Hand Tools

I hadn't thought about paint brushes as hand tools when I set this competition but of course they are and as soon as I saw this image I was delighted that others had thought of them! Beautifully focussed, pin sharp detail and a little bit of humour in the story telling. Well done!

I'm not usually a fan of manipulated images but what a corker this is. How can you not smile when confronted by this image? I appreciate the huge amount of effort that has gone into this imaginative and amusing picture though I suspect it was great fun to do! Well done

Just three tools but they tell a story of woodworking - sawing, chiselling and planing. Sat on wood and with a wooden background. Beautifully composed and lit bringing out the textures and warmth of the handles. The vignette is very strong but works for me in this image. Congratulations

I can almost hear the next bash of the hammer on the horseshoe as the farrier plies his trade. I like the way you have skilfully used darkness, light and selective colour (I think?) to create an evocative and dramatic image. Well done.

Super silhouetting of a couple of everyday garden tools. The shapes create an almost abstract image while the finer details of cobwebs and plant matter show their use and age. We can immediately picture the dusty, untidy shed in which they are housed and sense the odd bit of rust. Well done.

There were several pictures of what we might call "feeding time for the spanners" all of which brought a smile so it was difficult to choose between them when creating the shortlist. I liked how this image used the flow from top left to bottom right and how the distancing of the spoon from the spanner created a feeling of expectation from the spanner. Well done.

In terms of images that met the brief and were abstract this picture really stood out. I love the way the texture of the metal and the blue steel colour work so well with the grooves of the socket. A really challenging subject for lighting and executed brilliantly. Well done.

There were many macro/close up pictures to choose from in this competition but this one impressed me straight away. We only see part of the tool but we know exactly what it does as the curls of planed wood tell us. Lovely colours and detail. Congratulations and thank you for the submission.