Following my last post I've somehow or other managed to find some time earlier than anticipated to organise my thoughts and put them down in writing regarding the mini-challenge.

Firstly apologies for not including any images in this post. I'm using my iPad and haven't figured out a simple way to repost images from another thread, so rather than delay the results and giving myself a headache, it's text only I'm afraid.

As I mentioned in my earlier post there have been some excellent entries in this photo challenge.

For me a silhouette is defined as a two-dimensional outline of an object uniformly filled in with black therefore I have given preference to images that conform to this definition.

That said there are many entries worthy of mention and these are listed below with comments/observations where I feel these are relevant.

The Underpass - Alansgrin - I'm a fan of urban photography and particularly like this image. Technically it's excellent and compositionally it has an almost ethereal quality about it as if we are looking at a portal to another world

Meteor Silhouette - Ghinson -On the flip side I've never taken an image of this nature and wouldn't know how to so this image holds a real fascination for me

Skipping Stones - Stueveshots - Another great image. I would have liked to have seen a little more separation between the figures and for them to be at different or similar stages of throwing

Camp in the Early Morning - Stueveshots - Possibly my favourite image of all. It makes me wish that I was there to enjoy waking up in such a special place. Unfortunately it falls outside my definition of silhouette

On The Beach - Kentwaller - I'm currently in Bali and spent yesterday at the Rip Curl Cup so surfing figures high on my current list of interests. I like the image but would prefer to see the figure further to the right and a greater separation between the figure and the setting sun, possibly even a lower viewpoint to make the figure even more dramatic. This might have meant getting your feet wet but I think it would have been worth it!

Bug - Jwear - This is a great capture. A perfect silhouette of an interesting subject and an image that was very close to making my top three

Cross Country - Oheddie - The viewpoint makes this image. Had this image been taken from a normal standing position it would have been pretty ordinary but the low viewpoint against the sun makes this standout. I'm curious about the rim light though, it gives an almost graphic quality to the image. Was this natural or has some PP been applied to achieve this effect?

Hummers - Senorjax - Again another image that was so close to making my top three. I love the dreamy background and the contrast between the frenetic and static states of the two birds is excellent. If I have a criticism it is that the left side of the image looks a little cramped. The bird looks like it's trying to fly within a confined space

On to the winners.......

Third Place
Apparatus - Juano - This is what I call a silhouette. An image made up of pure black and pure white. The detail is fascinating and I keep coming back to it trying to figure out what possible function this apparatus has?

Second Place
Serengeti - Ghinson - Another stunning image and one that I'm certain any photographer would be proud of. The dramatic patterns and colour in the sky are amazing and compositionally it's excellent.

First Place
Sandhills - Davev - this is an image that fits my definition of silhouette. The background colours complement the subject perfectly being neither flat or harsh. I love both the simplicity and the complexity of it and the fact that the different stages of flight recall Muybridge's 'Horse in Motion' images.

So congratulations Davev, over to you for the next mini-challenge

Syncopation, thanks for nod on my Sandhills shot.

I'm heading out of town for a few days, but I'll get a Challenge up before I go.

Congrats to everyone that participated in the mini.