Signs and notices

The strong angles and monochrome colour scheme give this image a graphic quality, and the leading lines formed by the roof of the structure means your attention is immediately focussed on the word 'Caution' painted on the wall. The deserted road and fact that the viewer is effectively in the shadows, looking into the light, combined with the distorted angles of the railings off to the left, actually makes things feel quite unsettling, and you do indeed feel like being rather cautious!

We received a lot of photos of witty or entertaining signs and notices, but in many cases they took up most of the frame. Careful use of depth of field in this photo ensures that while your eye goes immediately to the sign - the largest in-focus part of the shot - you can still make out the smile on the barista's face and tell that this is actually a cheery place. A warm image with a sense of fun.

There's a slightly hyper-real feel to this shot of an Australian street sign, which has clearly benefited from some editing to ensure that the only part of the shot that's blown out is the sun, but it works well. Shooting the sign from low-down, plus lens flare from the sun just peeping into the corner of the frame, ensures your eye is drawn upwards. The signs may be pointing towards towns, but the picture really makes you feel as though the sky is the limit. It's filled with wanderlust.

While it relies on contrast rather than colour to bring out the notice painted on the road, this image of a pedestrian crossing is nonetheless very dark. It's been carefully exposed so that only a small amount of highlight detail on the pedestrians' legs is pure white. The blur caused by the slightly slow shutter speed can be seen in the pedestrians, but this helps concentrate your attention on the crossing, while the angle, leading lines and light in the top-right all help draw your eyes from left to right, cajoling you into reading the sign.