SSN_132_Ready and Waiting.jpg

Achieved. looking formidable. The main focus is on the chap in brown, he looks elongated or perhaps he is tall and very thin or perhaps it’s your narrow crop. I feel more room either side would help with the story.

OPN_132_Gentle Giant.jpg

Achieved. indeed a giant, you have good focus and sharpness on the neck and leg showing all the nooks and crannies but his head is soft when it needs to be sharp. The background is cluttered and I realise this is out of your control, try using a soft vignette would help to eliminate some of that enabling the eye of the viewer to focus on the subject. The crop is particularly tight on the top and sides, a wee bit more room needed, personally I don’t see the need to have all of the reflection in the frame, try cropping up from the bottom to the start of the leg gives more focus on him. The yellow water I find distracting, toning that down would help. A few things to think about but all the same good work.

FTA_132_honey bee at work.jpg

FTA_132_Lupin .jpg

OPN_132_Hidden Valley.jpg

Achieved. My eye journeys from the foreground rocks and the tuft of grass, along the converging lines in the valley towards the mountain in the far distance. I feel with more contrast plus a little darkening, this will enhance the detail and bring out the golden tones in your image. Potential here.

SSN_132_Beauty in the middle of now-where.jpg

Achieved I would like to see the small hut placed more on the left third to strengthen the composition. When taking an image move the camera around the landscape to see what possibilities you can establish. I like that you have included the buttercups in the foreground.

OPN_132_Rural mail.jpeg

Not Achieved. Regrettably not accepted, as pixel dimensions of 1920 by 1280 exceed the allowable 1920 by 1080.

SSN_132_Congratulations are in order.jpeg

Not Achieved. Regrettably not accepted, as pixel dimensions of 1920 by 1440 exceed the allowable 1920 by 1080.

SSN_132_ Autumn.jpeg

Acceptance. I like the way you have featured the foreground leaf. I have 2 suggestions which I think would improve it. 1-Use a tripod to keep the veins in this leaf sharper, and 2- Shade the scene so that the white spots are eliminated.

OPN_132_ Taking no bull!.jpeg

Merit. If there was no human carnage I will be amazed. Excellent exposure, sharpness, and I like the way you have cropped the heads from the guys on the fence – their faces could have taken the viewers eye from the main subject. Well done.

SSN_132_Sneek peak.jpeg

Achieved. Your gap has framed the mountain peak nicely, well spotted. You have managed to capture the complete frame with the thatching echoing the rough ragged edges of the distant mountains. There is a lot of interest in this image with the people in the foreground adding perspective to the mountain and recession of the other mountains. I would like to suggest that you bring up the exposure on the peak a bit more as it is very dark. This would help to see more of the texture and reduce the black look. Try it see what you think.

OPN_132_Winter has arrived.JPG

Achieved. You have captured a nice little scene here and the pop of colour with the autumn leaves along with the butterfly just adds some warmth to an otherwise cold situation. I would like to suggest you crop in closer on both sides to make the caravan and the red leaves the focal point in this scene. The rest is not adding anything to the story. According to your rules this is an oversized image, please bear this in mind for your next competition your size should be 1920 X 1650

OP 132 March colour in the streets of Ollantaytambo.jpg

Non Acceptance. Even though this technically should not be judged due to it being incorrectly named and sized (1224 x1632) as it is a novice I feel that I should. A lovely expression on the woman's face with her colourful outfit and headdress. The image leaves me intrigued and I wonder why all the people except one are heading in the opposite direction. I wonder if you could have said something to the lady to make her look up so that you could see her eyes. I feel that this would have been a stronger image if you had. You have caught a lovely expression. Think about the edges of your image. I feel that cropping the debris at the bottom of the shot would help.

SSN_132_Galapagos Gentle Giant.jpeg

Non Acceptance. Unfortunately not correctly sized(1908 x 2072). Nice low down perspective of a huge tortoise taking a drink. I enjoy the way the photographer has included the reflection. Good detail in the tortoise and you have captured the bubbles coming up. You might like to look at a sight vignette when you re-enter this image it will help to focus the eye. Try it you might like it.

SSN OP 132 Roads less traveled.jpeg

Non Acceptance. incorrectly titled.. Good use of the vehicles to create a lead in line into the image. Also creates a vision of where they are heading off too. Have a look at cropping a little off the sky. The exposure is well handled

SSN 132 Majestic Doubtful Sound.jpeg

Honours. This has nice angles leading you right into the image. The horizon line is just below centre which is good. The light sky could be darkened slightly.

OPN_132_Wind beneath my wings.jpeg

Non Acceptance The centre gull's feet are sharp but the shutter speed is too slow. There is some aberration in the image which may be a lens issue.

SSN_132_Feathers.jpeg

Merit. This should have been cropped through the middle and then just use the bottom right hand side. The image is sharp but could do with increased contrast.

SSN_132_Workplace.JPG

MERIT A great work place, even though its full of sheep it seems peaceful. It’s a shame the farmer is not looking towards you as that would have made a connection between him and the sheep. The bright back ground is distracting but not a lot you can do about that.

SSN_132_Warbirds Wanaka 2018 Debs A.jpeg

ACHIEVED. I like the moment of capture with the wheels just coming up or going down, a good high key image of the plane works well.

SSN_132_Holidays in QT 2019.jpg

HONOURS This is a well exposed image. I like the angle of the wash and the boat. The only thing that could be done differently would be to take the image as a vertical which would give more of the wash and tighten the composition. Well done.