Urban Fences

A big thank your to all the contestants. We had some very interesting approaches to our theme "Urban Fences". Urban fences are amazing, beautiful and majestic. Well done to all contestants but as always there can only one Number 1. I have chosen this entry. What are fences all about? Mostly about boundaries., segregation and isolation. All over the world we have been hearing about walls, new laws or movement to stop the flow of people. I have settled as number one on this composition revolving around the permeable segregation between two worlds. As observers we are left wondering, who is on either side of these bars? Or can this simply represent one's person self, it's isolation from society due to illness or old age (isolation) with the sparrow as the only means to communicate with the wider world. It reminds me a lot of prisoners' interaction with birds like in the Birdman of Alcatraz (62) or here in London while I was working at Hammersmith Hospital I always seen crows at the windows of prisoners (wormwood scrubs prison) while walking from the tube station to work. So despite not being included there is a clear human factor involved in this picture (intentional or unintentional) depicting a deep sense of unwanted isolation. Working with animals is a tricky business. It feels here that the birds are relaxed and used to this site. I found it extraordinary they all look in different direction. Anyway well for this site. It's inspiring. Well done.

In this particular picture it is difficult to figure out between which boundary the human(s) stand. We have a notion that there might be a space between two boundaries where the human shape seem to be entrapped. Is this a representation of human current status we might ask ourselves? Constant entrapment from controlling powers or just merely entrapment coming from our soul due to neglect or guilt. I would probably call this picture "nation of betweeners" as a memento to all humans coming from various backgrounds and having a feeling of not belonging to either of them but having create a new world of their own.

i did like this one a lot. There were a few entries similar but I did settle to this one. I am not entirely sure whether this can be referred to as "tableau photography" but it feels like it. There is a scene in front of us. It is inviting us in. We can see the staircase going down and as you look down it gets darker. It seems all nice and neat. The plant in the pot is telling us that. But not seeing the entrance and the darkness emanating from below creates a slight mystery in this composition which made me stop and wanting to come back it. Well done.

As number 2, I have settled on this composition. A slight different approach to the first one but still depicting 2 spaces, above and below segregated by a fence with the focus on below (fence is this time out of focus with the background in focus) We have a sense of backstreet feeling, dangerous, dark, mysterious... forbidden nearly but still enticing... these lights are calling us, we must be down there and see what is going on but we can't (or we won't) as we are from the upstairs. We probably have all seen the movie "Parasites" by now... this picture is a good representation of conflict between upstairs and downstairs, or 2 worlds, in my opinion. Colour wise, it's amazing, there are not overly loud but very present as they reflect on the fence and everywhere else. Fascinating composition. Well done.