Container Contest
1st Place - Linda Turnbull
Container Contest
2nd Place Tie - Gillian Escalante
Container Contest
2nd Place Tie - Susan Tamkin
View of a Garden
1st Place - Brend Fairfax
A very well composed image: the flowers, tree trunk, leaves and shed all make a nice arching frame for the lovely blue chair and planter.
The colours are quite muted and the focus quite soft, but in this case it makes it feel like a vintage photograph, very appropriate for the scene.
The vertical edge of the shed makes the viewer realize the camera wasn’t quite straight for this shot, so if the photographer is able to fix that in post-processing that would be great.
Overall, a fine eye for composition and a very beautiful image.
View of a Garden
2nd Place -Gillian Escalante
I find this image intriguing… the photographer has wisely used a shallow depth of field so that the ordinary urban background takes on a bit of mystery and subtle beauty that would not be there if it were in sharp focus. The viewer is left to concentrate wholly on the delicate structures and golden light in the foreground.
We perhaps feel that we’ve discovered some hidden beauty in an ordinary place that many would miss. Well done!
View of a Garden
3rd Place - Diane Escalante
This feels like an iconic garden image: pristine white pickets, lush planting and a shade tree to cap the scene. The pattern of red blossoms makes a V-shape that keeps the image from feeling too centrally weighted by taking the viewer inwards.
A very nice garden image.
View of a Garden
Honourable Mention - Linda Turnbull
This image shows a riot of lush growth and varied foliage. Nice strong verticals and a leading diagonal keep the image dynamic.
It’s very tough light to shoot in, however. Some of the whites are noticeably over-exposed and have lost all definition and that draws attention away from the other areas. Perhaps a different time of day would allow the photographer to still capture the nice back-light through some of the leaves but keep the detail in the sky.
Macro Photography
1st Place - Audrey Barnes
Shooting from beneath the bloom creates an unusual and very engaging image. The light through the petals lets us appreciate the fascinating structural elements. I like how the stem starts in the lower left corner and moves diagonally up through the frame to the radial pattern of the petals.
If the photographer is able to clone out the little leaf tips coming in from the bottom left and bottom right I think the viewer’s attention would be even more focussed on the subject, but it is a beautiful image as it is. Well done!
Macro Photography
2nd Place - Linda Turnbull
A tack-sharp, vibrant macro. The petal colour patterns give a definite radially dynamic feel to the image, and I like that there’s a space between the petals at the top of the frame.
The pistil and stamen are sharply in focus as they should be, though I would like to have seen a little more light on them as subjects. Sometimes an improvised reflector (a sheet of paper) can help to add gentle light where you need it.
Very nice macro work.
Macro Photography
3rd Place - Mary McLellan
Such a pollen frenzy! The visual interest here is top notch… well captured! For such an impromptu image the framing is most effective: a diagonal line from the bottom right leading up to our hero, and the 4 splashes of red framing him in so well. An excellent image!
Macro Photography
Honourable Mention - Linda Turnbull
This is another great macro image: the radial flow makes the centrally placed main subject work well here, and I really like the ring of light plus the clear shadows around the centre. Excellent work!
Visitors in the Garden
1st Place - Linda Turnbull
A simple but elegant capture of a butterfly resting on a seed pod. I like that there is room above him in the frame, and the surrounding pods balance the composition and give the eye somewhere to travel through the image. Excellent clarity and sharp focus. Well taken image!
Visitors in the Garden
2nd Place - Gillian Escalante
A very vibrant and interesting image of a hummingbird in the crocosmia. The lines of the plant reaching across the frame plus the subject itself being placed left of centre both work to make the image feel dynamic (as it should).
I would like to see a version of this picture with a bit of cropping so that we take out the distracting white lines on the left and bottom border, and the dark line on the top right border. I think this would make the image even stronger by focussing our attention where the photographer would want it.
Visitors in the Garden
3rd Place - Brenda Fairfax
A wonderfully dramatic capture of a close encounter between fur and feather… there is such strong emotion from both of them it’s an exciting and engaging scene.
It is unfortunate that the raccoon is a little out of focus, but the moment was fleeting I’m sure. The colours in the image are also a little washed out, whether through exposure or printing, but it is still an exciting moment.
Visitors in the Garden
Honourable Mention - Linda Turnbull
Excellent clarity, tack sharp focus and great exposure. The neutral colour of the grass lets the bird’s markings and colour stand out nicely.
He feels a little crowded in the frame without room in front of him, and I’d like to have seen perhaps a landscape format that gave him more space to the right. Nonetheless a very fine image.
Garden Colour - Burgundy
1st Place - Trudy Findlay
A very striking and vivid image of intense fall colours in pleasing light.
There is a strong diagonal line that keeps the eye moving, and the stark contrast of bright colours against the dark background makes the light even more effective.
The saturation is perhaps a little high, but there’s no denying the vibrancy and good composition of the image.
Garden Colour - Burgundy
2nd Place - Diane Escalante
A very elegant image with pleasingly balanced composition. The centre of the main bloom is right where the “rule of thirds” says it should be, and there’s just the right amount of room between the edges of the petals and the image border to make it feel intimate but not crowded. The unopened buds in the lower right add interest and balance. A very fine composition.
Garden Colour - Burgundy
3rd Place - Brenda Fairfax
Subtle and quite delicate, this is a very pleasing image. The background is fairly muted and soft so that we can concentrate our attention on the fine details in the main subject. The two unopened dark tips in the background help the image from feeling stagnant with the centrally placed main bloom: the viewer’s eye travels well in the frame.
A well composed image.