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BBC Staff Photography Competition 2008

It's our fourth year and here we are again with the results of the BBC Staff Photography Competition 2008!

Interactive throughout, categories were suggested and voted on by the participants. The categories were Portraits, Music, August of Contrasts and Point & Shoot , as well as Our World (which always proves our most popular category). More than 1220 images were entered, from nearly 360 participants, making it another record year!

Our winning photograph this year is the stunning "Fisherman in Valencia Spain " by John Quintero. The judges, which included Mark Thompson, said it was timeless. A monumental image, formally fine, beautifully framed and technically brilliant. A sort of perfection.

The overall runner-up was by Tom Forbes. The judges felt the angles, the lighting, the room's framing, in this intensely domestic setting, spotlights "Emma Louise Cutting", and she just stands out. In this private world, Emma's clearly the star of her own show.

And overall commendation was to "Tube Face" by Steven Gross. Discomforting in some way, perhaps even slightly ugly. This shrieked originality as an image that most photographers would never spot. Serendipitous.

Our thanks, once again, to Richard Sambrook and BBC Global News for sponsoring us. Thank you too, to our fantastic judges, which included Chitra Bharucha (Vice Chair of the BBC Trust); Ken Sinyard; Karen Fotheringham; Laura Barwick; Andy Puleston; Robin Lustig; Erik Huggers; Jenny Rata; Hosam El Sokkari; Ben Sutherland; Phil Coomes; Richard Porter; Jeff Overs; Leo Scutt-Richter; Elisabeth Ballantyne; Mark Thompson; Ian Hunter and Ben Yacobi (who started the competition in 2005).

Ben, together with Ant Smith and Annabel Blair, were your competition organisers again this year.

So here it is, our virtual gallery of all the winners, runners-up and commendations. Congratulations to everyone. And well done to all those who took part or supported us in Ariel, Gateway, colleagues in Global News and a host of others. It was great fun! Shall we do it again next year?

>> CLICK ON THE THUMBNAILS TO SEE THE AWARD-WINNING IMAGES

OVERALL WINNER

WINNER: Fisherman in Valencia Spain by John Quintero

Monumental, formally fine, beautifully framed, technically brilliant. It's timeless: the attribution could read "Robert Capa, 1930s". There's also human warmth there. It's well taken, compositionally interesting. Little touches like the clothing near the face. It leapt out at us. A sort of perfection.

ALSO WINNER: Portraits

RUNNER-UP: Emma Louise Cutting by Tom Forbes

Very well done. The angles, the lighting, the room's framing, in this intensely domestic setting, spotlights Emma, and she just stands out. The slightly drunken nature of the way the room is captured says New Year's Eve. It captures an internal pleasure taken in a private world. Her body bends into the picture. She's the star of her own show.

ALSO WINNER: Music

COMMENDATION: Tube Face by Steven Gross

Originality. Weird. Discomforting in some way, perhaps even slightly ugly. An image that most photographers would never spot. Unsettling, with the strange green light and the single eye in each door. An image that says city alienation. The wonderful presence of the woman passenger looking out of the frame on the left, offset by the empty space on the right. Serendipity.

ALSO COMMENDATION: Portraits

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OUR WORLD

WINNER: Remember the Smell of Paper? by John Ousby

This is evocative of those famous photographs of the 60s in publications like Picture Post. The composition is a very high quality. And all the elements say Our World -- lots of worlds, the global/local, multilingual, the media, a child's world -- yet she's so blissfully unaware of it all.

RUNNER-UP: Zoo by Matt Nicholls

Is there anything positive to be said about the content of this image? It's so negative and everyone is aware of that. BUT there's everything to be said about the quality of the photograph, the composition, and the simplicity above all. And just the touches of detail against the tiger's stripes. Emotionally powerful.

COMMENDATION: Tokyo by Luke Bradford

The contrast between the domesticity of a cup of coffee versus the urban environment of the high rise skyline beyond. Nicely framed, with good lines. The reflections work well. A very strong image. People will relate.

ALSO COMMENDED: War by Jonathan Swingler

We couldn't leave it out. Although it's easy to take a war image at one level, it also takes a good eye to spot the moment and take it. Strong. Emotional.

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PORTRAITS

WINNER: Fisherman in Valencia Spain by John Quintero

Fundamentally a stunning portrait. This character has a fantastic shape and the image has a timeless quality. This picture looks like it could have been taken in the 1930's or the present day and is reminiscent of a Cartier-Bresson work.

RUNNER-UP: Skyla by Luke Bradford

Disturbingly compelling. It feels like he is looking through you. The subject's face is ingrained with attitude and he has such striking eyes which the photographer has expertly brought out using the background.

COMMENDATION: Bitterly by Gareth Ford Williams

Atmospheric and gentle, but also bleak. The delicacy of her pale skin is set off by the striking background colours. Who is she?

COMMENDATION: Tube Face by Steven Gross

We love the composition. The watching eyes are unseen by the anonymous woman on the tube. This is a moment in time that we all pass everyday but don't notice. The symmetry, the accident, the opportunism: this is a true depiction of a moment in time which the photographer has documented.

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POINT & SHOOT

WINNER: One Giant Leap by Bella Falk

The absolute definition of capturing the moment. More than one moment. So instantaneous. You can't plan it. Yet the photographer caught it. Excellent composition, your eyes are drawn to the sensation of it all. Beautiful colours. The contrast of the figures in focus, against the blue background, and the sense of height from the dome. Liberation. It meets the brief on so many angles. A sense of danger. Almost flying.

RUNNER-UP: The Slow Parade by Steven Calcott

An inspired shot. Inspiring too. A sense of eternity. You can keep on looking at it. Different thoughts and feelings. Not just a moment, a continuum. Clever. You want to touch it. And fantastically well titled, which makes such a difference. It's the future, stretching into infinity. A fresh perspective. Bizarrely for something that is permanent and still, there's such a sense of motion.

COMMENDATION: Rainbow by Andy Gilbert

Just gorgeous. Play. Play of light. Playing on light, like playing a piano. Musical. Lovely. The playfulness of the image. You can picture a kid playing on the floor, watching the light on their hand. Lovely moment of childhood. A naivity about it. The colours are just sensational. It feels like a once in a lifetime capture, though the rainbow arrives daily.

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MUSIC

WINNER: Emma Louise Cutting by Tom Forbes

This is a beautifully composed, timeless photograph. The colour, the lighting, the lens work and the resulting perspective make this an exhilarating documentary. The technical execution combined with the warmth that has been captured in this intimate moment is, like Emma Louise, a joy to behold.

RUNNER-UP: Shadow_IMG_2731 (Portobello Road) by Zoubin Navi

The judges loved the composition and subtlety of this image; the mystery of the central figure, the brightness of the wall and the sharpness of the shadow. The picture leaves the viewer wanting to know so much more.

COMMENDATION: Dancer by Ant Smith

One of the judges summed up the overall feeling towards the image: 'I absolutely loved this picture, it made me smile and want to dance with him... I wish I knew what he was listening to on his iPod'.

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AUGUST OF CONTRASTS

WINNER: Highland Beach by Jonathan Swingler

Good on contrasts -- straight to the theme of August. An energetic picture, with interaction between characters. There is a story, a narrative. Waiting for friends to turn up. Could have been taken any time in the last 50 years. Reminds us of childhood holidays. Works well in black & white.

RUNNER-UP: Contrasting Clouds by Richard Waghorn

Painterly. Peaceful, yet powerful. Nicely banded -- stripes of white, blue, white, blue. It's the light, the effect of that light, the feel of the light. It's emotional and draws you in. Like it more and more, the more we look at it.

COMMENDATION: Road to Rain by Nick Holden

Well-composed. Drawing the eye into the frame. Interesting collection of shapes -- lines and curves -- contrasting colours. It certainly says August. And it's taking you somewhere, a journey (as in the title). We want to know what happened next -- did it rain? A very English picture.

Staff were asked to enter their images via our group on Flickr. More than 1220 images were entered and you can browse through these, as well as the discussions, via the Flickr group page: