Weekly #468 - After the Sun has Set Competition

Darkening my door by perspicador – The first image posted, and very dark, clearly well after the sun had set. Unfortunately there is clear camera movement, so I think the solution here would have been a firm tripod. I do like the way the exposure has been kept dark and the temptation to lighten it all has been resisted.

Cold of night by wozfromcov – This caught my eye as soon as it was posted. The view from an upstairs window shows exactly what we might see if we were to glance out at the winter weather. The night exposure has been handled very well. There are some rather strange flare halos, but if anything they enhance the coldness of the scene.

Afterglow by davidtrout – This is a very confident image. It is simple, but the composition is very carefully arranged, the exposure is spot on and the sharpness exactly crisp enough. A very satisfying image.

Red Sky etc by ken2390 – It's a fabulous sky and the sliver of ground at the bottom of the image puts it all into scale and perspective. I'm not sure the foreground interest is strong enough to carry the shot, but it is definitely along the right lines.

The sun has set below Mount Canigou by MarqueeMoon – This is a beautiful, calming image. The water leads us right into the heart of the composition. Lovely.

Fountains East End by bforbes – Another beautiful shot, with perfect control of exposure. The image is also crisp and full of interesting detail. A very strong contender!

Glumangate by Chrishorsnell – Night shots in towns and cities are very rewarding, full of colour. This is an excellent example and shows a lot of attention to detail Verticals are straight, the edges of the image have been located at suitable points and the various flare spots allowed to enhance the whole.

The Cunning Man by snakey – Technically superb, a very attractive scene indeed. The sky looks particularly blue and might be a touch bright, but then again those late night inky-blue skies can be very powerful and a variety of shades of blue and purple.

The Kelpies after Sunset by tyronet2000 – These are commonly photographed, but we do have here a very powerful interpretation. The kelpies themselves are superb. A small question mark as to whether or not a touch of detail in the sky would enhance things?

Moon rising over London by Mags07 – I did at first wonder whether the sky was bit weak in terms of contrast. However, it grows on me as I look at it, so it may well be an image that has a prolonged inspiration effect on the viewer.

York by Night by JAK – Another well exposed shot. I do think that there are many places in York where there is not so much concrete, so perhaps a different location would avoid those blank areas in the picture.

Zoo lake at night by noelcmn – Leaving just a whisker of light in the sky is an excellent technique. This shot bristles with good technique and a is a great example of a good night shot.

Safe to Cross by simonmac – The use of black and white is very striking. Detail has been retained and it's a competent composition as well.

Le Barroudeur entertains from the Small Stage by Drofmit – This is a beautiful image indeed. My only reservation is that from the image itself we can't discern that it fulfils the brief of the competition. This could equally well be any time on any floodlit stage in any theatre. It needs the supporting text. This isn't a bad thing as the images goes, but it does mean it isn't self-explanatory in the same way that the cityscapes are.

And so to the winners. After a lot of consideration, I think the winning place has to go to the very accomplished, very traditional but very beautiful Afterglow by davidtrout. It follows the brief perfectly. Well done David!

Second place will have to be Zoo lake at night by Noelcmn, another fine image with superb control of exposure.

Third place is reserved for The Cunning Man by snakey. A lovely, inviting shot, just that sky maybe a little too intense.

All the other images have much to enjoy within them, but the commended ones are as follows:
Cold of night by wozfromcov
Glumangate by chrishorsnell
Moon rising over London by Mag07

Many thanks to everyone who entered, and now over to our winner davidtrout.

Congratulations to the Winner and other placings. Thanks to John for the interesting subject the judging and comprehensive comments.

Many thanks for the comments and the interesting judging,

Great winner, very evocative, And well done to the places and HCs!

Cheers

Simon

Cracking winning image, it has one major flaw- Its filling me with envy . Congratulations David. Love it-that little bit of light on the horizon is just wonderful. Congrats are in order too to noelcmn and snakey. Don't blame you for not resisting the temptation for a visit there snakey. And congrats too to the HC's wozfromcov, chrishorsnell and Mag07. Surprised at the 2nd spot, thought there were such impressive submissions. Thanks John for that coveted spot, and for the judging and commenting-always appreciated.

Congratulations David, a marvelous shot

Thanks for the win John, I'm chuffed it won among so many beautiful and interesting photos. Congratulations to Noel and Snakey and to the HCs Mag07, Chrishosnell and wozfromcov.
Above all thankjs to John for the competition and the detailed critique.
David.

PS: I'll be back with this week's topic later this am.

Thanks for the nice comments - I will try again

Thank for the competition and judging, John. I thought it was a challenging subject this week, risen to by all the entries. Congratulations to David and those on and around the podium.