Minimalist Landscapes

A simple yet beautiful image of a little boat moored beside a partially submerged sand bar. Despite the composition being very minimal, there is still plenty for the eye to explore, and I especially love the effect of the water rippling across the sand, which for me make the shot so successful. Colour contrasts are beautiful and bring a lovely mood of sunny calm. The viewpoint also seems spot-on, as the boat is neither too small nor too large within the frame. Congratulations on your winning image.

A lovely, simple seascape, well captured and sensitively processed to create a beautiful dreamy image. The subtle mix of light shades of grey and a hint of golden sand are lovely. The slow shutter speed has caused the movement of the water to become soft streaks leading in and out of the surf, and softened the sky a little too. I especially love the light airiness that this image conveys, and is the sort of image I could sit and look at for an age, yet never tire of it. Great work, well done on your top ten placing.

I love this type of landscape view, of hills or mountains disappearing into the distance, shot into the light to create a stack of misty forms. I love the gentle curve of the mountain tops as they snake through the frame from the front to the back of the shot. The colours are lovely and gentle, with soft pastel bluey greys fading through to pale pinky yellow on the far horizon. Beautiful image, well done on your top ten placing.

I think this lake, coloured by the salts and algae, is also known as the Putrid Sea or Rotten Lake, which seem rather harsh names for something looking so striking and beautiful. Shots such as this can be very difficult to be successful with, as there are so many options for the composition and framing, but few will be successful. Here I think you have it right, as there is good balance between the water and the shore, with the ribbon of water coming in on a diagonal to add to the pleasing composition. Never having seen the lake myself, I do not know how realistic the saturation of colour is, but it does not look overdone, and has created a striking minimalist shot. Well done on your top ten placing.

So many successful images are all about the light, and this is a perfect example of that. Taken at any other time with the light and shadows falling differently would produce an altogether different image, and much of the impact would likely be lost. The single reverse-S running through the frame is eye-catching and leads the eye to gently sweep across and through the image. I like that you have retained a good amount of textural detail in the sand, as despite the smooth curves of the dunes we can still see the multitude of smaller ripples on the surface, which add more context to the image, rather than it being simply a coloured abstract shape. The deep golden colouring is rich and very attractive. Congratulations on your third place finish.

Images captured from a drone will always give a totally different perspective to the ground level view, especially as we have here where the landscape is captured from directly overhead. It is often simple lines and shapes that become more noticeable, and can therefore be used as key features of the composition. The tree is the obvious focal point, well positioned on the intersection of thirds, but the gently curving lines of the hedgerow and the vehicle and crop lines also add interest. The difference in colour between the golden yellow and fresh green on the two diagonal halves is attractive and adds to the overall abstract impact. Great image, well done on your top ten placing.

A beautifully gentle image, captured using an extended exposure time to smooth out the sky and the water to increase the effect of simple minimalism in the the shot. I am unsure whether the colouring of the image is a result of toning or the natural colour of the scene, but whichever, it is a lovely midnight blue, giving the impression of glimpsing the darkened forms of the islands across the water in the still of night. Simple but effective composition with the horizon centrally placed, seems to work well in a minimalist scene. Great work, well done on your top ten placing.

The unusual composition and under-saturated colours made this image stand out for me. The tree is a vital element, but by being free of leaves appears delicate and does not dominate the image. The graduation of colour from the sandy lower section to the pale aqua of the more distant water works nicely and the gentle blend between the two colours adds to the sense of calm. Congratulations on your second place finish.

Such a simple composition, but ones like this can be surprisingly difficult to get right, and the precise placement and size of the single subject, along with the format of the image, can all make subtle but important differences to the overall impact. Here everything seems just about right, with the size and placement of the tree spot-on. I like that a lot of textural detail has been retained on the surface of the field, which adds interest across the entire frame. Very minimal, but very well done. Well done on your top ten placing.