Pebbles, stones and rocks

This was a late addition to my top ten, but is the type of image which has great appeal for me. It is abstract, but the subject is still clearly evident. We get little sense of scale, but I don't think that matters. The colour are fabulous, without being over saturated, and you have captured the loose rough textures superbly. Great work.

This is a dramatic and memorable image which has been expertly composed and shot. It is probably deserving of a top ten placing, and I am sure will do well on the crowd vote, however, it is the uniqueness of this image which has kept it out of the placings. Unfortunately, having seen the picture in a dozen or so different contests in the last few months, it has lost much of its impact for me, and because of this did not get placed. Still quality work, and still commendable.

A beautifully lit shot, well composed and very expertly handled. The inclusion of the tree completes the scene. The rocks look to be pretty treacherous with the slippery seaweed and uneven surfaces, and you did well to create this image without mishap to yourself or your camera! I Love the limited colour palette of greeney browns and purpley greys. Also good to see you didn't feel the need to clone out the two tiny ships on the far horizon. Quality work, well deserving of a top ten place.

This had a strong and immediate impact for me, and as soon as I saw the image I knew it would take one of my top placings. In the end it was just edged out for the winning spot. I find the rock formation you have so expertly captured fascinating, with its colours and swirling patterns. You have managed to avoid any reflections on the surface of the little rock pool, which allows us to see clearly down to the red stone, just waiting to be plucked out and examined. Really love this image, a well deserved second place. Well done.

This image has a real wow factor for me .... the subject, the colours, the composition. You have retained detail from front to back to show the wonderful striations and undulations in the rock. The strong lead-in takes us directly to the beautifully lit rocky bumps in the centre, all topped with a well exposed and dramatic sky. You have controlled the lighting well, to lift the shadow areas just enough to see all the detail, but retaining great depth. Well done.

Another image which was in and out of my placings, but I feel it deserves to be in the top ten. I have a fascination with the infinite variety of shapes, sizes, colour and patterns of pebbles, and this image feeds that fascination! If this scene was a "find", you were extremely lucky, but I rather suspect the photographer spent time and patience with the set-up to create this simple, yet beautiful little scene. Lighting is good, colours soft and realistic, nothing harsh or over-done. Great shot, well done.

This was one of those "wow" shots for me when I did the first run through. The setting looks fascinating, and you have captured the rock formations and colours beautifully. If I am being picky, I find the small bluish area on the left at the very top quite distracting, and it pulls my eye away from the main subject. To improve the image further, I would be inclined to either crop off the very top section of the picture, or maybe adjust the blue colouring in that small area to be more pinkish to match the surrounding rocks. That way the full focus is on that wonderful rock in the foreground. Still a great capture.

These rock formations are fascinating, and your image shows a lot of detail to describe the nature of the setting to someone who may not have visited Yellowstone. I love the colours, strong but not overdone, and you have done well to show depth and form in what looks to be pretty flat lighting. You have captured enough of the rising steam to give a sense of it, but not allowed it to obliterate the rocks behind. In a sense this is quite an abstract shot, but I could spend a long while looking around it and admiring the quality of the image. Beautifully done.

Your venture out with your camera into inclement weather was worth the effort to produce this image, and if you had been out of a lovely summer day I don't think you would have achieved such good results. The detail in the foreground is lovely, and leads us into the picture to the broken but sturdy barn in the middle distance. Your conversion to monochrome has been done sympathetically, as you have avoided harsh contrasts, but still have a full range of tones from white to black. The square crop holds everything tightly together and suits the subject well. Great image, loved it from the start.

It is the beautifully soft colours you have captured which makes this a top ten placed image - the soft reddy pinks, greens and browns. I see you have entered the identical scene into this contest in a black & white version (which I also love) and it took me a while to realize they were the same shot, as the colour/removal of colour gives such a different feel to the two images. Your use of a slow shutter speed to create a milky look to the water all adds to the smooth gentle softness of this shot. I think this image would work well enlarged and hung on the wall.

I wavered quite a while on this one. It has a lot of potential and I like it a lot in many ways, but in the end it didn't quite make it into my awarded shots. It looks to me as if the motion blur of the water and upper sand has been done in post-processing (no problem for me in that) but I would try to get rid of the tell-tale banding lines which appear towards the outer edges when motion blur is added afterwards. (I have an idea how this could be done - message me if interested). Still a striking shot, in what looks to be an idyllic location.