This is difficult, I was tempted to follow the literature prize jury that recently decided to declare joint winners.
But I have not shirked my duty, so, in short:
After due consideration the winner is Oldhippy for his simple but dynamic seaside image of iron stanchions marhing out of the sea, combining the most basic and most elegant of iron artefacts.
Over to you Oldhippy.
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At great length:
Starting with subversion, moving on through isolated street furniture to still life, then iron as dominant element, I had plenty to choose from. Strangely no iron horses, blast furnaces, forges or iron foundries, possibly because all these are now rare in the UK.
PeteXXX 's big roller and bicycle was the first to contrast the simplest and most sophisticated iron products, featuring steel as a highly developed iron alloy.
I was tempted by Specialeye's big gun, symbolising iron as ruler of all, and on the same theme, biggs682 's iron memorial silhouettes to the victims of iron as the material of war. In contrast Chriswoody's turbine hints at the equally immense power commanded by iron for peaceful use.
Oldhippy's still life with iron ring and bicycle saddle appealed as a composition, as did biggs682 's simple iron spheres, which I hope was not a subtle comment on the theme. The anchor composition from stoatsngroats combined the sophisticated and basic elements very well.
Oldhippy's all enveloping pier structure was the first where iron really dominates the whole scene, followed by chriswoody with a black and white image whose spirit lowering tonal range portrays the world of iron as oppressive. Yo vanilla achieves a similar dominant greyness in a colour image.
Oldhippy 's pier is just pipped by his simple but dynamic seaside image, combining the most basic and most elegant of iron artefacts. Interestingly, to me, this seems to lead out of the sea rather than in. *
(* On a technical note the stanchions are almost certain to be rolled rather than cast, but this is a photo competition, not an examination in metallurgy.)