Mark Says: Excellent start to the competition and one I really like. Good leading lines, a good combination of the road and footpath both leading away into the distance.
Super light as well – looks like either early morning or late evening (Well afternoon sun) just tingeing the horizon.

Ron: Nice shot with the road coming in from bottom left leading the eye all the way into the photograph. Just a little bit of highlight behind the style pulling the eye back out of shot.

Mark Says: Very low contrast shot of the snow. Sky is very blotchy and I think should have been cropped lower to remove as much as possible. The trees entering the frame on the right are a distraction too and I wonder if moving to the left was a possibility.

Ron:A nice shot with the back ground fading into the mist. The dark branches on the right do catch the eye and serve no purpose so I would remove them.

Mark Says: Good autumnal shot of the castle. Lovely saturated colours, almost too much, but just held back enough I think to work.
Composition is good.

Ron:Good vibrant colours in this shot with good visual interest from fore ground to back ground.

Mark Says: I like this one too. Conversion is very good. Darkening the bright part of the sky might have been an option to try as it does seem to pull the eye away from the tractor.
Good composition.

Ron:I like this for its simplicity and content, the eye tends to get grabbed by the white area in the sky and tractor window.

Mark Says: Lovely colours of the beach at Blackpool I think. I might have turned the camera a bit more to the right to get a little more of the promenade in shot – if only to use it to talk the viewer into the shot more.

Ron:This is a nice late evening shot, the colours, the texture on the sand plus the steps taking your eye all the way in to the shot.

Mark Says: Good close up of the child on the sled. Lots of energy and excitement.

Ron:There is a nice sense of speed to this shot; it is just a pity that the face is a little covered by his hat.

Mark Says: Good to see some staged shots in the competition and this one is nicely done. Lighting is well done. Perhaps a little central in the frame. All the bags in front of the model might have been a little more powerful.
Good effort though.

Ron:A good idea that is well light and posed but for me it just does not work as it should. There are a few distractions to the eye, the yellow bag and her boots seem to be at odds to her dress.

Mark Says: The snow looks slightly blown out and lacking detail, particularly in the foreground. The walker is a little small in the frame. Nice use of perspective.

Ron:Now that looks cold. The central position of the figure works, proving you don’t always need to rely on the thirds.

Mark Says: Good exposure and well timed too. I am left wanting to see more – and that may well be the point! A real shame the people are in the background. The ones in green could be removed in photoshop fairly easily.
I might have been tempted to crop a bit closer to the back of the boy, just to take him off centre more.

Ron:This is a nice action shot with good facial expression. My personal view is a little more showing to the left to give him space to shoot into, and then remove the right hand background person.

Mark Says:B&W conversion is not bad, but I would like to see the colour version to see what I’m missing. Good straight horizon. The lighthouse is well exposed with detail in the building still being visable.
I like the stepping down in size of the three structures too.

Ron:The position of all the building in this shot is nice as is the overall contrast in the fore ground.
I found the sea and sky to be flat and needing a boost, maybe slightly to the high lights.

Mark Says: Good composition – the bright spot off set from the centre. Good exposure overall. Blacks are black and not a muddy brown.

Ron:You have to like this, the colour, the name and the way it has been done.

Mark Says: Another well captured action shot. I would have liked the child farther back in the frame – its a bit central at the moment. The hand is covering the face which is a shame as you can’t see the expression!

Ron:A good action shot captured at the right moment as the subject is air born. Another shot that suffers because the face is covered. Well done on getting the moment spot on.

Mark Says: Nice depth of field in this shot. Good foreground interest leading out into the sea and the rocks in the background.
Colours are well saturated. Looks lovely and warm, unlike the weather at the moment!

Ron:This shot has a good sky and waves that have all been reduced to a smooth silky look. I like it you can tell its water and not mist. Well done for that.

Mark Says: The snow in the foreground is a little dark – looks a bit dirty. Shame the wall can’t be seen right through the shot and up onto the hill in the background. Its a bit disjointed as is.

Ron:Good lead in lines to the hill and a nice sky to balance the rest of the shot. I would have liked to have seen a little more contrast to the snow bottom left to jus take away a little of the brightness.
I do like this shot.

Mark Says: Quite an emotive subject at the moment. Little too close for me – the leading men have nowhere to walk into. Good exposure and well captured.

Ron:A good record shot but lacks the DOF this shot needs to make it work.

Mark Says: Nicely exposed capture of the molten glass. Nice lines taking the eye into the frame from the top and the bottom. Background is nicely out of focus.

Ron:A nice shot with the colours suggesting a lot of heat. I like what appears to be a reflection in the main body of the glass.

Mark Says: Again, the snow looks to be slightly underexposed and is not white enough for me. In fact I don’t think there is any whites in the shot.
I like the three trees though. The sky on the right looks odd – bit too dark to be real somehow.

Ron:A good shot with a nice tonal range to it. A good conversion but, I am not fond of the frame.

Mark Says: Little tightly cropped around the tale  - and the reflection if I’m honest. Super colours though. Taken early morning if the author is who I think it is!

Ron:This has good colour and reflections with the DOF use to good effect. I would not know it was racing from or to the sea but for the title.

Mark Says: Nice semi silhouette. Lovely colours on the snow. I would have liked to have seen the sky a bit bluer – or cropped square to remove some of it as it’s not very interesting

Ron:This shot has lovely colour, I also like the sun just where it is as it has cast some long shadows to the fore ground which leads the eye in to the shot.

Mark Says: Good colours in the shot. The green grass is slightly off putting – its pulling my eye away from the reds and yellows of the leaves.
Exposure is good.

Ron:Lovely rich colours and a subject that always appeals to people. A good capture.

Mark Says: Sky is bland and uninteresting.  A lower viewpoint, concentrating on the sign and the canal might have been worth exploring.

Ron:This shot looks a little flat with the exception of the sign. This may be what was intended but for me it has not worked.

Mark Says: This doesn’t do a lot for me I’m afraid. Its a bit too tightly cropped - the bolts through the door are cut off, as is the hasp at the top.

Ron:As this is mine I will pass.

Mark Says: Another one that is not moving me, though I’m not that good with abstracts!  Sorry.

Ron:The colours and the effect that has been used are good and I like it. Most of the colour does seem to be in the left leaving it a bit off balance but not to bad.

Mark Says: A bit central in the frame. Needs a little more contrast I think – looks to have been taken at the height of the day. Not that this sort of subject necessarily goes on when the light is at its best!
I am left looking for something in the foreground – the ground he took off from or something to give some sense of scale and height.

Ron:The sky is a bit bland and suffers from a few dust spots. There seems to be a lot of contrast on the main subject at the expense of the land. It also has quiet a distinct halo along the sky line.