Amateur Photographer monthly forum competition results for January 2009

Well, what a brilliant start to the year. [cue Record Breakers theme tune] The January competition, The Long Night, has produced a record breaking number of entries, so either you are all enthused by the night time lights and colours, or the AP forum is home to a higher than average number of insomniacs! [/cue Record Breakers theme tune]

The quality, as usual, is extremely high and there are quite a few images that were good enough to win. The short list, once again, had to be grabbed in two parts, as there are 36 images that I pulled out as being really very good.





Special mentions this month go to (in no particular order) geoffL, ilon, RichM, bench_ubbster, kt2 and mike_morley, though there are plenty more that deserve singling out.



Just to remind you, the forum competition is sponsored by Nikon. The top prize each month is the delightful Nikon Coolpix S560 10MP compact camera. Our second and third prize-winners get an ‘Amateur Photographer Loves My Pictures’ mug.



As you all know, shooting at night is not at all easy. Not only do we have to find an interesting subject and frame it well, but there are all the added complications of white balance, focusing in the dark and exposure (often in a contrasty environment) to deal with. The top three shots here are all a little bit different. The photographers have created something out of the ordinary and their originality has paid off. They are:

Third prize: Samsam for The Walk Home



I really like this shot for its atmosphere and the ease with which I can place myself within the scene. Samsam’s timing is perfect, catching the moment as the people walk into the beam of the floodlight so their shadows streak out from their feet. The exposure is very good, and the white balance is realistic but still allows the great purple shades in the sky that work so well with the powerful yellow/green of the grass. I like that he has everything straight and level, so we can concentrate on the subject and the path that leads us off into the distance.

This is also one of the few pictures entered this month that contains people. Well done.

Second prize: simongregor for Shimmering Tree



It’s the colour that makes this picture, and the soft tones of the moving leaves up in the canopy. There is a warmth and softness of detail that reminds me of an old oil painting. We have birch near the office and I’ve photographed them hundreds of times, but never got an effect as nice as this. Simon has allowed the tungsten lighting to show through, with its yellow tones, and really made the most of what the scene offered. This is just a nice sensitive picture that is very pleasant to look at.

First Prize: Sharpneil, for Road to Nylon



This is a very clever shot that caught my eye immediately. There is a lot going on, but everything leads us into the picture, drawing all the elements together at that point where the road turns the corner. By some miracle the descending height of the treetops also leads us in to the magic vanishing point. The sky is really striking, with its streaked amber clouds, and the light cast by the passing cars has delivered the perfect level of illumination to balance the trees with the sky. The snow in the scene adds texture, and further interest, to what is a really first rate picture.

Thanks very much for taking part in this first round, and I hope you can all find the time to enter the February’s round too.

damien

Click the links to see all the Amateur Photographer forum photographic competition entries for January and here to read the January forum photographic competition discussion thread

This is where you'll find all the rest of the year's Amateur Photographer forum photographic competitions and discussion threads.