Last night was the review of the images entered for POTY round 4 that had the theme “3”. There were 45 images

Reading comments out of context was slightly worrying as they seemed to refer to questionable activities like nice threesome, getting the last E in

01 1 Down And 1 To Go – Alan Wardropper :

Finished 34 Scored 16.6 Range 6 24 Impact 5.5 Composition 5.27 Technical 5.68

Bit Right heavy. Not sure if would be better flipped. Confusing. Difficult to appreciate 3 elements. The title doesn’t help me either. Not taken at a good angle, dodging and burning could improve impact and technical. Good image, love the colours

02 3 Deer – Chantal Cooper :

Finished 35 Scored 16.57 Range 11 23 Impact 5.43 Composition 5.52 Technical 5.65

Deer soft but background sharp. Nice shot. Good DOF. The subjects stand out from the background. Nice shot. Shame left deer not looking at photographer. Right deer needs brightening. Background nicely out of focus. Shame left deer not looking and they are rather lost in the background. good capture, well processed. lacks focus point

03 3 Local Businesses – Chris Dunne :

Finished 45 Scored 13.76 Range 6 19 Impact 4.13 Composition 4.7 Technical 4.83

Has the sky been changed in post processing? Need to straighten the buildings. A little busy for my liking. Lighting rather flat. Fortunate that no vehicles on forecourt, but that’s COVID for you! Meets the theme in a few ways. Love the road name well captured. Too big in the frame for me, a bit more sky needed maybe. Too tight in frame, could be improved with basic processing. record shot

04 After Christmas – Andy Freeman :

Finished 42 Scored 15.3 Range 8 22 Impact 5.05 Composition 5.18 Technical 5.05

A little too dark, for my taste. Everything soft but perhaps that’s what the author wanted. Good effort but perhaps lighting isn’t good enough on items in front of cloth. Nice set up. Nice ‘warm’ feeling. I’d like a bit more clarity.

05 Balls – Daniel Wood :

Finished 43 Scored 14.67 Range 6 20 Impact 4.7 Composition 4.87 Technical 4.96

Needs a different crop, probably square. The hidden orange ball on the right needed cropping out!. The subjects stand out, but I think just white and orange balls would be better. Subjects would be more obvious. I’d remove the pen marks. Is the image upside down? Would be good if the orange balls all had 3 on. good shot, love the orange triangle, keeps you in the frame. might have been better with just white and orange balls

06 Beach Oasis – Roger Leck :

Finished 31 Scored 17.3 Range 9 28 Impact 5.91 Composition 5.77 Technical 5.73

Great shot!. Makes it look like the trees are falling. Maybe rotate clockwise a few degrees. Nice image. Not as effective as one I’ve seen before. Angle of trees doesn’t really help the image. It was more about the pattern in the sand. Original worked better, trees soft. Perhaps rotate image to straighten

07 Bluebells – Gary Wood :

Finished 32 Scored 16.67 Range 9 24 Impact 5.61 Composition 6 Technical 5.04

Focus slightly soft on the rightmost flower. Over-cropped and not sharp, too big in frame. Simple image but soft, perhaps too shallow depth of field. Needs to be sharp really. Background nicely blurred. Very nice, but not enough sharp points. Nice DOF. good shot, good natural lighting. to central a little soft

08 Botallack Ruins – John Denny :

Finished 16 Scored 19.45 Range 10 26 Impact 6.23 Composition 6.68 Technical 6.41

A bit soft. Good image, love the natural moody sky. Needs much better contrast to make ruins and stone walls stand out in the landscape. Think it needs more contrasts to make it stand out. Lighting a bit flat? Good composition. Very nice moody photo. The dark clouds above the middle building are a bit too dark for me. eye drawn to light horizon not biuldings

09 Boulder Beach

Withheld

10 Carnival Dancers – Al Simms :

Finished 36 Scored 16.5 Range 10 22 Impact 5.41 Composition 5.64 Technical 5.41

Could have been give more impact by blurring background. Possibly waiting a few seconds to get the three characters stacked slightly behind each other and more made of the colourful costumes. Everything but dancers desaturated to emphasise them, which works. Good image nice and sharp, love the desert on the general public. Overall soft, better processing would help make dancers stand out from the background. The background looks desaturated to highlight the subjects, but all the people in the background are still distracting and make it look busy.

11 Caution 3 Steps – Paul Steans :

Finished 39 Scored 15.55 Range 6 21 Impact 5.09 Composition 5.09 Technical 5.18

Good depth of field. Needs straightening. This fulfils the brief, but lacks interest for me. Remove the brown bit, top right. Perhaps better from a different angle. would have liked to have seen more of the steps

12 Chinese Lanterns

Withheld

13 Cranes In Triplicate – Roger Leck :

Finished 38 Scored 15.75 Range 6 20 Impact 5.05 Composition 5.27 Technical 5.18

A record shot of three cranes, probably could improve with some processing, e.g highlights .Bland sky. Fulfils the brief. Slightly interesting, but not enough for me. Nice uniform set of container cranes. Blue sky a good contrast to yellow cranes. Perhaps a bit more space needed on right. Tone down brighter parts of structure to make them more yellow.

14 Dogfight

Withheld

15 Fallow Does

Withheld

16 Fashion Friends – Steve Bexon :

Finished 20 Scored 19 Range 9 25 Impact 6.18 Composition 6.5 Technical 6.14

A bit too busy for me. Maybe blur or change the background behind the subjects to make them stand out more. I like that the person on the wall seems to be looking at the girls. Great colours and very sharp throughout. Areal sense of movement from the girls. Good triangular delineation between wall and pavement and recession. Love the colours and one girl is looking at camera. Very colourful. Everything in focus. Girls positioned nicely just in front of graffiti face looking at them.v

17 Feeding Time

Withheld

18 Fire Buckets – Ken Chesterman :

Finished 29 Scored 17.55 Range 13 21 Impact 5.86 Composition 5.86 Technical 5.77

A newly painted wall with old fire buckets doesn’t really scream character. Fire hydrant sign is distracting. Great use of colour. good processing. I’d prefer this to be face on, rather than having diagonal lines in the brickwork. Good, otherwise. Like minimal pictures but possibly more could be made of the colour and angle of shot. Take a couple of rows of bricks off the top and brighten the reds more as the white wall is very bright. should have gotten the final E in

19 Gap In The Clouds – Andy Freeman :

Finished 19 Scored 19.25 Range 9 22 Impact 6.27 Composition 6.05 Technical 6.59

A bit too dark. Needs more space to fly into and less at the top. Maybe a square crop would be better. The planes are nicely spaced. Portrait sort of works but loses some impact, perhaps a slightly wider crop and more space may have improved it. Title doesn’t really describe the image. If the gap was bigger and planes had been totally in the gap then title ok. Perhaps a square crop might be better? Very sharp image of planes. Is this a cropped part of the full formation? Very good capture. a closer crop makes a better picture and add sky to left. good shot, good natural lighting

20 Getting Shipshape – John Smith :

Finished 24 Scored 18.15 Range 10 26 Impact 5.95 Composition 6.14 Technical 6.05

Colours work but too many distractions in foreground and background for me. Good composition. Good use of colour, HDR a little strong. Nice colourful image, good positioning of people in a triangle. Perhaps the boat in the background is a bit distracting. Rope in foreground is a bit distracting, as is the small dark patch, bottom left. Shame about the boat in the background, top left.

21 Gourds – Peter Lawrance :

Finished 20 Scored 19 Range 8 25 Impact 6.23 Composition 5.86 Technical 6.68

Composition works well but Gourds not as sharp as rest of the scene. The titled foreground object ought to be the sharpest object. Great still life well thought out, great shadows just needs to be a little brighter. Not sure of relevance of gourds to rest of image, apart from colours. I’m looking more at the accordion than the gourds. Very nice colours and lighting. I’d tone down the green bits in the foreground. i like this image, but the gourds are almost incidental. Great shapes and colours. quality photo but lacks focal point

22 Hat Trick – Steve Pears :

Finished 30 Scored 17.35 Range 12 28 Impact 5.59 Composition 6.14 Technical 5.86

Great still life, so simple and well constructed, Good lighting. Needs better contrast and details enhancing to make things stand out more. Nice simple image, but lighting is inconsistent with bottom shelf brightest. Therefore lacking detail in other two hats. Unusual proportions of image, like a vertical panorama. Simple, but very effective. Good lighting. Can see detail in the dark areas. Would work really well as a triptych as very simple subject matter with contrast between three types of hat. In this format would have cropped bottom shelf out and the slight bit of upright on the right. Lighting well handled in the shadows of the shelves. the hats need some sort of frame perhaps if each was in a box

23 I Know My Place – Phil Mallin :

Finished 11 Scored 20.7 Range 15 27 Impact 6.59 Composition 6.91 Technical 7.23

Great still-life, well thought out, great shading and colours. Good lighting. Nice colours. Good lighting. I think I’d crop a little tighter. Simple still life. Is it a composite? Top of the middle vessel seems a bit blurred. Subdued light and colours loses some impact and main objects slightly soft

24 Late Again :

Withheld

25 Light Orbs – Graham Townsend :

Finished 16 Scored 19.45 Range 15 26 Impact 6.5 Composition 6.27 Technical 6.77

Good try at long exposure. Great idea and well executed. A more neutral background would imo improved this as would a more face on angle of shooting. Light Orbs great idea but let down by background fence, light and foreground shadows. Nice idea and use of light painting. Good leading line. Well made light trails although middle one is not as good as outer two. background distracted me

26 Pears – Phil Mallin :

Finished 12 Scored 20.6 Range 14 28 Impact 6.59 Composition 6.95 Technical 7.09

By Steve Pears? Ha ha. Aren’t there usually two in a pear? Simple enough but middle pear seems to be getting most of the light. Good still life, love the symmetry in the floor and pears, good colour matching and sharp. good texture on the background. Looks like an old painting. Very good. Nice light. Good leading lines. Pears lose impact because of detailed foreground which needs to be slightly darker

27 Ragamuffins – Ian Waite :

Finished 15 Scored 19.95 Range 14 24 Impact 6.55 Composition 6.73 Technical 6.59

Good blur, so you focus on the subjects. Shame the girl on the left isn’t facing us. Nice texture added to make it grungy, but perhaps a bit more work needed as there is a missed bit to the left of the girls and between the two on the left. Wrong setting for subject matter so doesn’t work for me, need to wait for taller girl to turn slightly more towards camera. good image, author needs to be careful when using textures (gap on first girl). the children blend into the background to much

28 Red Roses – John Smith :

Finished 25 Scored 18 Range 8 22 Impact 6.14 Composition 5.91 Technical 5.68

Crop too tight, roses not sharp. I don’t like the background. There are some strange green marks, and it needs some blur or texture. Nice detail in the petals. Like the muted background which mirrors the petal shapes. Right side rose not as well lit though. Green leaves at bottom could be cloned out. sharp were needed

29 Rough And Smooth – Paul Steans :

Finished 28 Scored 17.65 Range 8 22 Impact 5.64 Composition 5.95 Technical 5.82

Centre objects detail lost as a little soft and needs some dodging and burning. Nice detail in the leaves. Good light and good vignette.

30 Setee With View – Dave Varnham :

Setee With View-Dave Varnham

Finished 44 Scored 14.5 Range 6 19 Impact 4.77 Composition 4.77 Technical 4.77

Good spot, to find the image, not to see the view! Needs grad on sky and ground colours improving, not much you can do with the composition. Too central. Trees, top left and top right, have been chopped off. They need to be in or out. The greens are maybe a bit too intense. It does make you wonder how it got there. would have liked to see the settees view

31 Spanners (Mostly) – Al Simms :

Finished 22 Scored 18.7 Range 11 25 Impact 6.18 Composition 6.36 Technical 6.09

Creative composition. Good idea, background works well, needs a bit more dodging and burning. Good light, colour and texture. One section in the first E is a bit dark compared with the rest. Great still life, well thought out, good use of natural light. Good colour grading. sharp. Someone used their imagination.

32 Sunset Silhouette

Withheld

33 Swimming Trunks – Debbie Lowe :

Finished 13 Scored 20.55 Range 16 25 Impact 6.91 Composition 6.91 Technical 6.73

Could be improved with basic processing, cropping and removing unwanted object from water. Good distance between the heads of the elephants.

34 Taking Off

Withheld

35 The Bradgate Three – Margaret Waterson :

Finished 23 Scored 18.45 Range 9 23 Impact 6.18 Composition 6.05 Technical 6

Nice capture. Needed a different position to left to get heads in the gap and separate the two deer at the back. Nice sharp image of the deer, but the background is too distracting. Blur, darken or texture it to highlight the subjects. Well spotted shot but needs processing to make the deer stand out from the foreground and background

36 The Home Turn

Withheld

37 Third Class – John Denny :

Finished 26 Scored 17.9 Range 10 23 Impact 5.73 Composition 6.18 Technical 5.86

Good spot. Could have benefited from some side lighting to give a bit more contrast. Very nice textures and colours. Looks slightly blurred in places, e.g. top left. Well spotted, could have used a slightly wider crop to expose an orange brick surround and further detail and colour processing to make the rust and decay stand out more

38 Three Go Paddling – Steve Pears :

Finished 33 Scored 16.65 Range 8 22 Impact 5.55 Composition 5.55 Technical 5.41

Like the picture, remove the corner rocks, take most of the detail out of the sand to match the sky, lower the highlights, then would be an excellent minimalist composition. A nice high key style image. Subjects, although dark, still retain detail. I found the dark rocks, bottom left, too distracting. Could have cropped as not sure what benefit having bottom left is. Also there is a lot of bland sky. Not enough progression from white to back for me. the rocks drag my eyes away from the subject a bit.

39 Three Leaves To Fall – Margaret Waterson :

Finished 18 Scored 19.4 Range 12 26 Impact 6.18 Composition 6.5 Technical 6.68

Excellent well thought out composition, but find the bottom pile of leaves a little overbearing and takes your eyes away from the ‘three’. Nice image. The background works well with a brighter area in the centre. Unsure about leaves in a pile at the bottom. Simpler image might be to not have them. Very nice colours and good detail. Didn’t hold my interest. I would spread out the bottom leaves more. good still life with added texture. really like the colours in this image

40 Three To Bring Her Home – Alan Wardropper :

Finished 27 Scored 17.7 Range 8 25 Impact 5.73 Composition 6.05 Technical 5.82

Impressive cloud! Might have been better from a lower viewpoint to see the feet of the person on the left? Mono processing could be better with more detail on the ‘three’, not sure whether the author meant it to be a silhouette or not? Nice sky. Good light. Works well in B&W. I’d like more detail on the subjects. Too dark for me, not enough progression from white to black.

41 Three Wheeler – Ken Chesterman :

Finished 40 Scored 15.35 Range 12 21 Impact 5.09 Composition 5.14 Technical 5.23

I can see five wheels!. Needs brightness and contrast lifting, background image not helping composition. Seems to be in shadow/the light isn’t great. The background is distracting. Shame that bike and background overlap. does not stand out from the background

42 Three Wise Men And A Baby – Debbie Lowe :

Finished 40 Scored 15.35 Range 7 21 Impact 5.05 Composition 5.18 Technical 5.24

Good attempt to hide any detail round the edges. Texture helps the nativity display composition

43 Three Wrecks

Withheld

44 Trees – Gary Wood :

Finished 14 Scored 19.95 Range 11 25 Impact 6.57 Composition 6.78 Technical 6.43

A bit over processed. A lot of lead in! Nice colours in sky. Good leading lines. I’d like more space to the left of the curve in the track. The orange colour may be a bit too intense. Perhaps lighten foreground slightly up to the treeline then tone down the greens slightly by desaturation or changing hue to add some yellow to reflect the sky colour. good lead into the image, great reflection of light in the water.

45 Trial End – Dave Varnham :

Finished 37 Scored 16.2 Range 7 22 Impact 5.23 Composition 5.41 Technical 5.41

Could crop off a lot of bottom. Don’t understand the title! The sky needs something/changing. It’s too plain. Good leading lines. The tractors lead me out of the picture. Doesn’t hold my interest, unfortunately. Would be better with basic processing and details enhancing. Crop away some of the grass on right hand side

—————————————— X ——————–

14 Dogfight – Ian Waite :

Finished 10 Scored 20.85 Range 10 25 Impact 6.82 Composition 6.77 Technical 6.95

Good image with added texture makes it look old. Like the simplicity so there’s nothing else to take the eye. I really like this. Lovely use of texture to make it look old. Shame about the slight overlap of the first two planes. Nice composite, good use of colour matching and texture use.

Texture added but I don’t think it suits the photo. The texture doesn’t work for me as it takes away some sharpness so losing impact

24 Late Again – Steve Bexon :

Finished 9 Scored 21.25 Range 15 27 Impact 7.09 Composition 6.95 Technical 7.18

Tack sharp and three of lots of things. Lighting extremely well handled as the domes could easily become burnt out here. The man walking seems to be 3 inches off the ground, and that distracts me. it could be an optical illusion, but he seems to be separated from his shadow. Very good lighting. Nice colours. Lots of 3s. Interesting. I don’t think the lines of the platform are straight. Very nice symmetrical image, very clear, although taken slightly off centre. Shame the gentleman wasn’t in the middle! Would have been if it was posed. Anyone think he could be cut and pasted in the middle? I’m sure some of our speakers would do! Not sure about title though.

12 Chinese Lanterns – Peter Lawrance :

Finished 8 Scored 21.4 Range 15 30 Impact 7 Composition 7.05 Technical 7.45

Good high key image, Lots of clear detail. Presumably lit from underneath to show off the detail. Key line near edge frames it nicely. Lovely and sharp. I like the white background. The border compliments the image. Stands out well on background, sharp and good composition helped by position of border. great detail, holds the attention really well

32 Sunset Silhouette – Julie Holbeche-Maund :

Finished 7 Scored 21.55 Range 12 27 Impact 7.32 Composition 6.91 Technical 7.14

Great shot. Excellent lighting and composition. I’d chop some off the top to avoid a central horizon. Lovely sunset, but the main subject should be the people, to fit the brief, and I feel they are too small in the picture. Interest on right third, crop out some of left third. Great colours but too dark overall for a sunset, no light on water horizon?? More landscape than ‘3’ which should be the main focus. More about the sunset. 3 people very small in frame.

15 Fallow Does – Chantal Cooper :

Finished 6 Scored 21.57 Range 14 29 Impact 7.26 Composition 7.35 Technical 6.96

Beautiful threesome all looking in the same direction. Maybe crop a little off bottom to make them bigger in the frame and below the centre? Very nice depth of field. Brilliant shot, well processed and well caught. Gorgeous ‘dreamy’ effect. Good composition. Nice colours and lighting. Like the colour treatment and Dog F. Even though deer not looking towards the camera they are all looking the same way which asks the question about what has attracted them. Very lovely photo.

Whatever processing has been used and lost the sharpness in the three Fallow deer, assuming they were sharp originally

17 Feeding Time – James Botterill :

Finished 5 Scored 22.7 Range 16 30 Impact 7.59 Composition 7.55 Technical 7.59

Pity the third one was flying away, trunk too large in frame and dominates image

Really good. know how hard to capture this but…… if only third bird was not flying away. really well captured. great Dof F

Very good. I really like this. I love how sharp it is. It’s been timed well and the subjects have been ‘frozen’. Great DOF.

Very sharp action shot with a subtle amount of blur. With the blue tit flying away it does tell a story.

34 Taking Off – Isobel Chesterman :

Finished 4 Scored 23.05 Range 18 30 Impact 7.73 Composition 7.73 Technical 7.68

Good minimalist processed photo. Two right hand birds works great for me but left hand side bird looks strange with nothing to ground it, would add a small patch of water below it. I really like this. High key is very effective. Good composition. I’d have this on my wall. Love this. Great treatment of colour saturation and just enough water to anchor the images. Would not have worked so well imo without this. Title slightly misleading as bird on left looks to be coming in to land. But marking the image not the title. Nice high key minimalist shot.

36 The Home Turn – Isobel Chesterman :

Finished 3 Scored 23.2 Range 18 30 Impact 7.64 Composition 7.91 Technical 7.73

Brilliant action shot. Everything lined up beautifully. Good expressions on riders and horses. Needs dodging and burning on horses and riders and perhaps a wider crop to the left for more space and a lead-in from the tracks in the sand. Very good capture at speed. Nice and sharp with good DOF. Well caught, background a little muddy in colour

09 Boulder Beach – Julie Holbeche-Maund :

Finished 2 Scored 23.25 Range 13 30 Impact 7.77 Composition 7.55 Technical 7.77

Excellent! Gives you a nice warm, calm feeling. Sky is lovely. Good slow shutter speed. Foreground rock soft, can’t see anything sharp in image. Does it need so much sky at the top. Great colours! Impact and colouring is excellent. Love the recession to the horizon and just the right level for the horizon line given the interest in the sky. good blurring of sand. Very atmospheric. Nice simple image in a style seen before. Looks like a slow shutter but there’s no water! Just patterns in sand. Has it been blurred to give that effect? the long exposure makes the water look out of place .

43 Three Wrecks – James Botterill :

Finished 1 Scored 24.3 Range 19 29 Impact 8.09 Composition 7.91 Technical 8.27

A well done slow shutter shot. Very sharp. Birds are a bonus, nicely being in the lighter parts of the sky. Either very lucky or added in! Good long exposure. love the sneaky introduction of the 3 seagulls. Good processing on the sky. Great colours, great sky and composition but would have removed the extra bits of wreckage for this competition and title. Lovely photo. The water does not look real where the rest of the picture is so sharp. Very nice. Good sky, light and colours. Three birds too. Good reflection. I’d remove the additional bits either side of the wrecks.

Click for Gallery

Table of Results for POTY 4

Standings after POTY 4

Last night was the annual Trevor Wain UK Landscape competition run in memory of former Member Trevor Wain

It was held as is now the new nrom on zoom and  judged by Chris Baldwin

We had 54 entries

The overall winner was Isobel Chesterman with Newhaven Storm but mention must also be made of Julie Holbeche-Maund for Low Lighthouse and Phil Mallin for SS Normen  both of which also scored 20

Image	Score	Comment
01 A Brewing Storm	16	A good image to start with. Strong colours & good exposure, good mood to the scene. Excellent foreground interest but the horizon is a little near the centre. Note the lighter patch of sky at the top, crop that off & we resolve the central horizon issue plus make the sky more supportive.
02 A Rainy Day In Bradgate	17	The author has presented two strong subjects as a pair by good positioning & making one of them subordinate. I would make the slightest crop to the left side & see if I could lift the shadows slightly on the main tree trunk.
03 Altar Stones	16	I like the lead-in provided by the foreground rock & the subtlety of the warm sky. Composition is good overall, but I feel that the main group of stones could offer more. Try lifting their exposure by a third to a half a stop to show more detail & merge more with the warmth of the sky.
04 Arran Sunset	16	Very moody but large portions of the image have been sacrificed to concentrate on the sky. I am aware that we don’t not want the sky to burn out any more at the centre but it should be possible to lift the lower foliage a bit to play more of a part in the image.
05 Ashridge Path	Held back – 18	I like the treatment given to this simple but effective image. It is a good conversion to toned monochrome. The pale vignette works very well & there are some rich tones in the tree trunks. I also like the inclusion of a different variety of tree on the left. The path is inviting to the eye.
06 Barmer Church	15	The church has been well seen in the barren trees. I like the overall blending of blues & browns in the image, but I feel the church is a little too central. The lead-in of the field is not really effective as it wastes almost a third of the image without doing anything. I would crop of the base just to, or just past, the line of freshly turned soil. Then add a minor crop to the left to just pull the church slightly off the centre.
07 Beacon Hill Rocks	Held back – 18	A good & strong conversion to B&W, the rocks are positioned well and blend well together. I like the little tree: its position & its contrast in strength to the rocks. A minor crop to the left would put it into a slightly stronger position. Overall, the image has a good 3-dimensional quality.
08 Bentley Woods	16	The strength of the trees comes over well, it is enhanced by the regular array. I like the lighting on the trunks on the right. The crop at the base is good & it adds a little bit of non-conformity. There is just a hint of something to be investigated at the end of the path.
09 Blot On The Landscape	Held back – 18	An amazing scene that has been well captured by the author. To let us dwell on the stronger elements the mist has removed many of the distractions usually visible. The mist, like snow, creates exposure problems for the photographer & here the author seems to have responded well. There are groupings that are segregated by the mist, giving us plenty to take in. I like the overall colouration of the scene, there is a bias to the blues, but it is not overdone. The steam plumes are an effective contrast to the mist. There are, however, many white dots on the image: some are lights, but others do not seem to be in the correct place for lights. They should have been tidied up.
10 Bradgate Park In Winter	17	A strong image, which hold our attention. The trees are in silhouette & combine well with the fences at their bases. The frost on the fields is a pleasant contrast. I believe the base to be a little strong & I would crop up to a darker band that exists on the pathway before it divides.
11 Bradgate Tranquillity	15	The two trees have been effectively used as supports to hold our landscape. I like the textures that have been captured in them. They do, however, somewhat overwhelm the scene that we have in the centre despite the inclusion of a small pond. We need some other point of interest to hold our attention longer.
12 Bridge At Compton Verney	16	A delightful capture of this fine bridge. The tall tree to the right gives it height & hold it in. The water has rendered the stonework of the bridge very well. The reflection loses some of the brick detail but distinctively retains the structure of the stone railings.
13 Choppy At Porthmeor	16	The author has captured the power of the waves extremely well & chosen a great moment to show us the breaking of the waves over the rocks. This water gives a 3-dimensional aspect to the surrounding rocks. Unfortunately, the rocks do not come over fully sharply, I am not sure why?
14 Coniston Water Jetty	16	A good exposure of this jetty, positioned well in the frame & with a good depth of field. I like the way it turns as it ends but I think that it ends too soon. It has to compete too much with the sky & is diminished by this competition. Explore trimming the sky so that the jetty ends at the start of the image’s top third, giving it back the mastery of the composition.
15 Coombe Abbey Woods	15	I like the composition & colours of this image, & the way that the water waves take me into it. It is held in quite nicely by the foliage at the two sides. I also like the way that the darker foreground takes me into sunlight. A small crop at the top will lift the stream within the image to a more effective position.
16 Crown Engine Houses	16	This is well seen & composed. The buildings are well positioned & held in place by the offshore rock. I think the image needs a little more contrast, & possibly a boost in colour to expand the differences between man-made & natural rocks.
17 Day Break	15	The dawn light & colours are well captured & intertwined nicely with the bare branches. The base is too strong & dominates as it darkens the image. Crop off roughly half of it so that the colours in the sky are lifted.
18 Early Morning At Loch Maree	16	An interesting composition, I like the way that the water seems to have picked up the colour of the distant mountain. The small trees along the lower water edge work nicely & the right shore sends the eye back into the image. A lovely sky: small in area but it really adds to the image.
19 Fairy Pools Isle Of Skye	17	There wasn’t quite so much water flowing when I went to this lovely place. The mist has held the scene in well. The waterfalls are in a good position, central but below the vertical centre. I believe that a darkening or vignette of the base would accentuate the water area.
20 High Tide	Held back – 19	The water flow almost forces the eye into the image! The horizon is satisfyingly high with the sky holding the image in well. Good depth of field with the rocks at the edges working well to maximise the feeling of movement.
21 Hunt Cliffs Slatburn	17	The lovely tones of the sands take the eye into the scene, helped by the sets of footprints. The arrangement of the footprints accentuates that there are two groupings in the distance & these two groups are in good positions. I like the soft colours on the distant cliffs.
22 Indian Summer	15	The two figures make the image as they give scale and hold the eye. It can even be said that they pull the eye towards the gate in the distance. The top of the image needs to be darkened to hold it in a little more.
23 Late Summer On Bamford Edge	16	An interesting balance between the close rocks & the distant water scene. Good, bright colours, nice sky & good positioning of the distant hills. I experimented with a slight crop on the right & believe it enhances the image.
24 Llynnau Mymbyr	15	The low viewpoint works quite well, except that the green leaves at the base are a little too strong. Good water colour & surface texture. Held in nicely at the sides.
25 Looking Towards The Wood	15	These intentional camera movement images are not appreciated until after the image has been taken. Here the colours of the tree trunks and the grasses at their bases blend very well & I like the relative sizes of the sky & woodland areas.
26 Low Lighthouse	Held back – 20	A lovely, moody image. The low lighting has kept the reflective white areas under control. The lighthouse is well positioned & its reflection is a little cameo in its own right. Good sky with the lighter areas well off the edge of the image.
27 Malham Cove	15	I am looking to see why the author has moved to B&W. I can only surmise that the colours there were too strong or irregular. I like the pathway at the base & the relative dimensions within the image but find that there is no naturally strong area that holds my eye for long. The junction of the walls is interesting but rather minor in the image.
28 Misty Morning	Held back – 19	I like the composition of this image. One tree is clearly dominant, but the repetition re-enforces it. The main tree commands the image with its minimal base & stretching to the top of the frame. The tree has character & strength. The supporting trees have their own shape, but the mist has reduced their strength. It is good that there is detail in the tree trunk.
29 Newhaven Storm	Held back – 20 & 1st	The action, here, is perfectly captured. The instant of capture has encompassed all the different sea movements. I especially like the twin waves with the wind taking their crests away to the left. The size of the breakwater is good & the lighthouse is perfectly positioned in the frame.
30 Northamptonshire Sunflowers	17	I like the high horizon & the colour contrast between the clouds in the sky & the blooms. It has a particularly good depth of field as I see sufficient detail in the close sunflowers. The edges of the image seem to have been well tended with none of the flower heads really breaking the lines.
31 Partly Dead Trees	17	This kind of subject draws me with my camera! I like the relative sizes of the two trees & the differences in shape. It is a good conversion to B&W with a full range of tones. Tightly composed but with space inside it.
32 Peel Isle Of Man	16	A different style of image! The subject suits the format. It has an intriguing presentation with a soft, narrow light vignette on all four sides, re-enforced at the base by a single narrow stroke. The inclusion of the castle ruins holds the right side in well. The details of the town do not match the quality of the beach area.
33 Penmon Point	17	A beautiful sky really enhances this image. A central horizon is created by the need to encompass the lighthouse. Well cropped at the base. The rocky shoreline works well.
34 Reflection	16	This works very well with the tree & its reflection having characters of their own. The tree is clearly dominant with the colour provided by the warm sky. The vignette around it works well. The reflection provides a good base & supports without competing.
35 Rydal Boat House	16	I like the range of tones in this image & the gentle feeling it passes over to me. I believe that the boat house has been a little short changed & it should have a larger part in the image. The eye is continually drawn to it, it is important, so crop away some of the base & the left-hand side to make it seem stronger.
36 Sapcote Sunset	16	The sun & the slanting sunlight are both well captured. However, there is a conflict within the image. We are pulled to the sun & we are drawn along the path – so where do we go? Crop away the light cereal crop on the left nearly up to the path to reduce its strength. Now the sun is dominate & it has been moved in a little to a better position nearer the third.
37 Saundersfoot Pembrokeshire	14	This seem to be an urban landscape with a large tree. I like the little sets of steps but dislike the strength of the white walls on the left. I believe that the author should have moved around to the left to concentrate on the tree, its base & the steps, losing the other houses in the process. This would make a positive change to the exposure range in the image.
38 Scots Pines By The River A’Ghairbhe	16	I like the rich colours achieved in the trees plus the contrast of the cold feel of the water. The contrast between the two areas of stillness & movement work well. Especially when we consider their relative size in the frame. The right side is held in well with all the water leaving via the base.
39 Shenton Estate	15	This has an interesting minimalist & grainy approach to a landscape of trees. I think the treatment quite suits the subject as there is no detail to be closely observed. The shadows take us into the image & the degraded right & left sides take us further in. it has a good ‘feel’ to it as a whole, without any part dominating.
40 Shenton In The Mist	16	I believe that we have two images here, three if you include this one. We are presented with a central horizon between a lovely sky & an area of delightfully lit meadow. A greedy photographer would want them both but it’s not possible as they compete. Crop the sky or crop the grass, your choice, and you end up, each time, with a delightful subject & strong support. Don’t crop & you lose out.
41 Slioch Above Loch Maree Just Before The Rain	16	Lovely tones here as we move left to right: purple mountains to golden light. A low horizon with the water at each point taking on the main colour above it, fully supporting the scene. I think we need to darken the right side a little to close in the image. The peak of the mountain just reaches into the clouds to hold the eye.
42 Snowy View From Pullwood	17	I like the effect of the weather on the tree at the front of the image, it takes the colour away & contrasts beautifully with the warmth of the distant meadows. The water inlets are nicely positioned. The sky is a good mixture of menace & warmth.
43 SS Normen	Held back – 20	I love the colours on the rotting timbers of this wreck. I would guess at a time exposure when I see the way the water reflects the vessel. Well positioned in the frame, both vertically & horizontally.
44 St. Benet’s Abbey	16	I like the water lead in & the angle of view makes the silhouette of the Abbey stronger. An unusual & attractive sky works very well. I would crop on the right to ‘push’ the Abbey off centre.
45 Steaming Through The Flood	17	Well captured, the length of the plume of smoke & steam is a bonus. A definite panoramic view & I am pleased that the author has left in this spit of land rather than accentuate the effect by cropping it. The small reflection is a bonus & the shutter was released at an excellent moment as the engine reached the trees.
46 Sunrise Over The Peaks	Held back – 19	I like the quality & the texture of the stones that has come over. The extra high stone nicely bridges the horizon & is well positioned. Good depth of field has been achieved. There is good detail in the shadow areas.
47 Swimming Rydal Water	15	By utilising a portrait-orientated image in a landscape area the author has possibly sought to show the distance the swimmer has to go. He/she is not very large in the frame, but the colour adds emphasis. Good depth of field & exposure.
48 Tarn Hows	15	I like the ‘layers’ effect that we get as we focus on the near tree trunks then the far shore &, finally, the misty mountain. The image format matches its content & is well held in at the sides. As the right tree does not leave the frame, I would be tempted to consider a crop at the top.
49 Thornham Creek	16	A well seen combination of vessels. I like the support of the left edge bank & the way the water reflection adds to the sky. I believe that the beached, damaged vessel would benefit from a little more space around it in the frame, more so at the top. Good exposure.
50 Valkyrie View	16	I like the way that the flow of the wall & the angle of the rocks it reaches, direct me to the water reflection. The repetition of the angled rocks works well. The included foreground also takes me forward.
51 Whitby Pier	Held back – 19	I like the low approach to presenting the pier. The red lifebuoys & the green lantern room encourage our flow along the railings, I am pleased that these are worn not pristine white. It is angled well with a good depth of field.
52 Woolacombe Bay	17	I like the square format which works well with the horizon here. Good exposure & a nice interplay between solid, glistening rocks & moving water. There is still some cloud detail in the region of the setting sun which is good.
53 Woolacombe	Held back – 19	A very different & attractive sky, blended in with a moody seascape, makes this a very compelling image. The central horizon is acceptable due to the special configuration within the sky & the choice of format
54 Wyming Brook	16	I like the way that the brook ‘steps’ down & the rich colours of the brookside foliage. Although, I think that a slight trim at the bottom to remove the bright water, to be replaced by moving water, would be an improvement. I like the positioning in the frame & the shutter speed used to achieve the water flow effect.

Last night was the review of the images entered for the 3rd round of POTY . This round was themed Monochrome and had 50 images entered with 25 members voting.

01 73156 – Gary Wood

Finished 24 Scored 18.64 Range 12 23 Impact 6.38 Composition 6.42 Technical 5.75
Taken down at Great Central Kinchley Lane with wide angle 11mm lens which gives impact from the low angle and stretched look implies motion

there’s something going on above the smoke above the engine. Good action shot of the train. Think I would have cloned out the power/telephone pole – I keep looking at it! Clear distinction between train smoke and sky. Space for train to move into. Perhaps clone out the top of the telegraph pole

Original

02 A Ride In The Country – Debbie Lowe

Finished 39 Scored 16.86 Range 11 22 Impact 5.5 Composition 5.88 Technical 5.46
Impact is not as strong as could be because the horse is looking out of shot.
Technically the white vignette does nothing for the image
Good pose Not sure about treatment I like the composition; but does the process work
Sepia finish trying to make it look old. Maybe background has been changed? Wonder what the horse is looking at – but not indicating a story.
not a fan of reverse vignette

03 Abandoned On Black Sands – With held

04 An Apple A Day – Chris Dunne

Finished 50 Scored 14.23 Range 7 20 Impact 4.79 Composition 4.75 Technical 4.63

Good concept and DoF but could be improved by dodging and burning apple to give more depth and contrast and removing the blemish on the apple which draws the eye. Crop in at the sides slightly. Good still life but bland, mark on the apple should have been removed. and the black line at the back. Depth of field good.
Flat background detracts, Simple subject, perhaps too much background, Simplicity. Good depth of field. Think the dog-leg line across the top is a bit distracting. Would it have been better to have an undamaged apple? But it is exactly where the highlight is and no contrast

Tweaking levels and tidying background

05 Back With A Splash – With Held

06 Bahla Potter – Steve Pears

Finished 19 Scored 18.86 Range 11 25 Impact 6.08 Composition 6.58 Technical 6.13
An environmental portrait. Good depth of field enables the viewer to see what looks like where the potter wipes his fingers on the rear wall!
Busy street photo, the hands seem a little strange because of motion blur, Hat’s a bit bright

Original

07 Barbary Macaque – With Held

08 Beacon Hill – Isobel Chesterman

Finished 49 Scored 15.23 Range 8 24 Impact 4.92 Composition 5.13 Technical 5.25
ICM taken at Beacon Hill. Love it or hate it stuff. Reduced the width of the picture by bringing the tree on the left over more to the right. Converted to mono and tinted with a blue shade, which I believe is allowed. Trip out to try ICM.

Can see what author is trying to achieve and this may be taken through windscreen or painted in but the result lacks depth and focal point. Could benefit from trees being darkened and cropped i on left. Doesn’t, imo really works. Not sure what the story is here, is the photographer relaying a wind day ?. tree on the left is distractingly a little bit of contrast would help.
Appreciate the author trying something different, does it work? Hill Messy, like the nice painterly effect from ICM. Suspect many won’t like this! Looks like might be multi exposure as well. Mono suits it very well.

Original

09 Belties – Dave Varnham

Finished 44 Scored 16.09 Range 7 22 Impact 5.25 Composition 5.42 Technical 5.29

Mono conversion works for cattle but the background is too busy and too sharp. Perhaps would have been better if cattle had heads up looking in direction of photographer? Too much of cattle heads hidden by long grass. Something different but not a strong image, Well captured

Original

10 Black Princess – Al Simms

Finished 28 Scored 18.27 Range 11 22 Impact 5.88 Composition 6 Technical 6.25

A strong portrait but a bit over powering
Just seems to be extremes of dynamic range with little in between. Face and right arm are the dominant areas but I don’t find them interesting enough. Bottom third of image has no interest. May have benefitted from a lighter background to enable model and headpiece to stand out.
nice lighting, OK image skin needs brightening up looks dull.

Original

11 Black Swan At Bideford – Roger Leck

Finished 47 Scored 15.55 Range 6 19 Impact 5.13 Composition 5.17 Technical 5
Nice clear shot of a black swan with good definition of feathers, but a bit soft. Not all of reflection included but water is not smooth and it’s not a good reflection anyway so doesn’t matter.
The black swan is not a big contrast to the background, head of swan out of focus.

Original

12 Dance Diva – With Held

13 Drivers Aboard – Geoff Whitelocks : Finished 45 Scored 16 Range 9 20 Impact 5.38 Composition 5.29 Technical 5.21

Good capture of the steam but image doesn’t seem balanced. Too dark on right and not enough space on the left. Would like more of the drivers climbing aboard.
The image appers a little flat, drivers chopped off

14 Evil Intentions – Alan Wardropper

Finished 16 Scored 19.65 Range 13 25 Impact 6.86 Composition 6.5 Technical 6.23
I cropped the image to try and use the black and white to create a story for the viewer. The viewer is first attracted
To the lightest area which at it’s centre is the malevolent eye ., below this is the slightly darker area of the mutilated mouth which hopefully
Evokes the emotion of revulsion , and finally the dulled blade of the machete . This triangle says to the viewer this being as Evil Intentions.
It was taken with a single softbox with a grid to focus the light shot at F14 1/125 ISO 100.

Great impact, Dramatic, Horrible subject but well taken, Cant look at it, Very tight crop, not sure what person is holding in right hand – just looks like a straight piece of metal. Assume it’s a sword? Very dark triangle on left upper.

15 Film Noir – Daniel Wood

Finished 29 Scored 18.22 Range 8 22 Impact 5.84 Composition 6.28 Technical 5.84

Moody portrait, but lighting on face is flat, assumed lit from front. Not the strongest of portraits. Was driven mad by whatever is on her lip
nice lighting, don’t like skin texture lip ring

Original

16 Grunta Beach – With Held

17 Haven Street Jetty – Phil Mallin

Finished 14 Scored 20.45 Range 12 28 Impact 6.71 Composition 6.96 Technical 6.75
Taken at dusk in New Zealand. The moon was just showing and the rest of the sky was moody so hence no visual of any stars. The image was a colour image changed too black and white in processing..

Good dynamic range. Nearly a symmetrical image, just needed to slightly change viewpoint, maybe getting a bit closer to the floor to get both sides coming out of corners. Long shutter to smooth water nicely done.
I think the composition lets it down. No focal point
bit flat, might have got rid of a few boats and zoomed in a bit more
love this image the still water and the light at the end of the pier and the moon in the sky.

18 Headmaster – Ian Waite

Finished 24 Scored 18.64 Range 12 22 Impact 6.25 Composition 6.25 Technical 6
Good subject. I thought there was a haze around the hat, Looks like background has been darkened as there are light areas around mortar board.
another one for a texture?, shame about the bad rim halo all around the image.

19 Killing Time – Alan Wardropper

Finished 11 Scored 20.95 Range 14 28 Impact 6.79 Composition 7 Technical 7.17

Taken with a single light positioned lower than the subject to bring out the best of lived in face
Shot at F10 1/125 at ISO 100 . the hardest thing was to get a clear image of the flame , it took a few shots to get the balance right.
Good lighting. Sharp. Bit of an inconsistency in pose as think people usually look down at lighter when lighting a cigarette?
I like the contrast between the dark background and the light of the blinds. Good balance through the image, Nice use of studio lighting
good treatment, good shot two light set up. would remove the hot spot on Geoffs nose.

20 Kirkstone Pass – Dave Varnham

Finished 43 Scored 16.18 Range 6 23 Impact 5.25 Composition 5.71 Technical 5.08

Nice view but processing seems to have caused strange effects towards back of image
The slopes from each side are over processed and the background is too soft
dramatic, over processed, over sharpened

Original

21 Late Night For The P.I. – Al Simms

Finished 12 Scored 20.73 Range 15 27 Impact 6.96 Composition 6.67 Technical 7.13
A really strong image and tells a story, Not sure why the smoke/dry ice effect in bottom left! Lamp on right is competing for attention, could crop this out. Lamp not even lit, which might have been better? Arrangement of props seems a bit random.
ery good comp and lighting, lamp a bit too prominent
not sure why you would have smoke in this image. the lighting is awesome on the lamp which is not the hero but the hero Geoff the light is too shallow. The hero needed to be closer to the light. The Jim Beam bottle also needed more light.

Original

22 Leaving On A Steam Train – Ken Chesterman

Finished 35 Scored 17.36 Range 10 25 Impact 5.88 Composition 5.92 Technical 5.58
Taken at Shackerstone Station which was open so we didn’t get told off. Removed a few distractions, moved a few sliders and cropped a bit. Trip out looking for photoclub pics.
Flat background detracts, Good capture of train carriages leaving in midst of steam. Shame we can’t see the engine. Looks like steam at the back of carriages is an added element as would have thought it would be all the way along the right side. Not the sharpest image.
Perhaps the image could have been cropped tighter to the train

Original

23 Merlins Cave – John Denny

Finished 40 Scored 16.77 Range 9 22 Impact 5.25 Composition 5.83 Technical 5.58
Location: Merlins Cave, Tintagel, Cornwall, Taken: 1:38pm 4th Nov 2020, Camera: Nikon D750, Iso 400, f 4, 1/60sec manual settings,
Nikon 24-120 @ 32mm
HDR from two images, one at +1 stop., Mono conversion and post processing in Lightroom classic, some dodging and burning in Photoshop CC.
A rock was moved in the bottom left corner to help with composition.
Hand held, metered using live view with histogram. I got one chance at this before a crowd of tourists walked in front of me.
A good idea but there is too much in darkness
Difficult shot to get without blown highlights and very dark inside cave, which is what has happened. Nice idea.
very dark , well shot

Original

24 Muscat To Sur Bw – Steve Pears

Finished 38 Scored 17.18 Range 6 24 Impact 5.63 Composition 5.88 Technical 5.5

feel the image has been overworked post camera, Interesting scenic shot but could do with more contrast.,  dramatic, Over sharpened

Original

25 Oldenburg Quay – John Denny

Finished 20 Scored 18.82 Range 10 25 Impact 6.04 Composition 6.38 Technical 6.29

Location: Ilfracombe, Devon, Taken: 1:34pm 26th Sep 2020, Camera: Nikon D750, Iso 200, f 7.1, 1/800sec shutter priority, Nikon 70-300 @ 70mm

Mono conversion and post processing in Lightroom classic, some dodging and burning in Photoshop CC.
The landing Quay for the MS Oldenburg, the ship that goes to Lundy. Built below the main docks level, the roof and walls catch the light reflecting off the sea from the left.
Composed using live view in mono. Original in colour from camera jpg.
Hand held, metered using live view histogram.

Dynamic range has been well handled., Love the subject and the composition, might have cropped in a bit to bring the person a bit nearer the front, what’s she doing ?

Original

26 Partly Dying Trees – Paul Steans

Finished 32 Scored 17.86 Range 10 23 Impact 5.83 Composition 6.08 Technical 5.83
Not a strong image, Trees dramatic

Original

27 Passionate – Peter Lawrance

Finished 20 Scored 18.82 Range 11 24 Impact 6.5 Composition 6.13 Technical 6.08
was taken during a climate demo on Westminster Bridge. Managed to get right close to the action with the media and you could feel the anger and passion.
Taken on Westminster Bridge during Climate Change demonstrations. Passions were riding high and I managed to get over the barrier and amongst the demonstrators with some of the media.

More importantly I made it safely back over the barriers with camera intact.
Good expression on the men, particularly the one on the left. Focussing on these might have made a better image. A lot is uninteresting. Cameraman gives some context. Shame can’t see the full logo on the flag. Obviously a catching-the-moment image.
Well taken and tells a story, could crop into people on left, cound loose most of the left as best bit is the two men also this would have made them bigger in the frame
The crane is distracting so is the two highlights on the building below the crane. Over sharpened in places. its a shame that the two heroes are so close the the frame whilst the centre has a girl with a black hat and looking away.

Clone out crane

28 Points Of View – Peter Lawrance

Finished 22 Scored 18.73 Range 11 25 Impact 6.29 Composition 5.88 Technical 6.5
was taken on the tube between Street locations. This amazing guy sat down opposite and got his paper out. Unfortunately I pressed the shutter on my now defunct Z6 which is completely silent. Influenced by Mike Martin, our speaker a couple of weeks ago.
Managed to capture this characterful gentleman when he sat opposite me on the tube. Silent mode engaged I unfortunately found my finger on the shutter button and shot away without him realising.

I then used the image following on from the Mike Martin talk a few weeks ago and extended his idea by splitting the subject and reversing the composition. As he was looking at the paper it leant itself to the title.
Intriguing, however if this was to be symmetrical then this has not worked. the lower half of the body is blurred and the balance is not there. Good try though.
Clever idea, Different and great impact, Novel treatment of a portrait. Initially looks like two individuals but closer inspection reveals a single person cut and split to either site of image. Good idea.
don’t get it, gap a bit big between the two men and whilst it may be a recreation of the one in the zoom meeting a few weeks ago the man does not have the same impact.

Close the gap

29 Rainbow Bridge – John Smith

Finished 22 Scored 18.73 Range 10 27 Impact 6.17 Composition 6.38 Technical 6.17

Good image from Foxton. Like the lead in up the bridge which takes the viewer to the buildings and people beyond the bridge, coming back up the canal and round again. Another impressive sky, is this a replacement? Good contrasty image.
I TOOK THIS AT FOXTON AFTER WAITING PATIENTLY FOR PEOPLE TO DISAPEAR
lacks depth
nice treatment and viewpoint

30 Ready To Salute – Ken Chesterman

Finished 30 Scored 18.05 Range 13 25 Impact 6.08 Composition 6.04 Technical 6

Pulled the canons round a bit so the big square thing at the end was not in the picture. Changed the sky. moved a few sliders for contrast etc. Cowes, Isle of Wight.
The texture in the sky is perhaps too heavy. Would have taken out the restraing wires
Wide depth of field so all cannon are sharp. But the way they curve takes my eye out of the image! A bright day in contrast to the sky.
impressive

Suggestion to flip horizonatlly

Original

31 Rockham Bay – With held

32 Royal Scots Guardsman The Hadrian – Margaret Waterson

Finished 33 Scored 17.45 Range 12 22 Impact 5.83 Composition 6.08 Technical 5.5
Taken on our day trip from Nuneaton to Carlisle
I thought this would suit a monochrome effect
using mostly Photoshop i changed it from colour to greyscale
Added a bit more black , then added this canvas filter to give it a painted look
It has been cropped to get rid of a few people on the platform
A good start at textures. Not sure that it works on all of the image but I think the photographer was trying to make it look like a canvas. The people are blurred and there is a weird something below one of the trees.
Good shot of the train with steam at the front. Not sure about the added texture.
I wonder if the texture process has not done justice to the subject, too much texture

Original

33 Royal Tiger’s Wood – Andy Freeman

Finished 46 Scored 15.86 Range 8 22 Impact 5.21 Composition 5.13 Technical 5.46
I would have cropped this from the left, Sharp shot of the water and vegetation, with a bird sitting on the wheel. Good contrast and dynamic range. Good reflections. Not sure about the top part of image – top of trees very light and sky looks odd.
what’s the subject

Original

34 Seaside Shrub – Roger Leck

Finished 18 Scored 19.09 Range 13 24 Impact 6.71 Composition 6.29 Technical 6.04
My eyes goes to the sand as its the lightest thing in the image but it is distracted by all of the debris. This could be a great image with a bit of TLC.
Simple and effective, Very minimalistic image. Think I would have cloned out the white buoy.
dramatic, good tonal range, horizon looks a bit off but that may be my eyes would like to have seen all the root plus a bit.

Original

35 Shot At Dawn – Graham Townsend

Finished 27 Scored 18.41 Range 8 24 Impact 6.25 Composition 6 Technical 5.96

taken at the National Arboretum, 17/9/2020. 1/1000, F5.6, ISO 100. 24-105 mm lens @ 55mm.

It was a dull day, but the sun came through and created ots of high contrast hith the shadows
Good angle used to simplify image. Lighting almost suggests dawn, perhaps tone down the statue a bit.
Strong subject. Tells a story
emotional

36 Sidmouth In Winter – Geoff Whitelocks

Finished 40 Scored 16.77 Range 6 21 Impact 5.38 Composition 5.67 Technical 5.46
Flat background detracts, Like the atmosphere but think foreground needs lifting. Needs bird further in from edge, or clone it out.
The image is somewhat flat and loses any detail

Tweak Levels

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

37 So Long And Thanks For All The Fish – Chris Dunne

Finished 48 Scored 15.45 Range 11 22 Impact 5.08 Composition 5.29 Technical 5.17
Eye drawn to the writing rather then the dolphin
Does well to catch the dolphin but a run of the mill record shot
Record shot. Unfortunately a very bright background. action all on the left

38 St Just In Roseland Church – Gary Wood

Finished 36 Scored 17.23 Range 12 23 Impact 5.88 Composition 5.79 Technical 5.58
Good low angle gives an unusual view. Should I mention the sky? Some haloing around the tower. The grave crosses lead you nicely towards the church.
The colour of the church grounds is lost in mono
nice treatment and viewpoint

Original

39 Stanage Millstones – Steve Bexon

Finished 13 Scored 20.59 Range 15 25 Impact 6.79 Composition 7.04 Technical 6.71
Taken early morning in late August from Stanage Edge. Camera settings 24mm, 1/20 sec at f/13, ISO100, 0.6 ND Grad and Polarizer, Tripod. Processed in Lightroom and Silver Efex
Captures the texture of the stones. I think the high horizon works
Nice sharp millstones occupying most of the image, with background scenery showing context.
good treatment, could be grittier?

Original

40 The Black Widow – With Held

41 The Eyes Have It – With Held

42 The Starlet – With Held

43 The Thinker – With Held

44 Time To Relax – John Smith

Finished 26 Scored 18.5 Range 10 26 Impact 6.08 Composition 6.33 Technical 6.04
I TOOK THIS ON CROMER PIER, JUST TOOK A SHOT AS WE WALKED BY
Great shot – pity about halos around lamppost
image, sharp throughout. Why am I often suspicious of the sky? I might have cloned out the notice on the lamppost.
bit busy
might have got the sea behind it from the other side?

45 Tintagel – Daniel Wood

Finished 15 Scored 20.09 Range 10 26 Impact 6.6 Composition 6.92 Technical 6.4
That bridge has been added since I was last there. Assume it’s to make it accessible to all. The image is mostly about the bridge and steps so tilting the camera down might have worked better.
he lead lines make the image, good perspective, lacks impact could have tried straight down the bridge.

Original

46 Valkyrie View – Steve Bexon

Finished 17 Scored 19.18 Range 12 27 Impact 5.88 Composition 6.58 Technical 6.5
Taken early November during the golden hour. This view takes in the Roaches, Hen Cloud and Tittesworth Reservoir. Camera settings 24mm, 1/40 sec at f/18, ISO100, 0.9 ND Grad, Tripod. Processed in Lightroom and Silver Efex
Dark and foreboding. Is there a storm on the way?
The image is too dark

Original

47 White Hydrangea – Margaret Waterson

Finished 42 Scored 16.73 Range 6 21 Impact 5.42 Composition 5.46 Technical 5.58
Taken in Westonbirt Arboretum
It is a white plant , i used the black and white filter in lightroom
I tweaked it in Photoshop and added a canvas filter for texture
It has been Cropped to a square format for the best composition
Perhaps too busy
Texture added, brightest part in the centre to draw the eye.
flat
too much of that same texture again.

48 White Rose – Paul Steans

Original

Finished 36 Scored 17.23 Range 6 23 Impact 5.67 Composition 5.5 Technical 5.83
Good use of a textured background
personally don’t like mono flowers. Also could perhaps have cropped in more
well it

49 Woolsthorpe Church – Ian Waite

Finished 33 Scored 17.45 Range 8 21 Impact 5.46 Composition 6.25 Technical 5.74
Not so much about the church as the varying shades of the trees.
Would have cropped from the left
if this is autumn I would have saved it for colour

50 York Minster – Andy Freeman

Finished 31 Scored 17.91 Range 7 24 Impact 6.13 Composition 5.5 Technical 6.08

Nice contrast and detail, very sharp, Good side lighting on minster but unfortunately half hidden by buildings and trees. Also has scaffolding on minster.
I like the highlighted middle of the minster; but a record shot
good light on subject, busy foreground
scaffold and other buildings so maybe zoom in more on the left and loose all the right and some of the sky so you just have the bushy bit on the left or get a different angle.

Original

—- X ———————

31 Rockham Bay – James Botterill

Finished 10 Scored 21.13 Range 11 27 Impact 6.76 Composition 6.96 Technical 7.24
Again a typical slow shutter speed pf the sea
Another nice seascape showing movement in the surf with good depth of field.
good movement, would prefer landscape orientation.

03 Abandoned On Black Sands – Julie Holbeche-Maund

Finished 9 Scored 21.14 Range 13 30 Impact 7.17 Composition 6.96 Technical 7.04
Taken in Iceland. Its a Super DC3 that did a forced landing in 21st Nov 1973 all 7 crew survived.
Walked a good 4 miles to get to location at 4am (still not light) in the morning to avoid the crowds.
Taken in colour but changed too Black and White in processing.
Only had 20mins to take a number of images before the first idiot came and stood on the top of the plane :-(.

41 The Eyes Have It – Debbie Lowe

Finished 8 Scored 21.41 Range 16 26 Impact 7.04 Composition 7.08 Technical 7.25
Apart from the eyes a good use of the hands, which can be difficult
Nice pose by the model. Lighting a bit harsh. Bit of a bright area on her left shoulder maybe could be toned down.
well lit and posed

07 Barbary Macaque – Chantal Cooper

Finished 7 Scored 21.48 Range 12 27 Impact 7.12 Composition 7.04 Technical 7.16
Good expression, dof, Focus is on hands more than the face, Nice portrait, sharp at front of image and nice softness behind. Like the pose.
Very sharp. Just a little too close
Wonderful expresion, a candidate for a texture behind

16 Grunta Beach – James Botterill

Finished 6 Scored 21.91 Range 10 27 Impact 7.04 Composition 7.12 Technical 7.48
A typical slow shutter speed of the sea. Well executed but is the horizon straight, Good dynamic range. Good movement shown in the sea. Sharp throughout. Good sky.
Good impact with low angle, good motion & clouds, possibly as a landscape not portrait

12 Dance Diva – Graham Townsend

Finished 5 Scored 22.41 Range 14 30 Impact 7.33 Composition 7.42 Technical 7.63
taken 21/8/19. 7.4 sec exposure using Bulb. F14, ISO 100.
This uses a reverse curtain flash, and a second constant light. Model moved through the frame from the right, the constant light creates the movement trail, then the reverse curtain fires the flash at the end of the exposure to freeze the model and light her fully.

42 The Starlet – Phil Mallin

Finished 4 Scored 22.77 Range 17 29 Impact 7.38 Composition 7.58 Technical 7.83
The planning for this image took 2 months, trying to find the right model and location. Then out sorting and buying the correct dress and accessories knowing that the image was to be turned into Black and White.
Lighting, is 3 lights: one at the back to highlight the hair and arms and side of face, one to the right to highlight the face and dress and a kicker light at the front low down to highlight the front of the model and dress in true Hollywood Style. Taken with our equipment.
Beautiful lighting on model’s face. Not keen on the pearl bracelets, especially one closest to model’s face.
ood studio work
very good lighting

40 The Black Widow – Julie Holbeche-Maund

Finished 3 Scored 22.91 Range 16 30 Impact 7.46 Composition 7.88 Technical 7.58
Planning this shoot took 1 month. First thing was to find a model with a good chin and dramatic feel, then buying the dress and hat (both black) and the gloves were black.
The white table and the grey background were deliberately done to show the progression of black to white. Two lights: one light a large parabolic umbrella straight infront of the model and the other a 30×90 soft box to the left to give the shadow off the hand which is slightly raised deliberately. Taken in our village hall with our equipment.
A good simple portrait
Simple but effective. Nice pose. Intrigue as can’t see the model’s eyes.
Wonderful comp and lighting
appealing shape
don’t know much about portraits but maybe crop up to the elbow of the raised arm and take off left hand side

43 The Thinker – Chantal Cooper

Finished 2 Scored 23.22 Range 18 30 Impact 8.04 Composition 7.56 Technical 7.68
Nice captutre and well processed. Just brilliant
Lovely image of the ape with a very human expression. Good application of texture to hide, probably, a man made structure.
Superb shot – pity the face is not more towards the viewer
aptured well

05 Back With A Splash – Isobel Chesterman

Finished 1 Scored 23.41 Range 18 29 Impact 7.79 Composition 7.71 Technical 7.92
Not much done to this a shadows lifted and a bit of texture also a few blobs of water removed. On a beach somewhere. Can’t remember which one.
Beautifully dramatic capture – Composition and low angle, Great image, sharp and full of character, Nice action shot, sharp, good composition, good timing to have front paws out of water. Good depth of field.

Original

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2020 / 21 POTY 3 Monochrome Gallery