The colour brown

This judging process becomes more and more difficult with each competition I take on, especially when the subject matter is so wide open, but I had to constantly remember that the colour brown HAD to be present in each of the images I looked at.

There were almost four thousand images to judge although many failed to reach the criteria of the competition rules but deciding on a winner and the accompanying nine images to make up the top ten, was extremely difficult but after much deliberation with myself, I made the decision to award this subtle yet stunning panorama of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in Indonesia as the winner.

Light is what all photographers search for and once found, must then control it and this capture is so beautifully lit that it is captivating to look at. I could stare at this image for hours. All the basics have been covered, correct exposure, depth of field used and sharpness, but it is the atmosphere that has been captured so well.

Overall it is a beautiful scene captured perfectly. Congratulations to the photographer. on their efforts.

As a landscape photographer, many of the competition entrants would expect me to fill the top ten with landscapes but this portraiture of a young boy with his dog is such a beautiful image that it stood out as a contender for the top spot for an hour or two before my final decision was made.

There are many elements that have this image look striking. The boy’s face is just wonderful and conveys all the boyish traits I remember as a young lad. Dirt on my face, ruffled hair and a twinkle in my eye. The photographer has captured the close bond between the boy and the dog (presumably his but it matters not) and the two elements of the image that stand out to me are the boy's face is slightly titled in the opposite direction to the rest of his body (this creates a pleasing posture) and also the dog licking its lips which is endearing.

The light is wonderful, soft yet illuminating the boy and the dog in all the right places. The stairs offering up the genuine tinge of brown the competition demands too.

Congratulations to the photographer for capturing a beautiful image.

These kinds of images where a lot of buildings that are of a similar colour are incredibly difficult to get just right. The biggest issue seems to be composition but to my mind, the photographer has absolutely nailed it in this respect. From the circle upper left to the wide building on the far right, the photographer has placed the camera in just the right position and has used great judgement in post processing to decide on the exact crop.

A big well done to the photographer from me. I enjoyed looking at this image very much.

I awarded this image fourth place because I think it has been wonderfully captured with some lovely subtle lighting displayed and controlled.

The scene depicts the woman in what appears to be a makeshift greenhouse but the whole scene just works for me. The placement of the woman looking right as she allows the earth to slip through her fingers really speaks to me, even more so because she is not looking at the camera.

The colour palette is gorgeous, lots of browns and yellows complimenting each other. A very fine image indeed.

What a wonderful and evocative image this is. As soon as I saw it, it captured my attention. There are elements of brown within the image, but it is the composition and the placement of the camera that helps to create a dramatic image.

A fantastic effort from the photographer to make the best use of the conditions that were present. Well done indeed.

Part of my judging duties requires me to leave a review for an unawarded image, I have chosen this one of an African Vulture.

This is a lovely capture of an African Vulture, it is super sharp and caught in flight although I would have liked to have seen a little more space in front of the bird to have it fly into. This composition does not showcase the bird in flight as well as it could but everything else works well.

Many thanks to the photographer for submitting it.