Judge: Adair Wilson
Lets find the beauty in Winter !!!
Winter demands more preparation. Unlike in summer, when you can stroll outside with just your camera, you’ll need more supplies to thrive in winter. Gloves, Hat, Jacket, etc ....
https://www.thephotoargus.com/20-wonderful-examples-of-winter-photography/
https://www.thephotoargus.com/cold-weather-gear-for-photography/ - even suggesting a specific memory card to withstand the cold weather.
Open
Set Subject
Judge Adair Wilson
Commets from Adair "Many thanks for allowing me to view and critique your club members work, you have some wonderful image makers in your midst."
Image of the month was - Walking in Winter by Sue Henley
| Title | Rating | Comments |
| C Grade Set | ||
| Fresh Snow | Acceptance | I thought you have composed this image very well by using the hills on the left to act as a lead in and across the image. The road in the foreground does add a balancing base to the image although I felt the image would work just as well if that was cropped off. I felt to improve this image the exposure on the snow needed to be slightly darker and also the small stick on the road in the foreground ideally should be removed in post processing. If you have access to post processing the use of highlights and shadows would also have brought out a little more detail in the dark areas of the hills. You have chosen a good shutter speed for your subject and your F stop has resulted in most of the image being crisp which allows me to enjoy all the scenery. |
| Frosted Foliage | Acceptance | You have taken a lovely angle to the light to create some nice soft shadows amongst the foliage in front of you which adds to the mood of the image. Your exposure settings also have created a lovely soft feel. I felt to improve this image the large dense trees in the background on the right hand side of the frame ideally needed to be subdued as they are creating a sense of 2 images in one frame. This could either be corrected in post processing by lightning up the trees or alternately by cropping the image down the middle and excluding the foreground plant on the right and make the image only consist of the taller trees on the left hand side. The trees in the background on the right side are currently very dominant and tend to draw my eye into the background rather than keeping it in the foreground area. I felt without the solid trees in the background the smaller bush on the right could stay as they are as it helps create a nice composition beside the trees on the left. |
| Heading towards the light (and warmth) | Merit | I felt you’ve done a very nice job composing this image and also handling the settings on your camera. The two people walking into the image create a nice story and the light being emitted from the building has helped balance up the frame as well. To improve this image I felt the exposure could have been dropped down just slightly as the light coming out of the front of the barn is quite bright although the adjustment needed would only be minor. Otherwise I thought you’ve done a very good job of composing this image to not only tell the story but also allow a viewer to walk into the image and be there with the other people. |
| Hoar frost | Acceptance | I like the angle you have taken on the pine needles as the diagonal angle of them helps to create a sense of depth in the image. It appears that the light on the day has been somewhat flat which in some ways has worked against you as there is a lack of any shadow detail and minimal contrast. You have focused very nicely and also used a good depth of field to keep the detail crisp and sharp and I felt that post processing could be used to adjust the contrast in the image to help improve the sense of depth. |
| Icicles | Acceptance | I felt you have done a good job presenting the icicles in their entirety in this frame and handled your exposure and focusing very well. The very long icicle on the left helps unite the other smaller bicycles on the right side of the frame. I felt to improve this image focusing on some of the smaller icicles on the right side may have made for a stronger and clearer image as I felt the somewhat messy grass area (particularly up in the left hand corner) competes for my attention with the lovely simplistic icicles across the rest of the image. |
| Looking inland from the Clarence | Merit | I felt your composition in this image has worked very well as the slopes from the hills on the right hand edge and the cabbage tree in the bottom left hand corner create a nice angle which helps lead my eye into the image. The darker foreground mountains then lead my up into the mountains up in the back and as a result this creates a very pleasant visual circle. You’ve handled your exposure settings fairly well as most of the snow on the mountains is still visible with relatively few burnt out areas. The clouds in the sky also help create a sense of softness across the frame. |
| On a Foggy Winters Morning | Merit | I very much enjoyed the soft and yet dramatic mood of this image as the dark hill in the background at first glance appears like a very stormy cloud. In reality that area appears to be a hill in the background with descending cloud and lower fog over the town. The buildings and trees that are peeping up through the lowest fog create a nice sense of recession across the image. I would suggest to improve this image there needs to be a little more space to the left of the lamp so that it is a little bit more balanced with the area of water on the right hand edge. |
| Rainy Winter's Night | Acceptance | I enjoyed the lovely coloured areas in this image as they helped create a journey for my I to wander round the frame. The water droplets have also made for some interesting detail. I felt there is quite a strong difference in pattern between the droplets as the ones on the right are far closer together compared to those on the left and I felt to improve this image there ideally needed to be a slightly better transition between the two areas. At present I felt the large number of droplets on the right creates a slightly unbalanced feel to the image as a whole. You have used very effective selective focusing and a good depth of field to create the lovely patterns and colours in this image. |
| snow up the Waihopai Valley | Acceptance | You have used quite a nice composition with the ridges of the hills and the pine trees tucked up into the upper valley. These two elements create a nice lead in to the image. The yellow and brown plants in the lower left also create an area of interest in the frame. I thought to improve this image your exposure needed to be quite a bit lower as a lot of the colours have been burnt out by the over exposure across the frame. I also felt to trim off some of the sky from the top would help the foreground to become a stronger component in the image. Your focusing and depth of field has worked very well for your subject matter. |
| Sun-grazing | Acceptance | I felt the sun coming down through the trees has created a nice mood in this image, as has the larger bank of cloud in the background around the pylons. Given the foreground trees on the left take up a very large area of the frame I felt you almost have two images in the one frame. I felt to improve this image possibly using one half of the image as a separate image may have worked more so. In addition walking up to the fence line so as to exclude it and shooting over the top of it would have prevented it being a slight barrier to the scene beyond. Your exposure has been handled well to show the fog coming through the trees and your focusing and depth of field have worked well for your subject matter. |
| The First Sunrise | Honours | I very much enjoyed the way you have trimmed this image into a slim panorama as I felt this works really well with your subject matter. You’ve also made good use of the water and shoreline coming in from the left to act is a very strong lead in. The mountains on the right hand edge gently transition to lower mounts on the left and this also helps balance up the frame overall. You have also captured some lovely hues in the sky and these tie in well with the colours of both the shore and also the hills in the middle ground. Your choice of shutter speed has created some nice subtle blurring on the waves crashing which adds another element of subtle mood to the image overall. |
| Winter wonderland | Honours | I very much enjoyed how this young person is appearing out of the darkness as I felt this helped focus my attention onto the core elements of the image. The child’s head torch has lit his face very nicely for you and also allowed for some detail to show out and snow that he has in his hand. Your focusing and depth of field has also been handled very well to highlight the child and the snow. |
| Winter in the vineyard | Acceptance | I felt you framed this gentleman very well and positioned him nicely in the frame. The smile on his face and the fact he’s looking at you has created a nice sense of connection with him. Including some of the surrounds in the background area gives a sense of location. I felt to improve this image there needed to be slightly better lighting as the flat light has reduced the sense of depth across the image. You’re focusing and exposure settings have been handled very nicely. |
| C Grade Open | ||
| birds with feathers | Merit | I enjoyed your square framing of this image as I felt it works well to pull the three birds together into a quite tight composition. Each of the birds is engaging in their own separate behaviour which is clearly visible by their different head and body positions. The bird in the foreground is very crisp and sharp and has quite a nice arc on its neck and its eye is also very visible. I thought to improve this image you perhaps needed to wait a split second longer for the foreground bird to become a little more balanced on both its feet as at the moment it feels slightly lopsided. In addition I felt the exposure could have been dropped down slightly as some of the muddy water in the mid area of the image is becoming slightly overexposed although that is only a minor issue. |
| Fantail, Rhipidura fuliginosa | Merit | I thought you’ve framed this image very nicely to create a portrait shot of the bird. The feather detail on its wing and back is very sharp and reveals all its lovely feathers. There is also a nice catch light in the birds eye. The subtle colours in the background help isolate the bird to make it more visible. I suggest to improve this image you needed a slightly longer depth of field to ensure sharpness in the eye and beak of the bird as it is just starting to go out of focus. I also felt the large twig on the right hand edge, being a lighter colour, tends to dominate the image and this could have been cropped out or the colour subdued in post processing. |
| Winter Lake Rotoiti III | Merit | I thought you’ve done a nice job at blending two different scenes together as they have created a very nice effect particularly in the lake and hill area of this image. The colours and textures across the water and also up in the darker part of the hills creates a very strong sense of the cold. I thought to improve this image I would possibly exclude the bulk of the sky and trim the image very close to the top of the mountains as I felt the frost effect across the sky isn't quite as strong as the lower area and in some ways competes with my attention. The image has made good use of creative thinking to pull these two elements together and generally works very well. |
| B Grade Set | ||
| Burton | Merit | I enjoyed the angle of view you have taken to the snowboarder as it helps create a strong sense of flight and motion. The saturation in the sky has also worked very well and you have handled your exposure across the whole frame to ensure there is still detail amongst the snow. I would suggest to improve this image that the body position of the snowboarder and in particular the left arm, would benefit from being in a slightly different position as at present it blocks the view of their face. In addition I would suggest the piece of snow that is above their left hand would also benefit from being removed in post processing. Your shutter speed and depth of field have been very well chosen. |
| Cold mountain | Acceptance | You have been at a good angle to the light to allow the shadows and light areas on the foreground hills to add a sense of depth and the slight sloping feel of these mountains adds to that. The lighter area at the very top of the frame does balance out the light on the hills although in doing so it makes the mountains in the background seem very much in the dark comparatively speaking. I would suggest to improve this image there needed to be some area particularly in the lower part of the image that would encourage my eye to rest on it. In addition if there had been some nicer light just touching the mountains that also would have created a greater sense of mood across the whole frame |
| Crystallised | Non-Acceptance | I did enjoy the simplicity of this image in regards the contrast between the white frost and the plane dark background. The subject also suits your portrait orientation. To improve this image I thought your exposure needed to be somewhat less as there is quite a degree of burnout on the frontal area of the plant which has obscured a lot of the detail that would otherwise be there. The seed pods at the top of the plant create a nice group which helps fill up the frame and helps the main stalk not feel too central. |
| Dawn at Lake Clearwater | Honours | There is some very lovely pastel colours in this image which I felt worked very well and in particular due to the transition from light to darker areas of colour across the frame. Both the mountains in the background and also the darker land in the shoreline have also helped create a sense of depth due to the different angles that are present. The reflection has also what worked well as it is just blurred enough to not be exceptionally symmetrical and therefore helps to create a good sense of balance across the frame as a whole. |
| East Coast | Non-Acceptance | I felt your composition has worked reasonably well in this image as the encroaching waves create a lead in and the Bay helps progressively lead my eye through the image. I would suggest to improve this image your exposure needed to be increased as there is quite a dull colour cast across the image which I felt holds the image back. In addition I felt your shutter speed hasn’t worked particularly well for the largest wave that is in the bottom left hand corner as the blur has become prime quite pronounced and made this area quite distracting from the rest of the image. |
| Flying Boarder | Honours | I felt your angle of view in this image has worked extremely well as has your positioning of the snowboarder in the frame as they have been allowed room to move into. The motion of the snow at ground level helps add a sense of motion to the image and the subtle clouds up in the sky also have created a nice background which helps isolate the snowboarder. I thought you’ve done an outstanding job of pulling this image together. |
| Frigid Fiord | Acceptance | I felt this is a very pleasant winter image of the Milford sounds. Your exposure has been handled reasonably well with only a small loss of detail on the face of the mountain and the clouds on the left hand area. I felt to improve this image moving forward into the scene and using the snow capped logs as the foreground would have helped simplify the image and in doing so make it feel slightly more dramatic. The inclusion of the very large green Bush on the left hand bottom corner I felt was slightly distracting due to its colour and also the fact that it is only partially in the frame. |
| Ice fingers | Merit | I enjoyed the vertical format you’ve used on this subject as it works well with the angles of the icicles. The inclusion of a small amount of plant matter in the lower part of the frame also adds a sense of scale to the scene. I would suggest a slight area for improvement would to be trim a little off the top and a little off the bottom so as to exclude the brightest bit of ice in the top and the slight sliver of missing ice that is at the bottom. You exposure and shutter speed have been handled very well. |
| Ivy Hard Cover | Acceptance | I definitely felt the ice in this image creates a very strong sense of cold. Your exposure in particular has helped bring out the detail of both the ice and the patterns of the metal. To improve this image I felt the large areas that are out of focus in the bottom of the image and to the right ideally should be cropped out and that a square format should be used for the remainder of the image that just includes 3 of the bolts that are in the upper left area and exclude the 4th bolt that is in the lower right area. |
| Standing Tall | Non-Acceptance | I felt the tree itself and in particular the lower part of it has been captured very nicely and your exposure and depth of field has worked very well to emphasise the detail that is there. I felt to improve this image it would have helped to have taken a slightly lower angle of view on the tree so that the upper part of it is against the sky rather than the mountains. In addition I felt keeping the tree a little bit off centre would have also helped create a bit more of a lead into the frame as a whole. |
| Waihopai Hills | Acceptance | I felt the slim panorama you’ve presented works well with your subject matter as it allows the vines to create a good sense of depth, especially in the right hand side of the image. Your exposure has been handled well to reveal good colour saturation across the image. I thought to improve this image that the left hand area and about 1/4 of it ideally should be cropped off as this allows the shed in the background to be slightly more on the 3rd and also reduces the number of posts in the foreground down to 1 rather than two. Cropping in this way also allows the vines on the right hand side to become a stronger lead in, and when combined with the shed and the foreground post creates a nice visual circle. |
| Winter in Raetihi North Island . | Merit | I felt this image has a very strong cold wintry feel to it. Your exposure along with the low angle has emphasised the frost on the ground and the ice in the foreground. The ragged fence line also acts as a very effective lead in to the building in the background and the small Bush to the right of the building creates another point for my the eye to rest on. I thought to improve this image it should be cropped in from the right to exclude the most distant hill peak as I felt this peak competed for my attention and in being very close to the right edge tended to lead my eye out of the frame. |
| You've got to love their winter coat | Acceptance | I felt you’ve done very well to create a nice portrait of this highland cattle beast. Despite the closest side of their face being in the shade you have still managed to create a very nice catch light and the animals eye and his tongue licking his nose adds some interests and also some humour to the image overall. I would suggest to improve this image the sheep and the building in the the background on the left hand edge could be removed or toned down as they are quite distracting and particularly because the light isn't on the closest side of the animals face. In addition using a reflector or some fill flash to add some more light to the closest side of the animals head would have improved the image also. |
| B Grade Open | ||
| Early fog around the hay bales . | Non-Acceptance | I enjoyed the soft misty look on the front of the vehicle in the bottom right corner of this image and felt it has a very strong sense of mood. The light is highlighting the grasses in front of the truck and the misty look of the headlights and steering wheel creates a very strong effect. I thought to improve this image it would benefit from that area in the bottom right being cropped into an image on its own as I felt the larger area of hay bales don't add much to the sense of mood and in particular because there is very little detail there. In addition the area on the far right although it has some nice elements is too distant from the truck and is separated by the nondescript hay bales and therefore doesn’t add to the overall image. Your exposure particular on the truck and grass is in the right foreground has been handled very well. |
| Modern Brisbane city from historic Story Bridge | Non-Acceptance | I enjoyed the way you’ve used the bridge to frame the buildings in the background and felt this works quite well. Your exposure and depth of field are well suited to your subject matter. I felt to improve this image both the left and right sides needed to be cropped out so the image is a portrait orientation with just the central three modern buildings and bridge surround in view. I felt this helps focus the eye on the contrast between the bridge and the buildings more so than including the additional buildings on the left and right sides |
| Morning in Delft | Acceptance | I felt the slim panorama framing you've used works well with your subject matter. There is also some very nice morning light on the far left buildings. The reflections in the windows across the different buildings creates a high level of interest and quite a lot of detail into the image. I would suggest to improve this image there probably needed to be some people or something else actually going on, as the scene looks quite desolate. I would also suggest a slight trim in from the left to exclude the partial building that is there and a similar trim in from the right to crop off the chopped off windows on the building on the far right. Your exposure and focusing has been handled very well and suits your subject matter. |
| Relaxing at the boat club after a busy week | Acceptance | I felt your exposure choices to turn the people in this image into silhouettes has worked quite effectively and creates quite a strong storyline. The boats in the background also add information which is in keeping with your image title. I would suggest to improve this image there needed to be slightly better separation between the two people sitting on the left hand side of the group, as at present they are creating an awkward silhouette shape. |
| The Nuns Veil | Honours | I very much enjoyed this image as there is a very strong sense of both mood and fast moving action. The cropping of the image emphasises the people and bikes that are in it has worked very well to emphasise the drama, as has the dust being thrown up into the ear. The lighting, focusing and depth of field are also very effective. I felt this image has been put together extremely well. |
| A Grade Set | ||
| A Winters Greenfinch | Honours | I felt the expression on this birds face and their body position emphasised the coldness of the weather as does the rain droplets that are falling through the frame. The birds body and in particular its head and eye are all extremely sharp which allows for full detail of the plumage to be visible. I would suggest 1 minor improvement that could be made would to be trim slightly from the left hand edge to exclude the broken branch stump as it is slightly distracting after a while of viewing the image. The exposure and the depth of field have worked very well and created a very nice dappled background which allows the bird to stand out. |
| At Frodarheidi Pass | Non-Acceptance | I felt your exposure on both the mountain snow and the sky has been handled very nicely. There is good detail in the snow and also nice shadows throughout the image and the slight cloud in the sky has created a soft effect which has filled in what would otherwise be a very large area. I felt the building in the foreground is looking somewhat pixelated and in that sense clashes somewhat with the rest of the image. I would suggest to improve this image there needed to be some more work done with the building structure to avoid the pixelated areas and particular around the base of the building. |
| Canterbury Winter | Acceptance | I thought you have captured a group of somewhat interesting elements that don't seem related to one another and yet still come together to create quite a diverse story. The shutter speed has captured the falling snow very nicely and helped create an overall sense of mood across the frame as a whole. I would suggest to improve this image that a crop up from the bottom to exclude the darker track on the left hand bottom area would have kept my eye focused through to the back into the frame. In addition possibly moving up past the tree stump would have allowed the lambs standing beside the graffiti to become a larger part of the image. You’ve handled your exposure very well and this adds to the sense of mood along with your shutter speed. |
| Eidelweiss on Ice | Acceptance | I felt your exposure and the lighting on the scene has worked very well to ensure that all the detail of both the plant and the ice surrounding it can be clearly visible. The three spent blooms in the bottom foreground work well as a lead into the rest of the image. I would suggest to improve this image the two full and one 1/2 blooms that are on the left hand edge it could have been easily cropped out and in doing so created a stronger composition amongst the remaining blooms. |
| Frosty morning in the vines | Merit | This image almost feels wider than it needed to be however I felt the inclusion of all three posts across the frame has worked well as has the inclusion of the two sheep on the right hand side which has worked well to create a sense of depth and also have something to allow my eye to rest on as it moved into the back area of the image. The misty looking trees in the background also help to add contrast and mood to the image. The monochromatic feel to the image emphasises the lack of leaves on the vines and increases the feel of wintery cold. |
| Frozen Alpine Tarn | Merit | I enjoyed the exposure settings you’ve used on this image as it has created a very high level of colour saturation which adds a sense of depth and detail to the image. The motion in the ice has also allowed my eye to go from the foreground into the background area quite easily. I would suggest a slight improvement for this image would be to trim from the left hand edge the small patch of grassland that is in amongst the snow in the upper left area as this helps keep a much cleaner boundary on the left hand side which then ties up very nicely with your right hand edge. It also helps prevent my eye from disappearing out the left hand frame across that small area of grass. |
| Ice Coated Fungi | Merit | Your lighting and exposure has created a very striking scene as the ice has almost become glass like. The inclusion of the spider webs on the right hand edge also adds detail to the image and the cobwebs act as a nice lead in and prevent the fungi from becoming an isolated bulls-eye. I would suggest to improve this image the small stick that is behind the fungi and has a droplet rolling off it ideally should be removed as this became quite distracting after a while of viewing it. Your focusing and depth of field has worked extremely well. |
| Iced | Merit | I very much enjoyed the colours and tones of the rocks in this image as they add a sense of balance to the image. Your focus and depth of field has also captured the icicles very well and the lighting has worked well to allow me to view through the ice to the rocks beyond. I would suggest to improve this image that a slight crop in from the right hand edge would help remove some of the out of focus icicles that are there and focus my attention more so on the three central icicles which are the most pronounced of all of them. |
| Icelandic Snow Storm | Honours | The different height of the three hills in the scene have created a nice sense of flow-through across it and the distant smaller mountain has helped create a sense of depth. The somewhat moody sky ties in very nicely with the shapes of the mountains and the somewhat sombre feel of the image. I felt your exposure, depth of field and focusing has come together very well in this image to create a very strong sense of mood. |
| Morning Reflections | Non-Acceptance | I felt your reflections in the water have worked quite well due to the slightly moody and sombre lighting. Your exposure particularly in the lower part of the image has also worked well to allow all the detail of the trees to be easily visible. To improve this image I felt that using a landscape orientation may have worked slightly better as the portrait orientation created a very up and down feel to the image. Alternately having something else on the water itself to act as a resting place for my eye may have helped make the image feel a little more comfortable. |
| Out in the Cold | Merit | I felt your shutter speed has captured the snow falling very well and has added a very strong sense of cold to this image. The stance of the sheep has also added to that sense of coldness. I would suggest to improve this image that moving to exclude the tree stump in the foreground would have helped simplify the image somewhat, as this area has a lot of detail in it but not in a way that adds to the story. Your exposure and the difference in lighting particularly on their building I felt has worked very well in this image and added to the overall mood. |
| Snowy Mountains at Sunrise | Non-Acceptance | I felt there was a small amount of nice light on the top of the mountain range but that the light hasn’t quite created a sense of depth and in particular in the lower hills. I would suggest to improve this image either a slightly different angle on the mountains or alternately waiting for the light to increase may have helped create a stronger sense of depth through layering as the middle hills had light hit them. Your exposure has worked very well to ensure there is good colour saturation in the grass and the foreground. |
| Walking In Winter | Honours & Image of the Month | I felt this image has a very very strong sense of mood, coldness and also a degree of danger. The ridgeline of this mountain has created a very strong lead in and the positioning of the people has worked very well to create somewhere for the eye to come to rest on. The addition of the dramatic cloud on both the left and right hand sides adds to the strong mood and the small ridgeline of snow in the foreground has been exposed extremely well to keep all the detail in the snow which in itself adds to the sense of cold. Your choice of exposure and F stop has worked brilliantly for the scene. |
| Winter Refuge | Merit | I felt you exposure in this image is bang on point and has created a really nice colour saturation in the sky, the building and also the person in the foreground. Your placement of those three elements has also worked well to create a circular path for my eye to view the image with. I thought to improve this image it may have helped if the person had been standing with their face a little bit more side on so as to add a little bit more of the human element. I very much enjoyed the fact that the person hasn’t walked in to the frame too far so that the snow is untouched around the Hut. |
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