The Peloton

Thank you all for your entries, they certainly show the many possibilities of ICM and also some new techniques I’d never even thought of! I haven’t judged before so this has been a learning experience.

Do Zombies have Ghosts? by i-Berg
If this image is anything to go by the answer is yes! The dark background together with the profile view really makes the Zombie stand out and the blurring streaks give an eerie quality, a very effective result.

Strange Wood by AndrewA
Almost an abstract, the sky appears to be falling through holes in the glowing leaf canopy, it looks reminiscent of the ‘Spirit Tree’ from the film Avatar. The bold central tree trunks anchor the eye in this beautifully balanced image. You should try using this technique again!

Colourfest by go4IT
It’s like beams of coloured light shooting out of the colouring pencil tips while they stand upright sentinel. The colours mixing and merging into pastel shades within the streaks whilst the pencils themselves remain defined.

pansy picture by davidwozhere
The colours are in marvellous sweeps with the underlying flower structure remains still recognisable, just beautiful. The square format works very well, printed large this would make a real impact.

The hills are for turning by Antony
A picture of a picture on several levels! The rotation is just enough to give a wonderful texture without losing the structure of the composition, it’s good!

The Peloton by JAK
What an impression of speed, this image just explodes with energy. The eye homes in on the central rider chasing the leading pack, the gap between them gives a dynamic tension. Meanwhile he is in turn being chased down by the flaming blur behind. Very, very well done.

Roses in a Spin by Nigelk
A really clever use of a ‘lazy Susan’. The abstract background looks almost like a view of an exotic Saturn like ringed planet. I’m not sure about the flowers and vase, they are super sharp, too sharp maybe. Well worth further experimentation.

London Marathon by paulb531
The three coloured vests really stand out, the runner’s gaze is onwards and out of the image towards the finish line. My eye is pulled towards the left most runner, why does yellow do that? I think maybe a slightly longer exposure together with a wider aperture would have helped to isolate the runners from the spectators, but that may have needed a ND filter to achieve.

Sunset by Mag07
Indeed the sun has set and that brief time of golden light is here. A beautifully calm image, the motion blurred waves breaking up the sky reflection. A subtle image suitable for meditation or contemplation.

Lilacs by tyronet2000
The streaked blooms and their foliage give us beautiful soft colours, in places their forms are more defined against the Acer leaf background. I find the in-focus less blurred Acer leaves distracting, maybe a faster shutter speed with a wider aperture would have helped with this.

Movement by Noelcmn
Wow a firework of a picture, the dark background really helps this stand out. An interesting technique that I’d never thought of, adjusting the focus during the exposure, it has certainly worked very effectively here!

F1 Spuds by drofmit
I can appreciate the technique which is very nicely executed! It gives a striking effect, but alas the subject doesn’t do much for me. But as a technique it is well worth using again.

monet at martin mere by johnjm
A lovely image which is held together by the strong red poppy flowers, truly an impressionistic vision of a wild flower meadow.

I’ve found this an interesting but difficult task that’s really made me look at the images. I’ve viewed them on my laptop and also on a large screen TV to see how they look big, and the answer is they look good and some really stand out. It hasn’t been easy to choose the winners but here’s my verdict.

1st The Peloton by JAK, a remarkable dynamic image.

2nd Strange Woods by AndrewA, I just kept coming back to this image, it has that ’something’ for me.

3rd Pansy Picture by davidwozher, I just love the colours.

Highly Commended, in no particular order: Do Zombies have Ghosts? by i-Berg, The hills are for turning by Antony, Movement by Noelcmn.

That’s me all done, so now it’s over to you JAK.