Repetition and order in nature

I started life as a landscape photographer before concentrating on wildlife photography, so I appreciate an excellent piece of work when I see it. From a compositional point of view, the image uses the rule of thirds with near-perfect precision, the mountainscape placed in the top third of the frame. This leaves so much space for the foreground to shine, and this really is the star of the show. I love the way that those beautiful repeating shapes of the ice gradually fade towards the meeting of the water and land. I could look at the mountains all day, but the detail in the ice and the balance that it brings to the photograph holds much more interest for me.

I must admit to having seen either this very image, or something near-identical to it, before. Usually that dampens the impact of a photograph for me, but not in this case. Close up detail photography such as this is quite a difficult thing to do well. It appears simple enough - simply zoom in close and let all that lovely detail work for you. But the reality is that getting the composition right is a very hard thing to achieve. The composition of this is next level. I love the placement of the central segment of the wing, positioned in the top right half of the frame, from which the wing veins radiate like the spokes of a wheel. These sections provide that delightfully brightly coloured repeating pattern, and you simply can't ignore the detail of the individual scales. A truly awesome piece of work that's a masterpiece of composition and colour.

When judging these competitions I always keep the title of the competition theme in the front of my mind. This image is not only technically and compositionally superb, but it also captures the very essence of the competition theme perfectly. Lets look at the background first. Here we see those coral polyps that provide exquisite colour and texture to the frame. Look how the photographer has carefully framed them so they fill the frame with perfect diagonal alignment. Having a repeating pattern is simply not enough, it takes skill and an eye for detail to position the camera so that the perfect balance is created. It is so good, that you simply don't notice, it just looks immediately balanced - that is a real skill. This is enough in itself to make the image stand out, but wait, there is another near-perfect element to this that makes this a knockout photograph. Those two fish are the stars of the show and elevate this from an accomplished image to an outstanding piece of work. Look how they mirror each other perfectly and have been so well balanced in the frame, their eyes the central draw around which the rest of the picture hangs. I love the diagonal that their aligned bodies make across the frame, complimenting the diagonals provided in the background. A simply stunning piece of work that is a stand out winner for me.