Judge: Ricky Wilson

We were thinking natural and architectural ocurring pairs and doubles.. but searching the internet - yes it can be couples (as a 'pair') but their should be an emotional response to the couples image.
Also doubles ... so yes it can include double exposures.

https://www.theschoolofphotography.com/tutorials/double-exposure-photography 
 

In photography, "pairs" or "doubles" can refer to several concepts, including double exposure, duality, and repetition of elements. Double exposure involves layering two different images into one, often creating surreal or symbolic effects. Duality photography, on the other hand, focuses on juxtaposing contrasting elements or situations to create a sense of tension or contradiction. Lastly, repetition of elements, such as patterns or shapes, can be used to create a sense of rhythm or visual interest

Open

Set Subject

 

 

C Grade Set

Tickle me	M	Needs a tighter crop, sharp enough and well exposed, I like the loose feather on the right ducks bill. Merit
Self Belief	H	This is a very nice double exposure. Tells a story well. Honours
Sam and Sally Spotted Shag	A	Reasonably good, cropped well, and square.  My eye gets drawn to the rock top left, maybe  you could have adjusted your location slightly to keep the background elements less distracting.
Open or Closed	A	Crop it from the left to remove that window, and from the top to remove the distracting element top left.
C Grade Open
Tomtit - male	M	Needs a crop from the right, bird does not need that much space on the right to look into as its looking down, nice and sharp with adequate blurred background
I yam what I yam	M	Good experimenting with light, up the shadows a bit more so I can see the edges of the yams clearer
B Grade Set
Weka Chicks	M	Grass is a little overexposed, would look nice cropped 16:9 and lose some of the grass up top.
Weka chicks	A	Image is a bit soft, but well composed. I wish there was a touch more light in the right Birds Eye, a spot adjustment in editing software would fix this
Two faces of a teenager	H	Good low position, Grass is a little overexposed, would look nice cropped 16:9 and lose some of the grass up top.
Pairs Pears Pares	M	Ha, gave me a good laugh. Thinking outside the box, a good amount of effort involved Merit.
Male pheasants	H	Well caught, love how they’re both looking in the same direction too. They’re quick buggers!
In Formation	A	My eye is drawn to the spot bottom left, consider cloning that out, if you are into that. Or crop the whole land out all together.
Four pairs of oars in perfect harmony	M	A nice shot, I’m guessing from an overbridge? I’d love to see it in portrait orientation too. Would suit It better. Shutter speed needed to be faster
Dogs Walking	N	Blurry, blocked by distracting elements, Try again.
Cygnets at Taylor 2	A	Rear cygnet is a bit too soft, and I feel if you’d waited a bit longer you could have caught them both In a better position.
Coming thru	M	Well caught, appears to be heavily cropped though and not particularly sharp, I’m a bit picky when it comes  to that. Because of that, I can only give it a merit.
B Grade Open
Shire Horses at work	A	Overly sharpened, looks very crunchy
Kingfisher with a crab	H	Lovely image, super sharp, well exposed.
Crowded cafe, Barcelona	M	Portrays the idea of crowds and busyness well.
As the Sun goes Down	A	Horizon not straight, looks a bit like every other beach sunset image, sorry!
A Grade Set
Wellington Construction	M	A nice 2 dimensional looking image, infrared? Fits the brief.
Two Survivors	A	It’s a little hard to see that this is two trees, but nice exposure and framing.
Two of a Kind	M	A nice natural history pic, nothing particularly wrong with it, but it’s rather ordinary seeing pied stilts in that manner. If you’re able I wish you’d have gotten a little lower to see less of the dirt above, and more of the birds and their reflections.
The Pair become One	H	A very creative image. I’d love to know exactly how you did it, and how much work was involved in post.
Slime Moulds	H	Technically perfect, can’t make any comments as there’s nothing wrong. Honours.
Sealed with a Kiss	A	Needs more light on subjects and a straightened horizon I can’t see the grooms face much either. From that angle I can’t even tell if they’re kissing.
Rough and Smooth	A	Sorry, nothing particularly special about this image, but nothing really bad about it either. Difficult to comment on it.
Reflections on the beach	N	There’s just nothing about this image that grabs my attention, a grab shot. NA
North South versus East West Bridge Pairs	M	I wish this was more centred, like directly behind one players shoulders and less on a lean like that, but still, fits the brief well. Merit
Mirrored reeds	M	My only comment for this image is I wonder if you’ve done this in post or if that was how you saw it. Either way. Merit
Man and his Dogs	A	Good composition, but nothing particularly special about it. Acceptance
Look Out!	M	Well caught, good crop at 16:9.
Fungi Pair	H	A well deserved honours, perfect fungi image, and fits the set subject, you should be very proud
Bovine Bro's	A	A little soft/pixelated
A winter rose	M	Lovely use of reflections, well exposed and composed, but I’d suggest a further crop. Too many empty space
A Grade Open
The Engine Boy	M	I’d like to see more of the right side of his face, and less space on the left. Nice post production effect with the desaturation
Surfing in the sun	H	Surfing is not at easy at all to photograph.great positioning in the frame showing ther wave they’ve just rode, and the destination incoming. Great water splashes coming off the hands too.
Industry beneath the hills	A	Doesn’t really jump out at me to be honest, a bit of a grab shot, a bit more contrast in the hills could be nice.
Honey Bee	H	Wonderful image, well composed, pin sharp. The bee looks so large in the frame, I’m wondering if the photographer used a macro with a greater magnification than 1:1, if you’re here tonight please let me know!

 

Shot of the Month

Fungi Pair by Helen Rietveld

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