Fox Snake 22.5 Andy Langs Nature Master
J2 The snake is an interesting subject and has been captured living harmoniously in his natural habitat. The composition of the snake moving through the image is well done. Much of the snake is out of focus and this seems to be caused by a narrow depth of field. However, the head of the snake is relatively sharp, including the eye. There are multiple background mergers that are distracting. To try and clone out the leaf stem at the tip of the snakes nose may be considered.
Wood Duck 22.5 Andy Langs Nature Master
J2 The inherent beauty of the duck has been well captured with beautiful lighting, tones and textures. The composition is appropriate. A stronger nature story is all that is missing.
Ruby Throated Hummingbird Female 25 TC SPP Jon Dun Nature Silver
J2 The inherent beauty of the hummingbird has been well captured with beautiful lighting, tones and textures. The composition is well done and the subject is sharp. The background has a nice degree of bokeh allowing the hummingbird to stand out. There is a nature story with all the pollen on the face of the bird but a stronger story would help.
Great Egret flipping dinner 22.5 Peter McCusker Nature Gold
J3 Captured at the correct time with the fish suspended between the beak. The reflections and ripples make a good composition. The top of the bird is over exposed, although it is difficult to exposed a white subject in direct harsh light.
Great Blue Heron with Breakfast 21.5 BPP Derrick Butler Nature Bronze
J2 There is a great nature story here. There are some hot spots on the head of the heron and perhaps lowering the highlights in post may have helped. The heron and prey are sharp but unfortunately they are both obscured by a foreground element that the maker tried to shoot through.
Killdeer 21.5 Laura Nelson Nature Silver
J2 The Killdeer is well composed within the crop. There is an exposure problem with some missing detail in both the highlights and the shadows. Editing these settings in post may have helped. The bird itself is not sharply focused. This may have been prevented by using a higher shutter speed or a tripod.
Submerged In Water 22 Leonie Holmes FCAPA Creative Master
J2 There is a dreamy, mystical mood in this creative image that is harmoniously supported by the tones, subject matter, hues, contrast and sharpness. To have shot/cropped to allow for more breathing room left and right may have been considered.
Street Scene Old Montreal 21 Karen Blunt Creative Silver
J2 This creative image has a lovely leading line drawing us into the scene. The multiple layering effect is interesting. There is a lack of an strong story detracting from its impact. Many areas within the image are overexposed. The sky may have been improved with the use of a chromatic aberration correction in post.
Reflecting on the Tower 21 Chris Sparks Creative Silver
J2 This architecture image brings interest and drama with its strong angles and heavy use of contrast. The exposure and sharpness are good. The glow in the top left corner is distracting and may have been removed in post.
succulent abstraction 24 DP Kathryn Martin Creative Master
J2 This creative image delivers a strong impact heavy with drama. There is a juxtaposition between the linear lines and the curved ones, and between darkness and light. The viewers eye is drawn into the center of the image and there it remains, flowing among the textures of the leaves. The background supports the center drama yet adds its own layer of interest. The crop is appropriate.
succulent abstraction 24 DP Kathryn Martin Creative Master
J2 This creative image delivers a strong impact heavy with drama. There is a juxtaposition between the linear lines and the curved ones, and between darkness and light. The viewers eye is drawn into the center of the image and there it remains, flowing among the textures of the leaves. The background supports the center drama yet adds its own layer of interest. The crop is appropriate.
Killdeer 25.5 TC DP Jim Thomson Nature Master
J1 The image is well exposed and tells a great nature story. The shutter speed was well chosen to freeze the action and water drops. However, the image is oversharpened which resulted in digital noise throughout.
Eastern Towhee Feeding on Buds 21.5 Colleen Bird Nature Master
J2 The bird is well composed within the image. The underside of the bird is underexposed resulting in a lack of detail. However, the head of the bird is well exposed and there is detail in the black feathers. The eye has nice detail as well. The image lacks a strong story.
A regular mining bee covered in pollen 22 Geoffrey Skirrow Nature Master
J2 This bee image, with the bee foraging and covered in pollen, has a great story. The orientation of the image may have been improved by rotating the image (1/4 turn counterclockwise). The tip of the wings and the back of the bee are out of focus. A larger depth of field might have been used.
Cabbage White Butterfly 22 SPP Mike Moffat Nature Silver
J2 The butterfly is sharp throughout. The exposure on the white wings is well done and fine detail is preserved. The maker may consider cropping tighter into the butterfly, especially off the left side. The image lacks a good story.
Ironman 22 SPP Loretta Monteleone Pictorial Silver
J1 The image is well exposed and sharp. The subject is well placed in the frame allowing him room to move into. The shutter speed chosen froze the subject, which lacks any sense of movement. Perhaps a slower shutter speed would add a sense of movement.
Blue Reflections 22 SPP Loretta Monteleone Pictorial Silver
J2 This architecture image is well exposed with good use of contrast, saturation and sharpness.
There is a slight degree of the keystone effect that could have been corrected in post. The maker may consider cropping off 2/5 of the right side of the image for a tighter composition.
Cigarettes Can 21 Roy Oldfield Pictorial Gold
J2 There is a powerful story here. The placement of the subject is well done within the crop adding interest to the image. It is distracting that the right/top of the image is out of focus. The maker may have contribute to the power of the story with more dynamic lighting. This could have been done before shooting or in post editing.
Lobster Traps in PEI 22 Roy Oldfield Pictorial Gold
J1 The image is well exposed and generally sharp throughout. The lighting was harsh resulting in a lack of detail in the highlights. Reducing the highlights may bring back some of the saturation and detail in those areas.
Supermoon with Blackbirds 19.5 Derrick Butler Pictorial Bronze
J2 This is a well composed image. The moon gently helps keep our eye on the subjects, framing them nicely. However, the birds are underexposed and poorly positioned for a good story. Nor are they, or the branch, in focus. This is possibly due to a very tight crop resulting in lost detail.
Japanese Maple 25 TC SPP Barbara Bialon Pictorial Silver
J1 The image is well exposed and sharp. The lighting is well handled and the subject fills the frame. Some of the details in the tree trunk and branches are in dark shadows, which could be lightened somewhat. J3 Quite a wonderful perspective of the Japanese Maple. The tree branches which standout prominently display the classic Mandelbrot Fractal pattern. The great fall colours of the leave form a great background.
Fall Colors 22 SPP Barbara Bialon Pictorial Silver
J3 This image has great textures and colours due to the trees and foliage. Cropping the top 8th to remove most of the sky showing thru the foliage will enhance the focus on the fall colours and remove the distracting sky.
Holiday Cactus 21 Janet McNally Pictorial Gold
J2 The composition and the crop on this image are very well done, as is the background. The maker has overexposed the filaments of the flower (and the bottom right petal) and the filaments are not sharp. There is a large piece of dust on the petals (right middle) that should have been removed (pre shooting or in post.)
Aurora Borealis Full sky 20 Kathleen Wheeldon Pictorial Bronze
J1 The image was well exposed, and the pastel colours in the sky add texture and interest to the image. However, the trees in the foreground lack sharpness, and are a distracting element to the image. Perhaps a faster shutter speed would sharpen those elements.
The Egg 20 Peter McCusker Pictorial Gold
J1 The image was well conceived by the maker. But the image lacks sharpness, and the lighting harsh resulting in distracting highlights. There are grey artifacts around the subject which distract as well.
Venice Reflections 22 SPP Karen Blunt Pictorial Silver
J2 The maker has captured a compelling image in the waters reflection. The composition may have been improved by cropping off the top black band. Otherwise this is a lovely, harmonious abstract full of complimentary colors and textures.
Abandoned Hotel 20 Brie Langs Pictorial Bronze
J3 Interesting image. Lots of texture and great colours on what appears to be a part of an engine. There are a few distractions both in the foreground and background, some of which can be managed in post-processing.
Puppy power 23 SPP Mike Moffat Pictorial Silver
J1 The image is generally well exposed and the face of the subject sharp. The shutter speed was appropriate to freeze the action. The lighting was harsh which resulted in overexposed highlights on the branch which are distracting.
The rocky wavy beautiful coastline of Bonavista NL 23.5 Geoffrey Skirrow Pictorial Master
J2 This seascape image brings the viewer drama created by freezing the action of the waves and accentuating the textures in the rugged shoreline. The presentation in black and white compliments and supports the drama. The exposure, sharpness, contrast and depth of field are all well done. A more dramatic sky and more dramatic lighting would have contribute to the mood.
Jewel 17.5 Jim Orcheson Pictorial Silver
J1 Unfortunately the image lacks sharpness, and the lighting is very harsh. J2 The jewel is well composed within the image. The exposure has blown highlights and deep shadows that lacks detail. The facet detail of the jewel is not sharp.
Station Agent 22.5 SPP Jim Orcheson Pictorial Silver
J1 The image is well exposed, and the subject sharp. The composition is cluttered, but effective in portraying the time period and environment. The out of focus stove on the right edge is distracting, and the image may have been taken from a slightly different angle.
