Slawko Berezynskyj

Fruit
An attempt to recreate a traditional still life based on the old master painters. Shot with Elinchrome studio flash (softbox & reflectors). Canon EOS3, 28-135mm, f/32, 1/125 sec. Film: Velvia

Why We Chose It:
There is a painterly feel to all of the selections in this month's pictures and we start with Slawko's still life. The lighting really helps to make this shot, soft enough to avoid almost any shadows but certainly any harsh shadows, yet defined enough to give a lovely roundness to the fruits and to bring out their succulence - a really superb still life. Of course the composition is also important and here this is done in front of the camera, rather than by shooting position etc.. the arrangement of the fruit and the complementary colours gives the overall image a sense of harmony.

Clive Jones

More a painting than?
This reflection of riverside buildings was taken from a boat on the River Dodogne at Bergerac last summer. Upside down I regard it more as someone elses work of art. Canon EOS 50E with tele 28-80mm.

Why We Chose It:
This shot, even more than the other two, has the painterly feel. The shot was taken 'straight' (no digital manipulation) and it was entirely the eye (to recognise the potential of the subject) and the photographic skill (to execute the shot) that enabled the image to be captured. The composition really makes the picture of course it is a please set of colours and a pleasing subject etc.. but it is the exclusion of anything that immediately signals that this is a reflection in/on water that forces the viewer to look closely at what is going on and really holds the viewers attention.

Andrew Styles

Misty Morning
Misty Morning
EOS 1D 28-70

Why We Chose It:
It is of course possible that many of us in the UK will have seen enough mist and fog recently top last us a lifetime, but this is an image that does the subject proud. A gloriously British landscape, the village church in the foreground immediately gives the image a sense of place, while the gently rolling landscape, softened by the mist and the almost monochrome tones invoke a timelessness that is the key to the success of this shot.