Many thanks to our judge, Liz Hardley.
| C GRADE | |||
| time for a shave | This is a thoughtful still life of objects used in the past for shaving. The image is well lit, and the objects are sharp. The image looks as if like it may have been composited. The shaving mirror overlaps with the dish, and the strop disappears into the shaving mirror, and the effect does not look natural. I would like to see more separation between the objects. Adding a white border would help delineate the edges of the image. | No award | |
| Bridge Arch | Paul Dolheguy | I like the way the photographer has not just taken a straight record shot, but chosen a different viewpoint to take the arch. I like the contrast of the soft sky with the stone arch. The subject is sharp, and we can see quite a lot of texture in the stone. The tonal range is good and the exposure has been well handled. | Accepted |
| Burkes Rocks | I like the textures in the rocks. The image is very flat though and needs more contrast to accentuate those textures. A lower angle may have helped the composition. | No award | |
| Mail Call | I feel this may be taken on a model railway, as the foliage in the background looks different in scale to the train and station. The mail van looks out of place at Culcreuch and the driver looks like a model. | No award | |
| Watching from the Shadows | This is a moody dramatic shot, of an animal, probably a sheep. I like the way the image has been composed and lit in order to emphasise the eye. I would have liked to see the borders of the image delineated with a fine white line. I feel the image has been enlarged beyond its limits, and the contrast has been pushed too far. A lot of the image looks oversharpened and the eye is out of focus. | No award | |
| Mix Up | I think Mix Up is a good title, as I’m not sure what I am focussing on in this image. There are so many different patterns and my eye is wandering around the image without settling. Ultimately, I find it too confusing. | No award | |
| Okarito | Diane McGregor | I think this is a well taken image of the building, with lovely lighting and sky. There are some interesting textures on the building. | Accepted |
| Oamaru Artist | I think this is a well seen image by the photographer, who has spotted this artist at work. Even in silhouette we can see he is an artist. I don’t feel the bottom part of the image contributes to the story and I would suggest a crop under the door. | No award | |
| Black Thunder | Monita Baird | There are some interesting lines and curves in this architectural shot. I think the darker base and he white sky balance the image well, and there is a good tonal range from black to white. | Accepted |
| a peaceful moment | Kath Cosgrove | The photographer has captured here a special quiet moment. Both mother and baby may even be asleep, and unaware that the photograph is being taken. Slight vignetting directs us towards the subjects. Compositionally, I feel this might have worked better with more eye contact between the mother and baby, and a less tight crop. The image is quite soft too, and there is lack of focus on the baby. | Accepted |
| Looking Closer | This is another take on an earlier image, this time focussing on a small section of the building. I like the fact the photographer has time to explore different ways of shooting the building. Although there are some strong lines in this more abstract image, I don’t feel the expanse of grey metal is that interesting, and the image is overpowered by the bright sky on the right. I prefer the earlier shot of the whole building. | No award | |
| Daredevil Lucas | Hayden McCoy | Lucas has been very well captured in mid-air. The image works really well compositionally, and is very sharp. I like that Lucas is focussed on his bike. The photographer may have over-brightened his eye, but to a good purpose. I like the use of the clouds to frame the subject, but feel that the sky may have been burned in too heavily, and there is a visible halo around the head, which needs to be addressed. | Accepted |
| Cactus Spiral | Wendy Pope | A simple image which works very well with a black background. I like the lighting, which accentuates the spiral pattern of the leaves. I would suggest that the author add a narrow border to delineate the edges of the image. | Honours |
| Granite | This image to me is all about the dramatic lines in the granite, and this has been well seen by the photographer. It lacks sharpness and contrast though, and I can see brown specks throughout the image, which should have been de saturated. | No award | |
| Snow on Mountain Beech | This is a stark landscape, and the contrast between the snow and the trees has been well seen. The brightly lit tree in the foreground dominates the image. I feel the image is a tad soft and detail is lacking in the snow. The sky also shows dust spots, which could be cloned out. | No award | |
| Agave Curves | Wendy Pope | I love how you have lit the image to accentuate the curves of the agave. To me it channels Edward Weston. A simple but striking image, which works well in a square format. I like that you have added a white border, but unfortunately it overwhelms the image. I suggest you use a narrower border with greater opacity. | Honours |
| Saltwater therapy | Hayden McCoy | A well timed action shot of a surfer. We can feel the power of the waves, and the details in the water are well exposed. I like the position of the surfer and that we can see his face. Also, there are some interesting reflections in the water. I would like to have seen more contrast in this image, as it is a tad flat for me. | Honours |
| Coal Pit Dam, Naseby | Pauline Byrne | I like the simple black and white treatment of this image, which has a wintry feel to it. The reflections in the ripples of water work well, forming quite abstracted patterns. The border complements the image. | Accepted |
| Starboard | An interesting composition of the starboard end of a ship, showing its curves and textures. The rope is the focus for me, highlighted against the misty background. I would suggest the author adds a small white border around the image, so that the top and right hand edge of the image are delineated. | No award | |
| The Apostles | A very simple graphic image of nine palm trees. I am not sure whether these specific trees are locally named the Apostles, as otherwise the title does not make sense to me. | No award | |
| southernman | Kath Cosgrove | This is a well taken portrait of the “Southern man” and his horse. He looks quite the horse whisperer to me, someone who has a great connection with his horse, so the image tells me a story. I like the tight crop and the unobtrusive background. | Honours |
| Abandoned Church | I’m not sure if this is a real Church, as both the church and the grave looks like models to me, the high viewpoint accentuating their small size, and the foliage looking out of proportion. I am not getting too much impression of an actual abandoned Church, apart from peeling paint on the walls. Even if it is not a model I don’t feel this high vantage point works well for the subject. | No award | |
| B GRADE | |||
| Bannockburn vines | Brian Edmunds | This is an interesting landscape which juxtaposes a cultivated vineyard in the foreground with an untamed rocky hilly terrain in the background. A small sliver of a road separates them. The lines in the image lead me to the dark rocks in the background. | Accepted |
| The rustic relic | The “rustic relic” looks like it has seen better days. There is a sense of coldness about the image, with the white frost on the ground and the cool black and white tones of the metal. I love all the detail in the metalwork, and it looks like there would be a lot of opportunity to take close-up shots of such an interesting subject. As it is, this is more of a record shot for me. | No award | |
| Wave rocks | I love the way the rock has eroded creating such lovely textures. The image though lacks sharpness and contrast throughout, which means the textures are not shown to their best advantage. If it is possible to use a tripod in this spot I would recommend taking the image again. I would also suggest straightening the horizon a tad as it appears to be tilting to the right. | No award | |
| Lake Pukaki and Ben Ohau Range | There are some lovely elements in this image. The author has shown us mountains, lake, trees and clouds. I feel adding more contrast would make some of these features pop out more, as most of the image is quite flat and dull. The foreground however is rather bright, and pulls the eye down from the rest of the image. I think the author could experiment cropping this image to get some more simple crops. | No award | |
| Staveley-CO.-OP. Dairy 1916 | An interesting old historical building has been well documented here. There are lots of interesting textures in the roof and walls. It is a good capture, but I don’t feel that it goes beyond being a record shot. | No award | |
| Fork of Vevey | Jenny Leadbetter | I looked up Fork of Vevey, because I had never heard of it, and wondered at first if this was a somewhat surreal composite image. However, I learned that the fork is indeed real, and is located on Lake Geneva in Switzerland. I think the central composition works well, and that there are no distractions in the image to detract from the subject. I do feel though it is more of a record shot of an art installation than the creative image I felt it was originally. | Accepted |
| Shopping Mall Ceiling | Cliff Boddy | I think the author has done well to look upwards in the shopping mall and make a pattern shot of the ceiling. The lines all radiate from the bottom of the image to create a symmetrical fan effect, which is quite striking.. | Accepted |
| Eureka Tower | Rose Kerin | Black and white has been used to great effect in this image. It has been well crafted, with the pin sharp building contrasting beautifully with the soft sky to give a great moody effect. The lighting enhances the texture and shapes of the building. | Honours |
| Humphrey | Humphrey looks a bit guilty as he peeps out from the bedclothes! I don’t think this image was set up, but rather was well seen and captured by the photographer. The framing of the face works very well, and we are led to focus on the one eye that is showing. The overall image is a tad soft though and rather flat. Humphrey does look like he would be a good subject for future photoshoots. | No award | |
| Black Swans | The two swans are well captured. They constitute rather a small part of an image though, which is mainly populated by trees and shrubs. I would suggest cropping the top of the image. The two swans are also rather a distance away from each other, so their interaction is not strong. If it was possible, taking the shot from a lower angle and waiting for the swans to swim closer to each other would have made this a stronger image. | No award | |
| Melbourne Street | Rose Kerin | This looks like a house in a vibrant area, which has caught the eye of the photographer. There are interesting textures in the old bricks and stones juxtaposed with the modern tagging which defaces them. I do feel that a person in this image would have made it a more interesting street documentary style image, and taken the image to a higher level. | Accepted |
| Tommy, Mayor of Gladstone | Danielle Armstrong | Tommy looks like a cat with attitude, who knows he’s the boss. Initially, I didn’t see the mouse, but when I did, it fitted with my idea of his personality. I like that you got down low to take the image. The depth of field is quite shallow, but you’ve captured his eyes well and also got the mouse in focus. | Honours |
| The Old Woolshed | Danielle Armstrong | This is a rather timeless rustic scene, which works well in black and white. The two sheep have good eye contact with the photographer, and the old run down buildings provide a good backdrop. Maybe a slight crop at the bottom would have eliminated some blurry grass. | Accepted |
| #12 | Peter Wright | I was fascinated initially by the texture of the amazing wet fur in this head shot. I feel mixed emotions that the poor animal may have no place to shelter from the rain, coupled with a sense of its resilience in the face of adversity. it is a powerful rendering of an animal that only goes by a number and not a name and ultimately a poignant image. | Honours |
| Power Lines | A juxtaposition of a man made structure and the natural landscape. I think you could crop the bottom of the image to remove the blurred object. The image I feel would be stronger with more contrast between the power lines and the landscape. | No award | |
| Guardian of the shadows | This is a striking image of an owl in a window frame. I like the black negative space behind the owl. I do feel the image lacks sharpness though, both owl and window frame. | No award | |
| Alpine vista | This landscape shows some lovely lines and curves, but the whites are lacking texture and some parts of the image are burned out. It is a very flat image and lacks contrast. | No award | |
| A GRADE | |||
| Strength | We can certainly see the strength of this lady, as the photographer has given us just enough glimpse of the large weights she is lifting. The image looks like it could have been taken in a gym, as there is another figure visible in the background. This gives it a documentary vibe. The photographer may not have had much control over the lighting, but I feel better lighting would have accentuated the muscles more favourably. I also think there were better angles that could have been chosen, either so we could see the expression on her face or her back muscles better. I would suggest cropping the bottom of the image, which would make the background figure less conspicuous, and also let us focus more on the more interesting top half of the image. | No award | |
| Isabella | I like the uncluttered background, and I find the texture of Isabella’s hair beautiful. But to me Isabella looks like she has been deliberately posed in this way, and it does not look that natural of a pose. Her eyes are beautiful, but somewhat vacant. The lighting is flat, and I don’t really get much of a sense of who Isabella is. | No award | |
| Dandelion Diamonds | I like the way the author has captured the image of the dandelion with water droplets to create an image that resembles a diamond. The image is very graphic, and there is a lot of detail captured. The interaction of lines and circles works well. The way the depth of field drops off around the edges does not enhance the image, I feel. I would prefer the sharpness to extend throughout the image. Maybe photo stacking would have achieved this if a narrower aperture wasn’t possible. Also, the symmetry is not working and I am looking for and not finding a centre. The dark area, left of centre doesn’t work for me. There is certainly opportunity to post process this image in order to attain more symmetry and a more diamond like creation, and it may be worth the author revisiting the image. | No award | |
| Majestic | Sue Titmuss | Beautiful somewhat painterly portrait of a lion. There is a great connection between the lion and the viewer, with the lion’s eyes looking directly at the camera. He looks a very well groomed lion, and I love seeing all the detail in his fur. A vignette has been applied which allows us to focus on the subject. I do feel the lion would have “popped” even more with a darker background. In black and white I just feel that the background and the lion are too similar in tone. | Accepted |
| Falls | Marilyn Holgate | The waterfall has been captured very well, with the author using a shutter speed that softens the water, but still retains enough detail. The landscape is sharp and contrasts well with the water. I find the pale leaves on the right hand side a tad distracting. The author might consider cropping both the right hand side and the water at the bottom of the image. This would darken the bottom of the image and focus us more on the main waterfall. | Accepted |
| Ellangowan Uptown Girl | I find this quite a painterly portrait of a horse, as the background looks like it might have some texture added and/or artificially blurred, This works well, as it makes the subject pop out from the background, and adds contrast. I find the lead going out of the image a tad distracting, and feel that the painterly feel would have been enhanced with a bridle-free horse. | No award | |
| Bygone time | This is a timeless shot. The use of sepia and border enhances this effect. I love all the different textures in the image – the clouds, the tiles, the stone, and the wood, I feel though that the right hand side of the building should not have been cropped so tightly, and that a tad more space is required on the right hand side. I wonder if the tree has been added to the image later, as there is a white halo around it. | No award | |
| American Screech Owl | This is a striking graphic image of an owl. The black background certainly makes the bird pop out, especially the large eyes which peer directly at us. I suggest the author adds a thin white line around the edge of the image, so the edges can be seen when viewing on a black screen. I feel that this image has been over-sharpened and there is a lot of visible grain. Also, the owl does not merge naturally into the black background, and the author could look at the edges of the owl more carefully to improve the blending. | No award | |
| Date Night | Marilyn Holgate | This is a striking image. The dress, the hair, the makeup, theatrical lighting and black and white treatment all give it a glam vintage vibe. The anachronistic tattoo sleeve though provides an interesting juxtaposition with the rest of the image, and place it in more recent times. I enjoy what the author has created here, although you may wish to add a border to your image. | Honours |
| Scooter | Kristal Merry | The eyes and the whiskers really make this image for me. The depth of field is handled well so that we concentrate on Scooter’s beautiful face. Black and white works very well, although maybe the author could have added a thin white border to delineate the edges of the image. | Honours |
| Staircase | The staircase has been well seen, and turned into a dynamic abstract image. I feel the bottom right hand section though does not enhance the image, and a different crop which concentrated on the wrought iron spirals would make for a stronger composition. This could be achieved by rotating the image, and cropping off the section. | No award | |
| Mooloolaba Coast | Allan McGregor | I enjoy the juxtaposition of the hard, textured rocks and the fluffy soft water created by the long exposure. The vignette works well. There are some haloes around the rocks which could indicate some over sharpening. | Accepted |
| Demo | The authors appears to have combined different images to create a dark, grungy image of a demolition site. There are some interesting shapes, especially the swirling pale feathers which contrast with the many dark lines. I find the image somewhat confusing, and may have benefited from greater simplicity. | No award | |
| Lone Bedford | I think this is a well captured shot by the photographer. The image is technically good and ticks the boxes for lighting, sharpness and composition. The photographer is showing us the only object in an otherwise barren landscape. To me, although I do get a sense of the isolation of the truck, it is a record shot of a truck in the landscape. | No award | |
| Rocking horse | Colleen Linnell | I enjoy this image. It is basically a still-life of a rocking horse, but the lighting gives it a sense of mystery. I think to be elevated to Honours I would need to see more creativity worked into the image. | Accepted |
| Hong Kong | The author has taken this image from a classic viewing spot to capture a panoramic shot of Hong Kong. Framing the city with the foliage in the foreground works well compositionally, giving a good base to the image and juxtaposing nature with the man-made buildings. I like the recession in the image from the sharp clear foreground to the cloudy hills in the background. I do feel the image has been over-sharpened, with a few haloes apparent. | No award | |
| Concourse | Rosie Coster | The author has used the reflective flooring to create an interesting symmetry bisecting the image into two halves. The circular tunnel illusion created by the reflection almost makes me feel dizzy. | Accepted |
| Down Stream | This is a theatrical image, which may have been taken at a stage performance or set up in a studio. The model/actor is in a rather unnatural pose and I am unsure whether the author has directed that pose or captured it in a stage performance. I find it difficult to construe a story from the image, although the title is Down Stream and the markings on the floor resemble flowing water. I feel the woman dressed in black disappears into the screen behind her, and the image might have worked better without the screen or with some separation between the woman and the screen. | No award | |
| Docking at Fraser Island | I this as a well taken documentary shot of the boat docking. The sky is dramatic and the boat is sharp and well seen. I feel the blur which surrounds the subject does not enhance the image, and I would have preferred to have seen the image without the blur/filter or whatever has been applied. It may be that the author was trying to focus attention on the subject, but it does not work well for me. | No award | |
| Memories | Colleen Linnell | This is a “wow” creative image for me. The author has done a splendid job of blending two or more images to tell a story. I especially like the way the hair has been blended with the trees. To me the story is about an older man and his memories of being an active tramper in his younger days. There is a feeling of poignancy tempered with pride. The man misses the loss of his youth, but can still be proud of his memories. | Honours |
| Three Little Piggies | Kristal Merry | I guess the first word that came to my mind when I saw this image was “cute”. I can’t imagine how anyone could get these “three little piggies” to pose so exquisitely for the camera. I loved seeing their little feet, gorgeous fur, and bright eyes. Their individual expressions, give them each their own piggy personality. The photographer has chosen the perfect angle, composition, camera settings and lighting for this portrait. Plus – found the perfect title. | Honours |
| Grannies Pride | Cathy Price | This is a lovely formal family portrait, which I feel has been deliberately posed by the photographer. I think the grandson on the left has inherited his gran’s beautiful eyes, and I am particularly drawn to his eyes. A minor point, but I would have liked gran’s necklace to be moved round so that clasp wasn’t showing. I think you would have had time to do this when setting up the pose. I also find the placing of the hands in the image quite contrived. | Accepted |
| Picnic with Stu | Lyonne Van Robinson | The black and white treatment suits this image of a vintage picnic day out. There has been a lot of attention given to detail, with the old car, record player, hamper, clothing etc, and the chosen the location is timeless. I feel a lower angle and a crop of the sky might have strengthened this image. Eyes are drawn to the brightly lit windows of the car, and these could have be toned down. | Accepted |
| Coming Home | A good sharp well seen capture of nesting cormorants. I feel there is rather too much sky included in the image. A different crop, which only included the top two birds, would, for example, still tell the story but create a stronger image. | No award | |
| In the Depth of Darkness We Creep | Cheryl Muirson | I feel a sense of foreboding looking at this image, as though something unpleasant might suddenly happen in that narrow stretch of road. I like the way the author has handled the exposure and composition. Although a figure in the image might have added more to the story, the image still works well as is. | Accepted |
| bike action | John Cosgrove | This is a well-timed action shot. I particularly like the way the photographer has captured the expression of determination on the face of the rider. His focussed eyes really draw in the viewer’s attention. The depth of field has been handled well. I do feel though that while compositionally it works well filling the frame with the subject, that the image has been too tightly cropped, and that the image would have benefited from having more space both in front and behind the rider. | Accepted |
| Shapes of the land | As the title indicates, this image is about the beautiful shapes of the landscape. There are lots of strong crossing lines, which makes the image quite dynamic. I feel this image would have worked better at a different time of the day when there would have been higher contrast to accentuate the shapes. This is also an image which would have benefited from a tripod. It is quite grainy and lacks sharpness in parts of the image. I also am seeing haloes over the mountains, which need to be addressed. | No award | |
| Lake Quill | Cheryl Muirson | The Black and white treatment emphasises the textures of the rocks in this dramatic landscape, which is as much about the mountains as it is about the lake. I like the moody clouds which cover the mountains in the background. It may be worth cropping the bottom of the image, so that the pale patch is not so prominent. | Accepted |
| speedway action | John Cosgrove | This is a good PJ shot The dented car appears to have seen a lot of action. It is good to capture the wheel off the ground, although a more dramatic angle would have worked even better. The depth of field works well, with the subject dominating the action, and the obvious dirt in the background and around the car. The image might also work well in colour. I would have liked to have see more of the driver than just their helmet. | Accepted |
| Moonrise over Kaikoura | Sandra McCoy | I like the way the author has seen and created this minimalistic shot from just three elements. The lack of detail in the moon emphasises this image being more about shapes than detail. I would suggest adding a white border to this image in order to delineate the edges. | Accepted |
| Shadows of Solitude | Amy Boyce | This portrait has a timeless quality to it. There is nothing in the image to tell me when it was taken. The dress, sepia treatment and soft contrast channels Europe early last century. We can only guess what this young girl is thinking, but she is clearly in her own world. | Honours |
| Changi airport | Sarah Perrins | This image taken at the Jewel has been well captured. It is an image mainly about patterns and symmetry. I like the contrast of the flowing water and the patterns in the roof. I would suggest darkening/cloning the white areas on the left of the image. | Accepted |
| Miro and Rita | Sandra McCoy | This image works very well. I like the composition of the post and the two boats leaning in towards each other. I like the contrast of the sharp rocky foreground and the soft water. A slow shutter speed has created the lovely silky water which still has texture. I like the sky and fluffy clouds. The whole image is very well balanced. | Honours |
| Morning Mist | Robyn Young | A moody capture of a misty morning. There is a good contrast between the foliage in the foreground and the misty background. I feel cropping the left hand side of the image would strengthen the image. | Accepted |
| Agave Curves | Wendy Pope | Best C Grade | |
| Eureka Tower | Rose Kerin | Best B Grade | |
| Three Little Piggies | Kristal Merry | Best A Grade / Champion |