2020-08 Results

 
CAT NAME SURNAME STAR Title AWARD COMMENT
 OP Peter Charter 4STAR Skye after sunrise G Great interaction with the model. The image is a good representation of the model, but feels a little like "passport photo" - try a less tight crop.
 OP Peter Charter 4STAR Fisherman and Sunrise G The silhouette is very good but I wul dhave loved to see more detail in the clouds.
 OP Peter Charter 4STAR Just after sunrise S Great leading lines and lots of interestng things to see. Unfortunately the image is not sharp at all.
 OP Peter Charter 4STAR Waiting for the Sun  G A lovely story and well handled sunrise.
 SS Peter Charter 4STAR Electronic Eye Light Sensor B For the uneducated this image does not fit the brief.  If I could not see the title, you would have got an E because all images should be judged without the title influencing the award.  OK, it’s an “Electronic Eye Light Sensor”.  To me it’s a squiggly piece of hardware that has been quite well photographed
 MO Shan Charter 4STAR Eye See You B This is a very close crop which I am not sure has worked effectively.  The detail is good but looks over sharpened.  There is quite a lot of digital noise in the background.  The thing that worries my eye most is the square shape in the bird's eye showing, what I prersume, is your reflection.
 NA Shan Charter 4STAR Oranges and Lemons S Pleasing overall colour palette.    I like the single blue flower.  The image does not have a point of interest and if you had placed that single blue flower onto the thirds, it would have made a world of difference.  This is a very busy image and the eyes seem to wander but it is still pleasing.
 NA Shan Charter 4STAR Evening Grass G Nice strong coloured sky, which, for this type of image, is acceptable.   The silhouettes work well and add softness to a very strong sky.  The very bright lower part of the sky is too strong and IF possible,  it would have been better if you could have repositioned yourself to excluded a lot of it.  Not grooved about the coloured border.
 NA Shan Charter 4STAR Bright and Beautiful G Nice simple, strong image with the main emphasis on the bird.  Sadly the bird’s face is not as sharp as it could be but it is almost acceptable.  There is a little bit of digital noise in the background but it is not too severe.  Good saturation without it being too overpowering.  The mistakes are there, but small, so it is still worth a good mark.
 NA Ishbel Cowan 3STAR go turtle E Sadly you turtle is out of focus.  The out of focus effect could have been used to portray movement but it was not successful here..  Composition is also lacking.  A beautiful sighting like this doesn't always translate into a beautiful image.
 NA Ishbel Cowan 3STAR e goose E These geese are so plentiful that, at 3 star level, I would have liked to see something more arresting.  To me this is an out of focus goose walking on very green grass.  The artistic merit is lacking.
 NA Ishbel Cowan 3STAR rhino horn E An interesting mountain with very little artistic or photographic merit.  Lots of digital noise too.
 OP Ishbel Cowan 3STAR who will win B The composition is good, the diagonal placement of the wasps creat a great dynamic. Unfortunately the image is very soft and the touch up work too visible.
 SS Ishbel Cowan 3STAR eyes of a baby S No doubt the beautiful blue eyes are the main subject here and they are nicely sharp.  My problem is the pink outer edge.  To me, it doesn’t gel with the eyes which are the main subject.  The reason possibly is that I have no idea what this pink area is.  To me it looks like a pair of eyes superimposed onto a busy pink border. This is an image of 2 parts that don’t really fit together.
 OU Jackie Gasken 3STAR Zebras in the mist G Great story, wonderful light. Well done.
 NA rob gasken 4STAR Bulbul B Beautiful strong colours without over saturation.   Sadly the bird is not sharp and the composition is off.  The strongest element, the bird, is on the right thirds (no problem) but then it’s also looking out of the RHS.  The whole image feels unbalanced.  I would have expected better composition from a 4 star worker.
 NA rob gasken 4STAR Sleepy Head S A very tranquil and “easy” image.  I would have liked to have seen a bit more interest in the image with a more creative crop…possibly.  The large top and bottom areas don’t add a lot of value and could have been cropped more.  Nice rich colours and the main subjects are very sharp.
 OU rob gasken 4STAR Damned Dentures S Exceptionally good rim light framing the buck - Sadly the image is too soft
 NA JANICE  GASS 5STAR Wooly Necked Stork. S There are elements of the image that are great but there are some where you could have made better choices.  The whites are almost blown and could have been toned down slightly.  The image is cropped very tightly at the top.  There is digital noise in the image.  It is not severe but it could be removed.  The thing that worries me most is that red border.  In Nature or Wildlife images the border should emphasise the edges and be as unobtrusive as possible.  This red border is very “in your face” and too dominant.  It makes a “natural” image into a “man made” image.  This type of border is sometimes acceptable for Open or Altered Reality images but not for Nature.
 OP JANICE  GASS 5STAR Eye Contact G Intense and emotive. The picture is ever so slightly soft and the artefacts on the black shirt distract.
 OP JANICE  GASS 5STAR My Chair S Gorgeous cat portrait. The eyes are well captured . Unfortunately the overbright spots on the chair distract.
 OP JANICE  GASS 5STAR Quiet moment. G A lovely portrait conveying good emotion.  The ear at top right is slightly distracting.
 SS JANICE  GASS 5STAR Cats Eyes M A very strong, symmetrical rendition of 2 beautiful eyes.  Due to the front on approach the image is very symmetrical which has made the light look a bit flat.  Some gentle moulding of the light on one side of the face would have added value.  Beautifully focused image.
 OP Dianne HALL 3STAR White poor mans orchid S  The focus is on the most important part of the flower and the water droplets add to the impact. Unfortunately a bit overbright and the background is way to busy.
 OP Dianne HALL 3STAR Mauve ground orchid S  A bright and cheerful image. A bit busy and quite bright in spots.
 OP Dianne HALL 3STAR Winter succulent flowers S A very good composition  and colour well handled. Unfortunately it tis too bright. Beware of a too busy background.
 OU Dianne HALL 3STAR Where did they go S The image is not sharp enough. The exposure handling shows some skill. Try not to have two focus points in an image, the eyes tend to dart to-and-fro between them.
 OU Dianne HALL 3STAR Waiting to pop B No faces and not sharp. The intruding grass in front is very distracting.
 SS Dianne HALL 3STAR Checking you out E This image is completely out of focus and over staurated.
 OP Gerald Hall 3STAR Wall was too bright S  A lovely story image. Unfortunately the painter who is the hero is not sharp and is facing away from the camera.
 OP Gerald Hall 3STAR Sign of spring S The background is well handled and so is the exposure. Be careful of cropping too close.
 OP Gerald Hall 3STAR Yellow poor mans orchid B Sadly this image is ovrbright and not sharp. 
 OU Gerald Hall 3STAR Protecting my young one S A lovely story well told.The image must be leveled and it is not sharp.
 OU Gerald Hall 3STAR Sentry duty S The birds in thei rnest makes for a good stry that migt have been better told in a portrait orientation. Not sharp. Beware of loss of detail in the dark areas of the wing.
 SS Gerald Hall 3STAR Pods are delish E This image is out of focus.
 SS Gerald Hall 3STAR Inquisitive B Nice waterbuck portrait but the emphasis is not on the eyes.  I’d guess the story is all about the horns.  Over saturated.
 OP Brigitte Jordaan 5STAR Moving sideways G A menacing crab, colours very well handled.  Beware the claw in front it tends to blck the eye from moving into the picture.
 OP Brigitte Jordaan 5STAR Tending to bugs S Very good image to ground seperation. Personally I think the ant and the aphids should have been sharp.
 OP Brigitte Jordaan 5STAR Pearl Web S The soft spider in the beautifully captured web is a problem. Light and composition well handled.
 OP Brigitte Jordaan 5STAR Eyes on Wing B Well seen and good on trying to capture such a difficult subject. This butterfly is very soft though.
 OU Brigitte Jordaan 5STAR On the Move S Cheecky little character. I think there may have been too much sharpening resulting in a bit of noise.  There apprears to be quite a bot of overbrightness in the surrounding grass.
 SS Brigitte Jordaan 5STAR From another Angle S This sure is a different and unexpected take on the theme.  I like that creativity.  The eye is well emphasised.  Pity that the beak areas are over bright and blown out.
 NA Keith Marallich 5STAR The Scratching Post M This image has all the WOW that a great image should have.  The focus, composition and depth of field are superb.  The story telling is great and it is beautifully presented for competition.  Great job, well done!
 NA Keith Marallich 5STAR Catching a Ride M Beautiful image.  The composition, colour rendition and focus are all spot on.  The textures on the skin and the feathers is all great.  I know I am being unnecessarily picky but if this was my image I would have tried to twist it a bit to the left to try and get the bird more upright.  Just my preference but it’s still a great image.
 NA Keith Marallich 5STAR Southern Double Collared Sunbird M Beautiful composition and I love those smudgy background colours thus showing great DOF.    Saturation is good without it being overboard.  Focus is also good.  Nicely presented for competition.  All round, a beautiful image.
 SS Keith Marallich 5STAR A E Eye O U S Nice emphasis on the eye and I like the DOF used here.    Great composition.  The fly is an interesting addition.  Pity about the vehicle that is visible in the eye.
 SS Keith Marallich 5STAR Eye Eye M Good artistic approach to this image.  The eyes being at a 45 degree slant just adds that something extra.  I think that the selective colouring works well here.  Nice and sharp.
 MO Merle Prinsloo 1STAR Errol S A good attempt and the focus is good.  There are 3 things that you could have improved for an all round more successful image.  1. If you had got down a bit lower.  The image would have worked better if you were more at eye level. 2. There is a lot of noise in the image.  ISO2500 was your enemy 3. Most of the whites are very blown out.
 NA Merle Prinsloo 1STAR wild tree flowers 1 S Beautiful strong colours and you have managed to focus on 1 flower and to throw the rest of the image out of focus.  Good work there.  Your composition is not great.  A closer crop or view would have been better and the strong horizontal branch at the bottom could have been cropped away.
 OP Merle Prinsloo 1STAR golf course G The stream make a great leading line into the picyure. Exposure very well handled.  Please level the bridge.
 OU Merle Prinsloo 1STAR zebra S  Good framing. Add a little more contrast and be careful of shooting into the sun.
 SS Merle Prinsloo 1STAR dad B Fits the brief and that is great.  The soft shape of the hat juxtaposes nicely with the strong, rigid straight lines but sadly those straight white lines are very bright and detract from the main subject.
 CR Heide Smallwood G-HONORS caged S I like the juxtaposition bethween the square window and the rounded cage.  I would love to score this image higher but there are integrity problems with this image.  The light on the cat is completely different to the rest of the lighting and this just looks wrong.  The very dominant white border is also too overpowering.  Lovely mood created.
 NA Heide Smallwood G-HONORS water of a ducks back G Beautiful sharp detail with very bright light evident.  Is the saturation maybe a bit strong?  I would have left a little more space around the duck to show more of it's environment.
 OP Heide Smallwood G-HONORS learning to fly M Perfection! My only suggestion would be to tone down the light on the ear a little as it seems to be out of tune with the light falling on her forehead and chin.
 OP Heide Smallwood G-HONORS playtime G A great story full of character. 
 SS Heide Smallwood G-HONORS the eye of the beholder G The emphasis is definitely on the eye in this image.  The avant-garde approach is startling but I applaud you for the attempt.  With any art work, one cannot question the subject matter but I do feel that the hands are a bit bright and the fact that they have been added afterwards is quite evident.  Obviously they have been, but the blending into the rest of the image could have been more refined.
 MO Frederick Turck 3STAR Desert Transmission S Interesting perspective.  Love the effect of depth.  Composition is also good.  Unfortunately it looks like the image is breaking down.  The straight lines of the poles look as they are completely breaking up.  Appears that this might have been cropped from a much bigger original image. 
 NA Frederick Turck 3STAR Hartebeeste After Mudbath M Beautiful portrayal of these two.  Composition is beautifully handled.  Light is handled nicely too.  Colour saturation is also spot on.  Well done.
 NA Frederick Turck 3STAR Hartebeest and Calf G Great story telling here and also very endearing.    Composition is a tad central but it would have been difficult to present it any other way.  The whole image is a bit bright and if toned down, it would give the image more depth and the youngster’s rear end would not be so bright.
 OP Frederick Turck 3STAR Scarborough Morning G Great scene captured when light was perfect. Try to coax more detail from sky and add a little more contarst to rock pools.
 NA Sandy van Heerden 4STAR Surveying the Scene   B A fair enough rendition of this monkey but the light is very harsh and very flat.  Image is also over saturated.  Personally, I don’t like truncated body parts.  Very busy background.
 OP Sandy van Heerden 4STAR Chicken Burger M Outstanding image, pin sharp and well composed.
 OP Sandy van Heerden 4STAR Wasp G A pin sharp image wit great focus and exposure. Sadly this is a dead wasp.
 OP Sandy van Heerden 4STAR Moon Rise over CapeTown harbour S A good composition and story. The colours appear a little flat and I'm sure with some levels adjustment this could be a great image
 OU Sandy van Heerden 4STAR Bee Eater G Crop in just a little closer.  A brilliant image - good focus and colour.  The large light area at bottom should ideally be toned down and cropped
 SS Sandy van Heerden 4STAR I See You S I applaud the artistic merit here and the concept is interesting.  I like the play between the different shapes.  Sadly that eye is very over bright with parts being almost blown out.  I played with this image and found that darkening the eye, made a huge difference.  Pity you didn’t do this.
 NA Brian Widdowson 3STAR Hello there G Depth of field has been nicely considered so as to blur the busy background.  That said, that background could have been darkened a bit more to hide it even further.  The focus is sharp where it need to be.  A warmer (allowable) filter could have been added to give the image warmth because, as presented, this image has a cold tinge.  This would have made the colours pop more too.
 OP Brian Widdowson 3STAR The Acrobat G A striking image, capturing the suspence and grace of the act. Both eyes in the picture would have been great. 
 OP Brian Widdowson 3STAR True Love S A lovely story!  The image is very noisy. Beware of a too slow shutter speed (1/15 sec is very slow for this type of image)
 MO Joan Widdowson 3STAR Quiver Tree G Nicely composed with the main interest of the kokerboom being optimally placed.  You could have increased the contrast slightly to make that tree pop even more.
 NA Joan Widdowson 3STAR View to the Mountain S A pleasing landscape with interesting textures and subject.  I just feel there is a foreground element missing to add more depth to the image.  I am not sure about that blue sky.  It is very saturated.  You might argue that it was the true colour but it doesn’t look real so toning “the truth” down sometimes can add value.
 NA Joan Widdowson 3STAR Waiting B Nice sighting but photographically it has errors.  The whole image is soft and I think that it looks like it has been cropped severely off a larger image.  Saturation is also a bit intense.
 OP Joan Widdowson 3STAR Aloe Express G GWAM-4074 is beautifully capured. Beware of the overbright sky. Great story.
 NA Mark Zunckel 3STAR Master builder G Nicely captured with a difficult subject up against the sky.  Good complimentary colours.  Some of the darker shadows on the face and body could have been lifted SLIGHTLY in post.  Otherwise a nice attempt.
 OP Mark Zunckel 3STAR Full moon rising S  The colours are beautiful and tell such a good story. Unfortunately the image is very soft and too noisy.
 OP Mark Zunckel 3STAR Hope they can see us G The looming bulk well juxtaposed to the ski boat. The lage ship could be brightened a little.
 SS Mark Zunckel 3STAR Monkey eyes S The subject I was given was “Eye” so strictly this doesn’t fit the brief but maybe I am being too picky.  Strong eyes shown here but maybe not 100% sharp.  Whites are a bit blown.
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