Weekly # 857 Circles Competition

Rolling down hill by NigelK – an apparently simple image but much more gong on than seen at first glance. It genuinely looks like the “circle” is rolling down hill – but I think this is due to the excellent compositional skills of the photographer. Well seen and very well executed.

In search of light by Francisbd - Another intriguing image, taken through a porthole window I assume it is an interesting study in lines and curves as well as shadow and light. Reminiscent of a Frank Lloyd Wright window – just a pity that none of the curves in the window make a full circle

Round and round by Yorkie – great match to the brief – almost a perfect match to the opening line of the challenge “a circle in a spiral”. An interesting object well captured – the use of focus stacking has brought out some superb detail in the object and it’s reflection. Lighting is highly sympathetic – great job overall

Woodhorn Colliery by Davidtrout – I had an immediate and emotional response to this image as my father was a miner in South Wales and I was brought up surrounded by these structures (all gone now). Putting that aside this is a really strong image – the strong silhouette against a pleasing sky works really well bringing out all the lines and shapes. Another cracker.

Compasses by Davidwozhere – another seemingly simple object superbly photographed. Composition and lighting are excellent – loads of detail in the object and texture in the paper. I love the way that the circle moves from shadow to shadow so precisely – very effective. And the shadows of the legs look a bit like something out of “War of the Worlds”

Bridge near Bedwyn by RayW – fully conveys the feeling of a winter walk along the river bank. The exposure through the arch and of the reflection is very well handled (anyone else think it looks a bit like Pacman?). Shadow on the left is a little dark.

Circulating water by Sue Riley – very compilation shot by Sue Riley (although my K3 looked a bit like this when I got caught in an absolute downpour at the rugby a couple of weeks ago – thank God for Pentax weather sealing) Back to the image – lovely capture of the camera and the careful placing of the water create an image that needs to be looked at a few times to figure out what is going on . Well done!

Qwerty by Johnriley – another excellent interpretation of the brief. The old typewriter brings back lots of memories – quite an evocative subject. The composition and exposure have been handled extremely well – an excellent still- life image.

Discworld by Simonmac – I thought I might get an image of the Bullring but this one far surpasses my expectations. The building itself is very well done but the addition of the two figures lifts this to a higher level.

The snared bangle by Noelcmn – quite a thought-provoking image. Technically very well done – but it then begin to ask questions – how did the bangle get tangled up ? It is so bright and colourful against the background it seems quite incongruous. Moreover why do you need barbed wire in a church yard?. If photography is supposed to make you ask questions this one certainly comes up trumps. Well seen and well taken.

And so to the winner – possibly one of the hardest I have had to judge for a long time. In the end I went for “Round and Round” by Yorkie as an almost perfect match to the brief; with Discworld by Simonmac a very close second.
1. Round and Round by Yorkie
2. Discworld by Simonmac
3. Compasses by Davidwozhere

Well done Yorkie, Simonmac and Davidwozhere on their placings and thanks to Gareth for his choice of subject and thoughtful judging.

Thank you very much.

I love the winning shot, I have come back to it a few times now and see another intricacy each time!

And thank you for the competition and your insights.

All the best

Congratulations to the winner and congratulations to the other participants who demonstrated that imagination is not dead!

Félicitations au gagnant et grand bravo aux autres participants qui ont fait la démonstration que l' imagination n' était pas morte !

Thank you for your vote and eloquent words Gareth and thanks to all participants for making it another enjoyable Challenge.

Congrats Yorkie, such an appealing image. Did you use a mirror? Congrats too to simonmac and Davidwozhere, whose images I also thought was in contention. Thanks Gareth for the challenge and the comments on all the submissions, as usual these are much appreciated. To answer your question "why do you need barbed wire in a church yard?, the answer in short, this is South Africa, which has one of the highest crime rates in the world, (in the list of top 10 countries with the highest crime rates, according to one stat-no 3) and here nothing is sacred. No church, or any religious institution. With an equally high drug abuse statistic, theft is the easiest way to feed a drug habit, and currently under our judicial system, such matters as housebreaking/theft enjoys a rather low profile when it comes to police investigations, and matters such as murder, rape and sexual assault, woman and child abuse highjacking enjoy a much higher priority for investgations. The said barbed wire is to prevent our next door neighbors, which has something like 26 tenants living there (in squalor) most of them unemployed, some on drugs/liquor abuse. Directly against the wall of the church (where I serve) are several corrugated tin shacks, right up to the height of said wall. We installed metal pallisade fencing- about 12 meters of the stuff (donated to us) and one day I got home only to discover 90% of it has been stolen, (so they probably came with angle grinders and all) and I have reliably learned that it was some of the tenants in that house that stole it and probably sold for scrap metal. Making a case with the police is a wasted effort. Barbed wire, though not as effective as one would wish, is a limited deterrent. And typically, it gets pushed down from the top of the wall with a broom or such. Which is how there is Barbed wire in the church yard- just hanging below the top of the wall. Said bangle probably belongs to one of the tenants there. As a matter of interest, shoes are a regular feature of things found in the church's yard, as are pillows, clothes and whatever is put on the roof of these shacks. All that is required a a stong gust of wind and it lands up in the church's yard.

Thank you for your comment Noelcmn and yes, I did use a mirror. It was taken from an old, plastic-framed make-up mirror belonging to my late wife and is over 25 years old. I keep it because the silvering to front surface is about 1mm and because there is very little separation between the object and its reflection, there is no 'ghost' image as there probably would be with much thicker mirror glass.
I have no idea what the metal object is, it has been in my box of 'keep it - it may come in handy' things for many years - and it did.
We all have one of those 'boxes' don't we? except in my case it's called a house.