Results of September's Competition

With many thanks to Victor Wong

Just seven submissions for this month’s competition. After careful review, I selected one winner and three highly commended :

The Winner:

Going to School, Old Havana, Cuba by Kaikong Wong

I am attracted by this beautifully caught morning street scene in Havana, Cuba. The backlit figures with their long shadows immediately set the mood, turning an ordinary walk into something cinematic. I love how the classic, old-styled buildings on both sides mirror each other, and how their textures softly frame the warm tone of the early sun. The shadows and architectural edges run parallel, creating strong leading lines that guide my eye down the road toward the vanishing point. It feels like a moody, well-spotted moment, quiet and full of atmosphere. The sense of place and storytelling here is powerful, well deserving of this month’s win.

Highly commended:

Lunch at Pashupatinath Burning Ghats Kathmandu by Brian Houghton

I am amazed by the contrast this photo captures at Kathmandu’s Ganges ghats. In the background, a funeral ceremony burns, while in the foreground two men share a quiet, everyday lunch. My attention locks onto the seated figures and the bright circular stone platform, where the dishes make the moment feel close, almost comforting. Then the mood pivots abruptly as my eye moves back to the flames and the reality of the ritual. The scene shifts like a graduation from bright to dark, leisure to grief. Even the black-coloured strip of river across the middle works as a visual divider between routine and sorrow. I think the impact can be strengthened with slightly more emphasis on the foreground and a lower shooting angle to include less of the river.

Hanoi Rain Shower by Jane Tearle

I look at this Hanoi street scene and immediately feel the weather closing in. The rain becomes texture, streaking down the lens and breaking the street into layers of mist and wet haze.

Motorbikes slice through the spray, their shapes slightly blurred to suggest speed. The pedestrians become quiet anchors, especially the people in bright plastic rain gear, who look like they’re working through the heavy downpour.

The composition denotes a strong sense of place with the bilingual signage, tight buildings, and cluttered street life frame everyday tropical city normalcy.

Whalers' Bay, Deception Island, Antartica by Nigel Plant

I am drawn to the cross immediately in the foreground, and it becomes the instant doorway to the human story behind the landscape. People once moved through this harsh place and left traces of survival, uncertainty, and endurance. The surroundings feel sculpted by pressure and time, like the land itself has memory. The barrels and the seemingly deserted quarter add to that sense of lived history, turning the snowy scene from scenery into evidence. However, the foreground is a bit busy with stones and texture, and my attention keeps bouncing between the cross and the midground barrels instead of resting in one clear focal point. I think with better separation between foreground and midground, the impact would be even stronger.

As ever, you can view all the entries at https://rps.org/groups/travel/archive-tiom-2026/2026-tiom-september/