Secrets of the Garden

This shot was, for a long time, sitting in the winning position during my voting deliberations. I love the composition but I really love the detail and the clean lines. A great example of garden macro and what can be achieved from a simple but effective scene. Very envious.

I really liked this shot from the start and it feels so natural and impulsive. The detail and colour are both spot-on and the composition invites a story. It fits the brief well and, for me, it just works. Well done!

I have to admit to knowing this photo as I have previously admired it and love the composition and detail. This image has received criticism from some Photocrowd members due to it being entered into multiple competitions. I personally have no issue with this. Every image is judged on its merits and as along as it meets the competition brief and people love it enough to keep voting for it then so be it. I love it.

I have to say a big thank you to all of you who entered the competition. It was a genuine honour to view all of your work and, as always, it was difficult to pick those images that deserved a mention, a recommend or a coveted top 10 placing. Ultimately it came down to several shots that were all vying for the top slot and this image pipped it because it is not only a great photo but it perfectly fitted the brief...well done.

This is a great shot...but...I genuinely cannot believe it was taken in the garden and so presumably hand held. If this is not the case then I can only apologise but I know macro and without photo-stacking and/or some additional lighting and a very long exposure I'm not sure how you could get this image from in situ? The magnification here is extreme which means the depth of field would be minimal and to get the antenna and head in focus just wouldn't be possible from a single shot. Once again, a fabulous example of macro photography and my comments are not at all meant as a criticism and I'd be very happy to get some feedback on this and how the image was taken. Well done.

This is a great shot, very different from everything else entered in the competition and a photo which fitted the brief really well. Each time I returned to this shot it grew on me and I thought about how the shot shot was taken more and more - congratulations.

There will be those that are not too keen on the 'processed', 'painted' look of this image. I however love it. Great colours, fantastic post processing resulting in shot that has a wonderful feel to it. I would be happy to ave this image on my wall - Well done.

This photo was a late comer to my top 10. Ultimately I think what drew me to it was the fact that it is an unusual composition which makes you linger, it makes you ponder the scene and that, of course, is what we're all ultimately trying to do with every capture. Brilliant!

I really love this photo, it is so simple but so very effective. The binary colours and the perfect composition (crop) just make it so clean and it was an image I returned to again and again and it only just missed out on my top 10 - well done!

This was so nearly my first choice. I love butterflies and I love the 'painterly', soft focus look of this photo. This style is definitely popular right now and this is one of the best examples I've seen - fantastic!

Great shot, great story and just an altogether lovely picture. It, like most of the top 10, fit the brief perfectly and you cannot help but look at this image and not think about the story and the circumstances behind it. Perfect.

A simple shot but the post processing is a little different and, for me, the simplicity and different approach both work well. I'm not sure what the mix is between 'in-camera' double exposure against post processing but whatever it is...it works.