Urban Landscapes with No Sky

A great birdseye view of a rather mesmerising swirl of roads and junctions laid out below making up this urban landscape. It is interesting to try to follow a route around the network to see which roads lead where. Never easy to compose and frame a scene like this, as it can be very difficult to best decide what to include and what to leave out, but I think you have it about right here, and the composition, with the main straighter roads running on opposing diagonals, works well. I also imagine the views in all directions from Burj Khalifa can be quite overwhelming. Great image, well done on your top ten placing.

A super example of a landscape without sky that becomes rather more abstract, and allows full focus to be on the elements making up the landscape rather than the wider scene itself. Here we have a fabulous arrangement of buildings in many different colours, shapes and sizes that is a treat for the eye. Captured with great details, there is much to hold the viewers attention. Well done on your top ten placing.

A fascinating view of the city of Poznan, laid out in lines and blocks below us. The city looks to have an ordered layout, and we can really appreciate the lie of the land from this vantage point. The sunlight brings a lovely warmth to the image and nicely illuminates the architecture to enable the viewer to wander and explore with the eye. Well done on your top ten placing.

A great overview of Fes, with plenty of interest to hold the attention. We are far enough out to get a good sense of the city, but close enough in to appreciate the details within the overall urban landscape. The colours are great, rich and warm in the strong sunlight, with contrasts adding a boldness without being too bright in the highlights or too dark in the shadows. Well done on your top ten placing.

I love the rather muted colours in this image, with the soft bluey-greys contrasting with the gentle teracotta of the tiles and the bricks, punctuated with little pops of pastel blue, yellow and green. The angle of view is great, and I love that we get a little peep down to street level through the gaps between buildings. Unfortunately we are given no clue as to the location, but it looks a charming place, with a hotch-potch of styles, shapes and sizes of buildings. Great work, well done on your top ten placing.

A fabulous overview of the urban landscape of what looks to be Newcastle-upon-Tyne. There is so much for the eye to explore, and everything is in clear focus to reveal all the details of the buildings and green spaces within the scene. Everything looks natural as the eye would see it, with no harsh processing effects. I especially like that we get a couple of glimpses down to ground level, which gives a complete view of the landscape. A lovely array of colours, again natural but forming a beautiful mosaic. Congratulations on your winning image.

A great view over the rootops of this lovely small lakeside town. Looking down on the jumble of roofs we get an idea of the likely maze of narrow cobbled streets at ground level; somewhere to wander and loose oneself for an hour or two. Focusing only on the buildings brings a sense of abstract to the urban landscape. The colouring is lovely, and you have retained some beautifully rich red and orange tones. Great image, well done on your top ten placing

A super composition with the river gently snaking through the shot. The colouring of the buildings looks natural, and you have done well to avoid any temptation to ramp up the saturation to over-emphasise the coloured buildings on the far bank of the river. I even like the inclusion of the crane and draped scaffolding of the construction in progress, as it adds reality to the urban scene. Great work, well done on your top ten placing.

What initially attracted me to this image was the golden light of the low sun and the composition, with the street snaking through the scene, drawing the viewer into the image. A fine example of the advantage of not including sky in the shot, as there is nothing to distract and we get a closer-in view of the details of this urban landscape. Plenty to see and hold the attention. Congratulations on your third place finish.