Proof that good hair can really steal the limelight. The rim lighting here is lovely and delicate but brings such sharp detail. It finely illuminates the profile features and truly brings the face to life. The darkness of the background is integral to the brief here or we are close to surly being a silhouette. A worthy contender and I appreciate this frame a lot.
A solitary cloud seems to have crashed this architects party and sort of become the guest of honour. The deep shadows and geometry of the frame make this a mega cinematic scene with so much to explore. The ascending person gives everything a sense of scale and binds the whole photograph together. Really good highlight control. So borderline to the brief, however. But I'll accept it.
A quieter feel to this photograph, seems to speak a little softer, which makes it stand out. I also appreciate that it feels quite timeless in it's nature. The window light rolls in with lush diffusion to let a little story unfold. The solo water bottle almost looking on to supervise the class. Lovely exposure control that lets the light breath on the faces quite softly. Good job.
A frame firmly within the brief, with the feel of an opening scene from a noir-inspired Le Carré story. Heavy with atmosphere, it makes excellent use of shadow, mystery and restraint. Only giving away just enough to let us interpret the rest of the intention. Lovely work but dislike the dominant white border
Its actually pretty cool to see a commercial style image entered in to the contest. Especially one with good artistic license. I like the way the welding texture pops as the light source hits it. The fine crisp details emerge out of the darkness quite dramatically - the little hints of colour grabbing our attention - like the outfit of a superhero revealing itself from the shadows. Good work.
Text book example of what was asked for. And such beauty, too! The key-light moves over the face with just enough contouring and detail before fading to black. Wonderful pops of vibrancy from the beadwork. This is my 'painting' of the contest. Would love to see this as a huge print. Wonderful exposure control.
This is a really lovely study in craftsmanship. The lamp seems almost as focused on the work as the artisan. I really like the close crop which takes us inside the room to the point you can almost hear the scraping of the chisel against the wood. The light is warm and directional, revealing just enough, while letting the shadows do the rest of the work.
Such a great example of visual storytelling going on here. I have read about fishermen using fire to attract and catch fish but not seen it before. And what a job that fire is doing. It has become the soul light source and the story teller, illuminating the fish as they leap from their world to try and get to it. You could almost be convinced it was a giant fish rave. Technically excellent exposure that really hits the brief. My only note would be a wider composition to let the darkness surround the frame more.
For me, this is Low Key done properly. The vast swathes of darkness make the snowfield glow so well, while the tiny climbers provide scale and bring story and purpose to the image. Kind of feels like the mountain is the movie star with the people being the extras. Intimidating. Great light control with perfect balance between light and dark. Very striking, great job!
I'd say this frame has embraced the brief with confidence. Nicely controlled key-light has sculpted the face beautifully, drawing attention to those eyes but the blacks leaving mystery elsewhere in the frame. Lush textures from the pores and fabric give plenty to explore without distracting. The cropping is nice and intimate and the image bursts with warmth. Great photograph, one to be proud of.
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What a showdown at the pool! More of a dance-off than a territorial dispute, complete with jazz hands. The backlighting is set just right and carves out such detail and drama from the blackness. That spray has added theatrical sparkle without taking away from the low key mood, I would say. Technically polished with a lot of visual impact.
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Definitely one of my favourites from the competition. It's like someone forgot to tell the stall it was bedtime. All those rich colours popping out from the darkness are such a pleasure to explore in the fluorescent key light. The drop off from the top and bottom is wonderful, and the remaining light bleeds on to the sacks in a delicate manner. The rest of the light finds symmetry between the keeper and chair softly and with great contrast. Excellent exposure control where none of the subjects are lit in full - key to brief. Inviting and atmospheric with loads of texture.
Although this is a poignant and nicely lit photograph (with heaps of atmosphere) it - like so many other entries - is unfortunately just not on brief. We have seen some lovely examples of silhouette photography in this particular competition. Some very rich and enjoyable black and whites, and some quite stunning astro and landscape images. Sadly the brief is the brief, so hang on to your frames until a relevant Photocrowd contest comes up where these can be entered.
Ok... so.... lets talk about low-key lighting for a second. It means to use a single light source to illuminate a subject in darkness, often heavily contrasted, without the subject necessarily being fully lit. And that is technically what we have here. A single light source - be it earthlight or sunlight - has partially lit the lunar surface (but not fully) which is heavily contrasted, while immersed in the darkness of space. Perhaps arguably at the limits of the brief, which is why I'll allow this frame.
Sometimes the simplest of subjects make for the most abstract impressions. And abstract this certainly seems! Twisting through the darkness, these railings look like metallic ribbons drifting away in to the void. Superb tonal control and confidant composition. Really impressive. You might almost expect to meet M C Escher coming up (or is it down?!) the stairs.
Brief
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Low key imagery is dark and moody. It's usually underlit and has a strong contrast between the generally dark color of the scene, and the few areas of the subject that are lit. It is dramatic, and striking. Shooting low key imagery in a natural setting is possible, but relies on a particular set of conditions being available, notably a darker background, and a light source that is doing a good job of lighting only a portion of your subject, often from the side or back. This is more easily achieved in a controlled environment such as a studio, where a black backdrop can be created, and the light source setup deliberately. Any subject is fine for this contest, and images do not need to be in black and white, colour is fine too.
Such a wonderfully atmospheric frame that really hits the brief well. The smoke here is almost the main star but politely leaves room enough for the subject. Any thicker and it would have been far too dominant. Beautifully managed rim light - from whatever the source may have been - shows good technical control. Elegant and compelling. Would perhaps have liked a little more space to the right of frame to have it sitting more comfortably.
This feels like natures own spotlight is bringing some drama to the jungle stage. And this species definitely has more than it's share of drama - Fewer than around 8000 are recorded in the wild at present, if memory serves me right - the species has suffered from habitat loss due to deforestation and poaching for some years. Considered good omens, Golden langurs are even traded as a good luck charms. No wonder this particular monkey seems to have an expression of delicate caution on it's face. Lovely striking light and detail against the darkness. Good capture and well on brief.
