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.

BEJEWELLED STALK BY YVONNE ASSIE, GRADE MERIT

A good composition creating a strong diagonal line.This also has a pleasing muted background. I would llike to be able to see the detail in the droplets however this is a good attempt.

IS ANYONE HOME? BY YVONNE ASSIE, GRADE MERIT

Another well executed image. The extreme light range has been well handled, with the race ideally lit, the frame of the window showing some detail, while the outside has not become overexposed. However, one does get the impression that the picture was staged - the face does not quite give an impression of searching. Also, we need one of the black areas to the side of the window reduced in size (preferably the left?) - once again we have this tendency to put the centre of interest too central.

KEA By YVONNE ASSIE GRADE; MERIT

Wonderful shot - great focus and colour, and as for the tongue! Background also very pleasantly unobtrusive.

TOPSY TURVY LANDSCAPE BY YVONNE ASSIE GRADE MERIT

You have tried something different here and I admire that. The colour palette is gentle and works well. For me the gray surrounding detracts, perhaps white would have looked bteer..or even black. The subject matter doesn’t hold my interest for long, pleasant but no WOW factor.

MOSS COVERED LOG By YVONNE ASSIE

MOON By YVONNE ASSIE GRADE; NOT ACCEPTED

I guess most of you have realised it is impossible to get detail in the moon and the surroundings in a single exposure. In this photograph the details in the moon have been sacrificed in order to show the clouds and skyline. Here the lack of detail in the moon has been mitigated by the star effect around the moon. Usually this is achieved by stopping the lens down - big number, small hole.

PARADISE SHELDUCK IN FLIGHT BY YVONNE ASSIE GRADE; MERIT

Reasonable focus and detail in the bird. Great to see it off centre with room to move. The grasses work as a balancing compositional element. The wing breaking the horizon line helps to stop the horizon splitting the photograph into two parts.

OLD COOKING OIL ATTRACTS WAXEYES By YVONNE ASSIE

I think in some places they become addicted to it, In one photography retreat in porta rico where they photograph Hummingbirds they prefeed the flowers with artifical sugar to keep the hummingbird there longer, they have become addicted to it. I like the exposure, DOF and your composition they work for me. I would perhaps my opinion only crop out somemore of the left side as I find that little bit of the jerry can showing is a little distracting from the overall image. Having a little catchlight in the waxeyes eyes is always good if you can but do understand it doesn’t always happen I like the story you are telling here.

MEANDERING ICE, SHOTOVER RIVER By YVONNE ASSIE

a good choice of picture format I feel as it gives a real feeling of depth, the ice makes for an intersting leading line in the image. Composition and exposure I feel have been well handled, your dof I feel might have been a little deeper, thi nsway the trees in the background might have been more in focused.

WAGON OF BYGONE AREA By YVONNE ASSIE GRADE; ACCEPTED

This image is a high contrast image with many areas of the shadow in black. When there are solid black areas in an image the eyes tend to look at the patterns (like 2D patterns). Would you try post processing this again with pulling more details from the shadow areas of this wagon but maintaining the dark sombre sky? I believe this image has potential to be worked out further.

TORTURED TREE By YVONNE ASSIE GRADE; NOT ACCEPTED

NZ is famous for its tortured trees. This is definitely one of them. In a low key almost monochrome image, where there is light or colour, the eyes will tend to go straight there. In this case, the eyes went to the small little brown land area. There is definitely potential in this image if you try to re work it a little. Try a B&W process. For competitions, it is also important to ensure that all sensor dust spots are removed totally. There is one on this image on the right hand side.

HUDDLED FOR WARMTH By YVONNE ASSIE, GRADE MERIT

We enjoyed the way these two cutties are surrounded by the colourful leaves and because they were so different they stand out clearly as the focal point. The large area of white in the bottom left is very distracting and we suggest cropping in closer to remove this distraction. This closer crop which still leaves the birds sitting in the middle of the frame surrounded by the red leaves and berries tells the same story but it is stronger.

PATTERN OF NATURE By YVONNE ASSIE GRADE; ACCEPTED

A lovely photo showing the pattern of the petals in a dahlia. Unfortunately the centre petals are not quite sharp. Using an f stop like f8 or f9 would have given enough depth of field for this flower to be totally sharp. The strong colour and the gradation of colour adds to the photo’s appeal.

SEED POD MAGNOLIA BY YVONNE ASSIE

SECOND EQUAL

ZEBRA DOOR CHALMER STREET SYDNEY By: YVONNE ASSIE GRADE: NOT ACCEPTED

Very busy, too much included. Try cropping of the fanlight and smaller trims at the left hand and bottom edges.

HARBOUR BRIDGE WALKERS SILHOUETTED By YVONNE ASSIE GRADE: ACCEPTED

Well seen with the silhouette shapes and figures plus the clouds all adding interest. Tidy presentation and good exposure.

LEAF TRAPPED IN ICE by YVONNE ASSIE; Grade: Merit

Well seen view of this leaf and the geometric shapes for an interesting almost abstract view

SARAH by YVONNE ASSIE; Grade: Acceptance

Nicely exposed short of this bride, be careful with your cropping as the image would have been improved if you can included all of the hair and the hand, slightly under exposed and a tweak of the shadows slider in your processing software would have helped.

ICED BERRIES by YVONNE ASSIE; Grade: Accepted

Wow that looks cold !!! Try cropping a little more off the left side, this will balance the Image and give It a more dynamic diagonal composition, A touch more detail extraction and sharpening would also enhance an otherwise nice Image.

THANKS FOR THE GAME by YVONNE ASSIE; grade: Merit

If the author goes to lots of Hockey games can I suggest you keep working on this idea, Had It been sharper on the players this side of the line and cropped into a longer thinner Image, you could easily get a higher grade.

ICE CLAWS by YVONNE ASSIE; Grade: Merit

ICE PATTERNS by YVONNE ASSIE; Grade: Not Accepted