Thanks again for everyone who entered. Please remember all of the comments are simply my personal opinion and should be treated accordingly...
Kenoh : really like the retro-style look of this one with nice use of B&W with lovely tones throughout - almost reminiscent of the days when flying was a glamorous event! As someone who travels a lot on business, this sort of environment is unfortunately like a second home. Perhaps would have had more impact if it had more diners or perhaps cropped to make more of the two guys on the left.
Pmxperience : like a lot of Las Vegas, the Venetian mall is certainly an example of taking a shopping environment to the extreme and is remarkably well done even if not my personal cup of tea. I’ll be there again myself early next year. I like the composition you’ve gone for here and the almost staged-looking shoppers give the feel of a promotional shot (take that as a compliment). A difficult environment to get good exposure but other than a touch of bow-out in the artificial sky, nicely exposed.
CmdrLaForge : a great shot of a traditional German Christmas market. Nicely exposed to get the best out of the various baubles and give that warm, intimate feeling : can almost smell the gluhwein and roast chestnuts!
Someoldguy : these are the sort of specialist grocery/deli stores that we have sadly lost in many parts of the UK. The blue shelf unit and floor somehow emphasise the almost monotone beige/brown of the rest of the scene. Nice diagonal composition with tempting products on offer but perhaps a little flat on the contrast front leading to some lacks of “energy” but that perhaps reflects the unhurried nature of shopping here.
Deep diver : this could be a street market almost anywhere in the world and certainly reflects daily shopping for many. Looks like the stallholder is having a good haggle with the customers. I like the composition with the strong diagonal customer-stallholder axis. A good mix of colours (green/yellow/orange) in the foreground veg but a nice red pepper or tomato two here would have spiced it up nicely.
Jkramerbob : the antithesis of our seasonal shopping excesses and really brings home some of the contrasts in wealth around the world. Particularly poignant location given Christmas. I like the almost monochrome impression (natural browns and beiges) broken only by the somewhat incongruous man-made-blue cardboard box remnants.
Hughmac : great idea for a triptych with each panel capturing some aspect of the Christmas shopping experience in much of the UK (damp and dismal
) – perhaps reminiscent of the way stories are told by panels of stained glass in churches. I like the way the shoppers are focussing on the satellite provider in the RHS. Good balance of colours and tones between the three scenes brings them together nicely.
Needfx : great balance of exposure between inside and outside of store. I like the way that the closer of the two passers-by seems to be looking at the guy in the store: what point is he trying to make and to who? The way the passers-by are talking to themselves and in-step with each other emphasises two environments: the store and outside the store with a closed door between.
Applefanboy : like you, I’m usually with the other husbands sitting or leaning on the nearest convenient and comfortable prop. A little too much contrast in the lighting to take a casual shot that gives enough detail to see what is going on. Would have been nicer to see the throng of people presumably enjoying the market but unfortunately a bit too dark.
To the judgement:
1st place : jkramerbob
2nd place : CmdrLaForge
3rd place : Hughmac
Worthy mention to Deep diver
From a photographic perspective, my winner would have been CmdrLaForge's German market scene but the winner goes to jkramerbob for the way the topic has been addressed.
Best wishes to everyone for the holiday season and hope the New Year brings prosperity and happiness to all of you. Money doesn't make you happy but I'd rather be rich and unhappy than poor and unhappy....
Over to you for the next one jkramerbob.
The Oculus by another scotsman, on Flickr
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