Abstract photo competition - The result

"Those who are only satisfied with reality miss out on details and fascinating worlds." In our last photo competition, we were looking for the best images that appear abstract. Photos that seem unreal and photos in which you don't immediately recognize what is being shown. We were sure that this was a very challenging task and were all the more surprised that over 850 photo enthusiasts took part. More than in most other photo competitions. In addition, the creative output of the more than 2,250 photographs is remarkable. The five winners show impressively ambiguous motifs that make you wonder. The winner was Sandra Rothfu? from Mettmann. Her picture is convincing because it misleads the viewer. At first glance, you simply see an alley or a corridor in a presumably Mediterranean area until you realize that something is different. It looks a little cold and run-down, but there is a warm glow coming from below. A man is walking under the area where the floor should actually be, towards the light. It seems as if you can see through the ceiling to the floor below, except that this is not a normal floor, but a small street. The illusion is a success. "The main picture is a corridor in the Beelitz sanatoriums. However, as I didn't like the reflection on the original, I thought about having something else reflected in it and looked for a picture that could fit in there. At some point, I had seen a similar picture with a surreal reflection on Instagram. The alleyway in Florence was the closest match for me. Using the Filterstorm app and the double exposure function, I finally edited the images together," the winner explains afterwards.

In third place we have an indefinable but very interesting image. Is it two blue gas planets lying next to each other in space, surrounded by everything floating around up there? If so, the subject of "astrophotography" would take on a whole new meaning. Could it perhaps be the eyes of an insect or an animal from the field of microphotography? It could also be a manipulated drone shot of two islands in the sea...in the evening...during a strong storm? In any case, this shot hit the nail on the head and made us very curious. As we later learned from the 56-year-old amateur photographer Peter Henning, the picture was taken as follows:
"The base is a black cardboard and on it a shallow glass bowl with some lukewarm water. I placed two blue M&M chocolate lenses in it and photographed from above using a tripod. The whole thing was illuminated with a powerful flashlight. "
We think the result is just great and are happy to be inspired by this load of creativity.

Our fifth place goes to Annette Hakenberg. She presents us with a photo of the endless expanse of the sea. But it is not that clear and distinct. It feels as if all the shades of blue have been captured in one picture, as in a painting. The soft sea and the sky are lost in the horizon. It is as if the viewer were sitting alone in a boat very early in the morning or simply on the surface of the water and drifting along. It is calm, liberating and full of emotion. A new day begins. If you look at it for a long time, you may feel the illusion of light waves coming towards you - a force that encourages you to move and gives you a positive boost. "It's a shot of the Atlantic Ocean on La Palma and edited with various filters in Photoshop," she tells us.