SSB_071_ WONG GONG'S TERRACE AND BEYOND.JPG

SSB_071_TIJN

HONOURS The warm tones of this image are very complementary to the baby. I can almost hear the photographer [or the parents] uttering uninterpretable words of baby language to encourage this cutie to react and smile. The eyes are beautifully lit. They are sharp and to me, reveal contentment. The bubbles are natural and seem to add another element to the story. The crop is considered; bold; and deliberate. A most enjoyable portrait.

POPPY SEED HEAD

HONOURS - I wonder how many of you will start offering your hands up to try to visualise what this image might look like had it been presented in a portrait format. Well, for me the negative space really adds to this image and I commend the author for leaving the background in place. The colour palette is very pleasing and totally supportive of the main image. The focal point and centre of interest is perfectly sharp and really demands attention. I find the twisted stem to be complementary and provides the base for the poppy.

GIRL IN A BLUE PORCH

MERIT - The very bright blue porch has degraded the skin tones a bit – I like her direct look and friendly smile – well composed and she seems natural and relaxed – her face is near the third, making it a well balanced composition – although I think her face could be sharper, the door seems sharp.

THREE BROOM PODS IN A ROW

HONOURS - Glorious lighting, which shows not only the seeds inside the pods, but also those fine hairs – the colour is superb and the background is wonderfully blurred – I like the diagonal of the stem, coming as it does from right in the corner.

REFLECTING ON LIFE, SINGAPORE

HONOURS - Fun and playful. You did well seeing this from afar.

STEWART ISLAND SUNRISE

MERIT - Love the stillness portrayed here in this image. The choice of making this a panorama image is a good one.

GRASS SEED HEAD by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE: HONOURS I still find it amazing that something as simple and common as a grass seed head can become such a great image. For me this is simplicity at its best. There is definitely great bokeh with the points of light in the out-of-focus background showing the circular pattern which, for me, typifies bokeh. It is subtle and adds to the overall composition. The grass head itself is sharp with clear details and the drops of water add to the story. In my view, the depth of field helps the grass seed head to stand out from the background making this a very strong image. The sweep of the grass adds a lovely flow to the image. Great work.

TULIP FIELDS IN BLOOM by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - MERIT The image has a strong composition, which draws my eye immediately to the tulips, and the diagonal lines lead me to the sheds and the industrial tanks in the background. The author has chosen to present the image in a horizontal format with a tight crop, which keeps my eye and attention in the frame. The image is well balanced with two thirds of the image being the main subject with the rest of the image in the upper third. To create a greater awareness of the subject I suggest the author could have taken the image at a lower angle to give the image a better perspective and this would make the image stronger.

BULLERS ALBATROSS THALASSARCHE BULLERI by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - HONOURS I think this image could be a very good Natural History image. The author has placed the albatross tight within the frame with the wings on a good diagonal line. I love the way it has been captured paddling across the water with a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the moment and the detail in the splashes. There are no overblown highlights on the white feathers and I think the image could be made stronger if the exposure was increased a little more. Congratulations to the author.

NEVIS VALLEY COTTAGE by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - MERIT There is something about the narrative that comes with a closed up, aging cottage in a harsh environment. My mind immediately goes into a reflective mode. What is the story here, what is the history, who lived here, what happiness, what loneliness, what joy, what sadness has been witnessed by this place? What kind of people could live here? Did children play in the fields and how did this place shape the lives of the people that it influenced? In the end it is empty and closed up and the field looks untended. People move on but the memories linger – this place will have a special place (or not) in someone’s heart and mind. You have chosen a good time of day to photography, lovely shadows and warm light. I like the distance from which you have photographed – not too imposing, adds to the feeling of nostalgia, of someone watching and reflecting. I think you have used your picture space well with the cottage well placed to grab my attention and the tree on the RHS holds me in the image, forcing me to engage with the narrative of the cottage. The bushin front of the cottage is round and has some colour to it so it does compete quite strongly for attention but has little value in the story telling. Nothing you could have done about so you have made good compositional decisions, or compromises, given the circumstances.

JASPER, HIGH COUNTRY DOG by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - MERIT Beautiful What an amazing environmental portrait of a dog who looks happy , alert and confident in its place. Beautiful lighting and use of the edge to create drama in this image. Background is just soft enough and I feel this dog is a working dog that has worked those hills.

DANGLING LUMINOSITY by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - MERIT I like the triangle like shape. This alway creates an illusion of movement and progresion. The colour contrast is quite effective. I can feel how sharp are the green spikes. I think this needs something to breaks the pattern. I would also compose this image as a vertical composition. (see attached) The landscape composition makes an impression as if you cut the lines in half as the visual balance is not quite right.

BUTTON by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - MERIT I like this composition. I feel like I'm being hypnotized by these big green eyes. I like the fact that you frame it on a slight angle as this make the composition more dynamic and interesting.

BUSH STONE CURLEW FAMILY (BURHINUS GRALLARIUS) by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - HONOURS I have seen these fascinating and unusual birds in Queensland but never seen a juvenile bird. You have done well seeing this family together in their natural environment. The markings and feather patterns are well defined and their eyes are well focused. A good effort

FOGGY SUNRISE by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - ACCEPTANCE It was a good idea to be here at sunrise, to see the colour through the fog. I suggest you crop off all the left side to the centre where there is colour and crop off a little of the dark foreground. Here you have a great photo with much interest and colour.

A MOMENT OF MAGIC by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - ACCEPTANCE The light on the trees is what my eye is drawn to first, the hint of rainbow is secondary to this because of the strength of the vibrant greens. I would suggest trying a crop from the top to reduce the heavy sky area... you may find this will help the rainbows grab more attention from the viewer and the resulting panorama format also suits the image.

MOUNTAINS AT SUNSET by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - MERIT An interesting effect and the sunset colours provide good colour impact. The balance of dark area is just right and the way this extends higher at each side contains the image nicely.

ILLUSION by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - ACCEPTANCE There is strong repetitive shapes and patterns in this image, and an attempt has been made to compose the shot to give good flow and balance to it. However, not a lot of the image is in sharp focus. On the plus side, it embraces the set subject very well.

ST. BATHANS by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - ACCEPTANCE A landscape with lots of visual appeal. The Blue Lake is a very photogenic area, and it is a challenge to visualise a really strong composition for a competition photo, because of the endless photo opportunities at this location. I think this is a very good landscape image, which has good compositional balance, and is thoughtfully composed, but I do think there is a stronger composition within this composition. Being more selective about the elements that you include in your image, will add visual strength to it. Just cropping the top third (which is most of the sky), gives this image quite a boost. It’s all about using your “mind’s eye” to create the composition “in-camera”.

FALLEN ANGEL by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - MERIT Definitely decayed… and a good rendition of a dead bird. It is very static, maybe on a diagonal would have helped this. Feather detail is sharp.

POPOKOTEA (WHITEHEAD) by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - MERIT Firstly well done on spotting this quick little bird. You have done well in that it is reasonably sharp but nature or bird photography is very demanding. Could you have cropped in making the bird the hero of the story?  Ideally I think a different angle would have helped this but as I said a good effort.

HARLEY OWNERS GROUP IN ARROWTOWN by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - NOT ACCEPTED Well done for attempting but I feel this doesn’t work. Did you take other images of this scene? As it is this image is too busy with no real point of focus subject wise.

MOODY TWILIGHT by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - HONOURS Framing is great. I like the placement of the rainbow at the left. I like the colour intensity in this image. All I would really do is open up the shadows at the bottom to show a little detail.

RADIATING CLEMATIS SEEDS by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - ACCEPTANCE The pattern in this image is like spokes in a bicycle wheel. I would like to see just a little more at the bottom so that the “spokes” are not clipped. I would also suggest that the green background at the bottom and R/H side be darkened similar to top left. This would enable the Clematis to stand out more from the background. Sharp and nicely exposed.

A LONG & WINDING ROAD by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - ACCEPTANCE This is worse than Auckland !!! I found this image very interesting. The image is slightly soft and I would have liked to see a little more space in front of the first vehical on L/H side to give the vehicle more space to drive into. Nicely exposed in flat lighting.

SALAMANCA, HOBART by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - MERIT This is an unusual shot where the author has used a feature in a wall to frame the scene beyond. Within that scene the lines of the building and cars, together with the shadows of the out of shot trees give a sense of depth and perspective. The repeating pattern of the buildings as they stretch into the background has an overall pleasing effect. I find the towers and the other vertical structures mar the overall scene and if it were me, I’d clone them out.

BEEF CARPACCIO by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - MERIT This image was set up in a thoughtful way with the central subject framed at all four corners. The photographer has captured the food in a way that makes it appetising to look at. With a still life image of this kind I think the subject needs to be in sharp focus throughout. Here only the part of the helping of food is sharp. The image was taken in very harsh light, perhaps flash, which has left some areas of white burned out. Nevertheless it was a good attempt at still life.

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - ACCEPTANCE The panel format suits the subject well and the hut has been well placed in the frame. The darkness of the sky top right ensures the viewer's eye is retained, so in term of content it is spot on. Unfortunately, the lighting conditions have not been favorable but I think that with more saturation and contrast the impact could be improved.

FORLORN COTTAGE by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - ACCEPTED Good subject, well positioned and a good title. Unfortunately it comes across as a little muddy, but this can be easily corrected with a small adjustment (even an automatic one) to levels and an increase in contrast without disturbing the mood of the message. Nice sharpness to the cottage and good separation from the background.

FLYING HAIR AND DROPLETS by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE : MERIT Your fast shutter speed has frozen the water and her hair really effectively. Her expression tends to hold our attention on her face which is probably just as well because chopping her off just below the knees was rather unfortunate. The lighting on your subject makes her stand out clearly from the background.

TIRI TIRI MATANGI TAKAHE by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE : ACCEPTANCE You have captured the beautiful colours in the plumage which is a distinct feature of the takehe. The bird is sharp and the background nicely blurred. To take the image to the next level would mean taking time - maybe a lot of time - to capture some interesting action or interaction. Some other suggestions are to take the image from a lower angle i.e. get down to the eye level of your subject and wait until the bird is moving or looking more towards you.

A SPLASH OF COLOUR ON A DREARY DAY by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE : ACCEPTED Good use of primary colour although let down by being rather central and a shame she’s not facing you as it would have added more emotional connection with the subject.

SKI SCHOOL BUDDIES by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE : MERIT This image has instant appeal with good balance. You’ve resisted the temptation to crop in on the right so the buddies have room to move in the frame. My one quibble is the red circle at top left. You probably liked the shadow of the buddies, as I do but that red dot jars. There is a tweak you can do in Photoshop (and other software) to use the Edit>Transform>warp tool to “pull” the red circle out of frame.

GULL PAIR DISPLAYING by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE : HONOURS

GIRL IN AUTUMN COLOURS by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE : MERIT

A STUMBLE AND A TUMBLE by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE: HONOURS The focus is the horse in the stumble and he occupies the majority of the image. All is good on this, exposure, message, questions arising, etc. The eye then moves around the rest of the image and what is happening in the background. You understand the power of horses when you see the muscle and effort in keeping upright.

RUSTIC FENCE by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - MERIT You have followed a very good thought with the fence coming from one corner and disappearing over the hill. Very sharp, lovely grasses, and beautiful old fence posts. A few suggestions. You could stand a little higher to see more of the furthest posts. Straighten the first post a little so that it doesn’t seem to lean back so much. Lift the shadows to get show the textures in the timber posts. In Lightroom I flipped the photo. Maybe climb the fence and photograph from the other side, if your photo program doesn’t flip photos. For some reason people seem to see more left to right. You could saturate the photo as it seems a little flat. It may have been those tones on a cloudy day, but think rich tones for those lovely grasses. You can do that in camera rather than in the computer. In making these comments your club screen may make things lighter than I can see on my computer

CALIFORNIAN QUAIL CHICK by YVONNE ASSIE

GRADE - MERIT It is difficult to get birds sharp, with the light on their feathers and a catch light in their eye. Especially when the side that you are photographing is in shadow. You could lift the shadows a little and it gives more detail, and he probably doesn’t need quite so much room, though you have given him space to walk into.

TUI BY YVONNE ASSIE GRADE; HONOURS

Well done to the author, I really enjoyed the fact that the Tui was all puffed up it added that extra element.