Reflections

Seasons

This competition has now closed.

Winners

1st
Gold Leaves
Michael Houghton
2nd
Between the Yellow Shore and Green Ocean
Yevhen Samuchenko
3rd
Summer Storm
Keith Page

Commended

In temperate and subpolar regions, four calendar-based seasons are generally recognized: spring, summer, autumn (or fall), and winter. These four seasons are marked by changes in weather, ecology and variations in the amount of daylight that we experience. They vary significantly in characteristics and each season has a very distinctive mood.

Spring is when the snow begins to melt, seeds are germinated, flowering plants bloom, animals come out of hibernation and the days start to get lighter and warmer. Spring is generally associated with ideas of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection and regrowth.

Summer traditionally heralds hot or warm weather. People generally tend to spend a lot more time outside enjoying the longer brighter days and the mood tends to improve.

Autumn is famous for harvest time, wetter weather, cooling temperatures and darkening nights. Perhaps the most noticeable sign of autumn in the UK is the changing colours of the leaves. Keats referred to autumn as the ‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’. Animals start to gather food in autumn in preparation for the coming winter, and many birds migrate to warmer climes.

Winter is the coldest season of the year. The days are short and the weather conditions are unsettled. Many trees are bare, animals hibernate, and snow may cover the ground like a fluffy blanket.

In this competition we are looking for images that capture and reflect the mood of the season.

Competition Judge

Robin Lowry

Robin’s interest in photography was ignited at a young age. His Grandfather, a keen black and white enthusiast, would let Robin help him develop prints in his dark room. Robin went on to study photography, fine art and graphic design in the mid 80’s. On leaving college he pursued a career in Graphic design and in more recent years photographic art direction, mainly in the automotive industry.

He spends most of his spare time looking for ‘the perfect capture’.
Will he ever achieve it? Who knows!

As children, many of us have fancied ourselves as lawyers, architects or doctors, only to change our fickle minds several times as we grew older.
Hailing from Essex, north-east of London city, Robin Lowry is one of the few people whose childhood ambitions endured the turbulent waves of adolescence and emerged intact — his dream of working in the photographic and image creation industry. Owls dominate most of Robin Lowry’s portfolio, yet one can never get bored. For such small creatures, they are surprisingly capable of a wide range of emotions – from looking regal and majestic, to downright grumpy, or simply adorable – all of which he has captured in perfect shots. A winner of many wildlife competitions and awards such as Digital Photographer of the Year 2014 (Wildlife Category) and appearing in the RSPB calendar and next year’s Wildlife Trust calendar to appearing in photo magazines from Europe as far away as Malaysia.

View Archive

Gold Leaves

Michael Houghton

First Prize

This was an image that I kept going back to. It is immensely busy and yet simple to visually read. The composition is spot on as is the crop. The detail and the atmosphere of this shot stood out as a piece of art that would look great hanging up in a gallery. By only focusing on part of the tree instead of showing the whole scene means the photographer has really considered what they wanted this shot to be.

Between the Yellow Shore and Green Ocean

Yevhen Samuchenko

Second Prize

Landscape images are normally taken with wide angle lenses to capture as much of the scene as possible. With this image the photographer has decided to use a long lens to ‘compress’ the perspective so it’s less conventional. With this scene it works beautifully. The rule of thirds composition works very well here as does the more cinematic crop. The way the field looks like a piece of cloth draped across the land is just incredible.

Summer Storm

Keith Page

Third Prize

This image looks more like a ‘Turner painting’ than a photograph, but what a great image this is. Everything had to be perfect to capture this with the light and clouds needing to be right. Having the small grassy hill in the foreground gives a sense of scale and adds nice framing for this epic skyscape.

A carpet of Bluebells

Simon Marlow

Commended

Using a shallow depth of field makes this Bluebell image stand out from the normal pin sharp front to back images you see as it really draws you in to the image.

One fine Morning of winter

Pyae Phyo Thet Paing

Commended

This image has so much depth and mood plus the exposure for this very tricky scene is bang on.

Refugees

Andy Surya Laksana

Commended

This is more a reportage/street photography image. It capture a real mood and you can tell what all the people are thinking!

Summer sunset

Ian Cook

Commended

The colours are amazing as are the condition of the flowers. Not sure if the Lens flare is added in post but it works!