Wildflowers

Wonderful use of golden light in this shot: it creates a pleasant near-glare and, at the same time, hits the flowers at an angle that enhances their texture and silhouette. The wide aperture of F2.8 well separates the front layer of flowers from the ones at the back, making the busy scene appear neat and balanced. It's the colours, however, to be the true stars of the show here. The colour grading is extremely pleasant - I could stare at it all day. The green is not overpowering (something it often is); it's muted, allowing the striking reds and blues to truly shine. This beautiful image evokes the peace and warmth of summer evenings and it's an absolute pleasure to look at. Well done!

With its bright, vibrant colours and wide flower variety, this image truly feels like summer. By looking at it, I can almost smell the flowers and feel the warm sunshine on my skin. I like the low angle it was shot from: it makes the viewer feel immersed in nature, like being in a scene of Alice In Wonderdland. By being in stark contrast with the light blue sky, the petals are also enhanced in brightness and texture, standing out even more. This capture does more than perfectly and successfully representing the 'Wildflowers' theme of this contest: it takes us to a peaceful meadow, evoking the scents and sounds of a much awaited summertime.

Everything in this image is worthy of attention: from the lupines in the foreground, stars of the show, to the just-as-beautiful mountain landscape behind that adds context and warm, contrasting colours to the shot. For this reason, the use of a wide aperture is a very good idea in this capture. Everything is important, everything is sharp. The angle the image was shot at makes the rows of lupines go diagonally across the frame from the bottom right corner. This adds interesting lines and dynamism to this landscape shot. The contract is high without being too much, making the colours vibrant and striking. A fantastic shot, well done!