Interiors

This photo of an old modernist corridor could be very successful with an easy reworking. The shot is too wide - it needs more happening in the centre of the frame; perhaps waiting for the people to walk closer to the camera would have helped? The colour palette is very pleasing, and it has the potential to be a great architectural/interiors photo.

This photograph of an abandoned factory in Germany ironically is reminiscent of the work of the Dusseldorf school photographers, though perhaps a bit too colourful for them! The juxtaposition of the delicate, fragile looking greenery against the industrial setting is very beautiful and the observation of the light is very well executed. I think the composition would benefit from a better crop at the bottom of the image. The line of the rails and pile of rubble is slightly jarring against the line of the image frame.

This disturbing photograph of a ‘real-life doll’ grabbed my attention with the simple fact of how surreal it is. It reminds me of the work of the American photographer Ralph Eugene Meatyard, who photographed his friends and neighbours, their faces obscured by masks, to comment on suburban life. I love the artificial nature of the image, the efforts taken to ‘construct’ the photograph and the dramatically atmospheric lighting. Personally I would have preferred the photograph to be made in colour, which would have added to its creepiness. Also the dress that the model/doll is wearing is too neutral, I would encourage the photographer to experiment with costume as an added dimension in the photograph.

This is the winning Interiors image because of its wonderful simplicity. It takes the competition brief of interiors and subverts it by the use of camera obscura. By projecting the exterior world into an empty room we question the idea of what constitutes an interior. It could be argued that it's unfortunate that the exterior image that is projected onto the interior wall is perhaps a little underwhelming, but the clarity and definition of the scene make up for it.

Photographs of crumbling peeling paint are always attractive, and a subject that masters like Minor White elevated to an art form. This photo needs two simple corrections to perfect it. Firstly, the removal/manipulation of the black rag in the lower centre of the frame, it just isn't clear or interesting enough. Secondly, a slight crop on the left-hand side to tighten up the composition.

Shooting mirrors and frames can be very useful tools in the composition of a photograph, and this photo very nearly works well. The portraits in the foreground are a strong juxtaposition to the cafe patrons reflected in the mirror, but the woman's head in the bottom right of the mirror is distracting - it blocks the attention to the people behind. Also it's a shame that the mirror frame is cropped- arguably, it doesn't matter, but its inclusion would have been more elegant.

This abstracted view through a conservatory window really stood out from the other entries as a very different response to the brief. I love the blur and tonal variations it shows. It’s a very elegant minimal composition, with just enough distortion to prevent it from being banal.

A photograph taken from inside a washing machine - this has to be in the top ten! Technically it’s a very accomplished photograph with a good depth of field throughout the image. Although I personally feel that the centre of the image is too cluttered - the laundry basket and general kitchen detritus distract and weaken the image. It might have been more interesting to subvert the expected view out from the washing machine into a more unexpected environment.

This constructed photograph of a ballerina in such an unusual setting is a very good response to the theme. Its technical execution is perfect and I love the orange and blue colour palette. Personally I think the image could have been cropped slightly - there is a little too much blue wall on the right hand side of the frame. Also it appears that the image has been made in a studio setting which for me weakens its integrity very slightly - it would have been interesting to have the photograph made in a ‘real life’ interior, thereby accentuating the concept for the photograph.

This is a fascinating photo of an old coach, but, unfortunately, the composition is weakened by its lack of symmetry. The central corridor between the seats needs to be precisely central, making an elegant juxtapositon against the upholstery. Also the roof light needs to be reworked, to allow more or less into the frame - the current crop doesn't work, unfortunatley.

Although arguably this photograph is slightly too overexposed (the door in particular looses detail) and the composition would have benefited from tightening on the left-hand side of the frame, I love the artificial, almost dreamlike nature of this photograph. The empty rooms are very intriguing and the narrative tension of the photograph as portrayed by the two women is very reminiscent of the work of Hannah Starkey.

I could not ignore this photo of some old bottles of developer and fixer in a garden shed - they made me nostalgic for chemical printing in a darkroom. But as the subject matter for an interiors photograph they are slightly weak. The cameras viewpoint is too low - shooting upwards slightly just draws attention to the bottom of the shelf. The camera's viewpoint needed to be slightly moved to the right and elevated to create a very poignant photograph.

There is very little to say about this photograph of Magdalen College other than it's fantastic. The light condition, exposure and composition are all excellently captured. I also really love that the photographer has given the image a thought-provoking title - titles are always difficult but are really worth considering for the extra dimension they can give a photograph.