Tension

A strange image indeed. But for me captures perfectly a time and a culture of and industry and lifestyle we all wish we had the talent and guts to enjoy. Rock and Roll baby. An aged rocker strums on a guitar string (the only thing in sharp focus) the detritus of a hard night strewn on the floor. Unshaved for days he picks out the cords of a forgotten number. Well that’s my interpretation of this intriguing image, the composition and crop contextualise the guitarist with identity. There is enough information to tell the story but nothing to answer the questions we all need answered. A brilliant image that could adorn the pages of any authoritative work on Rock and Roll. Love your work! And two fingers up to photographic convention!

When I first saw this image I really thought it was a GIF, it seemed to move as I looked at it. The clever use of focus or focus plane centres on the wildebeest’s eye (I have no idea how you did that) creates dynamism rarely captured successfully in a photograph. I like the letterbox landscape crop, eliminating anything to distract from the unfolding events. The story is unfolding before us, did the wildebeest escape? Did the cheaters eat that day? The answer, I suspect is just a fraction of a second in the future, but this image captures beautifully that moment the viewer feels the dramatic tension of this most brutal yet natural event about to happen. The only negative (for me) is I feel their has been a little too much unnecessary retouching on the eyes of the cheater, deflecting my focus from where it should be … the prey. Lovely colours too.

The tight crop cuts out any extraneous diversion to the story unfolding before us. It leaves me wanting to know more, whether the couple completed their journey or if they made their connection, I guess we’ll never know? The strain and angst on their faces tells us the inner tension of what is unfolding and is out of their control. The clasping of hands, the grip on the suitcase adds layers of depth to a fantastic story. The desaturation adds to the sombre mood and the stark white sky silhouettes their anguished faces. The author of the photograph has captured brilliantly the narrative of tension in this image, and as they say, “every picture tells a story’ and this proves the point completely. Unobtrusive photojournalism at it’s best. Bravo!

I don't need to see the fighters to figure out what is going on here. Masterfully seen the two forms of tension in the brief perfectly contextualised in a boxing match. The tension on the three horizontal ropes that separate the fighters from the crowd and the tension on the guys face as the unseen fight unfolds before him. I know photographing in this environment can be difficult balancing the extremes of contrast, but you've done a masterful job. Just enough post processing to enhance the image. The full story of whats happening is intriguing and this is sports photojournalism at is best. A great image.

Barbra Hepworth esque, this image abstractly captures the tension in the wires of a suspension bridge from a very interesting angle. Highlighting the fact that no matter how tight you pull a cable, gravity will want its input to where the cable bends. The image is both graphic and intriguing and would make a worthy addition to any architect’s office wall. I suspect a red filter has been used in post processing to blacken the sky and this works beautifully. The blatant disregarding of any rules of thirds appeals greatly to me too. A well-seen image that no one else in the contest was able to capture so well the simplicity of the essence of a suspension bridge. I love it!

When I first saw this image I was amazed how given a dramatic scene unfolding in front of me it could be captured so clearly by a photographer with little or no regard for there own safety. A night scene with high ISO and wide aperture stills the image of a tense unfolding drama. Then I looked more closely, realising New York cops don’t ware hats like that and retire long before the model in this photograph should have. An interesting image probably better captured by a slightly taller photographer standing a bit to the right.

This image tells a great story, like all great pictures there is a narrative that holds the viewer and intrigues us to understand the unfolding events. The tension is clear, but its reason is not, the girl is waiting for someone or wondering if this is the right stop, who knows? Unfortunately what lets this photograph down is purely technical deficit and I’m sure you know too, it’s ‘off’ slightly out of focus prevents this image being a top ten contender.