As a former editor of Canon's professional photography website, World Photography Day has been a highlight of my summer for (checks calendar) almost 10 years. Of course, celebrating the craft behind capturing a photo that speaks to people is something we can do every day. But there's something special about having a whole global day dedicated to photography that delights me.
This year, rather than interviewing professional photographers creating across the world, I looked to my friend and colleague Nikita Achanta, whose photos never fail to delight me. Here I've selected my favorite shot of hers, an ethereal-looking sea bird soaring above golden-tinted waters, and have turned it into a virtual jigsaw puzzle that you can play for free, below.
I'm a sucker for nature photography, and particularly love this photo because of the way the light transforms the subject. The sunlight gently kissing the gull's head and wing tip show the softness of its feathers and the graceful arc of its wings. That same sunlight turns the ripples of the river to liquid gold.
Nikita's composition makes the most of this magical light. The positioning of the gull over the point where the river changes from blue to gold almost makes us imagine that the gull is painting the water with its feathers.
The light and composition –– which Nikita captured on the Sony A1 II, one of the best cameras –– create an image with a magical, ethereal quality. The humble black-headed gull is shown as an elegant creature, not the pest that they're sometimes regarded as.
Nikita says that's one of the things she loves about her photo, too. "Seagulls, black-headed gulls, and essentially all gulls, get a bad reputation, especially here in the U.K. where I'm based. While I've had my fair share of food stolen by city gulls, I also think they're very pretty and are often overlooked in society (kind of like pigeons)," she says. "This photo of the black-headed gull is one of my favorite shots I've taken, as it shows off the different patterns and shades in the feathers, and draws attention to the bright orange beak."
In addition to being a beautiful photo, the expanse of water surrounding the gull makes this a fantastic jigsaw puzzle image. When I tested it out, even the Easy level gave me pause for thought, as I lost myself in the textural details of the water when trying to match up the edges.
How to play our online jigsaw puzzles
As you'll see above, before you hit 'Play', you can choose between Easy (12 pieces), Medium (20 pieces) and Hard (35 pieces) difficulty levels.
You can also make use of the helpful buttons along the bottom to help you complete the puzzle. ‘Edge Pieces Only’ clears the clutter so you can get those corners and the outer frame perfected first, which is always my preferred system for completing jigsaw puzzles in real life, too.
‘Reveal Puzzle Image’ gives you a sheer version of the final image that you can lay the pieces directly onto. ‘Place Next Piece’ does exactly that, acting as a friend or puzzle partner.
Whether you use those help buttons or not, you’ll see when you’ve placed a piece in the correct position as the number at the top will increase, taking you closer to full marks and a place on the leaderboard.
We have plenty of other virtual jigsaws available and more to come, so if you enjoy puzzles then do bookmark the Jigsaws section of our Puzzles & Quizzes page for more as they arrive.
How did you do? Let us know what you think in the comments below –– including any other jigsaw puzzles you'd love to see.
Don't forget to register on our quizzes, games and polls platform, Kwizly, to save your score, reveal hints, and secure your spot on the competitive Tom's Guide leaderboard, and see the results of all our polls in real-time.
And if you love jigsaw puzzles, you may be interested in splashing out on some analog jigsaw puzzles to play at home.
Shop jigsaw puzzles
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