Rooftops and Rooflines

There were surprisingly few images entered in this contest which showed close up details of individual roofs, but this was one which stood out. Details in the tiles and the little clumps of moss are great, and the colouring is rich and warm, without being over-saturated. Simply composed, but an effective, well captured image. Well done on your top ten placing.

Whilst this image looks to have been captured from ground level, due to the strong contrast between the buildings and the sky, the subject for the contest theme is clear, due to the near-silhouette effect highlighting the roof tops and roof line. The black and white conversion and processing style has worked very well and suits the rather mundane subject. The inclusion of the telegraph pole and the multitude of wires works well, as it gives balance by giving a diagonal dimension, and filling an otherwise large expanse of sky. Well seen and well captured, well done on your top ten finish.

This image stood out for a likely place in the top three as soon as I saw it. There is no shooting data attached, but it looks to have been taken with a telephoto lens, which has produced a fabulous compression of perspective. There were a large number of entries which included a thin sliver of sky at the top of the shot, but here we see the impact of filling the frame with the subject, and in my view creates a much stronger shot without any sky. This image is further strengthened by the limited colour palette of bluey-greys and browns, and muted tones. For me the addition of the white frame is unnecessary, but not too distracting. Great image, congratulations on your first place finish.

This black and white image stood out for me from when I first saw it. I love the frame filling effect and the realisation that sky does not need to be included on an urban landscape shot. Whilst your subject is clearly identifiable, the lines and shapes you have captured give an abstract feel to the image. From the shadows, it looks like you were probably shooting in some difficult lighting conditions, but you have handled the light very well, especially considering the potential glare from the white buildings. Everything is sharp and clear, but you have managed to bring a lovely softness to the image too. Great work, well done on your top ten placing.

This image was very close to the top spot. I love the quality of the light you have captured, with sunlight catching the roof, and the dark sky above. The relatively modern and industrial nature of the architecture may not appeal to all in this contest, but I think it is a great subject choice, and has been extremely well captured. The image is clean and sharp, and very pleasing to view. Congratulations on your second place finish.

This was a very late entry to my top ten, but an image I kept coming back to. What I especially like is the quite abstract look of the shot, created by using a fairly long lens, which attractively flattens the perspective. This makes the image more than just a shot of some roof tops, but also an architectural abstract image of blocks, lines and shapes. In your black and white conversion, I am not sure whether you deliberately opted for a low tonal range "grey and grey", rather than black and white. It would be interesting to see this image converted differently, making the most of the different tones and individual adjustment of the original colours in the black and white conversion, to create a shot which has a full range of tones from black though to white. That is not to say this flatter-toned image does not work, but it may have been lifted even further with greater tonal range and contrast. Still a great image, well done on your top ten finish.

This is a wonderful abstract image showing tightly packed layers of different roofs, captured, I imagine, by the use of a telephoto lens to compress the perspective. The presence of the terracotta coloured ridge tiles helps with the graphic of the shot, as they allow the roofs to be differentiated and give some strong lines. Well seen and well captured, well done on your top ten placing.

I deliberated a long while over this image. The hdr effect post-processing used has give a hyper-real sketch like look to the image, but I love it, so have given a top three placing. The subject lends itself well to the processing used, and the limited colour palette of greens, pinks and terracotta works really well. It may sound rather clichéd, but I could see this image working very well printed large as a wall poster. The compressed perspective and the decision not to include any sky, instead filling the frame with the subject, adds more strength to the shot. The more I look, the more I like. I appreciate the style may not be to everybody's taste, but I feel it has been very well executed and is an accomplished shot. Congratulations on your third place finish.

There is something very appealing about this image, despite the rather mundane subject. The more modern/utilitarian subject may not always favour the crowd vote in this type of contest, but I think it is great. The image is crisp and clean throughout, and there is a lovely quality to the light you have captured. The purply colouring of the sky looks a little unusual, but it seems to work, as it provides a nice backdrop to the different shapes protruding from the rooftop. Everything is well composed, making for a very strong and effective image. Well done on your top ten placing.