Landscapes #482

I'm a sucker for winter landscapes, and as I'm typing this on the 1st December with the first door of my advent calendar newly opened, I couldn't let this one escape my Top 10! It could be confused for a monochrome image, but the photographer's description seems to confirm that this is a colour shot, with Mother Nature providing the monochrome herself. The bend in the river is such a great feature, hidden there amongst all the trees. I wonder if the shot might benefit from even less sky being shown, and so allowing us to see more of the trees and detail at our feet in the foreground.

On the face of it a quite simple shot, but it has a very solid and effective composition and framing that really appeals to me. The photographer has used the trees and the tufted grass in the foreground as a perfect showcase within which to feature the imposing rock behind I love the slight hazing at the top of the rock which hints at its height, and it's also proof that you can still take great shots when the sun is in!

This is a lovely scene, and technicaly excellent. The time of day is giving a beautiful golden glow to the land, and the reflection in the water is sufficiently blurred to make the reflection just different enough to make it really interesting. I like the ratio of reflection to sky, and the blue patch of sky works brilliantly where it's been placed. I'm not a fan of the white borders above and below the image, and not sure of their purpose. It means that the image appears smaller on viewers' screens, which is a shame given what a great image it is.

What a stunning part of the world! I love the placement of the rock in the foreground, and the low shooting angle, which makes a real feature of the pebbles under the water. The mountains are really well shot and lots of detail still visible in the sky. One thing that could be worked on is where the trees join the sky and hills on the left of the shot - the trees have not been darkended as much as the rest of the shot in post processing, and this creates a bit of a bright halo around them. And I would also be tempted to clone out the rock on the shore line on the far left of the shot. And the photographer's copyright watermark is a real distraction. Still, a great shot, and to be commended. Quite literally.

Compositionally this shot is very playful, and makes great use of the two fallen logs to create an engaging shot that warants closer inspection. The slower shutter speed of 3/5th of a second is perfect for showing the moving water. The shot could benefit from being a little sharper overall, and I wonder if this may have been shot handheld? At that shutter speed a tripod is essential for a sharp shot, and ideally with a cable release or using the timed release to fire the camera. I'd also try tightening the crop up on the left of the shot to see if that balances the tight crop on the right hand side a little better.

What a great shot, looking out over Calgary. The sun rising and bathing the city and suburbs with golden light contrasts brilliantly with the cold, shadowy foreground, and the wonderful orange and red lens flare really lifts the shot above the ordinary. The photographer hasn't been tempted to distort the colours beyond what feels natural, which is good. The arrangement of the rocks in the immediate foreground doesn't quite work for me, with the dark patch in the bottom right feeling a little like wasted space, but it doesn't detract too much for me from what is a lovely and evocative shot.

This shot really does justice to the breathtaking Italian mountains. There's a lovely layering of the different natural features, from the foreground grass and rock to the distant background skyline, and everything is nice and sharp all the way through. Exposure is perfect, and there's a reserved feel to the colours which befits the weather conditions. Sometimes having people in the shot provides a welcome element, but I'm not sure that is the case with the character in the bottom right of the image, who I find more of a distraction than a help.

Atmosphere and tone are the 2 words springing to mind here. Shooting a backlit subject like this can create both those things very well, but also relies on accurate exposure of the shot. Here this is done well, and the large tree in the foreground still has plenty of detail on it, which is critical for the success of the shot. The colour palette is simple but effective, and overall the shot captures a beautiful time of year very well.

This is a very solid landscape shot, and a lovely balanced composition. From the golden bracken in the foreground to the tree-covered fell in the background, everything sits very pleasingly together in the frame. The vignetting of the sky keeps one's attention nicely in the middle of the shot, helped by the reflections on the water. The post-processing effect is not one that particularly appeals to me, which is why this doesn't sit higher up my Top Ten, but I appreciate that that could be said to be a matter of personal taste.

A beautifully composed and atmospheric shot, a nice degree of movement in the water, and the square crop with the horizon bang in the middle works really well. It makes you wish that you were sat on that stone bench!

My winning shot in this contest is this absorbing, multi-layered shot that reminds me of Gursky's 'Rhein II', but with more interest for the eye. The subtle variation in colours, the contrasts of the ordered crops with the wonderfully disordered trees, and the atmospheric clouds that are shrouding the top of the hills. The image is not pin-sharp, especially towards the edges and corners, which is its only downside, but it was shot on a phone so that is forgiveable.

I love this shot, and it warrants a good, long look to take it all in. The gorgeous purple and blue hues of the sunset are believable and don't appear to have been overly tinkered with, the composition is well thought out and provides welcome detail in the foreground, and the silhouetted characters give a human dimension to the scene.

This image has some doubtless qualities - a strong and interesting composition, lovely light, sharpness, and it's a nice example of being able to find a good shot amongst everyday scenes. The post-processing however feels too heavy-handed and not necessary, in my opinion. There are ways to use filters creatively that still retain a natural feel to the image, and it would be good to see this image treated differently.

This is a really solid composition, and a good idea. Layers of sand, surf, ocean and sky. The colour effect that has been applied renders the colours quite unnatural, however, and has also had the effect of adding a mottled effect to the sky. Aiming for a more naturalistic effect, and relying on basic photographic skills, which are in effect in this shot, should produce better results.

It's an interesting angle that this is shot at, and it works well. The cloud formations are crazy, and work brilliantly with the angles of the mountains. I'd have liked to have seen a larger image file so that I could appreciate the shot more, and the colours have been amped up too high. The blue of the sky has become unnatural, and this reduces the impact of the shot, rather than increasing it.

This is such an atmospheric shot, a simple and effective composition, and perfectly captures this time of day. The shot's one downfall is that it isn't quite sharp. With a straightforward landscape like this, and at values of 1/200th/f5.6 as the photographer has used, there's no reason one shouldn't aim for a crisp focus all the way from foreground to background. Focus on the ground somewhere 10-15m away, keep the camera nice and steady, and check your results by zooming in on the screen before moving on.

This is a great landscape composition and works well in the longer, slightly panoramic format that has been used. Like a few other shots I've chosen in this contest, it has layers of interest from the foreground all the way to the distant horizon. I would make one suggestion, which is to crop out or clone out the telegraph pole and other distractions on the far left of the shot. They draw the eye away from the centre of the shot and for no good reason.

It looks like the photographer was in a beautiful spot on the day in question, and at a beautiful time of year. The image is sadly out of focus, which is its main issue, but is also taken from the middle of the road. I can't help thinking that there were better views available, and stepping off the beaten track is almost always rewarded when you've a camera in your hand.