Off the beaten path

A lot of the images I selected for the top 10 spots were landscapes which felt untouched by crowds, but this one caught my eye for being a different interpretation. This might be right beside the path - it's hard to tell - but it makes you wonder what small wonders we miss as we walk by. The stripe of lens flare is slightly distracting and so a bit of photoshop might tidy that up, but the light on the subject really makes for a strong image.

The sort of light and cloud that every landscape photographer dreams of! In fact the, the dream-like quality is strong in this image - lovely soft pastel hues and strong-but delicate dark strokes from the trees and bare rock of the mountains. I do find the foreground trees just clip into the mountains a bit too much - I'd love to be able to see more of that mist, but it's still a stunning image.

A wonderful scene, certainly feeling like you're lost in the depths of the rainforest with the rich foliage and hanging vines. The composition of the river leading to the falls is very strong too. This one only narrowly missed out on one of the top spots - and I had to pick on very minor details... the branch behind the boulder catches my eye when I'm looking at the small cascade, and the boulder itself is very heavy in the image. They're not necessarily criticisms of what is, on it's own, a wonderful image. Just the reasons why I sadly had to leave it out of the top 10.

A lovely and well-placed trio of rocks in the stream provide a wonderful foreground element, with the stream that draws the eye up into the woods beyond. Certainly a lovely spot to come across and the undisturbed carpet of vibrant leaves suggests that this really is a un-discovered gem.

A really clever composition with the central peak flanked by other snowy mountains - together with the branching of the river, there's a very symmetrical effect in the image. Lovely bleak feeling to the scene too, so certainly meets the brief. With so many great images, inclusion in the top 10 came down to small points, and on this one, the vignette at the bottom just edged a little quality, so it narrowly missed out.

Perfect timing, getting the figure right in the bowl of the ridgeline, against the brightest part of the water, although perhaps their pose isn't the most appealing - I think it might be that the arms visible in the silhouette perhaps. Only a minor detail though - obviously not a shot you could choreograph easily, and the figure adds a wonderful sense of scale and a human focal point. The delicate recession in the background cliffs adds a nice subtlety to an otherwise very strong, graphical image.

A stunning location, and great to see a different angle on a much-shot glen. Real sense of scale and the texture in the water and wet rocks is really engaging. The movement is also mirrored by some subtle movement in the clouds. It did sadly, just miss out on a top spot, but a wonderful shot of the area.

An absolutely stunning location. While a busy and detailed foreground, the soft lighting on the glacier really draws the attention. The low angle adds a nice emphasis to the twisted roots and the leading line connects perfectly with the glacier. Often a shot like this would feel disconnected between the foreground and background, but the compositional work here is fabulous.

An absolutely wonderful view, with perfect light and a beautiful composition. Black and white suits this image perfectly, and the heavy sky holds the eye in perfectly. However, the minor detail that meant I left this out of the top spots is the dust spot towards the bottom. The little bright line is a wonderful little lead-in to the ridgeline above, but it runs next to the dust spot and it's a little distracting. Very easily fixed, and you'd have a wall-worthy image for sure. It's very harsh to pick on that small defect, but with so many wonderful mountain images, it came down to tiny things to choose between them.

Woodland provides endless possibilities for new compositions, and that's very much what this contest was about for me. Shots like this all tell a different story and the close position and gentle lines of these trees certainly present that romantic element of two figures dancing. I'm not sure about the 'Dirty' aspect as in the title, maybe more of a slow dance, but either way, it's a lovely, emotive image with a beautiful glow through the mist.

A beautifully composed image. Wonderful conditions to start with, but the strong leading lines really give a sense of depth as the eye wanders off into the snow and mist. However, the real stars of the show are the stream, and it's intricate curves, and the stand of trees on the left, both of which are placed perfectly together, creating a scene within the wider image, framed by the woods and mountains beyond.

A wonderfully graphical composition. The landscape does a lot of the work there with the strong lines in the rocks which run down the cliffs and into the sea. However, the photographer's eye has worked that into a lovely scene, with great use of diagonals that focus the eye on the fin of rock. You've worked really well with the direction of the light, catching the highlights on the trees and the face of the rock - and importantly, the shadow too. Rather than a distraction, it all adds to the very graphical composition.

A stunning display of the northern lights - a real wow-shot. Certainly worth the climb away from the bright lights just to view a spectacle like this, let alone photograph it - certainly worthy of a top 10 spot in this contest.