Bull#039;s Squint 23 SPP Cherylene Stimers Pictorial Silver
J3 strengths: the capture of an action moment for the rider, the spectators and the bull is strong; looks like the rider is being coached by 2 of the onlookers which is an interesting detail to have captured
improvements: some distracting bright details in background should be toned down; other signs of digital manipulation in the foreground dust should be avoided; a long lense and very high shutter speed are necessary during moments of action like this
My Shadow and Me 18.5 Brie Langs Pictorial Silver
J2 This interesting image is technically soft (not sharp) and underexposed leaving no detail in the black dog. The title suggests a creative presentation but the image is not altered enough to be creative. J3 strengths: concept is good; composition has potential
improvement:; a dark mood is created ..the title seems to suggest that the dog is the shadow or close companion of the human. so is this human/pet a dark story? The digital image is not smooth grained so consider shooting in RAW format and post processing using Adobe Lightroom for example; consider lightening the overall tone and drawing out some detail in the unlit areas of the dog;
Terror on Four Legs 25 TC GPP Jon Dun Pictorial Gold
J1 Wow! J3 strengths: good capture of the moment with the horse #039;s mane flying around & rider's face clearly in view to show the tension
improvements: the background has been darkened to remove distractions but perhaps it's overly dark giving an unnatural feel... try a lighter hand; the angle of the horse straight on may have reduced the sense of terror of four legs; the dust in the bottom shows some signs of digital alteration and again a finer hand in post might have avoided this
Belted Kingfisher 22 SPP Leigh Wright Nature Silver
J2 This image has a strong nature story. The image is sharp with good contrast. It is well placed into the frame. The highlights are a bit bright on the white neck feathers. The back feathers are lacking detail in a way that is suggestive of the image having been heavily cropped in.
Ghost Writer in the Sky 24 HM SPP Loretta Monteleone Pictorial Silver
J3 strengths: sharp; true colour; non-distracting background that supports the story; great fine pixelation throughout the image; great clouds make a very pleasing background
improvements: placement of the subject in the center of the image might be reconsidered since the story is the writing of the smoke in the sky; try cropping on the left to focus on the writing story and move the subject out of the center.
Wood Duck 23.5 Andy Langs Nature Master
J3 strengths: front on angle of the subject is unusual and has been captured well showing both eyes; reflection adds to the story; colours and exposure are good
improvements: distractions in the background could be darkened.
Veins of Time 21 Marino Favretto Pictorial Gold
J3 strengths: central placement of tree works well; black/white infra red rendition is apparent here and this tree has potential to be a good choice.
improvements: sharpness of leaves is not as good as it might be perhaps because of not enough contrast in the lighting or movement of the subject; infra red light photography is well worth working on
In the Wake of Wind 24 HM GPP Marino Favretto Creative Gold
J2 This is an interesting image telling a story of the wind. The story is well supported by the elements within the image. The colours are complimentary. To have cropped the image into a panorama aspect may have been considered as the lower half of the image adds little to the overall impact.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 20.5 Derrick Butler Nature Silver
J3 strengths: bird is quite well exposed given the difficult lighting with good sharpness on the eye and beak
Improvements: sone of the smaller tree branches are distracting and sometimes moving the camera angle can overcome this; bird#039;s breast feathers are not sharp, possibly because of a heavy hand in digital post processing; tail feathers are soft also likely because of depth of field issues.
Binbrook Rodeo Bull Rider 22 SPP Derrick Butler Pictorial Silver
J2 This is a good example of an action image. The 3 main spectators help us focus on the story. The action of the bull is dramatic. That the rider is mostly obscured by the bull is unfortunate as that could have been be a big part of this story. The image is mildly soft (not sharp) but otherwise technically well done and well composed.
Cedar Waxwing with Berry 21.5 Derrick Butler Nature Silver
J3 strengths: story of the bird chomping on the large berry is strong; background colours are pleasant; environment of bird is well captured
improvements: the eyes are partially obscured due to front camera angle but there is enough of both eyes showing to see them if detail is brought out in post; bird feathers have been digitally affected to result in patches of sharpness vs over smoothing maybe as a result of excessive noise reduction; avoid distracting branch behind bird if possible
Osprey in Flight with Carp Top N 28 TC DP Geoff Dunn Nature Master
J2 This image has an incredible story. The detail centered on the fish is outstanding. The way the bird has securely clawed it and then the (perceived) expression on the fish- wow! Cropping off the Osprey#039;s wings is understandable in light of the story with the fish. If the detail can be preserved, to crop off more/most of the bird to leave the fish as the main story might be considered.
Herb Paris or True Love Knot au Naturel 20.5 David Surette Nature Bronze
J2 This is an interesting image of the plant. It is mostly isolated from the background, however, the dark details of the top of the stamen are lost into the dark background. To have backlit the image may have been considered. To have cleaned up the debris that is scattered on the plant would have increased impact.
Praying Mantis on the Hunt 19.5 David Surette Nature Bronze
J3 strengths: unusual subject so story is good
improvements: mantis is dark as it is in shade and the background is very bright in sunlight .. this is the reverse of appropriate lighting for nature subjects; for this image a lot of post processing work would be required to correct this since selecting the background vs subject would be required
Great Horned Owlet 21.5 Barbara Bialon Nature Silver
J2 The baby owlet is adorable. However, the sky is overexposed (this could have been address in post processing) and the merger of the branch in front of the owlet is unfortunate. This shot lacks a stronger nature story (there is a story in how well camouflaged the bird is in it#039;s surroundings).
Lights of the Night 21.5 Laura Nelson Pictorial Silver
J3 strengths: colourful reflections on the water; use of the trees and land on either side to frame the subject of the lights
improvements: the lights of the city are partly obscured by the bridge so moving the camera up or down to change the camera angle amp; place the bridge below or above the lights would improve the composition; in post processing some of the city/building lights that are overly bright should be removed
Love 20 Emanuele Nasello Pictorial Bronze
J3 strengths: an interesting piece of art has been brought to the viewer; the light patch on the woman#039;s chest and flower placed on the sculpture add interest
improvements: generally a documentary photograph of someone else's art is considered to be just a record shot. To be considered an image of value for the photographer it should be created with some treatment/angle/ perspective/etc. that makes it the art of the photographer. The background is busy and distracting
Daisy after the rain 19 Alison Hilborn Nature Bronze
J2 The story in this nature image seems to be the beauty of raindrops on petals. If this was to be the story, to have isolated a single flower would have increased impact. The exposure of the whites is well done with good detail but the darks have little to no detail. Opening up the shadows in post processing may have increased impact. J3 strengths: story is good; the main large flower is mostly in focus; water droplets are a good story
improvements: composition is cluttered amp; so focusing on one flower is recommended; for extreme light/dark lighting such as this expose for the highlights and adjust the dark areas to taste in post
Ligated Furrow Bee on Coreopsis 18.5 Alison Hilborn Nature Bronze
J3 strengths: good action story of bee on flower; good colour
improvements: very busy composition could be improved by closer camera position or cropping in post processing to enlarge subject/story; mottled lighting is difficult so lighten shadows and tone down highlights in post; the subject could be sharper through use of special procedures during camera hand holding ... not room here to explain but well worth researching for future close-up photography
The Barn Door 20.5 Chris Sparks Pictorial Silver
J3 strengths: sharp throughout; good capture of texture
improvements: use of space in the image is half/half light and dark with the light area dominating; the interesting ring shape in the dark half is being overwhelmed. Unless the intent of the maker is to create tension in the image the light area should be reduced by cropping .
Hanging Chairs 21.5 Karen Blunt Pictorial Gold
J1 Interesting setting, the high contrast of the chairs and plants against the red roof makes for a dramatic presentation. It#039;s unfortunate the shadows of the wires run through the chair.
Subway Ceiling Abstract 20.5 Karen Blunt Pictorial Gold
J3 strengths: lines and triangles make for an interesting composition; good seeing
improvements: increase contrast slightly; remove heavy dark upper right corner possibly using Warp in Adobe photoshop; remove some confusion in bottom of the image ex.whitish smear and long curving line of architectural detail; perhaps go for total abstraction
Giant Bronze Orangutan in the Woods 19.5 Brie Langs Pictorial Silver
J3 strengths: orangutan and background are relatively sharp
improvement: the area in front of the bronze is out of focus so the point of focus should have been placed further forward in the frame amp; a greater depth of field should have been used during capture; it is recommended to crop out as much of the foreground as possible; the lighting is difficult because of the light and dark areas so an exposure should be chosen to ensure the light areas are not over exposed
1 Million Water Droplets 20 Brie Langs Pictorial Silver
J3 Strengths: capture of behavior; action of water in motion; simple non distracting background
Improvements: shutter speed of 1/2000 sec would freeze motion of water better; use post processing technique (ex Adobe camera raw/lightroom) to reveal some more detail in black areas of dog
Found the next toy 20.5 Brie Langs Pictorial Silver
J2 This nice image of the dog shows drama in the action. Compositionally it is a centered crop making the image more static, reducing impact. There is a lack of detail in the shadows that may have been fixed by opening up the shadows in post.
Red Squirrel Table Thief 19.5 Herb McClelland Pictorial Gold
J3 strengths: appealing story; well exposed; good soft lighting; subject is sharp enough; background is darker and without distractions
improvements: some technique has introduced way too much detail throughout the image and particularly for the main subject. This makes the squirrel and its food appear not at all natural.
Water Lily 22.5 Janet McNally Pictorial Gold
J3 strengths: strong central composition given the symmetry of the subject; clear natural colour; sufficient sharpness ; dark almost black background sets off the beauty of the flower
improvements: some post processing technique may have been applied to introduce excessive detail on some green areas, particularly lily pad leaves; perhaps using a lighter hand in doing this would work better; some more soft shadow detail might be teased out on the white petals
Life sentence at the Zoo - Grey Crowned Crane 22 BPP Cliff Dominy Pictorial Bronze
J3 strengths: well captured low light image with good angle to show the head well
improvement: during post processing introduce slightly more detail in the black areas of the bird#039;s face and neck & particularly in the eye; there is a little too much negative space in front of the bird so try cropping a little on the left; check to see if more detail can be teased out of the white feather area on the wing and correct the warm colour cast in this area
House Finch Collects Nesting Materials 23 GPP Jon Dun Nature Gold
J2 This image has a strong nature story, the bird is well positioned in the frame. Increasing the DOF on this image would have helped keep the wings in focus, and the cedar merging into the tail and wing are unfortunate. Perhaps a change in the photographers position could have helped with that.
Scalycaps Dundas Valley 19.5 Jan Huizinga Nature Bronze
J1 There seems to be a lot of grain or noise that affects the sharpness and clarity of the subject. The lighting is flat, some directional light either artificial or natural would be an improvement. J3 strengths: mushrooms are not the usual ones that catch the photographer#039;s eye so this strengthens the story; subject sharpness id adequate but background falls off
improvements: there appears to be a strong unnatural warm colour cast overall in the image and this might have been a result of the surrounding tree canopy or use of a cloudy or overcast camera setting for white balance; it might be possible to correct this in post processing although sometimes this approach doesn't work
Botfly 20.5 Greg Alderson Nature Master
J3 strengths: good action story of fly on flower; good colour ; good sharpness on subject, particularly the eye
improvements: very busy composition with distracting background might be improved by changing camera position/angle to find a more simple background; tone down bright distracting highlights in background in post
Eye See You 20 Victor Turczynski Pictorial Master
J2 This action image tells a story of the bull throwing the rider. It#039;s unfortunate that the back of a rodeo clown is so prominent. The image is soft (lacks sharpness) and a faster shutter speed may have helped.
OK Now Lets Concentrate 23 Victor Turczynski Pictorial Master
J3 strengths: captures the story of intensity of both players and observers; use of Black/White suits the story and helps reduce distractions in a very busy environment; arrangement in the frame and sharpness is good
improvements: could open up the shadows on the players slightly and darken the bright areas in the background a little more
Red Fox at Rest 21 BPP Tracey Kenning Pictorial Bronze
J3 strengths: fox is sharp; natural colour throughout the image; one of the fox#039;s eyes is well lit with a gleam
improvements :post process the second darker eye to find detail if there is any; there are some very unnatural distractions in foreground grass & likely some digital processing has been applied in an attempt to introduce sharpness however it would have been preferable to increase depth of field during capture to reduce foreground blur
Pileated Woodpecker 24.5 HM DP Geoffrey Skirrow Nature Master
J3 strengths: sharp where it needs to be: natural colour ; no digital artifacts; pleasant natural background; good composition; story and wow factor are good but not a huge strength
improvements: sharpness falls off on the left fork of the branch and its a little too bright ..not a big issue but cropping on the left might help
Canada Jay 2 20 Mike Moffat Nature Silver
J2 The bird in flight is well captured with an interesting head tilt. The details of the white features are lost because they are overexposed. The background is extremely busy and distracting.
Frost and Fog 23.5 SPP Mike Moffat Pictorial Silver
J3 strengths: lovely soft light; good natural colour; composition works
improvements: eliminate fine whiteish border around frame; unnatural added detail in water should be corrected; might be more cloud detail and blue colour in sky that could be gently teased out
On the Lookout 23.5 Doug Doede Pictorial Master
J3 strengths: strong spooky feeling; green cat eyes; blue/black tones amp; dark red leaves; strong story; natural white breast of cat draws attention; sharpness is good where it needs to be
improvements: in top left area there is a light misty blurred area... perhaps digital processing has gone wrong; there are heavy lines along large branches which should be removed; digital processing of smaller twigs has introduced a feeling of delicacy that is effective
Shades of Blue 24 DP Doug Doede Pictorial Master
J3 strengths: composition and colour are strong
improvements: there is a white halo where the dark blue of the bottles meets the lighter background ; this can be removed by using digital artifacts removal in Adobe#039;s camera raw conversion; or avoided through careful selection techniques; or worst case it either of these aren't the problem, then cloning the white halo out pixel by pixel can be done
Fishermen#039;s Shacks 21 Jim Orcheson Pictorial Silver
J3 strengths: this is a classic subject for photography
improvements: Time of day and/or lighting were not ideal for this image and a bald sky and glare on the water has resulted; best to eliminate these elements from the composition during capture and focus in on details within the frame;
