October Competition Class B Nature
"Bird in Trees" - Ralph 15 pts.
Mike: A simple portrait of this bird but there is sharpness
from the beak & eye through the breast, wing and tail feathers.
Like the diagonal perch branch. Just a slight crop on top and
right removes corner distractions. A little movement of
two end points in levels bring more color and texture to image.
"Tioga Lake' - Phil 14 pts.
Mike: A quiet serene scene, nice reflections.
Great leading lines of tree edge reflection and rock pointing
diagonally up to moon.
Not much color but it works well with mood of serenity.
"Family Outing" - Bill C. 13 pts.
Mike: Good nature story. Nice diagonal composition.
Crop in tighter and rotate.
"Mushroom" - Lynne 13 pts.
Mike: Good low angle shot to see stem & tight crop.
DOF on cap good, stem a little soft. Background nicely soft.
"Gibbon" - Chris M. 13 pts
Mike: The tight crop on face is a very positive aspect of
composition. Good DOF sharpness and texture in fur.
There is an out of focus white object on bottom edge.
"Hungry Heron" - Maureen 12 pts
Mike: Good nature story of fish catch.
But composition is in between a portrait and environment shot.
Crop in closer to emphasize the story and details.
Run a little sharpening to increase details.
"Lunchtime" - Kathy 12 pts
Mike: Good nature story.
Like the narrow panorama to crop out beach and water.
Too bad the bird is in background.
"Fall Fungus" - Jac 12 pts
Mike: Good bunch of fungus growing at base of
birch tree in a bed of green moss. The composition
would be stronger if flipped for leading line help.
The use of flash is slightly evident, use a bounce card to soften.
"Chukar Quail" - Marian 12 pts
Mike: Good standing image of bird. Tight cropping helps show
bird's details. Image appears about a ½ stop over exposed.
Use exposure adjustment to lessen ½ stop.
"Hoodoos" - Ron 12 pts
Mike: Been there and remember it well.
The left side of image is extra and can be cropped out.
Histogram was way to the left bring in highlight slider.
Give a slight ‘S’ to the curves setting
"Matterhorn Sheep" - Carol 12 pts
Mike: Good example of an environmental nature shot.
Back lighting was not helpful. Snow in background blown-out.
Crop out cliff in top left corner to shift attention to
cliff goat is standing on.
"Monarch" - Dena 11 pts
Mike: Nice diagonal of butterflies wings. Background nice and soft.
Lack of DOF, head & antenna out of focus. A couple of
distractions in bottom left and a bit too much space on top
and right edges.
"St. Augustin Beach" - Dick 11 pts
Mike: Sharp focus, good texture. The larger shall on right edge is
good framing. Needs a center of interest such as a
different color shell.
"Acadia Falls" - Chris M. 11 pts
Mike: The composition is busy with too many elements, rocks,
branches. Find cleaner angle of view. Use polarizer.
"Hummingbird" - Greg 11 pts
Mike: Diagonal of birds body is good.
No real sharpness in image most likely due to camera and
subject movement.
"Grand Canyon" - Al 10 pts
Mike: Seem to be good DOF. Image is a bit too contrasty,
bright and highlights are burnt-out. Use a polarizer
"Surprised Snapper" - Mariann 10 pts
Mike: Focus is sharp on turtle's face but the out of focus
foreground twig is a major distraction.
"Iris" - Jeff W. 10 pts
Mike: Lighting is nice DOF is lacking, only front two petals
are in focus. Light in center of background distracting.