After much deliberation, Mr Sanderson, the Head of Geography at The King's School, Canterbury has managed to whittle down the excellent entries in the photograph competition down to a winner and two runners up in each category. Below are the winning entrants and Mr Sandersons comments.
To order a 2016 calendar with all of the winning photographs on it click here.
Year 1 and 2: My Favourite Place
Second Runner Up
Archie: The back of my house.
"Good use of the portrait shape of the photo, and well done including the garden in the foreground (the foreground is often ignored in a photo, and you have done well to include it here). I like the inclusion of the football which shows that this is a garden well used!"
First Runner Up
Olivia: Sky Pond.
"An excellent photo, in thirds, with an interesting use of reflection. I also like the grasses leaning into the photo from the bottom right corner."
Winner
Ben: Big Castle.
"Nicely framed in thirds. Puts the main subject (the castle) to one side of the photo which draws the viewer in to the rest of the landscape. Definitely a photo I’d like to have on my wall. It shows me the vast openness of the surrounding countryside and the excitement of what it might be like to live in a castle like this. Crisp, clear and fresh, with space to allow the observer to dream."
Year 3 and 4: Landscape
Second Runners Up
"Both excellent photos that I struggled to choose between. Both need praising ... Lovely photos worthy of being postcards."
Tabby: The Grand Canyon
"Tabby’s is spot on with the horizon flat, and successfully deciding how much sky to show – a truly jaw dropping landscape"
Miette: Krabi on Fire
"Miette’s photo is also well composed, with the sun off centre, and the light brilliantly reflecting itself in both the sky and the water."
First Runner-Up
Gabriela: Sunset in Denmark
"Very nearly first place. A superb photo that leads the eye from the bottom right corner, up to the sun in the middle left section. I like the windmill/lighthouse building, but it’s just a little bit squashed to the side. Nevertheless, a photo that would work well as a postcard"
Winner
Beatrice: Patchwork in the Pyrenees.
"An excellent photo following the rule of thirds. Fabulous sky, with rain in the top right corner, neatly countered by the grass area in the bottom left corner. Lovely horizons – a photo that could easily be overexposed, but is not. Best viewed on screen (not paper). Also the photographer has gone to some significant trouble to get to this altitude to take the photo. Well framed with hills either side drawing the observer into the landscape and towards the rain. Well captioned too."
Years 5 and 6: Colour and Texture
Second Runner-Up
Mya: Thistle and Bee
"This photo is very nearly perfect. I love the texture of the flower, all sharp and pointed. The bumble bee gives a sense of peace and enjoyment in ones work. It’s just a shame the colours weren’t a little more vibrant and the stem of the flower wasn’t totally clean. I love the leading of the colours from left to right – very enchanting"
First Runner-Up
Alexander: Sunset spectrum
"What a moment to have witnessed! Impossible not to praise this photo. A fabulous capturing of both the colours of the rainbow, and also the blues in the sky, with the silhouettes of the trees. A difficult photo to adjust the exposure for – and an excellent slice of different clouds at different altitudes. I wonder what treasure there was at the foot of the rainbow ..."
Winner
William: Inside Vulcania
"A truly superb photo that offers the observer to perspectives – either to focus on the building texture, or to focus on the flue sky that looks like a neck and head of a bird. The texture is fabulous, and the blue colour and shaft of sunlight bring the photo added interest. Perfectly composed with the blue sky coming from the bottom left corner to the two-thirds level with the beak leading to the light. Would make an excellent poster."
Years 7 and 8: People
Second Runner-Up
Rosie: Cowboys
"This photo is perfect in its composition, and frankly would be hard to improve. Often people forget to include people’s feet in full-length photos, but here we have 12!! The use of a small aperture to allow the distance to be in focus, as well as the nearby subjects is excellent, and there is a good amount of sky included (but not too much). This could definitely be used as a postcard or advertisement for the area. Well done!"
First Runner-Up
Archie: Lost in Time
"This was so close to coming first – a very tough and difficult call. It is a very professional photo and is superbly composed (and captioned), making the observer ask so many questions and contemplations. It’s brilliant that the person is not in the centre of the photo, but is looking out – making you want to dream and wonder what he is looking out at. It is a photo that could easily be used as a greeting card, postcard, poster, or DVD front cover. Perfect for a spy movie! Well done."
Winner
Tallulah: Blood is thicker than water
"A truly awesome photograph. It took my breath away immediately. The heart is fantastic – and must have taken ages to perfect. The focus is crisp, and yet the water and hair is superbly captured to show movement, energy and fun. The horizon isn’t perfectly straight, however the reflections in the water are lovely, and I like the blue line leading in to the centre of the photo from the bottom right corner. The idea of creating a heart is perfect for the caption of this photo, and offers an additional personal element. Blood is thicker than water, and this photo encapsulates the topic “People” (plural) by showing humanity, family, life and fun. Action photography is very difficult. I love it. I would not be surprised to see this in a magazine or advert on a billboard. Superb."
