May 2018 Street Photography Contest Submissions – The Law (Police)

Dear Streethunters.net Readers,

The fifth Monthly Theme Contest photos for 2018 have been submitted and we have made our choices. Please keep in mind that the process of choosing a photo from the May 2018 Street Photography Contest Submissions was not easy!

But let’s take a look at all the photos that were submitted and accepted in this Monthly Theme Contest.

ATTENTION: The photos that didn’t meet the Theme or the Editors criteria were not chosen to be in the shortlist. They have been disqualified or removed. If your pic isn’t in the shortlist, don’t get discouraged. Try again next month!

At this moment I would like to thank each and every participant for submitting their photograph. We have a great collection of photos with “The Law (Police)” to show you! This time we had 20 valid submissions which can all be seen below.

The May 2018 Street Photography Contest Submissions

Here are our favourite 20 photos that made it through our strict Editors criteria! 

*All images that were not sent in at the correct size, have been resized. This might affect the quality of entries that were sent in very small sizes.

The May 2018 Street Photography Contest editors picks

Every month we each pick one photo as a nominee. From this month onwards, joining us is Associate Street Hunter John Hughes. So from now on we will be sharing 4 nominees each month. Here are the photos we chose and the reasons why:

Nominee No1

Analysis by Andrew Sweigart, Streethunters.net editor

“The police presence in street photography has been around a long time, so it’s no surprise that we had a slew of quality police shots for May’s Monthly Theme Contest. Picking a submission was a tall order, but this one stuck with me, and I’d be remiss of I didn’t say the current, rather tempestuous state of relations between the police and the citizenry of the United States wasn’t a factor. This picture is undoubtedly in sync with the times. The focus on the chain in the foreground is as tight as the hold it has on the fence/gate. The lone officer, in riot gear and holding a shield, is out of focus behind the fence in which he is framed. The artistic intent is obvious, but the not so subtle socio/political point is what makes this image truly great. It begs a question. A question that many commentators have asked on several occasions. Is America on it’s way to becoming a police state?” 

Nominee No2

Analysis by Digby Fullam, Streethunters.net editor

“As is often the case with my picks for the Streethunters.net monthly theme contests, this street photo simply leapt out at me instantly. No two bones about it, this shot is atmospheric!! Our photographer clearly has a superb eye for a scene and composition as both are very much in evidence in this photo. What really wowed me initially was the assault of colour in the shot – such vivid green from that ring of neon tubes! And then I started thinking about the exposure and contrast – we have lovely deep blacks but also subtle shadows and highlights across the right hand side of our two ‘officers’ in the left of the frame, and the contoured outline of our focal point character in the right of the frame. He is, of course placed just off centre, but framed beautifully by the ring of the neon lit archway. These effects and this aesthetic really fire my imagination on “The Law” theme – it’s like I’m looking into some cyberpunk dystopian future painted from Blade Runner or Altered Carbon, where the feds are hunting down some vigilante in a pulsating nightclub. It’s both cinematic and mysterious. What a photo, bravo!”

Nominee No3

Analysis by Spyros Papaspyropoulos, Streethunters.net editor

“I really like this shot. The moment I saw it I started humming the ‘Law & Order’ tv show music in my head! You have the police line, dividing “us” from “them”. Keeping us out of the scene of the crime. Behind the line, the “busy bee”, hard thinking, Ray Ban wearing, badge on the belt, 3 day unshaved, American flag handkerchief in the pocket detective looking for clues, while his colleagues are chatting away in the background, probably about what they would like to eat for lunch or maybe even yesterday’s late night game. Classic! Even though nobody is in uniform in this photo, these guys are clearly ‘The Law’. A very cinematic scene that can be interpreted in many ways! Thumbs up!”  

Nominee No4

Analysis by John Hughes, Associate Street Hunter

” I like the moment in the photo, it really pulls you in and I want to know more. The photo has a very timeless feel, not only that. It feels cinematic and this goes a long way for me. It also reminds me of seeing photos taken by Magnum photographers on the frontlines in time of war. The photographer managed to get himself into a great position ready to capture the perfect moment. One other thing I like is the editing, because it’s not overdone. So many times we see the over the top editing that spoils the final image.”  

The winner will win the Feature Interview on the Streethunters.net website and more!

The photograph that wins the Monthly Theme Contest will receive the following prizes:

1. The winning photo will be featured on our website in the respective “Announcing the winner” post and will also be featured for 1 month as our cover photo on our Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus pages.
2. The Street Photographer that shot the winning photo will be interviewed by our Editorial team and his/her work will be featured on our website and on our Youtube channel.
3. At the end of the year we will upload a video presentation of all the winning photos along with narrations by the winners themselves, explaining the story behind their photograph.

Stay Sharp & Keep Shooting!