With 37 shots being entered into the monthly competition in October, it's great see that the popularity of the competition with our colleagues in the travel group continues to flourish. I seem to be saying this every month, but the quality and diversity of the shots that have been submitted to the competition is truly outstanding, and yet again I'm grateful for the fact that there are others who are in the unenviable position of judging the shots rather than me. 

But apart from those shortlisted and obviously the winner, there were some striking images that needed a little bit of a different treatment. The one that specifically stood out was Andrew Gasson's 'Pilgrims, Ladaka'. Initially posted as a 'single', (one third of the width of a webpage) the sight of the pilgrims flattening themselves in reverence on the road needed a wider format on the webpage for it to make visual sense. As a picture it starkly reminds us of just how different life and traditions in other countries can be.
 

A couple of other shots stood out for me, Laura Morgan's dreamy 'Resting, Angkor Wat' with its focus not on the person but on the sticks in the foreground, created a wonderfully atmospheric shot, while Liz Bugg's 'The Restorer' reflected just how important religious artwork is for different cultures. 

But it was down to our judge for this month Richard Lewis ARPS, to make his selection and he commented:

"My choice for winner this month is:

Hallstat – Upper Austria. - Catherine Philips
The lakeside terracing of the snow covered houses against the soaring rock faces beyond gives a real sense of place and season. This is further emphasised by their reflection in the water, the pine trees on the cliff and on the slope behind the houses, and by the subdued lighting.

Highly commended are three images, each of which also provides a strong sense of place:

The Temple - Lynda Golightly 
This introduces a novel viewpoint to a popular subject, and its monochrome format emphasises the smoke and in turn the atmosphere of the devotional acts taking place.

The Pottery Train, Burma - Ian Silvester
This is an attractive composition, with the near silhouetted train and its large plume of smoke passing over the bridge with sky above and below. It is enhanced in the lower 2/3 of the image by its reflection in the still water with the sidelit fishing gear providing foreground interest.

This does what it says on the can – thanks to its gorgeous atmospheric lighting and colours. A nicely balanced composition benefiting from the complementary patch of light in the otherwise darkly cloudy sky.

Again this month, there were several more images worthy of mention and it was a difficult task to whittle them down to the four above.

As a postscript, I also loved Cat's Eye On The Prize, Moroccan Fish Market - David Pechey
In particular the cat trying to be inconspicuous near the beautifully arrayed fish – it seems that so often, there's always a cat!