| C GRADE | | | | |
| 1_Cornish | Irene | Absalom | The shadows add nicely to the scene but there are also a lot of other
distractions in the scene. This is actually one instance where a strong flash
would make the subject stand out from the rest and allow one stop less
exposure of the ambient to help save the blown highlights. | Accepted |
| Stone Cottage | Jenny | Leadbetter | An interesting scene with good composition. The image displayed very
small on the screen though and perhaps needed to be uploaded in higher
resolution? | Accepted |
| Autumn Splendour | Jenny | Leadbetter | A pleasing scene with a nice sky. This image displayed rather small on
the screen and perhaps needed to be uploaded in higher resolution. | Accepted |
| 2_House | Irene | Absalom | Well composed and interesting subject. Perhaps the top could show the
whole arch. This image came up tiny on the display and may need to be
uploaded at a higher resolution. | Accepted |
| Moment in time | Jude | Knight | The composition is very good but the theme gets lost in the blown
highlights and bright plant behind the smoke. An overcast day may work better
or even under-exposure with some side flash added. | Accepted |
| Blue Light Reflections | Jude | Knight | Well exposed image that provides a scene with a lot of interest to browse | Accepted |
| Sumner Estuary | Gwenda | Johnson | A good composition which gives the boat a little extra space in front of
it in the direction that it would move. It would be interesting to see a 2
second exposure to smooth out the water around it. | Accepted |
| Overcast day at Sumner | Gwenda | Johnson | The sparkling wave in the centre provides the main point of interest
which is spoiled a bit by the very bright patch in the foreground. The dark
spot at upper left made me think someone had their finger in front of the
lens and perhaps could be lightened. | Accepted |
| Amazing Lake | Nathan | Green | Nice colours and symmetry with almost everything in the scene
complementing the image. | Honours |
| Light Beam Over Mountain | | | This feels like two separate subjects, crashing waves in the foreground
and calm mountains in the background, with no specific point of interest. | No_award |
| Lines and Angles | | | The image has potential but looks like it needs a tighter crop. | No_award |
| Stockton Miners Drying Room | | | The scene is a little messy with the further distraction of the blown
highlights. There is potential in the room perhaps from a different angle. | No_award |
| B GRADE | | | | |
| Lake Mapourika | Alan | Dunscombe | This is a potentially pleasing scene but the lighting is a little harsh
making the tree in the centre look like the focus of attention. The
reflections of the fuzzy grass do look very pleasing though and have a good
symmetry about them. | Accepted |
| Boy waiting for ferry in Milford Sounds | Julie | McLean | This is an interesting scene with a lot to catch the attention. I would
suggest that initially it looks like the boy has just strolled into your shot
which blocked the writing on the boat. Possibly a wider shot would tell a
different story along with allowing a little more ‘breathing room’ for the
top of the mountain on the left. | Accepted |
| cloud breaking Milford Sound | Brian | Edmunds | This scene has a lot of potential – not so good looking as the entire
scene but perhaps with much tighter crops of the upper left or right. | Accepted |
| Shears | Martin | Kircher | A very image scene that could be improved by having less in the scene –
or at least remove the plastic pipe that doesn’t add to the picture. | Accepted |
| Autumn Twizel | Brian | Edmunds | Nice colours and well cropped. | Accepted |
| Summer Feeling | Ross | Lawler | A playful pose – the tree in the way is a little distracting. If you
lowered your angle you’re shooting from you will find that more of your
background will look blurred, like the top half of the image. The bottom 10%
of the image has the background looking in focus which you don’t want in a
portrait shot. Cropping away the lower 20% would have the image looking 5X
more professional without the branch and with the whole background looking
blurred. | Accepted |
| Woolshed Drama | Ross | Lawler | Nice moody dramatic scene. However the bare patch on the right looks like
it is missing some form of interest, maybe a large rock or person wallking. | Accepted |
| Just Cruising | Martin | Kircher | Good panning and movement.Too much space above the subject though. | Accepted |
| The art of decay, a loco retrieved from
the Oriti | Arthur | Linnell | Well composed with good perspective. The blown out sky keeps leading my
eyes away from the subject though. | Accepted |
| Harrier Hawk | Amy | Boyce | Well framed and timed image. The tree branch behind the left wing seems
to be imitating the exact shape of the wing which makes one wonder whether
that is a standard design in nature for dealing with wind. | Honours |
| Katydid | Sue | Titmuss | Nice lines in the image and no distracting colours.. | Honours |
| Picture perfect puppy | Amy | Boyce | A perfectly framed and executed shot that anyone would want hanging on
their wall! The dog’s expression is priceless. If I were to nit-pick I would crop about
10% off the right side of the image. | Honours |
| Grumpy cat | | | Cats are quite easy to photograph – perhaps get it into better lighting
or sitting looking out of the window – something more interesting. | No_award |
| I herd ewe | | | perhaps give it a bit more space above its head. | No_award |
| Lake Matheson Sunrise | | | The right hand central third of the image could look good on its own but
in its entirety is lost against all the blue sky. | No_award |
| St Josephs Dunedin by night | | | The blown out entrance dominates the image and is further highlighted by
being so close to the camera. | No_award |
| A GRADE | | | | |
| The Sumatran | Sandra | Fleet | Nice intense gaze and sharp image without any over-processing. | Accepted |
| A Moment Captured In Time | Lisa | Carter | Interesting look on the model’s face, though my eye keeps being drawn to
the left edge where the frame cuts the dress. Perhaps if the dress stopped
just inside the frame it would look better. | Accepted |
| Bookworm | Catherine | Dalton | Nice composition however the look on her face suggests she knows she is
being photographed. Also the bright colours in the blanket draw too much
attention. The dog’s pose is perfect! | Accepted |
| Tipsy | Sandra | Fleet | This could be a winning image if it were just the original but it appears
to be a Photoshopped mirror image that immediately spoils the perfect timing
of the shot. | Accepted |
| Thoughtful | Lisa | Carter | Nice lighting, perhaps a much
closer crop would limit the distraction of the white towel. | Accepted |
| No Longer a Choice | Keith | Sycamore | The composition is good, perhaps clone the two spots on her hand that
divert attention from the central subject. | Accepted |
| Skin Deep | Veronica | Wedlake | Interesting play with Photoshop but I first noticed the pattern on the
skin on her forehead but not in her dark hair, which doesn’t quite match the
rest of the image where it just shows through dark patches. | Accepted |
| Brittany | Graham | Dean | The bright highlights in her hair near her neck detract a little from the
subject. | Accepted |
| Birds House at Dawn | Trevor | White (LPSNZ) | A good scene with a nice mood. The extra space on the left demands to
either be cropped or have something to add like perhaps a horse in the fog or
someone walking to the house. It would be interesting to see how it would
look with someone looking through the gap in the door. | Accepted |
| Through The Mist | Shaun | Denholm | The clear foreground doesn’t fit the rest of the scene, perhaps with the
lower third cropped away it would be more dramatic. | Accepted |
| Arnemetia | Colleen | Linnell | Well executed editing. Perhaps 10-20% of the right side of the frame
could be cropped to focus more on the subject. | Accepted |
| sunrise above Lake Pukaki | Allan | McGregor | Very nice tones and mood. I think the composition could be improved by
cropping away 10% on the right and 20% at the bottom. | Accepted |
| Blocking _ Wheel Chair Rugby | Richard | Cooper | There is a lot of action and emotion in this image – the crop does seem a
bit excessive on the left. | Accepted |
| Winter Reflections | Sarah | Perrins | The symmetry and interesting colours in the reflections make this an
interesting image to browse for a while. The bits of sky at the top could be
cropped out. | Accepted |
| In flight | Sarah | Perrins | A nicely captured scene with relaxing tones. Since there isn’t a lot to
look at in the background a tighter crop may be beneficial. | Accepted |
| curvacious | Jan | Driscoll | Perhaps too much has been added to the scene, less is more – maybe just
one marble in the clutches of the leaf would make a great image. | Accepted |
| Within Circles | Maxine | Cooper | I’m waiting for a spaceship to come through that trans-warp conduit. | Accepted |
| Nugget Point | Cathy | Price | Some very nice lighting in the centre of the frame that could have
perhaps made for a better horizontal scene. Portrait mode landscapes can be
tricky – the horizon is very central, perhaps cropping the lower third away
would remove what doesn’t really add much to the scene and provide more space
for the beautiful central light to dominate the image and drop the horizon
away from the centre of the frame. | Accepted |
| At the Rodeo | John | Hoeben | An interesting image of anticipation like a scene from a movie. The
background is blurred just enough to see what is going on without it being a
distraction. Very close to being an ‘honours’ image. | Accepted |
| Flow of the land | Maxine | Cooper | An interesting image – I’m trying to imagine what it would look like with
a boat with a long mast in the centre. The centre left bit doesn’t fit so
well though, it could almost be an image on its own | Accepted |
| Mitre Tree | Cindy | Signal | This has potential though the crop feels a little tight. The left side of
the tree is chopped off in similar way an athletes foot may be cut out of the
picture, and you wish it was visible. A photographer could spend a while
trying different things with this scene. | Accepted |
| Taking a break | Cathy | Price | An interesting image but the upper right bright spot drags the eye away
from the scene. The image could benefit from a tighter crop. | Accepted |
| Girl with a Lace Scarf | Cheryl | Muirson | Her eyes are very expressive and deep, she looks like someone who just
stepped out of a time machine from 200 years ago. | Honours |
| Last Light | Shaun | Denholm | Very nice lighting and composition. | Honours |
| Take That | Graham | Dean | I like the colour and movement in the scene, the yellow spray behind his
head really makes it look like his head has just been knocked backwards, and
is still moving. The right hand quarter of the image is a different story and
could be cropped away to put all the attention on the subject. Very well
timed. | Honours |
| My Place In Reality | Errol | Hitt | A really fascinating image to stare at and figure out what is going on.
It would be amazing if the person’s face wasn’t blocked ….. or is that
perhaps part of the mystery??? Well done! | Honours |
| Melborne Bushfire Skies | Dominic | Stove | A good composition that looks like a futuristic movie scene. Everything
just seems to be perfectly exposed in this image. | Honours |
| Siena in the Rain | Robyn | Carter | A well processed moody scene that makes you feel like you are there.
Plenty to browse and something new to notice for many days after hanging it
on the wall. | Honours |
| Fanfare by night | | | Has potential but very messy due to noise and light reflections. | No_award |
| Seven Faces of Boredom | | | The bright glare in the centre is distracting – and separates the three
middle subjects from the rest. The overdone processing doesn’t help the image
either. | No_award |
| Still Got It | | | Perhaps if the subject was sharper it could create more contrast with the
scene. | No_award |
| Bristlecone detail | | | The blown highlights in the centre detract from what could be an
interesting composition. | No_award |
| Looking Back | | | This may look better in a simpler scene without the extra basin and
mirror. A crop of the upper half of the image would give more attention to
the face and actual theme. | No_award |
| Stones of Hinewai | | | The lens reflections at the upper left keep drawing my eye away from the
scene which could possibly look better from a higher vantage point so the
bigger rocks in the middle could be separate from the surrounding ring of
stones. | No_award |
| A meal for 2 | | | This could be an interesting scene if it weren’t for the unnecessary
processing effects – the soft looking wall makes the birds | No_award |
| With a Flash of Feathers | | | The angle of the lighting immediately draws attention to imperfections on
the neck otherwise the tones are nice. | No_award |
| Overlooking Mirror Lake | | | The tree provides some interest but otherwise the rest of the scene
doesn’t have very interesting lighting. | No_award |
| blondie | | | An interesting image, the expression itself isn’t that captivating. | No_award |
| Your fears don’t know how strong you are | | | Good symmetry though she appears to be in a lot of pain – not strong
looking. | No_award |
| Abstract seascape I | | | With the horizon looking fairly normal the centre of the image looks like
it needs more of an interesting shape to catch the attention. | No_award |
| ashworth beach | | | Having the sky in the scene makes it look like a landscape image but
there isn’t a lot of foreground or mid-ground interest for a landscape. | No_award |
| In The Mist | | | A good idea but the trees themselves don’t look very dramatic for the
scene. The composition is good though. | No_award |
| Go with the Flow | | | The rocks should be a lot sharper for a tripod[?] shot. | No_award |
| Heading Home | | | It feels like he should have traffic behind him on a long road, or
something more interesting in the background. | No_award |
| The Old Joanna | | | The composition could be improved greatly by including maybe the whole
piano from the side or perhaps with a super-wide close-up shot from the
front. | No_award |
| Waiting for a Kiss | | | The contrast in lighting levels on the subject and resulting noisy rear
leg suggest that perhaps the lighting could have been a bit better. | No_award |
| Ohau Stoem Brewing | | | The colours are nice but most of
the image doesn’t add to the theme or create something appealing to look at,
it looks like the left hand side of a bigger picture. With a scene like this
you are stuck with what nature gives you – unless you could perhaps get close
to a tree in the foreground and use it to frame your image. Or possibly crop
most of the right hand side away. | No_award |
| Mata-Au Mist | | | Lots of empty space that would provide a nice area for a canoe or
something of interest but if there isn’t anything in that space it is
probably better to crop it out of the image. | No_award |
| driftwood on the beach | | | This is almost two separate images, upper and lower. A wide angle lens
lower down and closer to the subject could make for a dramatic image. | No_award |
| Renaissance | | | The background looks a little strange along with the edge of the table
being visible. if the background was totally visible or invisible it would be
a big improvement. Admittedly glass is very tricky to light. Joe McNally said
“If something is difficult to light, don’t light it, light around
it”. It might be worth trying that with this scene. | No_award |
| | | | |
| Blue Light Reflections | Jude | Knight | Well exposed image that provides a scene with a lot of interest to browse | Best C Grade |
| Picture perfect puppy | Amy | Boyce | A perfectly framed and executed shot that anyone would want hanging on
their wall! The dog’s expression is priceless. If I were to nit-pick I would crop about
10% off the right side of the image. | Best B Grade, Champion |
| Melborne Bushfire Skies | Dominic | Stove | A good composition that looks like a futuristic movie scene. Everything
just seems to be perfectly exposed in this image. | Best A Grade |
