Summer landscapes

This image is bang on theme – it could only be a summer landscape – and beautifully focussed and composed. There's a detailed, sunrise-warmed foreground to place the viewer in the scene, then the mistier valley below. The photographer has relied on the mist and cooler light to soften the valley, rather than aperture, so it's possible to pick out details such as lines in the crops or lights on the farmhouse, though they're very subtle. A gorgeous rendition of a peaceful country morning.

You can't just rely on the sun being in the right place when you go to shoot a sunrise or sunset - getting a shot like this, with the last rays hitting exactly the right face of a structure, takes planning. There's lots to be impressed by here, such as the textures captured cleanly from foreground to sky (the detail in the thistles and grass in the bottom-third of the frame is rich without being obtrusive), but what really struck the judges is that there's a tiny figure walking just in front of the sun. It would be very hard to see unless the picture was blown up large - and THAT'S attention to detail!

It's actually incredibly difficult to capture a great image of northern and central European farmland: the soft light and gentle landscape don't lend themselves to dramatic images. This photographer has instead concentrated on capturing the tranquil nature of this scene, softened with mist and warmed by the rising sun. Because of the way it catches the light, and the strong contrast in its markings, the cow is interesting enough to balance the image, preventing the viewer's attention from going to, and staying on, the golden glow at the right of the frame.

A lovely study in lines and textures, this image differs from many 'misty morning' images in displaying many more horizontal bands of landscape than you'd usually see, thanks to very low-lying mist. A narrowish aperture of f/16 has kept detail in as much of the landscape as possible, so you can still see the shapes of the distant trees (and even, just, the power lines on the horizon), while the long focal length has 'compressed' the landscape to create the impressive banding.

With the turbulent sky, green trees and golden crops, this image looks like something from a Constable painting, with only the occasional modern element creeping in. While there's a lot of distortion - the gate at the right-hand side could be seen as simply rickety, were it not for the fact that the telegraph pole in the distance behind it is leaning at the same angle - it's nonetheless a really striking image that shows how strongly photography can relate to fine art.

Mountain resorts aren't just for skiing – here you can see one nestled in the valley, waiting for the photographer to make the hike downhill. The angle of the rock in the foreground echoes the shape of the interlocking hills in the distance, providing texture and interest close-up without spoiling the overall structure of the scene, and while the visible clouds are in the distance, shadows of others on the floor of the valley evoke the warmth of a cloud-dappled blue sky overhead, as well as providing extra contrast.

Simple, striking and summery, because beaches are an essential summer landscape for many holidaymakers. Usually greenish British coastal waters can look murky in comparison to the bright blues of warmer climes, but here it's an advantage as the sand shades into to the sea, which all but merges with the sky, ensuring that your attention is drawn first to the brightly-coloured surfboard. You then follow the strong central red line and angle of the board up to the tiny figures out in the surf.

When the sun is close to the horizon, it creates long, low shadows, but this photographer has chosen not to work with those – instead the sun has been used to backlight all the plants in the foreground. They're not completely devoid of detail, but they're very dark, and the gold edging reveals their shapes beautifully. The edge of the main part of the wind pump is also just touched with sun. The scene presented a real exposure challenge, but it's one the photographer has risen to brilliantly.