LOCKED & LOADED

HONOURS - I feel transported back to the future by this image. I find the composition leads me through the body to the head and then to the gun. I enjoy the sartorial elegance of the gent and the way in which the exposure has been handled on his form. Plenty of crisp detail to find! The background serves to underline differences in the image. Without the space gun this could be a social commentary on Victorian times. I do wonder if the face is a little over exposed, especially around the near eye. Nicely set up and made.

PEAKING FERN

ACCEPTED - I feel the wonder of new life as this koru uncurls. I enjoy the diagonal presentation of the subject. I do find the leaves on the left distracting and I wonder if the photographer would consider cropping in from the left to eliminate them? Similarly I find the bright browns in the fore and backgrounds distracting, - perhaps local post processing could reduce the brightness a little. I am hard pressed to find any part of this image critically sharp. Perhaps the photographer would consider using a single focus point on the fern head and possibly make the image from slightly further away if the minimum focusing distance requires this. Keep at it and you will master it!

WALKING ON WATER

MERIT - Wow, what a great action shot! A magnificent bird in the wild. Nice composition with plenty of room for the subject to move into the frame. You have captured the critical moment of touch down. I believe that the highlights on the bird’s back are blown out. A way to avoid this is to shoot in RAW, slightly underexpose for the highlights and use the latitude Raw gives to brighten the dark tones where necessary. Well done.

MAGNOLIA

HONOURS - Such a lovely soft image. Strong composition which draws the eye in and around. In my opinion the lack of critical focus is an advantage and adds to the ethereal nature of the image. I enjoy the pastel colour palette which helps to draw my attention to the centre of the flower. I do find the yellow at lower left to be distracting and I wonder of the photographer would consider changing the colour to the greyish-green of the top left. A beautiful creative shot.

RODEO MAYHEM

HONOURS - I feel a lot of sympathy for this beast. The photographer has certainly caught the action in a skilful manner and treating the hangers-on as part of the spectacle has created an engaging image. There is detail in the highlights as well as in most of the blacks. The animal’s face is the focus of attention and the highlight in its eye is a nice touch An extremely well executed and effective image.

WAKATIPU STORM

HONOURS - Congratulations for making this nice composition which utilises the power of the triangle to good effect. My eye is drawn to the dark clouds of the storm which are framed by the line of contrast and the sloping hills. You have done well to capture the bands of rain (or sunlight shafts?) and to retain detail in most of the cloud and in much of the darker tone below. The area that I find distracting is the light on the lake in the bottom third. This appears to be blown out. A raw image exposing more towards the highlights and then adjusted in post-processing may well help in this regard. I enjoy the way the lake gives context without overpowering the composition.

RED CHAIR

HONOURS - Wow this image grabbed my attention. Its composition and stark simplicity make an effective piece of art. The cracks in the concrete help to provide depth and context. A great image to display in large format!

A WATCHFUL EYE

MERIT - I feel that I am almost conversing with this person. The eye is pin sharp and does not compete for attention with other parts of the face, which are less so. Nicely done. I wonder if the photographer would consider removing the hat or over-wig, which I find distracting, and just use the model’s own hair? I enjoy the composition and the dark areas of the hair and the background all of which suit the monochrome treatment.

WHOAAHH!

MERIT - I have to ask myself if the horse is enjoying the experience. An effective and engaging image which has arrested the motion and is nicely composed. I enjoy the way in which the exposure has been handled in an image with a wide tonal range. In my opinion the main subjects are not critically sharp. I do enjoy the repetition of the two hands in the air.

ROBIN IN THE SHADOW

MERIT - I feel happy to be viewing one of our endemic birds. I very much enjoy the composition of this image and I find the negative space emphasises the subject. There is great detail, with just enough context, - a little more might be helpful, in my opinion. I find the light to be rather harsh and I believe that a softer source may reveal a larger range of the beautiful feathery detail around the tail and on the back. Congratulations on the catch light in the eye as it really brings the bird to life.

COTTAGE GARDEN

NOT ACCEPTED - What a delightful spot! Unfortunately the image is largely out of focus. There are also some extreme artefacts around some of the edges such as the where the roof meets the sky. I wonder if the photographer has had time to closely examine this image before submitting it.