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Wrecked 22.5 SPP Loretta Monteleone Pictorial Silver
Wrecked 22.5 SPP Loretta Monteleone Pictorial Silver
J1 The story gives this image much impact. The Bamp;W presentation give it a vintage feel as well. Suggest working on expanding the tones since currently it's mostly midtones and shadows. The subject is rather tight in the frame - more room on the left would help the composition. The row of anchors do tie in with the story and lead the eye in, however the bright upper left corner is a distraction and suggest it be toned down.
Rings 18 James Hamilton Pictorial Gold
Rings 18 James Hamilton Pictorial Gold
J1 The subject matter is very interesting but it#039;s let down the odd colour cast of the skin tones, lack of detail in the shadows and the halos from oversharpening. Reign in the processing so it's not so unnatural. Manage the colour with proper white balance setting for the skin tones.
Rural Roadside 17.5 James Hamilton Pictorial Gold
Rural Roadside 17.5 James Hamilton Pictorial Gold
J1 Suggest the maker reprocess this image as it has some potential with the fall scene. The image is overprocessed and oversharpened to the point it appears rather "crunchy" which impacts the score.
Stepping Stones 18.5 Loretta Monteleone Pictorial Silver
Stepping Stones 18.5 Loretta Monteleone Pictorial Silver
J2 lower left stone#039;s reflection has been cut off - need a little more on lower edge. Bring out the shadows on the rocks slightly. Also image would have more impact if the image were cropped on the Left and had a little more water on the lower portion. If maker has more on the right then add that in to give the eye a natural flow. Right now it is blocked on the right side.
Winter Flow 24.5 HM GPP Andy Langs Pictorial Gold
Winter Flow 24.5 HM GPP Andy Langs Pictorial Gold
J1 There is pleasing balance between the softness of the water to the rough texture of the rocks and trees. The S curve of the river helps draw the viewers eye in. The monochrome treatment is well handled with a full range of tones. There isn#039;t much the maker can do to remove some of the distracting background trees at edges of frame without disrupting the composition.
Endless 23 TC BPP Robert Segarra Pictorial Bronze
Endless 23 TC BPP Robert Segarra Pictorial Bronze
J1 The central composition works well for this image to lead the eye in. Physically there is depth but tonally, the image is rather flat since everything blends in. Some selective dodging and burning to give this dimension given the heavy texture would help. Tone down the left, top and right with a graduation to draw the eye back into the scene.
Tomintoul Whisky Warehouse 19.5 James Hamilton Pictorial Gold
Tomintoul Whisky Warehouse 19.5 James Hamilton Pictorial Gold
J2 Image is very grainy from the lack of light. Nice leading line to the exit. Unfortunately there are no clear details. May need to run it through some post software. Also, fluorescent lights have a green tinge - again this can be improved in post with white balance adjustments.
Alone 21 BPP Robert Segarra Pictorial Bronze
Alone 21 BPP Robert Segarra Pictorial Bronze
J2 Sunbeam adds interest to this image, and directs the eye to the desk and its shadow. Possibly bringing out the shadows very slightly under the window may improve image as the eye is drawn to the dark area there.
Great Coast 20 Robert Segarra Pictorial Bronze
Great Coast 20 Robert Segarra Pictorial Bronze
J1 Nicely composed image with some interest throughout. First thing to address for any landscape image is that the horizon must be straight - this one is tilting to the left. Having the model face into the scene (towards the lighthouse) would lead the eye back into the scene instead of out. Given the soft light, there should be some detail in the shadows as well which can be brought up.
Nuremberg Sunset 25 HM DP Victor Turczynski Pictorial Master
Nuremberg Sunset 25 HM DP Victor Turczynski Pictorial Master
J2 Lovely lighting and colours here. Sharp throughout. Technically well handled.
The Warrior Dance 23 Bertin Francoeur Pictorial Master
The Warrior Dance 23 Bertin Francoeur Pictorial Master
J3 Great detail and exposure on the dancer. The pure black background makes the dancer look like he is floating and doesn#039;t give any context to where he is, taking away from the overall impact.
Central Frontenac 17 James Hamilton Pictorial Gold
Central Frontenac 17 James Hamilton Pictorial Gold
J1 The subject matter is quite pleasing, however, the image appears to be overprocessed and oversaturated. The composition needs to be improved since the fence posts are merging into the frame instead of acting as leads. A lower angle would have helped to increase more of the fence and reduce some of the center field and thus bring more attention to the barn and buildings. As is, cropping about a third off the bottom would present the buildings in more of a panoramic view.
Skipping Dog 25.5 HM DP David Evans Pictorial Master
Skipping Dog 25.5 HM DP David Evans Pictorial Master
J3 The maker picked the right instant to get the dog and handler in a good position with great expressions on their faces and the rope not in the way. Although there are distractions in the background, the shallow depth of field minimizes them. Choice of monochrome eliminates colour distractions. Not sure that the sepia toning adds to the image. Try reducing the intensity for a more subtle effect.
Palacio de Bellas Artes - Mexico City 21.5 HM BPP Laura Nelson Pictorial Bronze
Palacio de Bellas Artes - Mexico City 21.5 HM BPP Laura Nelson Pictorial Bronze
J3 The building is sharp and well exposed. Because it is symmetrical, having it dead centre in the frame also works. The walkways at the bottom effectively lead you to the main subject. The sky is a little too bright, especially just above the horizon and this tends to pull the viewer#039;s eye away from the main subject. In the lower half of the image there are some distracting elements on the edge of the frame. Consider removing them in post-processing or adding a slight vignette.
Lego Block - Toronto Building 20 Laura Nelson Pictorial Bronze
Lego Block - Toronto Building 20 Laura Nelson Pictorial Bronze
J2 technically well done and nice composition. Perspective needs to be straightened as front of building appears to be falling over. Not sure the white background really works as it feels like it is floating in space. Possibly crop to the right front corner?
Foggy Morning 3 20.5 Peter Chow Pictorial Gold
Foggy Morning 3 20.5 Peter Chow Pictorial Gold
J2 It is a lovely image but I want to see more of the buildings through the fog. LR dehaze would bring back some of the colour and detail (just enough not to spoil the effect here).
Foggy Morning 1 19.5 Peter Chow Pictorial Gold
Foggy Morning 1 19.5 Peter Chow Pictorial Gold
J3 The colours work well and the ducks add to the story. The foreground foliage is too prominent and blocks our view of the pond and boardwalk. Next time consider either focusing more on the leaves as your subject or repositioning to include them as a framing element, allowing a wider view of the scene beyond.
Zippered Pencils 23 GPP Roy Oldfield Pictorial Gold
Zippered Pencils 23 GPP Roy Oldfield Pictorial Gold
J1 Love the graphical arrangement. Creativity adds impact to this image. As a studio setup shot, care must be taken to maintain the horizontal alignment and keep uniformity. The image is also slightly soft at the top which could have been corrected by making sure the plane of focus was parallel and using a smaller aperture to increase the depth of field.
Volpina 19.5 Roy Oldfield Pictorial Gold
Volpina 19.5 Roy Oldfield Pictorial Gold
J3 The diagonal lines of the boat work well. Good depth of field and well balanced exposure for the conditions. The flat lighting is working against you. More dramatic lighting would increase the overall impact. You may be able to get some of that impact by boosting the contrast and saturation in post-processing. Watch the edges - the wooden cleat top centre is too close to the edge of the frame and there are some distracting elements in the upper left corner.
Orange Dahlia 25 HM GPP Elzbieta Piskorz Pictorial Gold
Orange Dahlia 25 HM GPP Elzbieta Piskorz Pictorial Gold
J2 Well done! the only improvement I can suggest is to place the flower at a slight angle instead of straight up.
Autumn Crocuses 22 Elzbieta Piskorz Pictorial Gold
Autumn Crocuses 22 Elzbieta Piskorz Pictorial Gold
J2 Lovely image. sharp throughout. Nice background which complements the flowers. Might be improved by rotating the image 90dg to left, keeping a diagonal for the flowers.
Wet Leaf 22 Leonie HolmesFCAPA Pictorial Master
Wet Leaf 22 Leonie HolmesFCAPA Pictorial Master
J3 Well seen subject. The shape of the leaf and the water droplets make for an interesting image. A greater depth of field would give the image more impact. The exposure in the central part of the image is well handled, but the right side is a little too bright.
Night Sky on Lake Huron 19 Janet McNally Pictorial Gold
Night Sky on Lake Huron 19 Janet McNally Pictorial Gold
J1 A good attempt at capturing the milky way. But, the image does appear soft and out of focus due to the bloomed stars. The trees on the horizon are out of focus as well. There is considerable noise in the image that needs to addressed via noise reduction or stacking shots. J3 The milky way is clear and well place in the frame. The glow on the horizon adds a pleasing colour wash and separates the sky form the trees. There is some digital noise evident in the sky. The stars are noticeably soft, as is the tree line. Next time, if you arrive before dark, manually focus on a distant object, visually confirming it is in focus, and use that point. The focus dial on many newer lenses will go just beyond infinity which will reduce sharpness.
Industrial Silo 21.5 HM BPP Laura Nelson Pictorial Bronze
Industrial Silo 21.5 HM BPP Laura Nelson Pictorial Bronze
J3 The simple clean lines make this a strong image. It is presented upside down (note the position of the railing). Although this creates a nice leading line from lower left to upper right, it leaves the viewer wondering why the image maker chose this orientation. Consider flipping the image vertically and then horizontally.
Gone Fishing 19 John Russell Pictorial Silver
Gone Fishing 19 John Russell Pictorial Silver
J1 The story and mood are the strong points in this image. However, there are a lot of unnecessary areas that can be easily eliminated by cropping the top and bottom to a square format while still maintaining the story. Shadow can also be brought up as well to reveal detail in the pier wall and the person. Unfortunate the person#039;s head is merging with the dock - a slightly change in viewpoint could have eliminated that as well as the fishing rod merging with the left frame.
Dress 21.5 Marino Favretto Pictorial Silver
Dress 21.5 Marino Favretto Pictorial Silver
J1 While spontaneous, the maker has captured a something beyond a snapshot since they#039;ve managed to work in a story with capture of the main subject, audience and inclusion of the image on the smartphone. However, there are some exposure issues with some blown out details in the dress. There is the distraction in the upper left as well. J2 Blown out whites, blur, other distracting elements make this more like a snapshot. J3 As secondary elements, the cellphone in the foreground and the guy looking the other way both add to the story. Well seen.
Delon Singer 22.5 SPP Marino Favretto Pictorial Silver
Delon Singer 22.5 SPP Marino Favretto Pictorial Silver
J3 Great expression on singer#039;s face. Cleaning up the distraction around the edges would give the image much more impact.
Glowing in the Details 25 HM GPP John King Pictorial Gold
Glowing in the Details 25 HM GPP John King Pictorial Gold
J3 The lighting has been handled very well. Great detail where needed. The background is effectively blurred giving a nice wash of green. The flower is a little too close to the right edge of the frame.
What#039;s this 18 Mary Gilmour Pictorial Master
What#039;s this 18 Mary Gilmour Pictorial Master
J1 There is some good potential in this image but it appears rather soft - either out of focus or over doing the noise reduction. The saturation should be toned down as well. IF shot in RAW, you should be able to manage the tonality of the highlight, midtones and shadows, since right now, there isn#039;t much detail overall. There are many dust/dirt blotches that should be cleaned up as they are distracting.
Tree Swallows house hunting 21.5 Geoffrey Skirrow Pictorial Gold
Tree Swallows house hunting 21.5 Geoffrey Skirrow Pictorial Gold
J2 Great shot of the tree swallows. Maker could straighten the horizon somewhat by straightening the bird house. Also, the top is a little tight- add more background if you don#039;t have it (this is Pictorial)
Eternity moment 21.5 Ed Espin Pictorial Master
Eternity moment 21.5 Ed Espin Pictorial Master
J2 Interesting image. May be improved somewhat if taken at eye level and with a greater depth of field. Lots of blurred segments in this image
Crisscross Lines 23 HM SPP Loretta Monteleone Pictorial Silver
Crisscross Lines 23 HM SPP Loretta Monteleone Pictorial Silver
J1 The graphical nature of the subject adds much to the Impact and the square crop suit it as well. With such a technical bias of the image, the slightly off center viewpoint at the bottom distracts from the symmetrical composition as all other elements have been handled with forethought and intent. The monochrome treatment suits this and applying slightly more contrast to the highlights would give this some additional pop.
These Castle Walls 18.5 John Russell Pictorial Silver
These Castle Walls 18.5 John Russell Pictorial Silver
J2 Looks like this was taken in bright sunlight, hence the dark shadows. Bring out the shadows in post, or when taking this type of image bracket your exposures. Pathway could be darkened somewhat in order not to draw the eye. Haloes evident on top of the walls, so watch the post processing.
Golden Eagle in Flight 22.5 John King Nature Gold
Golden Eagle in Flight 22.5 John King Nature Gold
J2 Lovely shot- too bad you do not have the entire bird in the frame.
Great Blue Heron above the water 24 HM GPP John King Nature Gold
Great Blue Heron above the water 24 HM GPP John King Nature Gold
J2 Nice capture of a bird in flight with good detail in the wings. Focus is on the body. Common issue with birds in flight. Try to focus on the eyes, even while moving. Head needs to be slightly sharper.
Lime Butterfly 21 Elzbieta Piskorz Nature Gold
Lime Butterfly 21 Elzbieta Piskorz Nature Gold
J3 Excellent detail in the butterfly and the framing works well. The butterfly and flower are very bright, try reducing the exposure by about 1/2 stop. You will still get the detail, but it won#039;t seem quite so intense. There is also quite a bit of noise evident in the background.
Scilla 19.5 Don Poulton Nature Master
Scilla 19.5 Don Poulton Nature Master
J2 Post processing halos around the petals.
Poppy Bulb 17.5 Laura Nelson Nature Bronze
Poppy Bulb 17.5 Laura Nelson Nature Bronze
J1 The minimalist composition may serve well for Pictorial but it#039;s a negative for Nature. We strive to present the main subject as the main element in detail and in its best character. The image is much to small and the shallow focus doesn't do it justice. Suggest going closer in to make the subject bigger in the frame and using a smaller aperture to achieve a larger depth of field. Perhaps try a different angle so the upper petals aren't merging in with the main bud.
Brown Belted Bumble Bee 18 Laura Nelson Nature Bronze
Brown Belted Bumble Bee 18 Laura Nelson Nature Bronze
J1 The depth of field is much to narrow for an effective Nature shot as much of the bee is out of focus. The parts that are in focus are also soft as the focus point seems to have fallen slightly front. Macro subjects can be tricky requiring smaller apertures for greater depth of field and lots of light to compensate for the reduced light if a high ISO is causing noise.
Lesser Yellowlegs Aggression 23.5 Geoff Dunn Nature Master
Lesser Yellowlegs Aggression 23.5 Geoff Dunn Nature Master
J2 Great nature story but strange artifacts around wings on left side
Pink Lady#039;s Slipper 2 21 Peter Chow Nature Gold
Pink Lady#039;s Slipper 2 21 Peter Chow Nature Gold
J1 The simple composition helps this subject. Parts of the flower do appear hot on the upper leaf and the left side of the opening. This may be recovered in RAW processing. The green also appears slightly saturated on the main leaf. The leaf mergers are also distracting bottom and bottom right as there is no definite connection to the main stem - either eliminate them or have them included with the joint as part of the plant.
Western Honey Bee on Goldenrod 22.5 Geoffrey Skirrow Nature Gold
Western Honey Bee on Goldenrod 22.5 Geoffrey Skirrow Nature Gold
J2 Good attempt at this Bee macro. Legs are nice and sharp but the body and wings are slightly on the soft side. Either increase depth of field, or bracket the exposure. Focus on the eyes.
Sandhill cranes feeding 23.5 GPP Jim Maguire Nature Gold
Sandhill cranes feeding 23.5 GPP Jim Maguire Nature Gold
J2 really is too bad there was so much motion blur. lovely nature story
White-breasted Nuthatch 23 David Evans Nature Master
White-breasted Nuthatch 23 David Evans Nature Master
J1 A diagonal composition of the branch and nuthatch adds a lot of impact to a somewhat static shot. Sharpness throughout the bird is handled well as is the exposure. Addition of a nature story would have garnered additional points
Prothonotary Warbler 22.5 Andy Langs Nature Gold
Prothonotary Warbler 22.5 Andy Langs Nature Gold
J1 Perfectly fine to show a subject in habitat, but we have mostly habitat here and the subject rather small in frame by comparison. Cropping in tighter to eliminate roughly 50 would make the bird much bigger in frame while still giving sense of habitat would increase the impact. Suggest a square crop to still include the reflection. The yellow is a bit oversaturated in the head as we#039;ve lost all feather detail with the colour bloom.
Two Caspian Terns  Vying for a Fish 27 TC DP Geoff Dunn Nature Master
Two Caspian Terns Vying for a Fish 27 TC DP Geoff Dunn Nature Master
J1 Wonderful nature story captured with the terns is high in impact. High marks for a dynamic composition. Technically well done as well.
Osprey Catches Fish 26 HM DP Geoff Dunn Nature Master
Osprey Catches Fish 26 HM DP Geoff Dunn Nature Master
J1 Wonderful inflight capture with prey! Strong in story and composition. Maker has done well to maintain the depth of field - the blurred wingtips is not an issue and implies motion. The shadow detail in the feathers could be brought up slightly by selective dodging plus some selective sharpening to bring out the feather detail.
Raccoon on the trail 17 Loretta Monteleone Nature Silver
Raccoon on the trail 17 Loretta Monteleone Nature Silver
J1 For a nature subject, the main elements such as the head, eyes, nose need to be in sharp focus. The focus appears to have fallen on the water surface resulting in the out of focus face. Manual or center point focus would help to achieve focus where it was intended. J3 Well captured moment. The connection is in the look, and so the eyes need to be sharp for the greatest impact. The glare on the water is distracting. Try darkening it in post-processing or using a polarizing filter the next time you are in a similar situation.
Osprey fishing off the coast of NS 29 TC DP Greg Alderson Nature Master
Osprey fishing off the coast of NS 29 TC DP Greg Alderson Nature Master
Top scoring Nature J1 Perfect in every way - Impact, Composition and Technically superb to capture this story. Well done.
Peregrine falcons transfer oriole  26.5 TC DP Greg Alderson Nature Master
Peregrine falcons transfer oriole 26.5 TC DP Greg Alderson Nature Master
J1 Great job! Suggest cropping some of the unnecessary sky out left and right - square crop for a full 10 points.
Killdeer eggs  20.5 Geoffrey Skirrow Creative Gold
Killdeer eggs 20.5 Geoffrey Skirrow Creative Gold
J2 Image is relatively sharp where it needs to be and maker did well to turn this into a monochrome image. Image may have had stronger impact in this category if the filter was only applied to the eggs. If this was a set up photo- the lower right egg should be turned out to provide equal corners.
Elephant 20 Leonie HolmesFCAPA Creative Master
Elephant 20 Leonie HolmesFCAPA Creative Master
J2 Maker appears to have combined an image of an elephant with a "paint splash" filter or collage. Although this is a creative category, this combination does not work well here. The elephant could be somewhat clearer- brighten and sharpen both eyes.
Pastel 20.5 Leonie HolmesFCAPA Creative Master
Pastel 20.5 Leonie HolmesFCAPA Creative Master
J1 Good attempt for a floral creative. The central composition is OK but the white spots draw the eye away from the center feature. The darker tones in the corners need to be balanced out to maintain the vision back to center. Aside from the center subject, there isn#039;t anything that adds to the impact or to maintain interest. For an abstract to work, we need some sense of how either shapes or colours relate to each other.
Basking in Sunlight 23 GPP John King Creative Gold
Basking in Sunlight 23 GPP John King Creative Gold
J3 The low angle is effective in adding to the impact as are the bright complementary colours. The yellow in the background is slightly distracting. The tulip on the left may not be needed to tell the story as it is dark and set apart from the main group.
A long drawn out fight 19 John Bunyon Creative Gold
A long drawn out fight 19 John Bunyon Creative Gold
J3 The title goes well with the subject. There are some distracting elements that could be cleaned up in post-processing. Weak in category as it doesn#039;t appear to be a departure from reality.