A strong week with 28 images from six contributors:
Tim Ravenscroft, Vic Steadman, Patricia Buckland, Norman, Sue Warren, Diana Ross.
A noticeable theme of winter light, monochrome structure, and night-time experimentation runs through the set.
Good: Soft pastel tones, excellent layering and serenity.
Enhancements: Slightly deepen contrast in the foreground layer; a subtle radial mask around the brightest cloud may control highlights.
Good: Dramatic clouds, beautiful layered landscape, strong depth.
Enhancements: Consider lifting shadows in the foreground village to balance the image; slight dehaze might deepen mid-distance contrast.
Good: Beautiful minimalist composition, strong silhouette and mood.
Enhancements: Lower contrast in the far fog area to enhance the sense of distance; straighten horizon subtlety if needed.
Good: Lovely wet-surface reflections, nostalgic atmosphere.
Enhancements: A small crop from the right removes the fence distraction; add a little clarity for structure in the roof tiles.
Good: Excellent texture, storytelling, strong mono conversion.
Enhancements: Bring a touch more separation between cabin and foliage; a slight vignette could direct the eye into the doorway.
Good: Powerful mono, strong texture, compelling composition.
Enhancements: Darken sky slightly for drama; consider burning the lower corners for focus.
Good: Great timing, excellent colour pop against soft sea tones.
Enhancements: Raise exposure in ship areas; a little dehaze for clarity in the rainbow.
Good: Calm evening mood, good sky gradient.
Enhancements: Darken the lower grounds slightly; bring out detail around the illuminated path to anchor the composition.
Good: Strong architectural geometry, clean palette, interesting sky.
Enhancements: Straighten verticals (keystoning); boost micro-contrast on the timber texture.
Good: Fascinating texture, good isolation, nice monochrome.
Enhancements: A touch more contrast in mid-tones; consider focus stacking next time for increased depth.
Good: Strong lines and intersecting curves, good shallow DOF.
Enhancements: Increase local contrast on the main reed; crop tighter to emphasise the flowing shape.
Good: Excellent use of converging lines, good mono treatment.
Enhancements: Darken the background slightly to enhance the lead-in; maybe remove the bright patch top left.
Good: Very strong structure, good mono tonality, crisp detail.
Enhancements: Lift the shadows at the base slightly; consider a mild vignette to balance the bright top branches.
Good: Excellent low viewpoint, good storytelling and backlight.
Enhancements: Reduce highlight clipping; soften background bokeh edges slightly.
Good: Excellent strong vertical form, moody and architectural.
Enhancements: Crop slightly from the right; brighten the lit window by 0.2–0.3 stops to emphasise the story.
Good: Subtle night mood, interesting reflections.
Enhancements: Increase mid-tone contrast; remove the small bright light near frame right which pulls attention.
Good: Good layering of water/buildings/lights.
Enhancements: Slight crop from bottom to remove the over-dark area; bring out mid-tone detail in the water.
Good: Clean winter morning light, good gentle colour palette.
Enhancements: Boost micro-contrast in the trees; perhaps crop a touch from the bottom to tighten composition.
Good: Wide view suits the scene; stronger sky.
Enhancements: Darken foreground reeds; reduce the very bright reed mid-right.
Good: Strong S-curve path, warm late-day colours.
Enhancements: The sky is a bit flat—lift blue saturation slightly; consider cropping right edge where reeds are brightest.
Good: Better foreground detail, good depth.
Enhancements: Bring mid-tones up slightly; a mild vignette helps anchor the eye.
Good: Strong geometric framing, nice diagonal lines.
Enhancements: Highlight the building’s edge slightly so the silhouette is intentional; reduce noise in the sky.
Good: Lovely celestial/organic juxtaposition; mystical feel.
Enhancements: Soften noise in the shadow areas; increase clarity around the moon edge.
Good: Warm, inviting, good use of fairy lights forming leading lines.
Enhancements: Darken lower-left foliage slightly; recover detail in bright lights.
Good: Great sense of depth, warm atmosphere, festive feel.
Enhancements: Straighten horizontals; reduce highlights on the balcony fronts.
Good: Strong leading-line geometry, good perspective.
Enhancements: Straighten verticals; boost contrast in the timber cladding.
Good: Excellent pattern and texture, nice abstract quality.
Enhancements: Try a mono conversion to emphasise line; selectively reduce the brightest highlights.
Good: Beautiful texture, clean composition, great tonal control.
Enhancements: Add a very soft vignette; consider a slightly lower camera angle for more shape in the body.