Unrecognisable

This shot had me debating whether, given I instantly recognised it as a photo of one of the thermal pools at Yellowstone, it therefore met the 'Unrecognisable' brief. Given the tight crop and complete lack of apparent scale I decided it was sufficiently abstracted to qualify. The stunnig colours give an otherworldly appearance which helped it stand out amongst a number of shots of similar subjects.

I've included this within my selection as my favourite amongst all the bird shot that were entered in the competition. Whilst obviously a flamingo (I presume.....) the use if an unsual viewpoint and a high shutter speed has not only rendered it largely unrecognisable but the image show a completely different character to this usually serene bird.

This is a very eye-catching image but like some otherwise superb entries I felt it was too recognisable to award highly. I'm not sure if this is an example of cross-polarisation or maybe a result created by lighting obliquiely, either way it's created a really strong image.

A well seen and photographed abstraction which turns an 'ordinary' scene into a fascinating image. Having initially decided I wasn't keen on the inclusion of the smaller 'element' on the bottom of the frame I concluded it creates a tension between the dominant object and its insignificant other which adds another layer to the image.

Another photo where I had to read the photographers description to understand what I was looking at. Even now I still don't understand whether the colours were added in post-production or somehow present when the photo was taken but for me that doesn't detract from a strong intriguing image.

Not surprisingly there were a large number of macro images of plants entered in the competition. This one stood out for me as the repeated forms give the image a strong structure with the texture adding another layer of interest. I'm not sure of the plant but one could almost see this as a series of eyes or even islands in a river delta.

There were a number of entries like this but for me this stayed firmly the right side of abstract given the 'Unrecognisable' brief. There's nothing to give any indication of scale and whilst being largely monochrome there's a small amount of colour which just adds to the intrigue.