POTY Competition Round 4: Special Mention and Runners Up!
By Mike Lowe

To tie up the "Movement" competition, we wanted to present some of the special gems of images that were submitted to the gallery. Each of these images was selected for different reasons, but are worthy of discussion and present the broad range of innovative photography in response to the "Movement" brief. So without further ado, and in no particular order: Special mention #1 Flying by Giles Heather A cracking piece of studio work and the simplest of manipulations makes this worth a very special mention. The pose of the model is spot on, the movement in the hair is fantastic, and by turning 90 degrees counter clockwise takes this image into a whole other dimension. Top work - sometimes the simplest of ideas can really bring something special. Special mention #2 Rock n Roll by margaret sardeson We were raving (or is that rocking?) about this one some time ago - and it still stands strong. Music/band/live photography can often bring nothing more than a lot of poorly lit shots...This photograph, however, is in another league. Caught at the decisive moment (if you will), a little longer with the shutter open and that thrashing arm brings forth so much momentum and energy. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this in a music mag. Special mention #3 Juggling with symmetry by Richard Heeks Innovation. That's what we like to see. There's just something so fascinating about this image. Take a strobe flash, add a bit of juggling and get to work over a couple of seconds - the power of photography to "reveal" is one of its ultimate strengths, and this image takes full advantage of that. Had to put this in the top 5 just as a demonstration of how conceptual photography can be. Special mention #4 Wild Ride by Annette Blattman Anyone can go out and take a photograph. Companies have made it easier and easier over the years. That said, someone can always do it that bit better. Take this fair ground ride as an example - it really delivers. All the energy of the ride is conveyed, the compositons there, and there's just the right essence of still being able to see what's happening. Special mention #5 Storm over a wheat field by Rob Sutherland Here's where things turn in a drastically different direction. Take a tripod, stop down and open that shutter and any landscape will give you that essence of time and movement. The subtle blurring of the clouds and wind through the grass changes this from a simple snap into something totally beyond. Add to that the moody, dark melancholic feel and this image leaves quite a feeling in your gut. Would like to see further experiments with long landscape exposures - with the anticipation that Rob will pull some crackers out of the bag (or, erm, the camera). Runner Up - 3rd place winner Onboard Camera by Rob Sutherland Sometimes a photograph doesn't need to be "the best photograph in the world" in order to make its point. That's one of the things that's special about photography - and not something to be overlooked. This image of the moving bike is rather special - it's packed with energy, full of ideas and really well executed. Its the kind of concept that could be used time and time again in different places - and will always produce different, exciting results. For that we salute you and sincerely hope that you go out and do just that - make a whole variety of images!

Our 3rd place winner - Mr Rob Sutherland - picks up an Olympus [mju] 770SW... which looks like it could come in particular use!

For the 1st and 2nd place winners as voted by you, click here.