OPA_012_SHOPPERS OTARA MARKET.jpg

MERIT It's an interesting angle you have chosen to take the shot with, it's quite striking. I like the interaction between the men who share a similar ethnicity. The produce in the background adds to the story of why the men are there. The grey sky is a good neutral background and because you have got down low the turbans and faces of the men standout well as the main point of interest. I was wondering if you might consider removing half the amount of sky, which would tighten up the image, but I also like all the sky, it has grown on me. Thus, it is your choice

OPA_027_DIVA.jpg

ACHIEVED An apt title for this image. When I look at this, I see the face of a woman who is aghast at something. She is wearing what looks like a hairdresser's cape – has she just seen herself in the mirror after her latest hair do, or has somebody said something shocking to her or perhaps things just aren't going her way. Whatever the reason for her look, the image has captured my attention. Good choice of black-and-white and I like her pale face as it adds to the drama of the scene. Well done

OPA_097_SAY YES!.jpg

ACHIEVED wow what impact this little PJ scene has. Great story, well captured. Someone has put a lot of thought into this. I like the angle you chose to take the shot which has enabled us to see the look of delight on the man's face, yet leave us wondering if his proposal is being accepted because we can't see her face. Good colour saturation, draws my eye to the "Marry me " sign and then travels around to find the man's face. I would like to suggest that you crop off the dark right edge which would give the couple more prominence in the image. Try it and see what you think.

OPN_114_The Lineup.jpeg

NOT ACHIEVED I like the title you have chosen for this image. The gulls are doing what gulls do, sitting and watching. The clumping of three birds on the right offset by the two on the left is nicely balanced on a strong diagonal line. I feel the image is a little soft and underexposed. Exposure is sometimes difficult to obtain correctly on strongly contrasted objects like the black and white gulls. I find that if you meter on a neutral colour like grey, grass or even your skin then recompose your image ignoring what your meter is telling you about the birds, you should be closer to getting it correct. Of course, this is best done in manual mode.

OPA_080_Life_on_Dal_Lake_IKashmir.jpg

ACHIEVED This image is well saturated. I particularly like the angled position of the pole she is using to manoeuvre the boat. Her head sits neatly between both hands along the angled pole giving strength to this diagonal line. The shutter speed has just caught the lines of rain falling which links the umbrella and the story. There are a couple of things that are a bit distracting, one of which is the white umbrella to the right of the image which is bright and distracting I would like to suggest you could improve this image by toning down the umbrella on the right. The other area is what looks to be a leg intruding in on the left which could be darkened down along with the bright white beside her head. A vignette would also help Try these suggestions and see what you think.

OPN_134_CLOSE CALL.jpg

MERIT Ouch, great action shot with the main subject in focus. The story is all shown here, the pain and the possibility of further damage with the rope tied around his boot. The dust and dirt flicked up also add to what is happening. Well captured well exposed and the crop suits your story. I would have liked to see a bit more of the bull, especially his face it would add something more to the story.

OPB_118_PIA.jpg

ACHIEVED Pia's cloths indicate to me that it is very cold where she is. I like the way her face is framed with verticals and curves. She has lovely compelling eyes and black&white is a good choice of treatment which enables us to be drawn to the face without the distraction of colours in clothing. There is something I would like to suggest, and that is to crop off the bottom up to her armpits as her hand is distracting my eye down and away from the face.

OPN_121_ShabbatShalom.jpg

HONOURS A nicely composed image with a lovely warm muted feel. The man on the left is standing on the row of pavers which lead to the other couple in the background giving a sense of perspective. There are two interactions happening here, one with the couple in the background and one with the man and his earbuds, the old with the new. Nice light, Well done.

OPA_092_Red Pepper.jpg

NOT ACHIEVED Red pepper, if that is his/her name, is backlit which is showing up all the hair around his face. He has a nice sharp muzzle and his left eye is bright and glossy. The sharpness falls away quite rapidly from there and there are areas which almost look blown out. The light has affected the right eye and it is a bit lost amongst the light rim. There is a nice engagement with the camera and I like the crop I wonder what this image would look like in colour.

OPB_095_THE BELL RINGER.jpg

NOT ACHIEVED Well seen. You have shown me how intricate the art of bell ringing is with all those connected ropes. This is a difficult scene to capture as there is a lot of white in front and directly behind the bell ringer, which has caused the man and bells to be dark and in shadow. If you were to open out your shadows more you would show the viewer details on the bells which are quite lovely but presently obscured by the shadow. The image is on an angle which is quite distracting. I would like to suggest that you also straighten your horizon. A good effort.

OPN_123_Lost in the large world.jpeg

ACHIEVED I like that you have photographed these trees from a different angle it shows good perspective with distance. You have some strong leading lines with the tree trunks. The front two trunks show a triangle as they reach towards infinity. Good saturation and the light is nice. For me, I would like a little of the left side cropped off this area. It's not adding a lot to the image and to crop up to the edge of the left side of the trunk would tighten and balance the image up more. Give it a go and see what you think.

OPA_026_2,4,6,8 - hoe in don't wait.jpg

ACHIEVED Your shallow depth of field has given you a very pleasing background which highlights the bird who is the subject in this image. The eye is nice and sharp with that glint we all like to see. You have even caught some of the water droplets from his beak. The sharpest area is the little protruding feathers from the wing, the rest of the feather detail is rather soft which is a result of a shallow depth of field. I like the crop, and you have a good exposure.

OPA-064-Parked.jpg

HONOURS Well seen and well executed. The treatment given to this image is very complimentary to the simple clean lines it portrays. It has all the building blocks of a good image. There are vertical lines, horizontal lines, diagonal lines, triangles, curves, they are all there. The post processing has removed the colour leaving us with the shapes to give the story. The little red circle around the number five on the sign balances the whole thing. Well deserved, Honours.

OPN_111_THREE SEEDS.jpg

MERIT A simple still life image that needs no studying to eke out any story as they are the story. The three seeds are nicely arranged with equal spacing. They have good sharp veins giving us a sense of strength and texture. Colour saturation and light have been well handled and the fine texture in the background sets them off nicely. Very nice.