The Blues

Thank you for entering this image in my challenge, "the blues". I have seen many images taken within a few metres of this point, it is one of those spots which is popular to shoot from for a good reason. When evaluating an image captured at an iconic spot then I think that there are two things which the image needs to achieve in order to stand out from the crowd. Firstly it should have something slightly different from "the normal shot" and secondly it really needs to be processed just right. In my opinion you have succeeded on both counts with this image. This is shot from lower to the ground and with the camera pointed more upwards than the great majority of shots from this spot while the choice of a long exposure to soften the wispy clouds is a well made decision to make the best of the increased amount of sky that your composition includes. I feel like the processing of the image is very well done indeed with the shadow areas kept genuinely dark without losing any detail and the highlights also being perfectly balanced to draw the eye to the cathedral without being too bright. To me the result is a very strong image.

Glaciers have to be one of the most magical natural features to visit for someone that spends most of their time in an urban or rural environment. Here you have done a great job of capturing the colours, textures and shapes of these ancient ice masses in my opinion. Your decision to fill the frame with these patterns and colours makes the image stronger in my opinion (compared to attempting to include some sky or land or water). Personally I love this kind of image where the context of the scene is fully left to the imagination, but when I make one myself I usually get comments suggesting that I try and include an element which indicates the scale of the scene... I guess that a bird might have been the only possibility at this location. Thanks for entering my challenge and congratulations for this image.

Congratulations for this image, it really stood out for me when reviewing the entries to my challenge. I like the decision you made to focus on the shattered glass and keep the background blurred and I also think that the background is blurred just the right amount in order to allow the viewer to know what they are seeing while retaining a sense of mystery. I also like the decision you made to keep the image dark and moody, I think it perfectly complements the overall story of the image. The colour palette of the image is also very well selected and I think that the square crop works well. To me this was an interesting and very well constructed image with a strong sense of a story. Well done.

Congratulations for this atmospheric image, i thought it was a great submission for my theme of "the blues". Fog often provides great possibilities for moody landscape shots but that does not make it easy to identify the best compositions, something that you have done successfully here in my opinion. I like the way you have kept the sky out of the frame and kept much of the image in shadow, these decisions really enhanced the mood of the resulting image. I think that there is just the right amount of detail and contrast in the foreground undergrowth to make the image interesting while still maintaining the subdued twilight feeling of the image. The monochrome blue colour toning appealed to me and I thought it matched the content of the image very well. Well done and thanks for entering my contest.