A Selective Penetrating Gaze 23 Geoff Dunn Creative Master
J3 Great deal, sharp, exposure all handled well. Tones and limited colour works well in this image. The mirror image and repetition adds interest to the image. The maker might try this image again without the small repeat in the centre, it attracts the eye and takes away from the penetrating gaze of the other 4.
Visions 20 Jay Brownlee Creative Bronze
J3 Interesting concept. Image is quite dark other than the pictures on the screens, having the 2 screens on sides in colour makes them stand out better. The maker might consider reframing to remove some of the top of the trees above the figures.
Into The Abyss 23 SPP Jon Dun Creative Silver
J1 Nice concept with interesting subject matter. Selection of colour works well. Suggest the balance might be improved a bit by adding some dark canvas to the top and crop a bit off the bottom.
Mute Swan Pair 21 Loretta Monteleone Nature Silver
J2 There is some great detail in the birds, mostly the feathers are well handled. There is some overexposure on the one neck.
If the photographer had waited for the heads to be more in the sunlight it would have added a lot more to the overall impact
Mute Swan Pair Close to Shore 21 Loretta Monteleone Nature Silver
J3 Very difficult to capture white swans in bright sunlight. The image is sharp throughout, with lots of detail as to the environment. Some area of the swans you can see detail in the feathers while other areas are too bright and blown out with no detail in the tail of the 1 swan and some areas on the wings and backs.
Mute Swan 21 Loretta Monteleone Nature Silver
J1 Nice posture of swan. Exposure very good however the focus is less than sharp. Maker should try placing the subject off center a bit and revisit if cropping off a bit of the bottom and part of the reflection. Suggest zooming in a touch and offsetting the subject to make a more interesting composition and increase the impact factor.
Cardinal Seen better times 22 Victor Turczynski Nature Master
J3 Nice portrait of this melting Cardinal. Well placed with the branches creating a frame. Cardinals body and head are sharp with good detail and good contrast in the image. A little more DOF would have brought the tail feathers in focus and sharp.
Northern Parula 22 Andy Langs Nature Gold
J3 Subject is sharp with good detail throughout. Good capture in the bird#039;s environment. It is unfortunate that the dandelion buds are right behind the head and appear to be growing out of the birds head. Good choice of DOF for the image.
American Rubyspot 25.5 HM DP David Evans Nature Master
J1 This image has very good exposure and clarity however the composition with the slim subject inline with the slim plant did not have a great impact value. The subject did not stand out well enough to garner a top score. J3 DOF handled well, insect is sharp and placing on an oblique angle adds interest to the image. Technical, compositional elements, and Impact are all well done in this image.
Mallard 20.5 Laura Nelson Nature Silver
J2 Great detail on the bird#039;s feathers, and good exposure
The position of the bird on the right side of the frame leaves some negative space on the left. Try centering the bird to see if eliminating the negative space improves the composition
Canada Goose 4 20.5 Jim Orcheson Nature Bronze
J3 Good action capture in harsh lighting conditions evident by the shadows on the goose body. Maker has done well to not overexpose the white areas on the goose. The light area on the neck and upper chest are a bit bright and if allowed burning a bit to darken would help here. The subject is sharp other than the wing tips which is fine. A wee bit more room to the right side of the goose would make it feel less cramped for space.
White-crested helmet shrike with insect 21.5 Jim Maguire Nature Master
J3 The subject is well captured, detail, sharpness all good. A little more DOF and the entire insect would be sharp. The subject appear slightly under exposed and the black area on the shoulders and back has no detail. It is unfortunate that the branch runs across right behind the subjects head and the leaf above his head is a distraction, but this is what happens in a birds natural environment.
Tree Sparrow 21.5 BPP Jim Orcheson Nature Bronze
J3 Sparrow is has been captured well and technical aspects all handled well. The muted tones in the background help to make the sparrow stand out in the image. In the category description is does not indicate if dodging and burning are allowed, if so the maker might consider burning the brand midway up on right to tone down the yellowish colour.
Western Honeybee on Canada Thistle 23.5 Kathryn Martin Nature Master
J3 Technical aspects have been handled very well in this image. The subject is the honey bee on the thistle, therefore all the extra thistle on the left is really not necessary. Cropping from the left to the space between the clump of thistle and the one the honey bee is on would make the subject more prominent in the image.
life imitating art imitating 20.5 Jay Brownlee Pictorial Bronze
J2 Black and white makes a lot of sense for this image, and is well handled here.
The question is what is this image all about? The two people on the left and right are very dominant, and the woman in front of the painting, along with the painting are also dominant. The two on the side are not entirely in focus - so then become a distraction from the center - which is where I feel the real story is.
Daughter#039;s love 24 DP Greg Alderson Pictorial Master
J2 Great concept and the black and white is well handled. The effect is appropriate for the subject.
The mother#039;s face - as presented there is more emphasis on her cheek than on the front of her face - try to tone tht down a bit and bring out her face a bit more to see if that adds impact
Beach Spider lily Antigua 19.5 Rod Shantz Pictorial Bronze
J1 An interesting but challenging subject with decent composition and exposure. The choice of lens and aperture has resulted in a very shallow DOF that leaves some elements of the main and background bloom in focus while other elements are out of focus. This confuses the observer about the detail of the main bloom. A greater depth of field and absence of another background bloom would help capture the detail of this species.
Coal Market 20 Karen Blunt Pictorial Silver
J3 Maker has created an implied triangle with the placement of the 3 people in the image. Image appears flat. There are a lot of distracting elements in the image space. There appears to be a softness were the people are in the central area of the image. The extreme left were the sacks of coal and the bananas are is the sharpest part of the image or taking from a slightly different position. Bananas are a distraction might consider removing in post processing.
Empty Chairs 24 GPP John King Pictorial Gold
J1 Interesting subject matter with strong impact Exposure and sharpness good. Great separation of subject from background. Perhaps a touch too tightly cropped and oversaturated however changing these aspects could reduce the impact factor. Choice of matting and framing of a print could enhance the appeal further.
Snowy Fence 20 Francesco Berri Pictorial Bronze
J3 Nice leading line and repetition in the fence. The trademarks in the snow mimic the line of the fence. It would be stronger if the leading line lead to someplace. Areas of snow on the fence are blown out, can be difficult to get the correct exposure for snow on a sunny day.
Foggy Day at Spencer Smith 21.5 BPP Chris Sparks Pictorial Bronze
J2 The mood is captured well, with good lighting.
The white lines is a strong lead in up to the scene. Having said that, try cropping up to the two arrows - this then leaves only the essence of the scene in the image - this may be more powerful?
The two people are merged - probably better to to try to get them when they are separated.
Painting the Bridge to Belleville 21.5 BPP Chris Sparks Pictorial Bronze
J3 Image is sharp, exposed well in harsh lighting conditions and appropriate DOF was chosen by the maker. Leaves one with feeling of abandoned. There are several distractions in the image the white boats in the background - toning down in post processing would have helped, vegetation poking in at edges the frame. If it were possible to take from a different angle to eliminate would improve the image.
Rock 21.5 Mary Gilmour Pictorial Master
J2 An interesting composition, with good depth of field.
Is the rock too dominant?
The composition may be a lot more dynamic if the other rocks were not in a straight line behind the dominant one.
Sunflowers and Gourd 23 Mary Gilmour Pictorial Master
J1 The maker had a good concept on composing this image however the image overall is a bit dark, it is soft in focus and there are some significant grainy portions. The maker may be able to recover some sharpness, impact and reduce the graininess through reprocessing. J3 Colours work well in this image; it is an artistic style image, the colour shafts radiating form the sunflowers adds interest and drama to the image. Yes there is what appears to be noise but adds to the texture in the image. The graphic element of the circle is repeated throughout the image.
Helleborine 21 Mary Gilmour Pictorial Master
J1 Good composition and exposure. The lense choice has resulted in a very shallow DOF leaving some of the subject out of focus. Increasing the saturation would increase the impact.
Sunflower Vibrance 25.5 HM GPP John King Pictorial Gold
J3 Nice DOF employed, technical aspects all handled well. Maker might consider trying this without the bud and stem below the leaf on right, this would balance the image better and eliminate the viewers being distracted by it.
Winter Haze 02 20.5 Francesco Berri Pictorial Bronze
J2 Good exposure and great lighting.
The lighting on the trees on the right of the image is delightful
The road provides a good lead in
However, once at the end of the road, there is not a lot of interest to keep one#039;s eye there.
A Colourful Grimsby Painted Cottage 21.5 Geoff Dunn Pictorial Master
J1 Interesting and fun subject with good exposure and decent clarity. If conditions permitted it would have been nice to see a bit more background as the subject feels to be too tightly cropped. If the sun had been more to the back of the maker, some of the shadows on the lower left could have been eliminated. Try reprocessing to brighten the shadows a bit.
Cathedral 20 Laura Nelson Pictorial Silver
J1 Decent composition DOF and choice of vantage location. The image appears a bit overexposed. Suggest sharpening a bit then darkening a bit while increasing the contrast to obtain a greater range of values. If this is not enough consider selectively burning (darkening) to bring out some more detail in the stonework.
Basilica of Christ The King 21 Laura Nelson Pictorial Silver
J3 Exposure, detail, tones and colours all good. Maker might try this again with a lens that affords a wider angle so they can capture the left side of the building and not have it cut off. With the lines of the building drawing the eye up having something of interest in the sky would make the image more interesting eg: clouds streaking by using a longer shutter speed. Leaving more room on the sides would also allow for perspective correction in post processing.
Cheeky girl 22.5 Valerie Goodfellow Pictorial Gold
J1 Very nice composition of a compelling subject. Although the child#039;s face is in decent focus, the sharp detail in the material below and fluffy blanket to the left compete for attention. Brightening the subject and increasing the saturation along with softening/blurring the above mentioned sharp areas will bring more attention to the sweet face.
San Juan Puerto Rico 22 SPP Harish Bhaskar Pictorial Silver
J1 Good composition and use of blue hour lighting. The image however has been overexposed and bright areas have been blown out. The image is tilted a bit to the left. The lights reflected on the water appear to be too bright. Try darkening the image overall to hopefully recover some detail in the overblown areas then reassess the resultant brightness of the reflected lights.
Bald Eagle Dance 23.5 GPP Andy Langs Pictorial Gold
J1 Nice action shot that is reasonably clear. Good DOF. It is not clear why this was not entered in Nature. The composition is quite decent but might be a touch more interesting if the subject was a touch furter to the left. The subject could pop a bit more with some additional sharpening an minor contrast boost.
What are you looking at 22.5 Andy Langs Pictorial Gold
J2 A great, interesting angle. The negative space on the top and left is hugely effective.
Try cropping some from the right, and from the bottom up to almost the tip of the out of focus tail - this will make the negative space more prominent - and should add significantly to the overall impact (by cutting out the orange spots on the right)
Waiting For Summer 19.5 James Hamilton Pictorial Gold
J1 Interesting subject taken from a good angle. The image is a bit soft and overexposed. The detail in the weathered wood with mould has been lost and would add to this image if it could be recovered by reprocessing.
Port Rowan Boathouses 21.5 James Hamilton Pictorial Gold
J3 Nice angle the maker chose for the boat houses. The muted colours work well. Artistic effect applied works well on the boat houses but not as well on the sky. Moving your position if possible when shooting to eliminate the light tower would help the image. The light tower draws the eye from the boat houses and could have been removed in post processing.
Longpoint Sandhill Cranes 19.5 James Hamilton Pictorial Gold
J3 Good attempt to capture these interesting birds. Birds are sharp, well exposed although the reddish colours on the birds look over saturated. The beak of the one bird is merging with the head of the other bird, waiting a little longer for the bird to move slightly so there was some space would improve the image. Consider cropping down from the top to remove the out of focus island.
Colourful Stuffies 22.5 BPP Jay Brownlee Pictorial Bronze
J3 Technical aspects have been handled well. Consider allowing a wee bit more room on the right of the bin of stuffies, as the bin is on an angle and feels like it could fall into the edge of the image. Colours are realistic and do not appear over saturated.
Homeless encampment Hamilton 21 Jim Maguire Pictorial Master
J3 Considering the harsh light the maker has handled the exposure fairly well. Image is sharp with lots of detail and depicts the struggles of being homeless. There is a lot to take in which keeps the viewers eye travelling around the image.
Play Me A Song Top P 27 TC SPP Jon Dun Pictorial Silver
J1 Wonderful subject matter, posture and setting. Consider darkening and or blurring the sheet music a touch. J3 Composition works well, just enough of the piano to add to the story but not take away from the subject. Image is sharp, lots of detail. There is an area between the brown spots on the back which appears to have little detail possibly overexposed.
The Ferryland Iceberg 22.5 Geoffrey Skirrow Pictorial Master
J1 Good composition , exposure and decent DOF. Where inclusion of both foreground boats (focus a bit soft) and icebergs in same image helps establish the setting it also creates a scene where the main boat competes with the icebergs for viewer attention. Perhaps a shot with sharper focus on the boat and slightly less sharp icebergs would work better.
Hot Springs in Iceland 21.5 Janet McNally Pictorial Gold
J3 Composition works with the foreground middle and background. The repeating curves of the trees and hills works well. Unfortunate it was such and overcast day and the sky is so dull and lifeless looking. Technical aspects have been done well. Without the title one might not figure out these are hot springs and just think it is morning mist.