Festivals

A great festival moment has been captured here. It is unmistakeable that these girls are partaking in Holi, the traditional Hindu festival of colours. There's an exhilarating life to the image, and the excitement of the experience is very apparent, even though you can't see much of the wider atmosphere around them. The selective focus and shallow depth of field helps to keep your eyes on the girls who are smothered in bright colours and loving it, thus prompting you to imagine the experience through them!

I love the three strong yet minimal elements of this shot. The silhouettes of the energetic crowd covering the baseline of the image are very effective and add a lot of drama and impact. Almost as a parallel, the stage lights at the top of the image add another layer. And the use of the lights and smoke between the two add the atmosphere, whilst the green and white tones seem to capture the attention of the viewer. It's all very subtle, but very well done.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to get this angle of view, but the result is very telling of this remote and isolated festival scene. Again, the wide view plays its role here by encompassing the festival site itself and its remote location. The scale of the car park in comparison to the festival site mesmerises me, indicating just how many people have come to celebrate. And the warm sunlight, a welcome sight at any festival, is also mesmerising. I’d love to know what’s happening in the red tent...

A familiar festival scene with a girl up on someone’s shoulders - clearly a loyal fan enjoying a performance and desperate not to miss any of it. The processing (or age of the photograph) provides a sense of nostalgia, and the photographer has done well to isolate the eager festival-goer from the rest of the crowd and the stage in the background, with the rest of the picture being left to the imagination. The hints of the stage, flags and crowd, however, all add to the ambience of this picture.

I get many things from this image: a sense of celebration, of unity, collaboration, drama and, of course, traditional costume and dance. The composition and framing of the image add to its beauty and simplicity. The linked arms of the children, with their shadows behind them, make for very interesting repetitive elements within the image. The framing, highlighting the cross-section of the elements running left to right and the diminishing sequence from front to back, imply the grand scale of this traditional celebration.

Who doesn't love a cute dog shot? This adorable pooch has been captured beautifully, festival hat and all. The low angle gives us the perfect eye-to-eye view of the dog and the shallow depth of field draws your focus onto his/her eyes. Appropriately, the eyes are perfectly pin sharp, as is the patriotic hat! My only slight issue with the shot is the clutter around the dog: what looks like a tripod leg in particular would be best avoided in the frame.

This is a great close-up shot, framing in tight on the woman in the mask and head dress and allowing the other elements and people within the frame to drop out of focus. There's a nice catch of light on the girl's eye, but it's a shame that the image has not got the lively energy and spirit that you can imagine is in the festival surrounding her. It is a very striking moment, though, and as a result this portrait holds your attention quite well.

Another image where the weather and the natural light create a very strong image, but this time almost somber and peaceful. The setting is unique, and the water and the light catching the damp foreground accentuate details of the landscape and harmonise with the dramatic sky. The wide angle adds to the sense of the occasion. You can see the essence of people, but not the details – perhaps the festival is coming to an end. The sails of the boats lined up along the shore offer a very interesting and unusual skyline.

Great light can really make a picture, and this early morning Summer Solstice shot has exactly that. There’s a fantastic ambience to the image, with the warm glow of the morning sun creating a really atmospheric tone to the sky and to the image itself. With the sun low in the sky and not quite up over the horizon, large moody shadows are cast over the people, giving you a sense of the early morning atmosphere of a Summer Solstice celebration, with all eyes fixed to the stone circle and the rising sun.

This is a fantastic shot with the bright colourful costumes of the flamboyant dancers shaking around in the spirit of the carnival. The movement, colours, confetti, lights and coloured paint add to the atmosphere. But I think a tighter crop, or a different angle of view could have improved the shot – perhaps shooting the dancers from head on or moving in tighter to fill the frame. The lone woman in the background looks a little lost – although this doesn’t detract too much from the ambience, I think it’s something to note.

What a scene to be shooting! I imagine you’d be filled with both joy and nerves shooting this, and I wouldn’t fancy cleaning the kit afterwards. It’s a brilliant scene and really doesn’t have many faults, but I feel the image doesn’t have a single element that grabs the attention of the viewer and holds their attention, even though it’s fascinating to look at overall. Perhaps if more attention was on the musicians, or on the people throwing the powder, the shot could be better.

How can hundreds of kites in the sky not make a great picture? This beautifully wistful scene evokes all sorts of nostalgic feelings. The easy choice of the wide angle lens - although there appears to be distortion to the field in the front left - shows a sense of the scale and depth of the event. The foreground kites are well captured and hundreds more are disappearing into the background and out of the frame. The deep blue summer sky, with bold white clouds, also adds to the experience and makes it look like an appealing day out.

A stunning shot and a great viewpoint to show how full and vibrant the street party is. The sea of bodies is lost between the tall grand buildings that line the street, and you can only guess at how many people are gathered here. My only issue with the shot, and a slight one at that, is the empty space at the bottom right corner. I think if the crowd had filled in this space too, the result would have much more impact.