Urban Street Light

Lamppost with the "bird" element. There were many lamppost entries that presented the lamppost with just the "bird" element. From a photographer's point of view, I must admit it is exciting and rewarding to pass a lamppost and see a bird in a position that can be interpreted as novel and interesting. The lamppost probably must have seen better and plenty of birds stopping. I am beginning to wonder myself what is the fascination about seeing a bird on a lamppost. Seeing here for the first time so many entries with these 2 elements, the novelty wore off quickly after seeing just a few. Hence I have retained this one containing a third element "Balloon". So I was wondering what is the appeal with this composition? It's the interaction between the elements that is fascinating me here. It appears that the lamppost and the bird although perhaps reluctantly since he ever so slightly looks in a different direction than the balloon, have an agreement to stop their usual business and together take a moment to observe the balloon passing in their territory. They probably after a while also must have decided that it's a just a balloon passing and that it was not that exciting after all. Hence the "so what" attitude of the bird. However just for a moment they were in awe and stopped usual business to experience the change in shapes and colour around them. What I am trying to convey to you is that if in the future I would want to capture a lamppost with the "bird" element I would want to capture a moment like this one - Freeze for eternity a moment of awe.

I started to appreciate this type of method, looking straight up. I found this particular composition intriguing. It sounds simple but it is a bit of a neck twister. I don't know about you photographer here, but I found the easiest way to produce a picture like to is to lie down on the floor head against the pole and look up. So you shoot your picture with the lamppost on the top and turn it around with photo processing software. That has worked best for me.

I would like to bring this to our attention and would like to thank the photographer for introducing this technique to us. It seemed that this composition escaped the crowd also. I was not familiar as yet with this technique but this picture made me want to try it out. Contests should not be about competition solely but also learning opportunities and openings of doors to new perspectives to test out for yourselves. Seeing all your work expands my physical universe restricted by stupid travel anxieties acquired inadvertently in my early childhood. Slowly actually, and more and more I want to jump in a train or plane and escape my anxieties to explore the world. Embrace novelty, change. Test it and you might just like it. Well done to this entry. Perhaps if you want to know more, it would be better to contact the photographer of this entry directly.

As standalone lamppost isolated with just nature i.e. the sky and its elements, I have selected this composition to stand out and participate in the top 10 selection. There were many entries picturing lamppost against various sky settings. I commended quite a few as I believe they provide striking picture you would want to print out and hang on the wall. When it comes to lamppost and the "sky" element, there are few things to consider. This is what I have notice whilst looking at your work and took it on board as an learning opportunity. I do hope you will agree on my method. The first criteria to consider is shape and design of the lamppost. The design of this lamppost in this composition is of what I would call "a non-significant" modern design. There is always a design in everything. It's just not always designed to look pretty (like perhaps the 19th century lampposts). The design here is mostly functional or utilitarian. So why choose a standard 20th century lamppost as a main subject in your picture? Well you add additional elements, like here with the night condition and the heavy rain. There is a complexity in this composition which is divided in 3 elements lamppost/heavy rain/night. What works is that the lamppost is not ultra modern but it's bulky. It's not just a drizzle but a proper rain (a downpour) and it's proper night not contaminated with other sources of light drawing all the attention onto the lamppost. The light from the lamppost is creating an aura around it like a mini-world. In my opinion, what makes this standalone lamppost a striking composition is the balance between sky elements and the lamppost subject. A final aspect I would like to mention. Quite a few entries have depicted the lamppost at the centre of the composition with little space left to show the surroundings. I think that this approach is only really effective if you have exceptionally striking lamppost design you want to portrait or our of the ordinary lamppost. A lamppost against a "sky" background is more effective when the subject is off centre and I think the more off centre and the more contrast (space/subject) you create but again it all depends on the lamppost design and the type of sky. Balance the elements (sky/design) to create amazing photos.. Well done to position number 2.

I particularly like this composition highlighting the use of layers and leading lines in order for us to reach our subject - the Lamppost. We start our visual journey with the restriction sign... no crossing... layer number 1 instructs us to stop but will we stop? Well, we are not really physically walking but we are mind-walking... so it's ok to continue. We won't get fined. So the mind let's us continue... Layer number 2 we escalate the workers crane. But hang on there is someone up there. It is ok to join him like that? Ah but we are mind-climbing and mind-squatting only for a moment till at last we come to the last layer. So we won't disturb physically really and we won't be told off - "bugger off" you can just hear the worker swearing at you. But then we realise that the light is actually beneath us... we still have not reached our target. Frustration comes to my mind when looking at this composition. The whole thing is a bit of a twister emphasised by the placement of the elements in circle around an empty centre. The lamppost being in the background leaves you a bit disappointed considering all the restrictions you had to by-pass in order to access it. It drove me around the bend, like a perpetual movement... you get trapped here unless you close the browser to make go away. The appeal in this composition is within it's deconstruction and idiosyncrasy which create a sort of micro world nearly surreal that actually makes sense. And from a teaching point of view, it is good material.

Number one here we go. You probably might think "ach" or "ugh" when looking at this lamppost and yes that was my initial response too. I just had to have a peek at the crowd's result on this one since I have done my selection and knowing your point of view will not influence my selection now. Was I right or what, position 922. Saliva, chewed gum, a couple of lucky pennies but it's such an amazing picture, especially on this particular lamppost. Please have a look again, and have a think again! Well done to the photographer who has brought us this lamppost to your attention, to my attention. Coming from the states, I believe we have here a NY subway globe. Green, red, half-green/half-yellow, there is a history behind those colours. Gum/orb combination doesn't that remind you of something? Gumball machines... I used to love those. Even in the deep rural countryside of Alsace where I grew up, gumball machine were a major attraction to kids. Anyway this picture triggered in me so many things... but mostly since recently I have been involved with certain climate change action campaigns as a photographer, this composition remind me of some of our attitudes towards our planet. For me this represents our nonchalant attitude towards Nature, represented here in this orb by the green. It is interesting that the yellow which could represent the part of earth already irreversibly transformed into deserts by us leading to human displacement is here not touched by gum. It doesn't need to since it is already destroyed. I don't need to go on and I don't want to over analyse this composition. Despite finding this composition aesthetically pleasing but at the same the time it gets my stomach in a knot leaving me with a feeling of anger and frustration. I believe that is this contract love-hate feeling that really made me stop at this composition and wanting to look again and again and reflect upon. Especially in a time where most of us are under lockdown and still stuck indoors for a while longer due to (probably) nonchalant behaviour not unlike this one depicted in this picture. It's like the lockets you see on bridges and so forth. All I can think of is, someone has to clean up, someone has to pay the cleaners... and so forth and for what end. Each action has consequences but unless we become fully aware of some of our doings, we tend to ignore the full impact of our actions. I urge you to look again at this picture and dare you to say that I have never done something like this. We probably all have once or twice before we learned the full impact of our actions. This is probably why it didn't get many likes, out of guilt perhaps? but it is ok. I felt guilty too. But I happily would print this out with the words "Never Again" and hang it upon my wall. It stops right here. But I am letting the brain scientist taking over here. As the photography is concerned. I have decide to slightly comment in a different way across the pictures in this contest so that my methods will be useful to perhaps more to the new comers in photography. I will discuss a bit later position of subject in respect to surroundings and the balance between elements in a composition. I do hope that I will achieve this aim. Well done to the photographer for introducing us to the "NY Metro Gumball".

The reflections in this capture added an additional element. The close up shot and placing it in the centre pays off. It is mostly the intrinsic detail of the technology used on this particular type of lamppost that made this composition successful in my opinion.

Here we seem to have a standard lamppost and standard background. I believe and please photographer tell me other wise, just these 2 elements together would have made a very standard picture. But you have decided to bring smoke or fog but not just that the secret ingredient here is the lighting. Now it is a puzzle to us the exact narrative around this composition but reddish colour could suggest (in the worst case scenario) a next door fire gone out of control but I do hope not. I rather would like to think that it is early fog and sunrise towards which we are waking up to. But I think it is interpretative duality that is particularly intriguing here. Danger or no danger... what is going here? It is also difficult to establish where the focus is... suggesting perhaps that it was taking a situation of rush or stress leading us to believe that there might have been a fire or danger not afar leaning us to the danger element. Hope whatever was going here came under control. Well done.

As number 3 I have chosen this composition. It's contemporary, modern, minimalist, fresh... the building provides for this lamppost a uniform background so that it can stand out but just (not too much). I guess this is what I liked about this composition; the subtle contrast between the lamppost and the building. This composition is predominated by the colour grey (not the most striking colour) but thanks to the light and shadows it generated sufficient shades of grey (and please don't make me count to 50!) to enhance the shape of the lamppost. At the beginning, building and lamppost move together as one, in unison but suddenly unexpectedly the lamppost zigzags out of the frame, like a rebel, to stand out to end at the centre. I think slow creeping to the centre of the picture fascinates me here. It feels like it's representational of our lives. As children we mostly are growing up molded and in line with the background till we reach adulthood where "wang, bang" we stand out to find our place in society and shine our light towards the multitude of all the other lights to form what we call human society. But here it is about just one. Could this be you? Only you can answer that question. Well done.