This month's judge, Justin Cliffe, writes:
A wonderful collection of images this month - 32 to consider from, I believe, 30 different countries - amazing! Everyone’s either just back from their travels or have travel on their mind, as they plan their next trip.
So, after considerable consideration and back and forth views of these images, I’ve finally selected my winner for this month - which is
Sakrisoy From Hill, Lofoten, Norway by George Pearson
A stunning, and eye-catching image, absolutely made by the wonderful light on the island in the foreground. What works well here is the orange & brown of the buildings against the dark, grey background of the mountains and the clouds. Also helping this image is the fact that we have a glimpse of the land in the foreground, adding depth and tone to it. I’ve seen a number of photos of Sakrisoy before, this is definitely one of the best.
I also have 4 Highly Commended images which are, in no particular order:
Wedding Group, Taormina, Sicily by David Pollard
Without even looking at the title, this just shouts ‘Italy’ - the man in the foreground, the architecture and the people at the op of the image, in the background. The sunlight on the main’s face, and the flowers that he’s carrying, lead our eyes here initially - we then look up to get more of a context of the surroundings. It’s a great ‘street’ shot, excellent timing and perfect positioning!
Hoi An Express by Andrew Eldon
A lovely image - really helped by the panning & slow shutter speed that the photographer has used here, giving a wonderful sense of speed as the cyclist pedals his / her way along the street. The colours here work well, especially the soft, pastel background, against the contrasting colours of the cyclist. The fact that the main subject is anonymised, by the conical hat and the mask, helps us focus on the cyclist moving at speed, rather than the person on the bicycle.
Olive Groves, Cathar Country, France by Sue Lambert
Again, some lovely light here, which really lifts this photograph, the nice lines of the olive trees, leading the eye up to the church on the top of the hill - all set against the dark, moody, sky. A nice simple colour palette, just greens and light browns, the image works well - a very good travel landscape - and definitely the south of France!
Framed, Doha, Qatar by Sanjoy Sengupta
Perfect positioning, and framing of the man and woman walking - and the fact that the man is wearing white thobe and the woman a black abaya provides some additional contrast to the image - as well as helping to draw our eyes to them.
Just a suggestion - with a large expanse of stonework dominating the photograph, the author could try a square crop, from where the bottom wall intersects with the frame - this would put more of the attention onto the two figures.
