatively captured image. It is obviously the decision of each entrant how to present their contest entries, but for me the frame is too much of a distraction from the subject which is the theme of the contest, and the picture element also becomes rather small to view on a lot of devices. Great photograph, but not awarded in this contest unfortunately due to the massive frame.