OK everyone, judging time.
Thanks to all who entered - was getting worried at first with only a couple of images in, but there was a healthy glut of shots that came in towards the end.
John Riley
Seagull in flight
What can I say to this then besides the fact that it’s a very simple composition and ‘just’ a common seagull - except, it’s not! For me, this image sums up the theme of flight more than any other entry. The seagull has a clear blue sky to fly into which conjures up the image of freedom and openness and the feeling that you are up there with the gull. Also really like the wing position which gives it a feeling of gliding and being perfectly at one within it’s element. Great stuff!
Janice
Reach for The Sky
Good image this Janice, with some nice cloud detail. The plane is well exposed too against the bright sky. To me it looks like the plane is taking off, so I would have preferred the plane going from left to right, a personal thing maybe, but it feels slightly uncomfortable going the other way.
Mike Aspinall
Balloon
How refreshing to see an gondola style old fashioned balloon for a change. This image takes you back to Man’s early attempts at flight, so I think the use of the vignette is a good decision (maybe a little bit heavy?). Good shot Mike.
Eric (Yachtsman1)
Flying buttresses Ripon Cathedral
Ah! Now this is thinking outside the box! (to use the cliché). I applaud your thinking here Eric, however, I think you should have made the buttresses cover the entire frame and made it the obvious subject. I’m sure you could make a good abstract image out of it. Perhaps try cropping this actual image.
Margaret (Mrs Yachtsman1)
Hovercraft approaching the Isle of Wight
I like this image Margaret, but I don’t feel that it reflects the theme of flight strongly enough. Yes it is off the ground as it were, but it comes across as more of an action image instead. I really like all the spray at the back indicating the power of the fans. I would put this shot in an open image competition.
Tracey
Artic Tern
The usual excellent image from you! Comparing it to John’s (which I have to) I actually think that yours is the better of the two in terms of composition and the nice texture on the wings etc. There’s a BUT though… I still think John’s has the edge in the overall, relaxy/drift-away feel type thing - if you catch my drift!
Lesley Davison
Vulcan Escorted by Red Arrows
Excellent this! I’m no aircraft photographer/expert, but this seems good to me. Like Mike’s it conveys the history of flight which I like very much. Minor criticism is that the planes look a tad underexposed. You’re still in contention though!
Tony Lee
Easy Jet plane
I like the juxtaposition of the massive looming plane just clearing the roof-tops - adds tension to the image. I just think that more of the rooves would have strengthened the composition.
Gordon Armstrong
Red Kite
Funny looking bird?!? Just kidding! Really like this! Gives me a similar feeling to John’s seagull in that it’s simple graphic shapes and a composition that draws you in to the scene. Good strong contrasting colours that pop from the screen too. Just that bit of empty space on the left and also general image quality in terms of noise/banding that takes this down a notch for me though. Sorry.
Great work all who entered!
3rd Tracey
2nd Lesley
1st John
