February 2006 Open Competiton Entries

Clicking on the image will open up a new window with the original size submitted entry

Critiques this month by Di and Mark.

Comox Glacier - 1st

Di says: A beautiful shot of the glacier – which is obviously the main subject of the shot. I think I might have been tempted to have a go at cloning out the wires which run from left to right, and the supporting poles. Other than that, the photographer has done very well to get the exposure correct, given the darker foreground and snowy background

Mark says: I really like this picture. The clear blue of the sky sets off the snow covered peaks very well. Its a ahame the telegraph poles and wires can be seen in the foreground.

Hammock Shop - 3rd

Di says : What wonderful colours in this shot. Good depth of field, with full focus front to back, which is just what is needed in a picture of this type. I especially like the way the eye is led into the shot – following the tiles on the floor. There’s so much detail, but the eye is not drawn unnecessarily away from the main hammock at the front of the shop. Great effort here.

Mark says : This is my first entry. This was taken through a shop window in Barcelona early in the morning. It’s a shame there is some reflection of some lights on the windows.

The Harbour

Di says : This is a great blue shot. Good perspective, and a great eye for detail – lots to see, but you are not overwhelmed. I would however have cropped the shot a little tighter to exclude part of a post on the right hand side. I do wonder if the whole of the post is somewhere on another photograph. If so – include it – it would provide a good lead in on the picture.

Mark says : This is my second shot taken early evening. I should have cropped the post just peeking in the right hand side of the shot.

Moon over the City

Di says : A nice shot of buildings, and a church – but the moon is so small I’m not sure I would have mentioned it in the title. If the photographer wished to emphasise this, I think I might have been tempted to take two shots. One of the buildings, and one of the moon – and enlarged the moon slightly to be more definite in the sky. Love the colours though. A good attempt at a complex shot in terms of lighting.

Mark says : I like this shot, although the moon in the title is not exactly dominant! The church sits nicely on the thirds, as does the waterline and buildings.

Winter in the Marsh - 2nd

Di says : It looks cold and wintery. Good reflections, and the ripples on the water, add to the effect. I especially like the way the reeds at the front of the shot are in perfect focus. The eye is led naturally around the picture. Excellent use of colour. I really like this shot.

Mark says : Another great shot by Lady D. The reeds in the foreground give the shot depth and interest. The sky is very well exposed with some good detail.

Tarrington Church

Di says : Whilst I know that the horizon is correct – if the building and water had not been there – I would have been tempted to put my head slightly onto one side to view this. It’s a nice landscape but the church is non too prevalent in the shot. It tells me of high summer though, with the bales of hay in the mid-ground. Good colours, and nice detail.

Mark says : I wonder if this shot would have benefited from being taken lower down to raise the church above the skyline and to have placed it in the right hand side intersection of the thirds. The lighting is a little flat and would have been better taken at either end of the day.

New England

Di says : My first impression is that this is a shot that needs some more sharpening. It could also benefit from a frame. The white sky is lost against the white background of the web page, so it appears almost unfinished. Remember when submitting your shots what colour our backgrounds actually are. Having said that, this is somewhere I would dearly like to visit – the golden colours are wonderful. Well done.

Mark says : This one looks a little out of focus, but ignoring that, the changing colour of the trees is very nice. The diagonal flowing river draws in the eye to the splash of colour in the centre very well.

As the Sun Goes Down

Di says : A lovely seascape. One I would love to emulate. The hoizon is set nicely just off centre, giving lots of attention to a beautiful sky, and nice reflections in the sea. I think I might have cloned out the detail to the bottom left corner though. It draws the eye away from the beach. Lovely soft colours though.

Mark says : This is quite a nice shot. I think I would have cropped the sand out a little to lose what looks like a wall in the bottom left of the picture. It would have also dropped the horizon more onto the thirds.

Hull Fair

Di says : More of an abstract shot I think. Good use of light – and I assume this was taken at night. It might have been nice to see the car of riders more prominent in the shot – with even perhaps some motion blurr to emphasise the speed they were travelling. Otherwise, a good interesting shot.

Mark says : This works for me! I like the mis-mash of white twisted metel with the slashes of the red track. I think I would have tried to saturate the colour a little more to emphasise it more. The black sky sets of the red and white very well, although some of the white is a little overexposed.