People in (and Under) the Water

The simplicity of this image is absolutely beautiful. Lovely nostalgic feeling of the 70s/80s childhoods when we played outside. The ripples in the water are so calming. The subjects positions tell of a contemplative moment of silence between thr group. Colour toning v nice. Excellent image.

The simplicity here is stunning! But also difficult to achieve. Noticed your colour version of this image entered but think it has much more impact in black & white. The feeling of the water swirls is beautiful. A work of art! Super well done o being in the top ten!

In a way this is a very simple image which simultaneously requires great skill to achieve. The aspect is beautiful. The framing is great. The movement of the swimmer is well displayed. The swimmer's expression is a work of art - really conveys the focus & dedication. I'd be tempted to edit out a few vertical small white dots of water froth top centre & slightly lower centre right. Potentially reduce the white froth lower left so is not so distracting from the subject. Colour toning is perfect. Very nice indeed.

Had to give this image a place in the top ten. I love the humour & slightly irreverant nature of this image. The expression & feet positioning of the subject is just fabulous. Plus the bubbles really add to the feeling in this image. Very nice!

The lines & positioning of all aspects in this image are absolutely fabulous! Achieving positioning of aspects like this is no easy feat. I love the posture of the male subject - part of his story is written in the hunch if his shoulders. The position & expression of the female subject tells of a crisp swim. I'd be tempted to edit out the rocks on the far right to bring a little more balance to the image. The rest of the placements are so perfect it may work well. Very excellent work!

Stunning Dyptich, Great story telling. Can feel the chill of the water & the warmth of the subject's friendship. The black & white colour toning is beautiful & suits the aspects of the image perfectly. Very nostalgic feel in the image reminding of a life if simple pleasures. Absolutely outstanding work - big congratulations on the winning image.

The aspect of this image is phenomenal. Seeing the scene through the eyes of the boys. One of things I love the most is that it's possible to zoom in on all people & everyone is completely in their own piece of life in the moment. With this many people that is not easy to achieve. Superb story telling ability here & is a work of art I would 100% have on my own wall. Well done!

Wow! Loved all your entries. Super creative!! This particular one with the hearts is fabulous!! How many takes did it take? Appears to be as shot to me & created in the scene but perhaps is manipulated... Would love to know. Either way is done beautifully & a lovely fun piece of work.

Absolutely love this image. The styling & colour palette is beautiful! A few amends in the editing process would have resulted in a top ten! The two stones which touch the subjects are a little distracting, so woud remove these. Also would remove the dress peeking out of the water on left. Would blur the lines of the stone in the lower left corner. Remove white spec in the water lower right. Plus would copy the line of the bushes in top left - this is a little tricky to explain & would be easier to mark up on the image, but hopefully makes sense. These editing tweaks woukd result in a 'cleaner' image with more emphasis on the subjects. Potentially lighten the subject's water reflection. Beautiful image over all!!! Super well done.

This is a beautiful image!!! Love the movement & light on the water & the synchronicity of the colour palette. Couple of small edits I'd make if it was me - lower left corner would copy the water across to make a little cleaner. Potentially remove range glove poking into frame on lower left. Possibly tidy a few black spots in the ice in top right. The highlights on the outfit of the subject on the ice (left arm) could do with coming down a bit. Very very nearly in the top ten. Overall is a really fantastic image.

Love the clarity, contrast & movement in the water. Great position of the subject. Along with a fantastic expression. Not easy to achieve underwater. The underwater setting with the stairs in the background is really cool! looking forward to seeing more of your work!

Stunning piece!!! Hope this couple have a framed print of this image on their wall :)) The laughter of the female subject is beautiful & combination of the male subject looking straight at the camera is super nice. The Aspect of being low in the water is fab. Just goes to show what can be achieved with an iPhone! Well done!

Love love love this concept. The framing & perspective is beautiful! A few aspects meant this image didn't go through to top ten - very unfortunately. Allow me to share. Overall, the image felt a bit busy. Not adverse to 'busy-ness' but felt some busy aspects were distracting such as:

• The picture frame poking out from the subjects head.
• The reflections in the pictures aobove & to the right of the subject,
• Marks on the bath roll top on the lower left
• pipes on bath lower centre
• The lighting on the subject's forehead
• The highlights on the subject's right fore arm
• The candle on the chest could have been removed for a 'cleaner' image
• The black dot on the side of the fireplace
• The perspective of the slant of the fireplace is contrasting a little uncomfortably with the rest of the image.

It sounds like a long list - with a lot of detail present there are a lot of details to pay attention to. Overall it is an excellent image though. The placement of the bath, subject, pose of subject & flowers are really excellent.

Very nice! Would have liked to see a more negative space over the subject's head. Possibly a little more space to the right & left too. Understand this can be challenging with prime lenses. Love the reflections. & detail in the water. Potentially faster shutter speed may have made the subject's hand a little sharper?

Just wow! The attention to detail & styling in this image is absolutely superb!!! All these things are require exceptional skill to acheive simultaneously. Position of hand - excellent. Flower placement excellent. Water ripples & light reflection - excellent. Body, head & framing all super excellent. Lighting excellent. I'm struggling to make this comment but the reason this image did not go higher is I felt there was stronger emotion communicated in other images. But technically this image is flawless & has obviously taken a lot of work & skill to put together in this way. . Really wonderful image - super well done.