Seeds & fruit

I very much like the composition of this Autumn scene of melons lined up under a tree, each probably waiting to be taken off to someone's house for Halloween. I like the position of the tree and the way the leaves reflect the colours of the melons. The main problem I have with this photograph, though, is that there's very little contrast and the lighting is extremely flat. I think it could have been improved somewhat in post-production, but I suspect that it was a very overcast day when this shot was taken and it doesn't really suit this subject. I don't know if the light would have changed if you'd have waited, but this is a perennial problem with photographing nature scenes. Do you have time to wait until the lighting is just right or can you come back on another day, but take the risk that things have changed?

This was one of the first photographs that I saw when I began the judging process, and I knew immediately that it was a serious contender. Another dandelion "clock", but I like the fact that this one has probably seen better days and doesn't have all its seed heads present. All the detail is captured by the subtle soft lighting and the image works very well in monochrome. In terms of composition I like that the seed head about to fly the nest on the right is counterbalanced by the intriguing out-of-focus smoky shapes on the left. My only disappointment is that I'd have liked to see this at a higher resolution.

This third-place image is a lovely still life composition of three physalis/Chinese lantern seed pods. This is what still life photography is all about. In the hands if a less capable photographer this could have been quite a boring shot. However, the attention to detail in the arrangement and in the lighting has made it something special. The shadows are as interesting as the pods themselves and the way the shapes overlap and merge is constantly fascinating. The shot is further enhanced by the limited colour palette of browns and greys, and I like the way it hasn't been cropped too tightly.

I love this photograph. At first glance this is just a casually observed market display of strawberries, but the precarious arrangement works so well that I'm not sure that it would be bettered by trying a studio arrangement. I also like the way that we see tantalising glimpses of more punnets underneath. As always, I do approve of the restricted use of colour and this works to dramatic effect. If it were my decision I'd probably crop a bit on the right-hand side, so we literally just see the punnets, and this would make a great poster for the Strawberry Federation if there is such a thing!

This colourful image came a very close second to the winner. It has all the dramatic shapes and textures of the seed heads, beautifully catching the light, set off against a very soft focus background in shades of blue, purple and green. Some of the entries have been marked down because backgrounds have been too confusing. This image shows how a soft background can really set off the main subject. I think that the area of sharp focus is spot on. Very well observed and an excellent runner-up.

There have been a number of entries of fruit falling into water, but in my opinion this is the most accomplished. I've been commissioned to take similar advertising shots in the past and I know how much planning and patience (and fruit!) is required. The photographer can only control certain aspects of this sort of shot, like the lighting (high speed flash), camera angle, focus, height from which the fruit is dropped etc. And then the rest is down to chance. It would have been very difficult to do in the pre-digital era. Anyway, everything comes together beautifully in this shot - the bubbles and the splash look great, and I particularly like the blue reflecting into the surface of the water. Well done.

There is no information on this image, but I think it's the fruit of the elderberry. The colours in this photograph are so vivid and varied that they are almost unreal, but I suspect that they haven't been enhanced to any great degree. The background bokeh really sets off the elderberries and seems to mimic the circular shapes. I like the way the composition works with the berries predominantly in the left half of the shot. Unfortunately, though, the berries are slightly out of focus which detracts from what could have been a superb shot

I don't know why this image didn't rate higher in the public voting. I think it's exquisite. Maybe it's because it really needs to be judged at full magnification to fully appreciate it. There have been many photographs of dandelion "clocks" entered in this competition and this one is a pretty perfect specimen. The area of focus is extremely shallow, really just limited to the seed heads right in the centre, and then rapidly going out of focus to provide a soft aura. The subtle colouring and symmetrical detail of the head is fascinating. The stem and background fade into a grainy, painterly, impressionistic effect in shades of green and black which almost allude to a night-time scene. Very well done, and I'd love to see a large print of this winning image.

This is one of the few images in the Top 10 that's not a close-up. This intriguing wide-angle shot of watermelons in a field looks, as the photographer says, slightly spooky as if the fruits are alien beings gathering to start their march towards the town in the distance. The natural camera angle for this shot would have been from higher up, to show more of the field and melons and less sky. As it is we have a brave 50:50 crop and a shot straight into the setting sun, which rim-lights the clouds wonderfully. It also provides a beautiful soft backlight to the melons stretching off into the distance. The photographer has worked hard and done well to hold plenty of detail in this difficultly lit scene. My only slight concern is the melon at the front. I sort of wish it was a bit further to the right and more in focus, but that's just me being picky!

This striking shot of a teasel head with resident ladybird benefits from its lovely simplicity. The strong composition with the spiky stem rising diagonally into the picture and then carrying on virtually seamlessly to the point at the top-right bisects the shot into almost symmetrical halves. The dusting of snow on top, and then the ladybird seemingly sheltering from the cold, tell a nice story. The depth of field is very shallow, but I think just right. I'm not sure if this shot was set up in a studio, but the subtle blurred background together with restricted colour palette produce a terrific photograph.

I like the camera angle and the bold cropping of this dandelion "clock" but I think it would have been improved with an even more drastic crop. I find the bottom third of the picture to be much less interesting than the top two thirds, so when the bottom is cropped out the eye is immediately drawn to the strong composition where the seeds are reaching up to the sky. It's always worth creating multiple crops of an image and scanning through them to see how different the results appear before making a final decision. I also think that the image would benefit from a bit of post-production work to bring a bit more saturation into the blue of the sky and possibly lighten the brown of the seeds a touch. Nicely observed though.

This is a nicely composed shot taken straight on of a flower with a bee. You've observed this very well. I love the subtle colours, the beautifully out-of-focus background greenery, the position of the bee seems pretty perfect too. I think it works well as a squarish crop, and I can see it on a greetings card. The only thing that lets it down for me is that the bee is slightly out of focus. It's a shame and is one of the pifalls of shooting at such wide apertures.

This is a nicely arranged composition of fruit and berries shot from overhead. But there are a couple of things that I think would have improved it as a shot. The first is that you ideally don't want to see any gaps between the fruit. I can't help looking at the gooseberries, centre-right and wishing I couldn't see the white support behind them. It is quite tim- consuming to fill all the gaps, but well worth it. The second thing is that the lighting is a bit too flat. The shapes of the fruit would be enhanced if the lighting came more from one side and this type of shot works really well if you can skim a low warm light across the fruit. If you get the urge to do another still life like this, try experimenting with lots of different lighting from dark and moody to bright and airy.

This charming photograph is a good example of someone approaching the subject in a slightly less obvious manner. We've had lots of close ups of seed heads but very few showing their actual function which is to fly in the wind and then germinate in a new location. I think the photographer's done a great job in focusing manually on this and it's fortunate that the seed is shown against a darker portion of the background. I don't think it quite works for me though as there's not enough detail in the seed and I do find the lighter areas of background to be distracting. Good to see a different and imaginative approach though.