New Joiners - Landscapes #897

There is something otherworldly and magical about this shot. The lightning bugs dancing the foreground are a detail that it takes a moment to notice because our attention is drawn immediately to the actual lightning in the sky.

From your description, this is single frame, which makes the accomplishment even more impressive. The portrait orientation works really well in this instance, layering the image into sections, from the dancing lightning bugs, to the dark band of the trees, and the night sky above, illuminated by the fork of lightning reaching out from on high.

An intriguing and beguiling image that must have been amazing to witness in real life. A deserved winner, thank you for sharing.

It's been a bit of a surreal time if you're into astrophotography. The unusually high activity from the sun means we've been treated to some amazing displays of the aurora in places that don't normally experience such majesty. It's meant that even the most novice of photographers have had the chance to photograph the aurora.

There's nothing novice about this image through, and you've attempted not just to capture the aurora but also to make sure that the composition works well. I like that you've included a water source so we can see the aurora reflected into the stillness, making the image even more compelling.

The white hut on the right of the frame and the railing on the left of the image help to ground the scene, and I love the colours. In fact, I was photographing the same aurora but in the Lake District, UK. The reds were incredible. It's wonderful to think we were all experiencing it at different times on the same day.

You've done it justice, thank you for sharing.

This is a well seen and composed seascape, that shows off a part of Australia that I've never had the pleasure of seeing before.

The lighting is strong and potentially overwhelming, but you make sure it's an asset to the image, rather than a distraction. It helps to bring out the bold colours that dominate the image, from the greens of the seaweed to the turquoise blue hues in the water.

It seems like it was a windy day, as the shutter speed of 11 seconds is enough to create some movement in both the water and the clouds above. This adds some narrative and movement to the image. I like the way the rocks lead in the eye to the water, and the natural curve of the landscape.

It's one of those images where the colours and the composition work together to create something inspiring.

Well seen, captured and processed, thanks for sharing.

These conditions are one of my personal favourites to shoot. I love an atmospheric, misty morning, where there is enough fog to add something magical, but not too much cloud. This means the sun can eventually find its way out and illuminate the mist below, creating an ethereal vista.

You've done well to control the intensity of the sun by hiding it behind the trees in the foreground, so we enjoy it illuminating the foreground without completely overwhelming the image.

I like the detail of the bridge in the distance and the panoramic aspect ratio. The quality of the image feels a little compromised, as if it's been cropped from a much larger image, but it doesn't impact the enjoyment of the scene much.

The warm tones work well, and all in all this is a lovely reminder of why we landscape photographers rise so early. Well seen and captured, thank you for sharing.

Sunflowers can be great subject matter for landscape images. Their distinctive colour makes them stand out against whatever background we find them in, and that fact that they're so numerous makes for an interesting and bold composition.

Here you've gone close in to the flowers, giving us the feeling that we're standing in the field too. The yellow of the sunflowers complements the blue of the sky and although there is no direct sunlight, the tones are nice and even throughout.

I like how all the flowers are pointing down, it makes for a curious scene.

Nicely seen and captured, thanks for sharing.

I'm a big fan of urban landscapes, I think they can be just as compelling as natural ones, and this is a great example of why.

This image combines the manmade with nature through the involvement of the water and the buildings. I like the faux oriental stylings of the building on the left contrasting with the more nautical feel of the building on the right. The colours complement each other, and the boat in the foreground adds a sense of scale and movement to the scene.

The warm, low light really brings the image alive, helped by the clear blue sky behind, keeping the image compact and simple.

A neat, impressive frame that shows off your eye for a compelling composition, thank you for sharing.

This is a rather interesting image. I'm really pleased that you provided some context because I thought at first that you had just composited a moon in, but knowing this is a double exposure elevates the image for me.

The mist floating along the back of the two trees combined with the oversized moon and the hint of the stars, makes this image feel rather surreal and I really like that. The composition works well, with the trees separated from the hill in the distance by that band of mist, and the blues of dawn giving way to the warmer tones of the day.

A really creative image that demonstrates your willingness to experiment. Thank you for sharing.

This is an impressive rendition of the night sky that demonstrates how beautiful the stars can be when in a dark sky area.

I think that astrophotography is one of the hardest disciplines under the landscape photography umbrella because it requires you to stay up late, operate in the dark and really know what you're doing with you camera to achieve decent results. It is also one of the most rewarding as demonstrated by this image.

I like that you have added a little bit of light under the arch to give it definition and allow it to stand out against the night sky.

The sky itself, with the milky way visible, is incredible. I love that you've caught a few shooting stars (or satellites) moving through. It just adds a little bit of something extra.

An impressive image that is worthy of a top three position. Thank you for sharing.

I'm a big believer in the fact that the best camera is the one you have on you, and most of the time, that is going to be your mobile phone. The cameras on iPhones have come on leaps and bounds, as demonstrated by this image. It allows you to take meaningful images without having to lug heavy kit up a mountain.

I love the atmosphere you've captured in this image, with the low cloud swirling around you and framing the rest of the landscape. The darker hill in the foreground leads the eye to the hills in the distance, stacking backwards as far as the eye can seen. The cloud is filled with texture and there is something calming about the various shades of blue.

Nicely seen and captured, thanks for sharing.

This is a great use of sunset light to make something that could be considered mundane looking intriguing. The use of light demonstrates your ability to think outside the box and use all the elements in the frame to powerful effect.

I like that you're gone for a portrait orientation so we're not losing space for no reason, and the light shining through the top of the lighthouse, silhouetted against the setting sun, works well and as a romantic, cinematic feel to it.

It's always tricky shooting into the sun because there is a chance that the highlights will be blown out, something that has happened here, but it doesn't impact the image too much.

Nicely seen and captured, thank you for sharing.

This is one of those images where I didn't quite know what I was looking at. It took a few seconds to register that this was an art installation rather than people and animals all co-existing in the water. Unfortunately your description is in a language I don't understand, but I think the image itself tells much of the story.

I like that you've silhouetted the cutouts against the evening (or morning) sky. Shooting into the sun can be tricky as it can blown out all the highlights, but you've controlled it well here, and it means that all the figures are backlit. It helps that there are some clouds in the sky to add some texture to the top half of the image and complement the colours from the bottom half of the frame and I like the detail of the bird in motion on the right side of the image.

An intriguing scene, thank you for sharing.

I love rainbows. They may be considered cliché in most photography circles, but to me they can make even the most mundane scene magical. However, there is nothing too mundane about your landscape minus the rainbow, especially due to the composition you've gone with.

The diagonal line of the fence leads the eye to house in the mid ground and I like that you've used the tree on the left to help frame the rainbow.

The rainbow arches from right to left and allows us to appreciate it, the foreground and the hills in the distance. The strong lighting adds to the charm, as do the rain clouds in the sky, full of texture and mood.

This is a case of being in the right place at the right time, but you've really made the most of the composition and this works really well, thank you for sharing.

I love foggy mornings. Sometimes you get lucky and the fog thins, allowing the sun to break through and make everything feel ethereal, but something the fog sticks around and makes everything atmospheric in a different way. One of things fog does really well is separate the foreground from the background, so that whatever is at the front of the frame seemingly is separate from the rest of the world. There is no context, and that can be magic.

This is a lovely example of the above. The trees in foreground exist outside of time, separated from a mythical background that we're not privy to. It makes for a compelling image, helped by your composition. Using the curve of the shoreline in the foreground as a lead in works well, and the portrait orientation means that we get to see plenty of the trees. It works better than a landscape version where there would just be emptiness on the right side of the frame.

Nicely seen, captured and processed, thank you for sharing.

Sunrise is my favourite time to capture landscapes and this image is a demonstration of why I love that time of day so much. The stillness of the morning, and the cooling down that happens overnight means that there is always the potential for some atmosphere in the form of mist or fog. Here, a thin layer of mist is visible across the landscape, with the light catching it, streaming through the trees in the mid ground.

You've done well to control the rising sun by positioning it behind a tree so it doesn't overwhelm the composition. The horizon seems a little wonky, which throws off the composition somewhat, but this could be easily corrected in post to make the image even more impressive.

Nicely seen and captured, a reminder of why we set those early alarms.

The trope of the lone tree is one that is compelling for landscape photographers because of the inbuilt narrative. Here we have the lone tree reflecting into water, devoid of any other context, and it works well.

I like your framing here, allowing for substantial negative space above the tree, giving the composition room to exist. The monochrome conversion really adds to the mood, ensuring that there are no distracting colours and leaning into the gloom.

The more I look at the image, the more I like it. The negative space just works and placing the tree in the centre of the frame, despite not adhering to the rule of thirds, demonstrates your eye for a composition and knowing when to break the rules.

Nicely seen, captured and processed, thank you for sharing.