Mundane Urban Streets

Looking through the choices for my top ten placing, I have selected a number with a similar composition to this, with an area of facing wall and a street leading away on the other part of the shot - maybe that is a key to successfully capturing the mundane! Maybe in a different contest this image would not work, as there is a rather large expanse of plain wall filling virtually half the frame, but here I think it works, especially when balanced by the opposite side with the thoroughfare leading us forward into the frame on the sunny side of the street. Simple but effective. Great image, well done on your top ten placing.

A strong image, aided by the low key processing and excellent conversion to black and white. Both the composition, with the back lane snaking into the background, and the brighter areas in the small patch of sky and on the double "yellow" lines really draw the viewer into the image as the eye is attracted to those lighter parts. The conversion to black and white has been done very successfully, as although the darker tones dominate, we get to see a good deal of detail and texture in the cobbles and brickwork. Great image, well done on your top ten placing.

These back service roads are a common sight in many towns and cities, but few take the opportunity to photograph them, which is a shame as there is a wealth of opportunity. There may be nothing especially remarkable or exotic to capture, but it is this sense of plain and ordinary which can makes scenes such as this worth documenting. The processing style suits the subject, adding a sense of grim, but I especially like the brighter areas where it looks as though the some sunlight is shining onto the back of the houses, picking out lighter highlights to lift the image and prevent it being too dark overall. Some lovely textures in the cobbles and brickwork, all complimented by the limited colour palette of dull browns and greys. Great image, well done on your top ten placing.

The processing style used here adds a certain feel of nostalgia to the image, which really suits the subject. An unusual viewpoint, looking towards the junction of a side road onto what looks to be a typically mundane suburban high street with its line of shops and takeaways, most likely with flats above. It is so mundane I love it! The overcast sky adds to the sense of the ordinary and the lack of people in the scene works well too. Great work, well done on your top ten placing.

This image perfectly sums up what I was looking to see in this contest. Mundane does not have to mean dreary, shabby or unattractive, as we see here that the ordinary day to day backstreets of the town can have their own beauty and charm. I love images where the scene fills the frame without inclusion of sky, and the narrow streets lend themselves to such a composition, and results in something of interest for the eye to explore wherever it settles. Exposure of the image is well balanced, which can often be tricky in narrow shadowy streets, but here we have a lovely soft light bringing out detail in the architecture and foliage etc, and bringing a richness to the colours. Composition is spot on, as the curve of the paving leads the eye through the scene and beyond, and the inclusion of the casually propped bicycle and laundry hanging overhead add to the sense of the capture of the ordinary and mundane. Congratulations on your winning image.

This image stood out as a likely top three as soon as I saw it. The scene is spot on for the mundane theme of tbe contest. The inclusion of the two street signs adds to the ordinariness of the scene, and I especially like the pole on the opposite pavement set at a skew. Whilst the street looks to be in direct sunlight, the shadows look to have been lifted to avoid any over-dark areas, and instead we have a bright bold scene, full of details for the eye to explore, and maybe wonder at the stories of daily life bring played out behind each door. Congratulations on your second place finish.

This is such a typical backstreet scene of many towns in Spain and no doubt throughout the world, especially at siesta time when the streets take on even more of a mood of plain and mundane. What I especially like here is the inclusion of the cat walking by. I am not sure whether this was intened or an accidental inclusion, but it really works and adds to the overall mood of the shot. Viewpoint and composition works well, being captured at the street junction to catch a view of the roads in both directions. The bold contrasting colours work nicely together, without dominating the shot. Being picky, I may be tempted to tone down the saturation/hue of the sky slightly, as it tends to draw the eye, but that is not a major issue. Well done on your top ten placing.

The beautiful blue tiles above the doorway give a hint to the Portuguese location of this image, and the whole image brings to mind a quite and ordinary back way in an otherwise busy city. Whilst the subject is mundane and nothing exciting, that does not mean it lacks interest, and as with many of the stronger entries in this contest, does an excellent job in documenting the everyday ordinary. I love the composition, with the frame split in half, dividing the scene between the end wall and the view upwards as the steps ascend the hill. Well done on your top ten placing.