Abstract

This stunning two-dimensional reflection in a canal in Hamburg is my winner. The colour palette is subtle yet strong with almost a suggestion of the white cliffs of Dover. The muddy whites below really get me. These watery colours together with the composition make me want to have a large print of this shot. For me judging abstract is about personal taste and subjective emotional responses, so I make no excuses for choosing this image that slipped by the Crowd. Congratulations to Hadi Navid for submitting one of my all-time favourite images on Photocrowd.

For me abstract photography can take many forms, and in this image the deep depth of field and angle of capture renders the viewer unable to grasp just what it is we are looking at. It feels natural, but the sweep seems too much for a field, even taken from the oblique angle. I was then fascinated to read that this is the result of algae growing on the side of a reservoir. I think the square format traps this image nicely and it's the simple visual beauty of it that takes it into my top three.

I think the composition and execution are spot-on in this image. It shows a bridge abstract from Stockton-on-Tees. It is a clever reinterpretation of this massive object and compliments the design. I think the killer standouts are the uncluttered background, lighting/time of day which allows all the range of tones and grades of colour to show, the use of a polarising filter, the low ISO to get the full grain-less quality, and the composition. This is a great example of the architectural abstract tradition.

The repetitive circular motif reminds me of the inside of a Rolls-Royce engine. This digitally manipulated image of smoke rendered this way by Brian Joyce leaves no doubt as to the quality and calibre of his artistic interpretation. This is a complex image, and it is hard to draw your eye away from the beautiful tonal values, from the dark black centre to the satellites on the outskirts. It has left a lasting impression and I was happy to include this in my Top 10.

I didn't really know what to make of this image when I first saw it and, if I'm frank, I still don't. Some of the joys of observing and appreciating photography are that not all the issues are always resolved on first viewing. The image comes with no accompanying information making it more mysterious for understanding, interpreting and reviewing. Is it at that kind of micro-level that we are seeing these lights emerge from the surface? Can you see the techniques at play? But however it was constructed and whatever it is, I think it's a great abstract photograph.

I can imagine this as a huge impressionistic canvas, a full abstract work taken from the early 20th century and placed on a wall in a grand museum of modern art. I think the interpretation of the brief is fully realised in an image of this quality. It totally understates reality and leaves only a trace of what the photographer considers to be important. As I said at the beginning, judging abstract is about a subjective position and I suspect this is one of those images whose inclusion in my Top 10 may cause some debate.

For ‘abstract’ you can sometimes read ‘jazz’. This image has an awkward composition which is slightly jarring, but nonetheless the photographer pulls off a great picture. This is a view that many of us would have walked past and yet the photographer has taken the time to produce a beautiful image: sharp, well-exposed, nice contrast, curves, straight lines, greys and the yellow stripe – all the elements are brought together. It’s like many musicians in harmony bringing a sound across the airwaves. This image does it with form.

It is quite common to use the water to abstract an object or person. In this surreal abstraction from Italy the photographer has caught an amazing composition at the water's edge. The central figure owns this picture and the unhinging of straight lines makes us think of mirrors in a fairground attraction. Shooting through and on water can often cause some problems in rendering the RAW file, but in this instance the processed image is of exactly the right contrast and colour saturation.

A modern city night experience is abstracted in this colourful image from Hamburg in Germany. The photograph shows great subtlety and excellent processing of the RAW file. The use of the car to reflect the drop focus lights in the background works well as an intervention device. Overall composition works well for me, particularly because of the impressionistic feel of the lights. And I like how it’s slightly seedy, suggesting the draw of the night.

I can see this interesting image used on a dance music album cover or accompanying an article on light. The energy and the use of colours was reinterpreted in Photoshop by the photographer, which allowed a full expression of what they were trying to achieve. A really nicely contained composition and arrangement of colours. These days using all the tools in a photographer’s box is important to make images that distinguish themselves and that will stand out from others.

This image strongly evokes the driving rain on a window pane, and there is a certain mystery about the background. I feel though that the composition is just a bit awkward and the photographer may want to explore various versions of this capture. I always think it is best to grab one or two pictures and then work around the subject until you feel as though you've got exactly what you want. This is not a bad attempt at all but I would perhaps like to see a different version.

Often when an amazing piece of architecture emerges photographers swarm around it and take lots of pictures from different angles and with different interpretations. The Selfridges building in the Bullring, Birmingham, is no exception, and I have seen many examples of images of this structure. I'd like to comment about this particular picture because I think that the colour treatment and the framing of the building are not quite right. An abstract image like this could do with having some negative space to the right of the image. I also think that pushing the saturation of the colours so much makes it hard to believe. Maybe the information is all there and the crop has just not helped it. Sometimes we can overdo the cropping.

Often an image just doesn't quite hit the brief. It is sometimes easy to try and shoehorn a picture into a theme, but in this instance shooting from this angle is for me not an abstract. It is also a little obvious. I think it's worth taking some time to understand what the concept is and then to explore past work or new work in response to that. This is a fairly nice image, but unfortunately it seemed to me outside of the brief.

Water often comes under the gaze of a photographer when looking for an abstract image. This example shows a very quick drop of focus from the front of the image across a lightly disturbed water pattern. It’s old-school, it's black-and-white, it’s in square format, and the subtlety and execution are gorgeous. It leaves one dreaming of warm hazy days by the river. It is evocative and an insight into the mind of the creator.

This image is intriguing - first we see an impressionistic abstraction of what seems like a snowy scene behind glass with heavy condensation. Are we looking out from a warm cafe in the park to a heavy cold and snowy day? Or are we in an iced-over house looking out on a scene we want to join, to play in the deep white fresh snow? The image is evocative, making you think about that time, imagining that second the photographer took the image.

I think this is a good idea and it is executed in a reasonable way. The photographer has obviously gone to some effort to produce all the single images and elements and bring them together in this montage. However, I'm left feeling a distance from the picture, and I think the end composition is not assisting in bringing the elements together - it feels a touch gimmicky. I would like to see this in a square format with a little bit more breathing space as well.

The ‘abstract’ can be defined as something that exists in thought or as an idea not having a physical or concrete existence. This most beautiful of impressionistic images has a dream-like quality, nostalgic yet current, playful yet mysterious. On the boundary of the impressionistic abstract, I feel a Kate Bush song coming on, when she sings 'Go into the garden ... go right to the rose'. This image could not sit better with that track. And of course it comes from Cornwall in the southwest of the UK.