Wild/Dramatic Weather - Hand in 10th July 2025 Digital

C Grade  - SET Subject

Atawhai Sunset

 NA

Nice composition.

Horizon, soft, less sky/crop. Foreground distracting, but the grey and reddish tones work well together.

Better fitted for Open topic.  Re-work and can resubmit

Car Wash!

 M

Dramatic. Lots of action

3 cars – “Threes or uneven numbers work well” – the distant road cone show there is more potential trouble ahead.

Hear the Thunder

 M

Eye drawn to the clouds – they are very interesting – almost a cyclone in the middle.

Crop bottom even better

Inlet Salt Works Side

 NA

Nice image. I Like the colour of the sea and sparkle on the water, nicely sharp.

Enhance clouds, crop bottom to bring the horizon down (Rule of thirds)

Better fitted for Open topic.  Re-work and can resubmit.

Rainbow delights

 A

Half the image is great composition. Excellent opportunity photo.

The foreground in distracting and could be cropped.  Think about ‘where’ taking image from. Prepared to hunt out a more attractive viewpoint. (photographers are “hunters”)

Roaring Southerly

 H

Composition excellent. Foreground in focus, the image shows foreground, mid-ground and background muted colour tones, apart from foreground.

Consider more contrast to tweak it a little. Very well done.

Storm brewing

 A

Composition good, I wonder about the degree of saturation in the foreground. Those green tones look overdone. However you have captured a dramatic sky.

B Grade – Set Subject

A Bad Sign

 A

In the middle/aftermath of the storm. This shows a miserable, wet, nasty day.

Crop right and bottom to unclutter the image, that done would have elevated this image to merit. I like the ironic humour and it tells a story.

Beams of light

 M

Beautiful corpuscular rays. Composition well done with multiple triangles.

Foreground ???    Blown out in parts which lets it down from an honours to a merit.

But lucky you to capture that magic

Blown Away

 M

On point for topic as very dramatic. Great composition.

Menacing look of background that large amount of water pouring down.

See the misty outline of another cliff face, there are some areas that could have been selectively sharpened to add drama.

Flooding affecting the Taylor River

NA

Hard to tell what it is, I found this a little confusing.

Nothing to focus on, that object in the bottom left is distracting.

The image does show the aftermath of the flood.

Floodwater rushes through a farm gate

 H

Titles are important. Image needs to speak for itself. Could trim off some of the sky composition shows foreground, mid-ground and background.

Good story. On topic as dramatic on the day. Atmospheric – a really nasty and distressing scene

Squally

 M

Very intriguing and very dramatic. Excellent story, extremely windy, I wouldn’t want to be in the middle of that squall. Those background hills are towering and look imposing, the sun touches the bottom of the clouds and on the hills adding to the scene.  

Storm clouds over Rarangi

 A

Looks like raining in the background and very moody. The layering of the rain clouds adds to the moodiness. Is the horizon straight??

The left foreground is not sharp. However the image shows foreground, mid-ground & background.

Vineyard under flood waters

 M

A very Grim story showing the aftermath and serious effects. Good composition with diagonal lines pulling one into the image.

Close-up, the colours in the floodwaters right hand side are intriguing.

Whakatipu Storm.

 M

Great image, well done in the displaying it in mono tones. The log in the foreground is great but its dominance overpowers the great moody dramatic weather in the background

Well defined foreground, middle and background. Maybe would of suited Open topic better

Wild Winds Wharariki beach

 M

I’ve been on that beach! Great dramatic weather with the sand and wind blowing, I can almost feel the sand stinging my legs. The mono effect works well.

Could consider a crop right of the rock. The light while adding to the story, may be little intense.

B Grade - OPEN

Blowing Bubbles

 H

Great street photography. It brought a smile to my face after all the gloomy moody weather shots!

Good angle has avoided a cluttered background – and what is there, is blurred. Well done.

Foggy Morning

 M

Surprised not in the set topic. Real sense of mood. The island and the boat in thirds so excellent position. Small things like the light on the boat. A lovely image.

Huddling together on a frosty, misty Marlborough morning

 A

The title length and description is important. This is too descriptive, let the viewer choose their own title.

Lots of atmosphere and great treatment selected for the image. The grouping of the three cattle works well.

Sadly let down by the foreground branches on left hand side. Once seen, I couldn’t unsee.

The Boss -Hydrofoil boat racing

 M

Pin sharp boat with the panning. Lovely bright boat. Good composition.

The large amount of spray signals the speed of the boat must be moving at.

A Grade - SET Subject

A Red Weather event Kenepuru Sound

 H

Beautiful sky foretelling bad weather. Well done with the light on the water. There is beauty but threat in the image. The storm is advancing and will swallow the remaining remnants of sun and light.

Breaking Wild

 H

Very dramatic and great composition. I wouldn’t want to be there capturing the image.

Rule of thirds is followed, triangle area on the left adds to the drama. Where is it???

Car Surfing

 M

I like the use of mono-tone filters. Good composition and diagonal lines. Good story.

A fanciful thought of mine, imagine the scene with a vintage car?

End of the Drought?

 NA

I assume a nor-west breeze is blowing the dry grasses.

 A clever minimalist image, but better fitted for Open topic. 

Flooded Roads- Blenheim 2025

 A

Interesting shot, the sort of I’d expect to see in the newspaper. But cluttered in this instance, with the bus looking crammed in behind the Ute. I like the bright red signs, although they could be distracting.  

Navigating the storm

 H

Creative composition of a busy scene but tells a rainy story with the mono treatment highlighting the rain pouring down. Even that car on the right-hand side adds to the story.

Nor' West Clouds

 NA

Beautiful sunset. Lovely clouds, rich red tones.

Remember the old saying “Red sky in the morning shepherds warning, Red sky at night shepherds delight”.

However, more suited for different topic, or open. 

Ominous Skies

 M

Quite a dramatic image, clouds are mostly cirrocumulus, similar to altocumulus but higher up and blobs are much smaller ( Ref: Neil Gordon)

Movement of the hills and clouds ‘rolling’ giving it a lovely composition. 

one in one hundy flood

 A

Great record shot and  a great story I felt as if the horizon wasn’t straight .. but it was J

I felt as if the key focus of the sign was a little lost

Seeking Refuge

 A

The initial impression was great. I really like the drama of the waves and birds. Good composition foreground, mid-ground and background, sadly the image is let down by a sloping horizon and un-sharp log.

storrmy outside

 NA

It doesn’t really portray the topic. The white sign once noticed, can’t be unseen and is distracting.

The Flooded Taylor Walkway

 A

The aftermath of the event with the river high is well told. Across the river is quite distracting as it’s sharp when compared to the tranquillity of the water that has been ‘blurred’ during the shot.

The Ned

 M

Assumption before the storm, Well composed. Cloud is billowing and well defined with texture.

The sunlight and an on looker would sense that those threatening clouds will overcome the sun .

The Richmonds

 H

Well composed with multiple layers even in the clouds. The sunlight peeping through lifts the image.

Well done.

A Grade - OPEN

A Winters Morning, Picton Foreshore

 H

Ahhh .. what I would give to be sitting there on the bench. I feel the stillness and calm.

Hint: When taking a shot, in reference to the two boats overlapping - try and separate the images.

Graceful on skates

 A

Composition is good. Well set up and the movement and concentration is lovely.

While the background is blurred – I feel that the two signs were still too prominent.