"Blickwinkel" - These are the best photos

Results of the photo competition

It is always very fascinating and interesting to see the perception of each individual amateur or professional photographer and to experience a short story through the personal visual language of a single photo. Most pictures tell their story all by themselves, even if this may not directly correspond to the truth. The important thing is not whether it actually was, but the effect that a picture has on the viewer. The theme of the photo competition this time was "Perspective". We received over 1,750 pictures from more than 650 participants. Our jury once again had a very difficult time making a decision and selecting the five best photos. Once the winners had been chosen and informed, there was great curiosity to find out the stories behind the pictures and the photographers.

The best picture came from Klaus Lenzen from Ratingen. His photo hit the theme just right for us and fulfilled all the criteria. A pattern of swimmers turning their heads in different directions in a fraction of a second of a competition. There is a uniformity of color and the clear common goal of the athletes in contrast to the restlessness of the movements and the surface of the water brings in a balance. It is a perfect moment that stands still and always holds numerous small discoveries. This moment can only have such a strong effect through photography, as it passes far too quickly if you are there live as a spectator. They all swim in one direction, but each one has a very interesting individuality. "The picture was taken at the annual triathlon in D?sseldorf's Medienhafen. There, the athletes swim under a pedestrian bridge, an ideal point of view for a different angle," we learn from Klaus later. Second place went to Susanne Behr from D?sseldorf with a special motif that raises many questions and arouses curiosity. You have to look at it several times. "It shows the staircase at the Hyatt Hotel in D?sseldorf's Medienhafen, which is reflected in the hotel's canopy. The subsequent vertical reflection of the photo makes the canopy look like a platform," writes Susanne. Her picture creatively combines architecture and the brief moment in everyday life. The massive building with its glass windows and clear lines emphasizes the character of the city. At the same time, however, it is also a frame that brings the four people on the stairs, who are depicted so small, into the foreground. There is also a small round spot of pink paint - a balloon. Where is the lady with the balloons going? Next to her, someone is lying on the stairs as if jumping for joy. As a viewer, you become curious and want to get to know this captured moment in detail.

Luca Pot d'Or also manages to create absolute confusion at first glance with his photo. He turns a simple, normal situation on the street with a bascule bridge into a very expressive graphic image that makes no sense without an explanation for visual perception. A scooter driver stops in front of a "concrete wall" and waits. It looks as if the road simply continues 90? upwards towards the sky, which is of course impossible for the driver to manage. Luca has hit just the right section of the photo and captured the details in such a way that this decisive moment is so interesting and is rewarded with third place in our photo competition. Every element, every white stripe, every spot on the concrete makes the shot real and aesthetically attractive. As soon as it is understood what is depicted, the viewer "waits" with the driver on the bridge. "The photo was taken in Amsterdam on a bascule bridge and was a literal snapshot, as I didn't expect the bridge to move or to have such a viewpoint," he says.

In fourth place, we have a photographer in flight mode. A photo reminiscent of a colorful painting with large brushstrokes. But if you look closer, you think you can make out a building site or something similar, photographed from the air. What you can see is a sporting event, an extreme obstacle course. "The Xletix NRW in a large quarry in Wuppertal," says Philipp Buron from Cologne, who took the picture. You can actually make out the obstacles and teams, and their shadows add some three-dimensionality to this impressive perspective. He clearly chose this motif because of the colors and shapes that compose it. These features give the shot its beauty and an artistic approach. It is taken with a drone, with the angle from above straight down, presenting the action as a whole.

Our fifth place went to Eckhard Krumpholz from Limburg. With his dynamic photo, he shows us an unusual approach to underwater photography. His motif: a swimmer shooting through the water from the bottom corner of the picture, almost like a superhero. "It was taken in the diving pool of the local outdoor swimming pool. I held my breath at a depth of about 4 meters and waited for the swimmer, who had the task of crawling over me," writes Eckhard. The daylight works as backlight in the picture and almost only the silhouette of the person is recognizable. All the clouds and colors that exist above the surface appear like a blurred sea of structure and air bubbles and are also reflected in the swimming goggles.