New Joiners - Landscapes #547

An absolutely classic scene that I rarely tire of seeing and enjoying. Those mountains seem to perfectly lead the eye into the heart of the image, and that gloriously blue/turquoise water contrasting with the blue sky. The only thing that lets the image down in the foliage that's sneaking into the frame at the bottom right. It just disrupts the reflection and distracts the eye.

Absolutely love this classic landscape image that demonstrates really good knowledge of how to compose a landscape in portrait orientating. The contrast of that bright, powerful blue sky is offset by the equally colourful yellow flowers. I like that the flowers towards the front of the image are out of focus, pushing the eye towards that hut and mountain in the heart of the image. Including all those fluffy clouds balances out what could easily have been too much sky. Marvellous image that shows you don't just have to shoot during the golden hour to create compelling compositions! Worthy winner.

This is a powerful seascape that demonstrates a real understanding of composition. I enjoy how you've framed it so the rocks traverse the right hand edge of the image and lead the eye all the way up the coastline to the lighthouse at the top. The long exposure gives a milky feel to the sea and adds a sense of movement to the sky. There's a cool colour cast to the scene and the lack of light gives an even look to the image. Nicely done.

I'm always in awe of people who are able to capture the Milky Way in such glorious detail, especially when they manage to incorporate some interesting foreground. This is a really nice example of astrophotography that shows technical and compositional competence. I love that shooting stairs that you've also captured alongside the Milky Way and the colour gradient in the sky. The only distraction is in the bottom left of the image that could be easily removed with a tighter crop. Good stuff.

I really like what you've done with this composition. The curve of the rock in the foreground makes a natural frame for the water and the rock in the middle. The long exposure gives the sea and sky a sense of movement, and the overall moodiness of the colour palette works well. There's plenty of texture and interest with the wet rocks and dark clouds. Lovely, high quality seascape.

This is a classic Outer Hebrides seascape and showcases the glorious turquoise waters found in that part of the world. The amazing metaphoric rock the you've captured in the foreground acts as a splendid foreground, sweeping around the coastline and leading to those Harris hills in the distance. The long exposure adds to the sense of movement, and the muted tones of the image works well. Lovely shot, deserved of a top 10 spot.

This image caught my eye because the sea has a glassy feel to it. It's almost see-through but retains a gorgeous colour. The relationship between the sea and the sky is very much the main narrative of this composition, with the colours complimenting each other. The wispy clouds in the sky provide some interest and the island provides an intriguing focal points. I'd be inclined to increase the brightness of the island to bring out some of those greens, but otherwise the whole composition is just extremely inviting.

I absolutely love this image, although I can see it might be overlooked in the crowd vote. It's the kind of landscape image that just exudes atmosphere but doesn't necessarily tread the well worn path of obvious and timeless compositions. The fog provides an eerie feeling to the scene, and the processing really adds to that mood. The many shapes of the trees bending into the fog works well, as does the composition. The kind of image that makes me want to look deeper.

This image is all about the drama. The landscape itself breathes drama, and the dash of light thrown into the treeline from the left hand side really adds to the image. It pulls the eye into the gorgeous colours of the woodland, bright and colourful in contrast with the muted greys of the mountain peaks. The small amount of snow on the right hand mountain helps to balance out the whole composition, demonstrating that even the smallest of decisions about what to include and what to exclude can impact the final photo. A feast for the eyes.

There's a lovely sense of grandeur to this image, and the way you've composed adds to this. That imposing peak on the right hand side dominants the frame, and the light that's hitting the rock as well as the woodland on the lower slopes helps to elevate the scene. The peaks on the left, snow-capped and in more shadow, help to balance out the image. Lovely stuff, well seen, captured and processed.

I wanted to include this image in the commended selection because it's a really nicely done panorama. You get a sense of the grandeur of the architecture, and the positioning of the tourists in the square helps to provide some balance. The part of the image that just seems odd to me is the sky. I'm presuming you've swapped out the sky in post The full moon in the middle of the day is a little disconcerting. Although creativity is always encouraged, I feel that it just detracts here from an otherwise powerful pano.

This is an intriguing monochrome image that has an almost spooky feel to it. The dark landscape contrasts well with the faded white paintwork of the barn, and that light falling on the front of the barn is just lovely, elevating the whole composition. There's a mystery to this scene, and a sense of nostalgia. My only criticism would be that the barn is a little too far to the right in the frame, making that side a little claustrophobic. That aside, this is great pictorial storytelling!

This seascape/landscape has a really lovely tonality to it. There's a cool feel to the image with the blue sky working with the blue hues of the landscape in the background the the rocks in the foreground. The lighthouse provides a much needed focal point, and I really like the curve of the water snaking round the lighthouse and into the water. A slightly tighter crop would have helped tie image together as there is a lot of negative space in the sky that doesn't add a huge amount to the scene.

Absolutely love the mood you've captured and created in this image. I'm not sure what time of the day you've captured this image at, but it has the feel of pre-dawn, with the weather moving through the scene. The blue tones add to the mood, and the lighthouse in the distance provides a focal point. I'm inclined towards a tighter crop so the lighthouse isn't free floating in the middle of the frame, although I do enjoy the clouds hanging in the sky. Lovely evocative image.