Tea

It’s exciting! The sheer amount of motion in this shot captured our attention, and it really conveys how refreshing a cup of tea with lemon can be. The shot is also unusual technically, with more than one pool of liquid in motion: as well as the tea in the cup, which flies upwards as the lemon hits the surface, there’s tea below it too. The shot is nicely lit, with just the surface of the liquid around the cup showing any reflections, and the liquid further back fading into the black background. A really fun, skilled shot.

This image struck us because of what it doesn’t contain. There’s no attempt at a narrative, no fancy crockery, no human touch. We asked for tea, and this is tea at its very simplest, in the plainest possible container. With so few elements, a lot could go wrong. It would be really easy to get the exposure wrong on a shot like this and blow out the plates beneath the glass, but they’re still clearly there, with no harsh reflections from the lighting either.

This image impressed us with the number of difficult elements involved. The teabag has been suspended invisibly, and the photographer had to capture the perfect moment when the teabag was side-on, a drop was between bag and cup, and there was a delicate trail of tea in the water. The timing was critical, and the photographer wouldn’t have had many opportunities to get the photo right, yet it’s all been captured perfectly, with all essential elements sharp. Attention to detail – no smudges on the glass or spoon, no identifiable reflections - is clear too.

We saw lots of still lifes for this challenge. What made this one stand out? The unusual angle, for starters. We also liked the very warm tone of the shot, which worked well with the hand-painted pottery and the large fragments in the dried tea – it all worked together to create a cosy, inviting feel. The depth of field is pleasing too, softening the image further back without over-softening the subjects.