If the word ‘travel’ for you implies hot climes and faraway places, think again. Travelling doesn’t have to involve going to exotic places or venturing miles away from home. It could be something as a simple as travelling up the road to a part of town you haven’t been to before and exploring new surroundings. For this month’s competition we were looking for images that interpreted the notion of travel in a novel, exciting way – images that made us want to grab our cameras and explore somewhere new. From intrepid explorers sampling the delectable views across expansive vistas to sailing boats slicing across the horizon, the images we received did exactly that.

Samsung has kindly provided a 32GB Micro SD card, with SD adapter for the winner, and 8GB cards and adapters for the second and third places. Second and third places also get an Amateur Photographer Loves My Pictures mug.

Capturing an image that embodies the notion of travel with all its excitement and trepidation is no easy task but several of this month’s entrants managed to do this. Tonycro’s postcard-perfect image of Sydney Opera House framed by the Sydney Harbour Bridge is a great shot and Caledonia84’s image of a tiny figure standing on a cliff looking down at the steep drop below turned my knees to jelly. Other images that stood out for me include: JaySteel’s picture of a grounded plane against a pink sky, Newbonic’s image of girl jumping in the sea that captures the joys of childhood and summer holidays, and Dougall’s image of a couple looking out across luscious green countryside in Mold, North Wales. There were others too, but too many to name. A big thank you to everyone who entered this month’s competition.

3rd place
Themis – “Travelling at Dawn”
Maybe it’s the insuppressible romantic in me, but I love the romance of this picture. It could be a ship straight from a storybook. I can’t help but think of Peter Pan and Treasure Island, and wonder where this ship is sailing. The silhouette of the ship looks almost painterly, its hazy outline a mere pencil sketch on the horizon, which adds to its mystery and intrigue. The simplicity of composition is the image’s central strength. There are really only a few elements – the sea, ship, sky and birds – but carefully arranged in this way they make a strong image. Everything has its place, from the circling birds to the shadow of the mountain in the background and just visible fluffy cloud. The colours too give this picture its strength – I love the way the smooth orange sky contrasts with the blue of the roughly textured sea.

2nd place
AndrewBeasley – “Just For You”
Perhaps this is an image that will divide viewers but for me it encompasses every bit of what it means to ‘get away from it all’. What I like most is Andrew’s imaginative approach. Rather than photographing a person sitting on a beach he has chosen to photograph the empty deckchair to suggest emotions of holidays, peoples’ experiences and so on. By doing this Andrew goes beyond describing the scene and leaves room for the viewer to interpret the scene in their own way. Where is this deckchair? What is happening outside of the frame? Where is the person who has perhaps been sitting here? The picture raises many questions and that is one of the reasons I like it. Beyond this, I think it is a really well composed image. I love the high contrast light and strong shadow, the rippled sandy beach, wind blowing through the deckchair, and the brilliant stripy blue material. A great example of how an abstract approach can create a narrative in a single image.

1st place
Marty G – “Journey”
I love this image. It is uncomplicated, unfussy and like the sketches Bert makes in the film Mary Poppins, makes me want to leap into the picture and join these travellers on their adventure. We’re used to seeing landscape images shot in a horizontal format, but fewer are shot vertically – and successfully. One of the main strength’s of this image is Marty G’s decision to shoot vertically so the people are at the bottom of the frame. They are perfectly placed in the centre and the light falls on them in such a way so as to highlight their expressions and gestures. I like this image because it really suggests going somewhere. We the viewers want to follow the people beyond the edge of the frame and it is this impression of motion that is for me the image’s key. I also like the layered effect of the strip of water and layers of sand that stretch back to the grass covered dunes.

Thanks to everyone who took part in this round. There are some really excellent pictures and it has been a great pleasure to look through them.

There is still time to enter our October competition

See all the entries for this round

See the comments from this round

Leave your comments for the winning pictures here