Weekly #499 - Water water everywhere Competition

Thanks all for your entries, some interesting interpretations here, just remember..... any comments are just my opinion.

Aysgarth falls-I like the contrast here between the soft water and crisp sharp leaves of the trees. I'm not a fan of 'very milky' water shots but this has just enough movement and composition is good
Not a drop to drink-There is plenty of water here and lovely colour it is too but for me it is let down by the lack of detail in the swan and there is some 'noise' in the shadow
Water world-This certainly fits the theme, shows us how much we are at the mercy of the elements. The last time I saw flood like this I was in Africa! I'm still trying to figure out where you were when you took this!
Spectators-I like this a lot, very competently taken with just the right amount of out of focus background.
The umbrellas adding colour to what was obviously a very dull day
Falling water-I love the power in the top right of this, lovely detail in the water at the bottom but what makes this special is the rainbow
Urban summer-A lovely shot, I don't know if they went in just for the photo or not but it doesn't matter as it looks natural. The power of the fountains and the slight apprehension of the figure are what appeal to me
..and not a drop to drink-very unusual, a different interpretation which is just what I was looking for. A fascinating shot in it's own right
Wipeout-A great action shot!, fun, ton's of spray and taken at just the right moment
Sunset on the beach- like this shot but for me it has a couple of things....I'd like to see the road cropped off, the horizon straightened and a saturation tweak. I think there is a super shot here
Waterfall in singapore-Apart from the main fall being dead centre, I can't fault this, I love waterfall shots and this is a good example
Ducking and diving-Although the water is hidden we know it's there so another great interpretation, perhaps a slightly tighter crop?
Making a splash- Great! I've attempted this kind of shot and so far got nothing as good as this. As above I'd like to see a tighter crop removing most of the top
Loch Ness...-Another nice shot showing a great expanse of water, one can only imaging the feelings of the person standing enjoying this scene
Surfing-What a great action shot! capturing the waves perfectly, composition is excellent, I think cropping the sky would concentrate ones attention on the surfer more
Froze water-These kind of shots are not easy as I know from experience. You've done well but I think getting in closer might improve it.The blue/green tint adds to the feeling of cold nicely
Water cycle- Interesting this one. Not only do we have the seawater but just look at those low clouds waiting to drop even more water and of course the added interest of the surfer
Just one step back-What a great waterfall! I'd love to see more of it at the top though. I'd also rather see it without the people too (no offence intended) Still a great shot

So, there you have it, my comments, I hope I've not offended anyone
This was difficult as I had so many favourites but in the end I chose the following:
1st--Urban summer by Mag07
2nd--Spectators by Davidtrout
3rd-- (and this was really difficult) Water world by JAK
HC's to royd63UK, Johnriley and i-berg

Well done all and thank you for entering
Over to you David.........

Regards,

Michael

Thanks for the competition Michael and giving me second place. I had Magdalena's earmarked as a possible winner as soon as I saw it. Some really good entries so I'm chuffed to make it to the podium along with .JAK and Mags. Congrats to those commended. I considered one of my flood shots taken a year ago when Storm Desmond caused serious flooding in the Eden Valley of Cumbria but conditions were so bad that day my image quality was just not good enough. I'm glad to see JAK got a really good flooding scene.
Michael, your work on this competition is really appreciated considering the sad news about a member of your family.
David

Thank you so much for awarding me the first place. All the more as I get to judge the 500th weekly competition! Congratulations to all the winners; especially Davidtrout on whose photograph I was willing to bet a lot of money haha. I love it.

The photograph was taken this summer and wasn't posed. There where a few children playing in the fountain near the City Hall in London and a lot of random tourists as well as the parents taking photographs of this lovely scene.

Thanks again!

Wonderful winning shot, nostalgia sweeping the memory, of innocent days gone by. Beautiful colors and composition. A worthy winner! Congrats Mag07. So you'r up to thew 500th challenge. That is sure to prove interesting, if not headache inducing . Congrats too to Davidtrout and JAK, and the HM's royd63UK, Johnrilkey and i-berg. Another round of excellent images, so a hearty thanks to Michael for the challenge and the critiques. Much appreciated.

Well done to the winner and the places and HCs.

An interesting round.

I do hope that Magdalena has a chance to enter the 500th competition otherwise she will have been penalised for winning!

Cheers!

It's alright Simon. I enjoy giving as much as I enjoy receiving and even though I am just a messenger in this case, I still find it quite exciting. I'm weird like that...
Additionally, judging those weekly/monthly competitions has proven to be a fantastic learning experience for me - expressing my feelings, making an effort to actually provide some constructive feedback; it's not something that comes naturally to me. I am more of an 'oh it's lovely' type of person without necessarily being able to easily tell why. This forces me to think and come up with some coherent reasons. I enjoy that. Direct benefit to me is it also lets me look more critically at my own photos. That's more valuable than a prize I think.

Thank you for your kind comments Noel.

Thanks for the competition and judging Michael at this difficult time for you. Congrats to the fellow podiumers and HCs (and everyone else for taking part.) As to where my shot was taken, it was in York just after Christmas 2015 when the River Foss flood barrier was lifted following an electrical failure.

Thank you Michael, congrats to Mag for the getting the win and the 500th! Well done also to the placegetters and joint HCs.