Standing stones, megaliths & stone circles

The longer I look at this image, the more I like it. Having no experience of night-time landscape photography, I feel a little under-qualified to critique/comment on this image, as I can only guess how you may have lit the scene for this long exposure. What is obvious to me however is that it has been very skillfully taken. The details you have shown on the stones is fabulous, and composition for this subject is spot on, with your low viewpoint accentuating the strength of the stones, whilst also capturing the wonderfully starry sky. Congratulations on your winning image.

This is a great monochrome image, strongly composed and making the most of the subject, giving emphasis to the solid, upright stones of this ancient circle. Detail and focusing are good, and the monochrome conversion has been very well done, with a great range of tones from black to white. Lovely image, well done!

I have reviewed this image in a previous contest, and I like it as much now as I did then. The cold & frosty ground, the light mist and the watery, low sun peeping above the hilltops add a lovely sense of pastel softness and calm to the scene. It is not easy to capture the entire circle at Castlerigg, nor to capture the stones with no-one else present, but you have succeeded in both. A world away from some of the dark, brooding images of stone circles entered into this contest, and an image well deserving of its second placing. Congratulations.

Your early morning adventure has certainly been worthwhile to capture this beautiful scene in the gentle post-dawn light. What I especially like is the diagonal split of the image - the detail of the foreground and stones, and the soft, gentle mistiness of the distant landscape below the tor. I also like the colouring - part way between warm and cool, which reflects the light at that time of day. Well done on capturing this splendid scene.

You capture of the light and the soft pastel colours gives a wonderfully light and airy feel to this image, which I really like. Composition is great, and the stones of the burial chamber are the clear focal point. The shadows have been lifted enough to avoid harsh contrasts and retaining the gentleness of the mood, but not too much, which otherwise could have left the image a little flat. Being picky, the area on the top right is a little bright, but in the conditions, there is little to be done to avoid this without making the image very dark, or cropping off that whole area, which I feel would have spoiled the balance of the shot. Lovely image, well done on your top ten placing.

My opinion of this image was initially divided, and I could not decide whether the bright areas added to the image, or were maybe a little too bright. I have settled for the former, as without this contrast, I think the shape of the stones against the sky would not be as strong if the sky behind had been darker. I love the amount of detail showing on the surface of the stones. I also like the framing, with sufficient space each side of the henge to prevent the image feeling cramped, and gives us a glimpse of the wider landscape. Congratulations on your third placing.

The high viewpoint you have achieved from the use of a drone has allowed us a superb perspective of Stonehenge and the wide panorama offers a great view of how it sits within the landscape. By venturing out in the early morning, not only have you avoided the crowds, but the raking sunlight casts wonderful shadows of the stones, and accentuates the mounds & ditches of the earthworks, which would be lost if the sun were higher in the sky. Some detail seem to be lost in the dark areas on the extreme left, but the main features of this ancient site are wonderfully lit and captured. Congratulations on your top ten placing.

This image caught my attention as soon as I saw it. The stones may not be as large or as ancient as those in some of the other entries in this contest, but for me the image met the brief and is well deserving of its top ten placing. The composition of the image initially draws the eye to the inukshuk, and then the gaze wanders over to the gorgeous early morning sunlight on the rocky hillsides across the water. I have never been to Baffin Island, but having loved travelling to Greenland a couple of times, it has great appeal to me. Not everyone would agree, but I find this stark, harsh arctic landscape very beautiful, and this land-marker placed by the Inuit a reminder of human presence in these barren lands. Beautiful image, well done.