FIRST PLACE WINNER
Theme: STORY:
Brief: Every picture tells a story, so I would like to see the photographic frame become the narrative frame - show me images that suggest something is about to happen, has happened, or is happening. I want images that lead me in, intruigue me and offer the suggestion of a narrative flow! Wow me!
The coveted First place goes to
Dscheff with 'Home at Last'
As I was being pelted by image after image on the challenge, I was mentally tagging the winners and gauging them against the brief. Then in the midst of things and just as my judging nerves were jangling after hearing about the earlier 'storytelling' challenge, this image popped up. At first, I saw it on my phone and thought, "yes, nice photo, good colour, nice framing etc etc" and I carried on to read the description. Then I opened it up on the laptop and looked at it full screen. Boom. A paradigm shift clicked in as I saw the little figure clearly and the whole image moved in context and in my perspective of it. Whereas at first, I was seeing Dscheff's view through the steamy microbrewery window, with the moss climbing the glass, suddenly, I was looking deeper into the frame, past the window and seeing a lone figure on a hillside gazing into an alien sky.
I am a big sci-fi fan and that may have coloured my judgement here too, but in relation to the brief, this nails it squarely. A frame within a frame again, to present the narrative tale, great lighting and tonality and a very clear story being told on two levels - A) the little model figure being posed to look like part of a landscape and B) The astronaut looking wistfully out onto a fog shrouded hillside with his (or her) feet firmly planted on solid ground. Is the astronaut glad to be back ? Is he nervous about what is hiding in the mist ? Will he just turn round and take off again? Lots of questions and lots of story potential. Beautifully lit, framed and shot and considering its a vernacular shot in a public space, its a cracker.
So thank you for a job well done!