Tabletop still life

This for me is beautiful. Black and white is used here to great effect. Often black and white is an after thought in digital photography - it is applied as an option to the colour image. This feels like it was shot in black and white on purpose. The stark subject matter is very graphic. It has a fragility about it which the tone and mood help emphasis. The use of backlight really shows the shapes and textures beautifully. It is solid yet transparent, strong and yet fragile. It is a very memorable image. Well done,

This image feels like an advertising image. I feel like it could be used in an ad campaign. It is a strong image, both menacing and playful at the same time. I like the fact that there is a concept here. A lot of the images that I did not award felt very lazy, the ideas unconsidered. So I like that the photographer is trying to say something here. The lighting is very sharp and crisp. It is not a classic tabletop but it is a still life so I feel it deserves to be in the top. Well done.

This is a very well executed still life. The light on the glass and the caught moment of the splash is brilliant. The reflection is also very clever as it extends the image and draws the viewer in. I had to put this in the top ten for technique as it is very well done. It is what it is, there isn't really a story here or any hint of where it was shot or any concept apart from a good, clean, well shot image of booze. It's making me thirsty! I do love a good gin.

This is a very graphic strong image. I love the use of colours, reflections and light. The lighting is crisp, giving it a really clean, clear and bright feel. The composition is different - cropping into the objects rather than pulling back gives it a kind of surreal feeling. It could almost be an architectural image of some skyscrapers, which I quite like. Great use of scale. It has a fun feeling and I like that the photographer hasn't been literal and put flowers in the vase, they are using it in a more abstract way.

Bam! This is such an explosion of colour and contrast. The flowers look like they have been caught in the headlights. It is a very stylised image which I really love and it certainly catches my eye. A lot of artists and photographers take inspiration from photographing flowers and this image makes me see why. It has a surreal quality about it, partly due to the playing around of saturation with the colours - the lack of green and yellow tone and hard contrast. I don't normally like messing too much with the colours personally, in my photography I tent to be fairly true to the subject. However, there is a place for manipulation in photography. Before digital, photographers used different types of film, processing tricks and montage to achieve surreal effects. It maybe not to everyone's taste, it is in your face but in a good way. Great.

This is one of two images from the same photographer. There is a lot of skill here and they are both fun images and very catchy. I didn't award these images as for me they aren't really tabletop. Yes, they are still life but to me they very much feel like stock photography. I am not disputing the craft or the technique of the photographer. I just feel there were stronger images that fit the brief which had more of a story or feeling to them.

The reason I didn't choose this image for the top ten is it feels to me to be food photography not still life tabletop. These images are beautifully lit and it is a lovely series of produce. The triptych is a refreshing way of displaying the images as it is showing that there is a series, and a story going on. The textures and colours are really beautiful and true to life. I really feel like they have been picked fresh just before shooting. It's making me hungry! Overall, really really really good. The only thing that I don't like is the text under the image, I really don't think its needs explaining. Just let the images do the talking. Also, without the text the images could appear larger, meaning we get to see more of the beautiful images. For me this image would have been top three in a food competition.

This image wasn't my first choice until I looked back over all the awarded images and top ten. The more I looked at it the more I was drawn to it. It is a classic tabletop still life - it fits the brief perfectly. The light is beautiful and considered. It has mood and atmosphere. The bright green/lime colour makes it feel modern and fresh yet at the same time romantic and aged. Well done. It is beautiful. Perfectly composed, it feels like I have just walked past a window and caught a moment.

This is very different to the other flower image which I have chosen as a winner, which is why I like it. Again, it is shot from above and has similar colours but this is much more natural and realistically lit. For me it really shows how two similar subjects can be shot and interpreted so differently using different backgrounds and lighting techniques. The background being black really emphasises the shape and contours of the flowers. It almost feels like it is growing and moving towards me when I view it. It really feels like a piece of art, very considered and beautiful.

This image for me is so close to the top ten. I like all the information provided by the photographer, it really shows that they were attempting something here. If it was just a little bit brighter overall this would be a winner for me. I love the highlights of light just catching the glass edges. I really like the texture on the wood grain and like the low angle of the image. I'm guessing the low angle was used out of necessity so the table became a makeshift tripod? This is good problem solving and sometimes changing the angle you shoot something, especially tabletop, can vastly alter how an object looks. Brilliant image and so close! Well done.

This is a strong image. The hard shadows and use of reflection work really well here. The colours help tell the story. It's a vanity table, so the use of pink is feminine and obvious but mixed with black accessories and dark shadows, it gives it more of a darker feel. It has a great sense of depth with the refection allowing the viewer to see more. In the reflection the edge of the table cuts a diagonal and leads you out of the shot. The crop of the image helps it feel a bit harsh too which I like. The only thing that bugs me is the pink lip gloss just touching the edge of shot. I'm being picky here, otherwise, great shot!

This is really beautiful. I love the light and mood of this image. Old, decaying fruit has such an old world feel. The fruit that is just visible to the right and left of the image stops me picking this as a winner. If it was just the three pieces of fruit in the centre (with flower) than I feel it would be a more balanced image. However, very well done on creating a very lovely mood and colour palette.

I love this image. I could see the Irving Penn inspiration straight away. While it takes inspiration from Penn it is not a copy. It is a fresh take on it. It is like an alternative advertising image. Great use of composition. It feels very much directed but also has a feeling of the accidental. The bird's eye view is used to great effect as it gives it a surreal edge. The use of lighting and shadows help to emphases a sense of otherness. I could easily see this image in print. Well done.

This image for me is so close to being a winner; however I felt it just looked a little dated. This is why I have only given it an award. The lighting is very good, very controlled and the fruit and vegetables look so real I could almost grab them from the image! The idea isn't new, there are lots of old master inspired images in still life and this certainly takes a lead from this. It sticks to the brief which is good as a lot of images submitted didn't. For me, if the props were slightly different and it was a bit more modern in feel then it would ace this competition. Well done on creating such a strong image.

Beautiful mood and light here. I like the space around the image. A lot of other entires were right in on the object - way too in your face. Often negative space can help frame and make the object image rather than take away from it. Embrace the space and help it frame the shot. There are two things that bug me slightly. One is the bottom left of shot - you can just see a tiny bit of the floor? I would suggest retouching that or just cropping the shot to lose it. And second, the top of the image where the wheat gets cropped - I would have preferred if more was cropped out of shot or else nothing was. I am being really picky here though - I have to be, it's a competition. You are still top ten!

This image is interesting. It is a different view point which works well. I did not award this image as I felt there were stronger images; however, I like the style and idea here. There is a lot going on so it's hard to know what to focus on. The bottles at the top of the frame are soft so the focus is more about the rims of the glasses at the bottom of the glass shelf. There is also the line/edge of the glass shelf (or is it ice?) which is cutting through the image, which adds another layer and a view point. There also appears to be a screw and dust in the middle lower frame. The glasses look beautiful backlit and the reflections and lines are really interesting. Perhaps if it was cropped differently (without the ashtray on the left of shot) it would be less cluttered and easier to read.