Playtime

This shot was a very close call for my top three. I love the energy of the girl caught in the moment. The combination of the light reflecting from all the surfaces in the image gives it a lovely, bright feel which is captured well by the exposure. The tight composition is great in getting us close to the action, but it leaves a little visual space for the orb to roll into. A very well-conceived image with a real pop from the depth of the colour.

Although technically not as strong as some of the other images submitted, for me this makes it into my top three for simply capturing a moment beautifully, which I feel is the essence of candid / reportage photography. The framing is lovely, especially with the shadows in the foreground. Would I like to see more detail in the highlights? Possibly. More processing of the image? Maybe. I just love this image for what it is: a beautiful, candid shot that says 'playtime'.

This image beautifully captures the sheer feeling of joy that playtime should be about. I really like the off-centre framing and space for the subject to slide into. The colour works well with all of the pinks from a narrow colour palette giving it a subtle, almost tinted monochrome feel. The vignetting of the slide adds to the drama, as do the blown out highlights adding to the feeling of coming from the light into the dark. The point of focus and small aperture together isolating the subject draws us in and gives us a greater feel of travelling through the space.

The narrative qualities of this image really brought a smile to my face. There is a certain pantomime "behind you" quality to it. The composition is really nice and the square frame really helps the diagonal from crab-to-child create a very strong dynamic. The shot could have also been successful with the focus on the crab and the child dropped out of focus, but in this instance I think the decision to focus on the child was the correct one. It draws our intention to the search, which is playtime.

There's a lovely feel to this image, which captures the essence of playtime. The excitement and energy from the children and the placement of the bubble create a window into a different adult world, which adds intrigue. The use of the square framing works well and gives the image a nice balance with all the compositional elements such as the horizontal lines of the architecture and radial lines of the paving working well together. I think the exposure is spot-on and the slightly crunchy feel to the processing adds to the feel.

I just love this image. The fact that I kept coming back to it made it my winner. For me it captures a quiet moment, those that are often missed. The framing is lovely and the light from the window is just right. There is also enough mystery in the shot to keep me thinking. The angle it was shot from also adds to the dynamic with the diagonal lines of the blinds with the window ledge creating strong compositional elements. The point of focus and shallow depth of field highlight beautifully the concentration on the child's face.

This image gets a commendation from me for its sheer simplicity. The excellent composition courtesy of the tight framing and the choice of a monochrome treatment focuses our attention totally on the expressions of the subjects, which gives us a great connection with them. Shooting a 2.8 on a long lens puts the background beautifully out-of-focus further drawing us into the subjects. I really like the balance of this image and the tonal qualities that the natural light and use of black and white gives it.

I really like the feel of this shot with the long lens compressing the space of the image very successfully. In what is an extremely busy image with lots of elements fighting for our attention, the point of focus allows us to home in on the concentrated expressions of the musicians, allowing us to feel the emotional intensity and physicality of the music they are playing. The softer figures in the foreground draw us through the crowd perfectly with the colours in the background working in harmony with the details on the uniforms.

What's not to like about this image? This is a beautiful moment frozen in time. The use of a fast shutter speed together with a shallow depth of field at the longer end of a standard zoom lens has allowed the photographer to capture a moment we don't really see with the naked eye, apart from as a fleeting frame within the race as we follow the action. This shows a unique quality that the still image gives us to record with intimate detail the joyful expressions and energy of the subjects in a very successful example of playtime in its essence.

It is always nice to see a different approach and this sequence of shots works well to tell the story. I like the slight inconsistency to the framing whilst maintaining the overall composition of the shots. A couple within the sequence stand out on their own, but the sequence as a whole is what brings it to life. I find the background a little distracting, which would have been better with a shallower depth of field to further isolate the subject.

The framing of this image works very well for me. The concentric circles within a square frame are very strong graphic elements within the shot. I think it could have been stronger with a more selective point of focus, perhaps on the eyes using a smaller aperture, but it is well observed and an interesting shot overall. The wide angle lens adds to the perspective and gives more separation between the circles, as well as the feeling of getting close to the action.

This is a lovely shot combining a well observed moment with some really nice compositional elements. The choice of a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion of the fountains, together with the shallow depth of field to draw attention to the little girl in the foreground contributes to a very nice feel to the image. This also gives the background a lovely quality to it. A little more pop in the processing might have added further to the shot to give a more three-dimensional feel to the water frozen in time.

This is a great example of the compositional possibilities of the square format. The positioning of the subject is key in this image, with lots of space for the figure to move into in a seemingly vast expanse of calm. The exposure is spot on with the subject becoming a silhouette against the high-key, infinitive background. The lack of a clear horizon, together with the darker gradation into the sky and foreground gives the image a lovely balance as well.