Image of the Week Submission Extended June 4 - June 28, 2020

Thank you again, one and all, for a wonderful variety of images in this slightly extended competition.It is, as always, tough to choose between them and my selections are purely my own personal taste; I could find lovely things to say about every single entry, and every one, on another day and with another judge, could have taken the prize. But selecting a top three is all part of the fun so here we go.

Honourable mentions go to:

hmca and her nosey red cardinal:

i.ibb.co/SN0nJSM/20160511-Cardinal-on-window-cr.jpg

I cannot tell at all whether this is a composite or an actual capture. But either way, if it was for real then it is an example of perfect timing, if a composite it is an example of brilliant vision and seamless processing. The old window frame itself is beautifully composed with the texture of the boards, the colour of the frames adding interest and leading the eye up and round, and of course the mystery of what is indoors that is of such interest to the bird.

fotofrank and his Dragon and Son

i.ibb.co/1M6HfC4/dragon-and-son-small.jpg

What a vibrant and sharp image showing off not only the beauty of nature, but also the skill of the photographer. And though you first get drawn in by this incredible wings, you look a little closer and spot the little'un. The angle of the wings and stick are masterful examples of putting things off-centre to make them extra dynamic. The background has been blurred expertly, which looks like in-camera movement, which again adds another layer of interest.

And my Image of the Week is:

jackscrap and All in A Line

live.staticflickr.com/65535/50032075242_26449935ba_k.jpg

This is exactly the sort of image that I get endlessly drawn to, and it has been presented in exactly the way that I love. The fence posts seem to repeat out to near infinity, creating a single leading line of interest, but on examination the posts aren't repeating copies of each other, the details change as you move along, from the bright splashes of rust to the cracks and variations in colour, all of which creates interest. So you want to follow the line to the centre but you also want to linger and see what is on and between and behind each post. And all of this is under a dark and forbidding sky. I have to say I did wonder whether the mess of footprints in the sand detracted and stopped it being a worthy winner (I do get a bit obsessed about such things in my images) but I think this actually changes it from being the sort of 'arty' image that I would see in a gallery, into something a lot more earthy and real; this is an actual place and people have been here, but most won't have taken the time to look and enjoy the beauty of that deceptively simple line of posts.