Modern life

A really simple frame that, unlike so many entries of people using mobile devices, introduces a family entirely engrossed in their own 'connected' worlds. An interesting piece of social comment that works on one level because of what it shows but also what it doesn't - any conversation or emotion. The additional element - the boy's yawn - is well timed - another comment within a comment. The darkness of the tube station emphasises well the isolation of the group and the individual. Overall a really straightforward but telling photograph - and a little sad.

A very strong composition... bold, bright and simple. I love the fact that the photographer has looked up and seen a shape into which he has introduced another element - the aeroplane. The eye goes straight to the plane and then wanders around the walkway and 'discovers' the people walking. Muted colours help focus on the composition - the blue is oddly calming seeing as we are looking at technology and contemporary architecture - both in which people are encased. This says 'modern life' to me very well.

A really nice idea that captures both the reality of modern life and the act of capturing the reality of modern life. The ubiquitous smart phone again but this time used as a framing device within a frame. I like the idea that you are looking into a viewfinder at the image and the hands are a useful device to lead you to the action - the people being photographed. Almost a meditation on the constant action of making a photograph.

This is a really bold statement. It reminds me - whether by luck or judgement - of the big colour documentary work in the UK in the late 1980s. Big, bold, over-lit images of technology that jars the viewer into having to look at the vibrant colour and the minutiae of the everyday objects around us. In one sense this says 'modern life' very well, even though it's a photograph almost reduced to abstraction (in itself a metaphor for modernity). I like it.

A very straightforward image elivened by the absurdity of 'selfies' and by the really interesting and well spotted element of the girls' hair that forms a strong vertical contrasting nicely with the curve of the concrete. I like the way their actions mirror one another and I like that they are in the most urban of areas, a park. A nice commentary on modernity and self obsession - and well spotted as reportage. The background is blown out enough so as not to distract too much so we are left to ponder the absurdity of the 'action'.

I like this for the simple idea that it conveys - of surveillance and threat. It's well executed and impactful. I like that the camera is isolated and the figure blurred and in motion. The red wall is striking and says 'danger' - or at least a place where you wouldn't want to linger. The wall bisects the frame in two nicely and seems to indicate a shadowy future for the figure heading into the dark (symbolic?). Overall a good effort that captures the idea of a dystopian future and a great deal more creative than another image of people looking at their smartphones.

A strong frame that works by the dazzling array of lines and abstraction that the bridge shows. I like the real chaos of the picture and that it's that bravery in framing that means it elevates a potentially dull image to one that engages. What really makes the photograph sing is the isolated figure in the first third of the left hand side of the frame. It is well caught so that it isolates him in front of a white background. A second or so later and the element that makes the image show a human scale would be lost.

Usually I'm not keen on images like this but this is an exception. I think that this is well thought through and has all the right elements to work. I like the sky that mirrors the idea of Dismaland and I like the way that the photographer has placed the blue and green roof in the left third quadrant - it sort of anchors the eye which is then free to roam around and take in the details. The castle, the helter-skelter and the multicoloured wind 'thing' to the right add a lovely colourful contrast/set of shapes to the sky. It's such a shame that the foreground cuts off the figures - if they'd have been clearer and more defined (ie not cropped) this would have been a winner!

This is one of innumerable images of people on mobile phones. It's also one of the better ones in that it has a really strong graphic sense which is added to by the processing in black and white. I really like the shape of the figure and I like the idea that he's framed off to the side - and that his arm and leg are animated. What loses points is the distracting building behind - my eye keeps going to them and distracting from what should be a lovely frame. Almost there.

A nice idea pretty well thought out and executed. I like that the woman isn't centre frame; that allows the light streaks of the traffic to dominate the frame and confuse us with their speed. The woman anchors our attention and makes us curious about where she's going and the frailty of people against such movement. I'd have been interested to see it in colour but the monochrome adds to the simplicity of the idea. The angular street markings echoing the traffic's (visual) noise.

Well, it's a nice idea and an interesting take on the theme - but it feels like a snatch and the picture is all the poorer for it. How much stronger would the frame have been if there had been some physical and emotional closeness, how much better the frame would have been taken more straight on? There are nice potential elements here - the attractive architecture of the pub and the red of the costume - and the seemingly incongruous phone call - but a good picture needs those elements sorted into a recognisable and pleasing shape. It's not just the ability to see that a picture might be there but the ability to order the frame as one takes it.

A kind of a Modernist poem about shape and a very brutal(ist) take on architecture. The scene is well framed with big square shapes echoing through the picture. I like the reflection(s) that add a depth to the image and the fact that the walls are green seems to add a kind of science-fiction element to the whole thing. The photographer might have moved a couple of feet to the right and obscured the chair which although adds depth, feels a bit out of place and in that way it would have been a much more abstract shot. Good effort though. I particularly like the exit sign - the only evidence of people...

A good idea, showing the ancient and modern (yet another mobile telephone picture) together but I am a bit lost on several levels. Firstly, I don't really think mountains are that colour naturally. The post processing really screams 'artificial' here and for me, completely distracts from the central message of the image. Added to that on a compositional level, it also doesn't quite work as it feels 'snatched' and by that I mean it would feel more balanced if the other camels were at least partially more in view. An interesting idea but not one that has succeeded.

I think that this is a really well observed and well executed image. Technically it seems to sing and that's not an easy thing to do with all these different light sources. I like the slower shutter that has caused the clouds to soften and drift. The small aperture has resulted in a pin sharp photograph that you can examine for ages. There are so many interesting details to pick out! The new city seems to 'loom' over the more traditional but even on their own the skyscrapers are a comment on modernity.

A nice image that uses the juxtaposition of the saddhus and the police to make a visual comment on the theme. It's not a bad frame - it's quite humorous - but it lacks the order and clarity to make it a winner. The photographer has seen an interesting situation but either it didn't develop or it changed. It's also from a long way back and I think a little more intimacy might have produced a better shot. It's coming, but it's not there yet.