It would be good to have a system of judging photographs with points allotted for composition, originality, image quality, etc.— along the same lines as wines are judged, or new cars, or pizza. It proved beyond me to do it that way; these were judged purely according to how pleased I would have been if I had produced them myself. So there is a large measure of bias and personal preference intruding here; I am an old man, and Australian.
Here is an honourable mention, which I liked because it is quirky. The feet are close together, the bodies pointing in different directions like hands on a clock, and the viewer has little idea what is going on:
Another honourable mention, a picture successfully simplified by removing everything unnecessary to the pattern:
And here is a simple subject that would have escaped the notice of somebody who doesn't use a camera, turned into a delightful pattern of three.
The first three I think are stand-outs. My choice of the placings is more or less arbitrary.
Third place goes to a picture where everything is in the right place, and the subject matter made me wish I had been there:
Second place to very special flower picture. Flower pictures look easy, but here the camera has been used very skilfully to produce a spectacularly lovely image:
First place I picked as soon as I saw it. I don't know how it was done, but it is beautiful and could only have been achieved by a real artist: