2nd Place, "Casoni" by Rohan Reilly

These fishing huts (Casoni) are built on stilts in the Venetian lagoon and used by local fisherman to store their equipment.

I was transfixed by their colours and shapes, and by the space around them. I loved the ramshackle way nets, tools and equipment were left lying around, giving character and narrative. The local government consider them an eyesore and tried to have them dismantled in 2011.

I shot this series in November 2017. There was no wind and fog thick enough to render a monochromatic feel, reducing the background to a blank canvas and giving prominence to the subtle colours of the huts. I used exposures of around 30 secs to smooth the water without losing texture in the shadows.

On a return visit in Jan 2018, one of the huts had been dismantled. I hope it is a refurbishment; it would be a shame to lose these huts