Round Four: The Best of the Rest

The APOY judges choose their favourite images that didn't make the top ten of our Landscapes category

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Peter Dench, acting features editor, chooses Loneliness in God's hands by John Mihopulos

Sony A7R Mark II, 100-400mm at 189mm, 1/200sec at f/11, ISO 100

Pete says: 'This photograph by John Mihopulos captures a Bavarian chapel in winter with striking restraint. The composition hinges on its simplicity: a solitary building, flanked by bare trees, rises against a pale, near-blank sky. The long lens compresses the landscape, flattening the snow-dusted fields into graphic layers of grey and white that echo the stillness of the season. The chapel itself, with its onion-domed tower, stands in quiet authority - an anchor of permanence amid the emptiness.

'The image succeeds in its atmosphere: sparse, contemplative, and quietly melancholic. It invites the viewer to consider the role of solitude in faith, as well as the stark beauty of rural Bavaria. However, while technically sound - sharp, well-exposed, and balanced - the photograph stops short of transcendence. Its minimalism borders on predictability, and the scene, though graceful, feels slightly underexplored. A touch more dynamism in light, weather, or perspective might have elevated it into the top tier.'

Ailsa McWhinnie, APOY project manager, chooses Glacier at sunset by Ed Hasler, London

Canon EOS R5, 100-400mm at 214mm, 1/200sec at f/8, ISO 640