Looking Down

01 BOAT

J1: This image certainly meets the criteria of looking down.  This shot may not have been easy to easy to take, especially if the subject was moving. Composition is good in that you have a little more room in the front of the image for the boat to travel into than is behind, but perhaps leaving a little more in front, balanced by extra room behind, might have shown us more of the wake of the vessel.  Possibly there was not time to consider metering.  The white area of the roof of the shelter on the boat is blown out and has no detail.  Similarly there are blown out highlights on the boy in the front of the boat, and where the sun has reflected on the water.  Bright light in the middle of the day may not have been your friend here.  Try to tone down the highlights and extract some detail if possible would help this image. HIGHLY COMMENDED
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J2: A snippet of looking into the lives of other people. The planks in the boat tell of poverty. Just a little overexposed. Would have been lovely if they were looking up at you. ACCEPTANCE

02: CAKE

J1: This shot meets the criteria of looking down.  It is quite well composed, but cropping a little off the left hand side could remove some of the blurred area and the golden highlight which I find is a distraction.  The highlights could be toned down just a little more as some areas are a little blown out.  I hope the cake was as tasty as the ingredients suggest.  HIGHLY COMMENDED

J2: Something very yummy is going to happen. Using a see through bowl is clever, so that you still can see all the ingredients. Well put together. HIGHLY COMMENDED

03: CAPPADOCIA

J1: Here we have a photo taken from the basket of a balloon looking down on another balloon and then to the ground.  No doubt about looking down.  It is either early morning or late afternoon light, ideal for ballooning as well as photography.  I would suggest cropping some of the out of focus part of the basket which is in shadow.  If you are able, selecting the hill in shadow on the top right, and brightening this just a bit would add a little more detail and interest to the picture.  Certainly a part of the world I find quite fascinating and would love to visit. CREDIT

J2: Oh boy, if you don’t like heights, this image really empowers that emotion. Really well taken, you get a great sense of depth to the image with the extra balloon between you and the earth.  Good clarity. HONOUR

04: Central Park NY

J1: You have some nice light in this and it well composed.  Certainly we are looking down on a canyon of buildings in New York.  I love black and white for this kind of shot, and especially architectural shots that we see in documentaries, such as those of Ken Burns, for their exception sharpness and range of tones.  Most of us can’t carry around a 4 x 5” bellows camera (or larger format) to get that type of image.
 
With a shot like this, a tripod, or failing that, somewhere to rest the camera and using a timer, then setting the camera on 100 ISO and a longer exposure time, may have reduced the graininess or noise in the shot.  You could also bracket a shot like this as the subject is not moving, then combine images which would give you some more detail.  A little more contrast would also make it a little less flat.  ACCEPTED

J2: You certainly were a long way up, and a great view. The image itself though is overexposed especially in the sky areas (the glass probably has impacted this), and suffering from noise issues in the shadows.  If you have LR you can try to remove some of the noise there, or using a plugin like Topaz Denoise. Also using dehaze in LR will bring back more detail in the bright areas. Nice scene. Rather scary being that high actually. ACCEPTED

05: CONTRAST

J1: We are certainly looking down on the subject.  The blue and yellow are giving a nice contrast.  However, it is layout of this image that is letting you down here, I think.  The out of focus LHS wall is a distraction. The blue crate is being lost to some extent against the dark grey background, and it might have worked better if more of the crate was over the yellow paint. The shadow of the crate might also have been more interesting with the bright yellow background. I can see why you might have saturated the colours/increased contrast, but I’m not sure I am a fan of the result. ACCEPTED

J2: Lovely contrast of colours. Blue and yellow work so well together. It’s an image that needed strong processing to add more depth and interest, and you have done a good job.  CREDIT

06: DIVE IN

J1: It won’t be me diving in, and I will be standing back further from the edge.  There is no doubt about looking down.  The photo also works because it evokes an emotional response – that of vertigo.  The photo is quite well composed.  I might have preferred the water to be sharp rather than blurred in this situation as this would enhance the feeling of plunging depths, rather than beauty. CREDIT

J2: That waterhole is a long way down! I love our outback, we have wonderful scenery. Good composition. HIGHLY COMMENDED

07: DOWN INTO THE BLUE

J1: I love the blue and turquoise colours in this and the swirling foam.  I’m in two minds about the bars.  On the one hand, they create a pattern, and a sense of tension from the height,  and on the other they are a distraction. The cliff-face is a little dark, but one might say it adds to the sense of menace of the scene. There is no doubt about looking down. CREDIT

J2: You sure get a sense of height here, and the way the corner of the platform pokes out in your image, above the ocean, certainly sets the scene of where you are standing. What a view! HONOUR

08: FACADE

J1: This shot is a nice study of repeating patterns, rust and golden light.  The image is not easy to interpret, and is almost abstract in nature.  Lightening the background may help. I think it lacks enough depth of field to convince at first glance that it is looking down. ACCEPTED

J2: This is a very tricky image to view….it’s like those images that can be viewed 2 ways depending on what you focus on. I spent quite a while trying to get a handle on it, and then my focus changed and it made a sense. Interesting perspective.  ACCEPTED

09: FISH UNDER THE FLOOR

J1: This a lovely study of two boys and their fascination with the slivery fish swimming beneath their feet.  I like the light on the face of the boy on the left, and his shadow.  The two boys could perhaps be a fraction sharper, but this doesn’t overly concern me.  What this image does compared to others that might be described as a study of “looking down”, is to evoke an emotional reaction by the viewer.  HONOUR

J2: Double looking down. A lovely idea to have the fish under a glass floor, and can see how kids love it.  ACCEPTED

10: GOING DOWN

J1: The set of steps are certainly going down and I like the contrasting green and red of the flowers.  Something on steps like pots, might have helped give more dimension to the otherwise flat perspective. Possibly a little more contrast to give the steps a little more texture might have helped here. HIGHLY COMMENDED

J2: Definitely need to look down to go down steps. Good image with good detail throughout, and the greenery on the side adds a nice touch. CREDIT

11: HIGH AND STEEP

J1: This is certainly going down.  The cable car gives the illusion of appearing about to tip, which further adds to the tension in the photo.  The large area of white on the LHS needs to be cropped.  This image would have received an honour award without this.  The exposure on the roof of the cable car is good, but the remainder of the image is just a little flat. HIGHLY COMMENDED

J2: Oh gosh, I would certainly be thinking twice about doing this, but would do so hoping that all will go well! Image certainly shows the steepness well. The bright bit on the left intrudes on the image, and the image is slightly off kilter. If you straighten to line up a bit with the platform on the left, and crop enough to remove the white part, your image will be much stronger.  ACCEPTED

12: HOLDING ON TIGHT

J1: I like the abstract quality of this, but would not have had the feet in the photo.  Possibly boots, camera bag or hat could have done the same job of providing scale. I like the glossy appearance on the trunk at the top of the picture which gives the tree a little more life.  I can see half a face if you split the tree down the middle and look at the right hand side of the image.  HIGHLY COMMENDED

J2: Tree roots can be amazing. While I appreciate that the boots (feet) give perspective to the size of the tree roots, I personally prefer the image without, as they dominate the image by being, in my opinion, the focal point even though only a small part. Image could do with a little bit of contrast work to bring out a bit more depth.  ACCEPTED

13: MARKETS

J1: A good example of looking down.  Try a crop from the bottom which eliminates the bright lights and the half figure in blue.  The image is nicely sharp. I am wondering if the colours have been a little over-saturated.  If there is room on the original image, try some different crops and see how they look.  HIGHLY COMMENDED

J2: Markets are fascinating places, and looking down gives a great perspective of the stalls, the produce etc. Lots to see in the image. Even though I love fish/seafood, I can’t help but feel sorry for them too! Try cropping some off the top and right so that attention is really on the scene that is right in front of you. A subtle vignette would suit this image as well.  HIGHLY COMMENDED

14: MARKINGS

J1: While we are looking down at the markings, there is not a lot here that grabs my attention.  Overall the image is soft and grainy.  Certainly the yellow line makes a zig zag before exiting from the picture.  I’m wondering if the markings might not have been more interesting at the top of the picture.  The reflections in the puddle might also have made a more interesting subject. The amputated foot on the LHS is a distraction, and I’m not sure the other human figure does much for this photo. ACCEPTED

J2: Well seen for the markings. The image is a bit flat. You can add extra oomph with just simple editing….contrast and some saturation will really bring out the different colours and textures of the greys, as well as make the yellow more pronounced. It is the type of image that works well with stronger processing. ACCEPTED 

15: MEN ONLY PATH

J1: This has some humour and we can’t be sure which direction the men are supposed to be going. A couple of human feet coming in the opposite direction might have added to this composition. Or a blurred image of a bicycle on the crossing. CREDIT
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J2: Lol, funny image. Again, as in my previous comment, a boost in contrast will add more oomph to the image. I actually think this would work really well as a mono. ACCEPTED

16: MOON LANDING

J1: This looks like a moon landing by a creature from Dr Who.  The shadow and the barren nature of the “lunar surface” certainly works.  The top of the silver landing craft is just a little burnt out, but this is hard to avoid.  There is no grass on the moon, but I don’t see this as a significant criticism.  The image could possibly be cropped more to give emphasis to the spacecraft and shadow, but you might have been wanting to emphasise the vastness of the surface and the loneliness of the craft.  HIGHLY COMMENDED

J2: I have no idea what the contraption is that I am looking at, but it is interesting and love the very strong shadows. Personally, I would have taken the image a bit closer in, or crop in a bit more as I don’t think you need that much up the top and on the right. Neat idea.   ACCEPTED

17: OVERVIEW

J1: That’s my kind of bookshop.  This is a difficult lighting situation which you have handled quite well.  I like the shape of the escalator and its diagonal presentation. Also that there are people on it. There are figures moving in your scene, and some still.  There is some fall off in sharpness towards the top of the picture, but not enough to be a distraction. It certainly fits the set subject description and has given us much to look at. HONOUR

J2: Good view of the library, and the escalators to the next level down. Lots to look at in the image. Well seen and taken.  CREDIT

18: PATTERN

J1: Quite sharp and well exposed.  The figure helps make the shot and is on one of the intersecting points of the “rule of thirds”. It is certainly looking down.  CREDIT

J2:  Good view looking down, and the man gives the image that extra bit of dimension and interest. CREDIT

19: PELICANS AWAY

J1: You certainly have some golden light here. The pelicans in the top right look like a squadron of bombers in formation.  Composition is good the pelicans are balanced by the trees in bottom LHS.  I assume this was shot from an aircraft, perhaps through a window.  The result has been the image is not quite as sharp as it could be, but fair given the circumstances. CREDIT

J2: A nice aerial shot with interesting patterns in it. Unfortunately, the ‘island’ is out of focus, and that really detracts from the image overall as it is a large part of the image. The way the light is falling on the trees and the shadows from the birds is interesting. ACCEPTANCE

20: PRETTY IN PINK

J1: An excellent shot of a flower.  It is crisp and colourful, with the background pleasingly out of focus. The insects save the image from being just another shot of a flower.  My only issue is that it is not immediately obvious if I looking down on the flower or seeing it side on. HIGHLY COMMENDED

J2: Lovely picture of the flower, nice close in crop and good detail. It doesn’t give the ‘feeling’ of looking down though. The definition says “show a scene” that is below you, but I can’t tell that from the image so for set subject, more of the surroundings (scene) would be better.  The flower is lovely though, well taken and I like the square crop.  ACCEPTED

21: SHELL

J1: I like the bands of colour in the shell and textured look of the shell grit and other material on the beach.  The shell is nicely placed in the photo. The image may be suffering from being a small section of a larger image.   The colours appear over-saturated, and the sharpening tool has been a little over-used and definition lost.  Whatever the cause, the image is quite soft. ACCEPTED

J2: Very pretty colours on the shell. The sand though feels pixelated and oversharpened, and it overpowers the image somewhat. Am wondering if you did a large crop? Love our beaches, always can find some treasures to photograph.  ACCEPTED

22 UNDERGROUND SKYLIGHT

J1: I like the colour on the rusty grill in front of the skylight.  The context of the image is not easy to determine – is this a subterranean room with windows at ground level, and we looking in from outside at street level?  I’m not entirely sure.  We are only just looking down in this image, perhaps leaning over, and looking down more might improve this image.  The exposure is reasonable, given the backlighting from the skylight.  Some detail is lost on tops of the grills, which are a point of interest due to the repetition of shapes.  The colours in the tiles give this shot an old world feel.  Some of the foreground is not sharp, and more depth of field would have helped here. CREDIT

J2:  Interesting image with lots to look at. I like the ‘glass tiles’ (not sure what they are), and the grittiness of the image, a well processed image. Whilst a fair bit of the scene is below the photographer, some of it is looking across, so not quite as strong as other images for ‘looking down’.  ACCEPTED

23: WATCHING

J1: This is an appealing photo of a dog, but not enough depth of field.  The eye is only just sharp.   Part of the ear is amputated. We are certainly looking down on the dog. ACCEPTED

J2:  Lol, fun image. Definitely looking down, and the dog is looking up thinking ‘what are you doing’! You could lighten it slightly, and remove the bit of eye muck. Small edits can make a big difference.  ACCEPTED

24: WHALE WINCH

J1: I like the crispness of the colours in the winch and how the central subject of the photo immediately catches the eye.  Perhaps a sailor in this shot would have helped give it scale. The diagonal view and framing contribute to this image.  CREDIT

J2: Strong image for set subject, good clarity, composition and well processed. HONOUR