New Joiners - Landscapes #702

This is a tale of two halves. In the foreground, the warm tones of yellows and oranges overwhelm the scene, hundreds of flower heads grouped together, uninterrupted. Above, warm tones give way to moody blues as the sky threatens rain, gloomy and dramatic. The tree in the middle links the two together. An image that is full of anticipation and mood, helped along by the processing. Thank you for sharing.

Absolutely glorious image that has a dreamy feel to it. The beautifully colourful flowers make for a powerful foreground with the complimentary purples and greens spreading up the mountainside, giving way to some epic and moving side light illuminating the mountain range. There is something wonderfully romantic about this scene with no one else around, just you (the photographer) and the wilderness. It evokes the feeling I had when I first fell in love with landscape photography, and on top of that, it shows great skill in both composition and processing. Marvellous stuff, a worthy winner. Thank you for sharing!

A perfect moment, well seen and well timed. Often these sort of images leave me a little cold as the main compositional element becomes the lightning and everything else is forgotten. However, this is not the case with your image. In fact, this is one the better compositions involving lightning that I've seen in a while. Although it is inevitably where the eye ends up, there is so much else to see from the moody hills to the spectre of the distant city barely visible through the sheets of rain hammering the landscape. The more I look, the more I'm impressed with how you've handled the processing, producing an evocative scene that reminds me of a painting. Powerful, emotional image!

I like that you've given room in this image to the glorious cumulous clouds that have gathered on the horizon. The sun, however, is refusing to be hidden, creating shafts of light cascading onto the urban sprawl on the far shore. It can be hard to deal with such dynamic range when you're effectively shooting into the sun, and some of your highlights are blown out as a result. However, that doesn't really impact the feel of the image, and the emotion it evokes. There are quite a lot of dust posts that have snuck through processing, and removing them in post would certain improve the overall scene. That aside, this has plenty to enjoy, from the composition to the light.

What I really enjoyed about this image is the way you've composed the scene to provide context through the foliage in the foreground as well as showing the viewer the distant shoreline, playing with economies of scale. The blues in the water compliment the greens of the hillside and bushes and the mood is helped by the gloomy, threatening sky presiding over the sea, low cloud clipping the tops of the cliffs. There is a lovely curve to the hillside and all in this is a pleasing image.

I like it when photographers play with perspective and try to do something a little different. Your choice to place the camera on the road so we're looking up at the imposing mountain range from a low angle works well to really give a sense of scale and drama. The yellow lines that transcend through either side at the bottom of the frame converge in the middle ensure that's where our eye ends up. I like the lack of light, as the hazy mist gives the image an atmospheric feel.

This is one of those images that offers more the deeper you look into the composition. Although ostensibly a classic landscape image, the way you've crafted the composition works really well, with the water in the foreground winding through the heart of the image, leading the eye to the building in the middle of the frame. Your choice to place the building in the centre is bold and pays off, allowing that moody sky to thrive above. However, the part that really ties the whole image together is that one shaft of light breaking through the cloud, perfectly positioned above the building. The 1:1 ratio aids the composition and overall this is really well crafted photograph, full of mood and emotion.

A classic, rural scene that evokes the feeling of late summer when farmers began to ply their trade in the fields of crops, producing these hay bales for future use. The line of bales here acts as a wonderfully useful diagonal which helps the eye move through the composition from the foreground to the dramatic sunset in the sky above. There is the smallest hint of late light on the side of the hay bales which elevates the image, and the warm kickback colouring the clouds is delightful. I can almost feel the warmth of the day draining away. Nicely done.

This image is all about contrasting textures and elements. The rock formation creates a natural archway, leading the eye to a completely different scene beyond. The blue colour of the water is delightful, caught in that wave crashing onto the rocks, framed by the clouds and blue sky above. I'd be interested to see if a tighter crop, focusing on the middle part of more, might make the whole composition more effective. I like your description and whole heartedly agree, we really are connected.

I like what you're trying to do here, creating something that feels somewhat abstract out of a literal, illustrative landscape. The perspective offered by the drone certainly helps, and the landscape you've captured is really intriguing. You use the word 'spines' to describe the geological phenomenon and that feels rather accurate to me. Although the use of the strong vignette is a personal choice and I understand that you want the eye to focus on the 'spines' rather that any surrounding elements, but I find it a little distracting. That aside, there is plenty to enjoy in this image.

This image is all about texture and colour. I love the strong light that is highlighting the snow in the foreground, mostly untouched and leading the eye to the water beyond, partially frozen. The cool blue tones really work well, contrasting with the warm tones of the winter trees catching that low morning light. However, for me, the real reason this image works is because of those wonderful fluffy, cotton wool clouds hanging the sky and reflecting in the water below. They just elevate the whole image.

An intriguing nightscape that uses the lights of the distant conurbation to good effect. I assume this is two images layered together to produce the effect of the intentional camera movement creating light beams into the sky whilst also ensuring the buildings are sharp. The result is a rather interesting mix of literal and abstract. I like that you're approaching it from a more creative perspective rather than just taking an illustrative cityscape. The shoreline creeping the bottom right is a little distracting and I wonder if the image might benefit from a crop. That aside, there is plenty to enjoy here.

This is a powerful panoramic image that makes the most of the elements in the frame to create a compelling composition. The flowers add some interest to the foreground, interrupting the greenery and complimenting the colours in the sky. However, the real star of the show is the mountains in the distance, shrouded in low cloud. The city below ensures we have an understanding of scale, and the fluffy clouds catching some colour enhance the overall effect.

I really like what you're trying to do here, using a shallow depth of field to create a different feel to the image. The main focal point is the mountain in the distance, and your decision to shoot at a high aperture ensures that the foliage in the foreground creates some lovely bokeh. The colours work well, focusing on the browns and greys. My eye is distracted by the branch sneaking into the top right and I wonder if the image would be improved with a tighter crop, potentially 1:1, to rid the composition of the distracting element. That aside, I like your creative process.